Tag: family

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No Review; No Wheel

I got up half an hour early so I could get to work before 7:30, expecting a quarterly review with Shane and Joel. That seemed odd, but I wasn’t going to question it. We grabbed a burrito at Hardee’s and made our way in. Joel seemed confused, and then explained the true purpose of the call, which was for Shane’s guys, and for me to be on standby. I hopped on a call with both of them just to catch up with Shain, and then did my own thing the rest of the day.

It was blistering cold when we stepped out for a late lunch. The wind was howling and it felt like an incredibly sunny winter day. We grabbed our Monday cheese sticks, then went to Wendy’s for an ironic cup of chili and a frosty. I let Muad’Dib run up the road on the way back, and then the afternoon didn’t drag by terribly on account of our late lunch.

When we got back to the house, Summer had been there a little while not feeling well. I made rice and ate dinner alone, and got upset with her for refusing to eat anything more than her biscuit breakfast and a small cup of plain steamed rice. I emphasized that she consistently feels bad because she doesn’t take care of herself, and then distanced myself for the rest of the evening.

I had also been sitting around waiting to hear back from Future Motion long enough that I decided it was time to post my support timeline on Reddit. I got a ton of feedback – much more than I expected for such a wall of text. I had some good input, and a ton of bashing the company. I ended the night with a conversation with Discover Card to see if I could dispute the charges and get my money back that way. Surprisingly, it sounds like they may be able to help. I suppose I’ll reach back out to Future Motion, but it’s at the point now that it may just be best to cut my $900 loss and try to get a refund for the original purchase.

Don’t press your luck.

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Pork Choppin’

I surprisingly woke up pretty early today and didn’t feel groggy, but I just wasn’t ready to get up before the sun, so I slept for a couple more hours until Summer got up. I had a leftover waffle, but nobody else wanted to eat with me. Eaddie left and was gone for most of the day, but Summer we planned to cook a nice dinner in the evening.

Summer eventually went to the gym, then we cleaned up the kitchen a bit in the afternoon. We eventually got out of the house to go to the Neighborhood Market for groceries, and just as we got inside, it started pouring rain. Muad’Dib didn’t seem terribly bothered in the car, so we continued shopping, and it had stopped raining by the time we were done.

I had voiced frustration trying to continually plan around Eaddie when she has become less and less reliable over time. She loses my stuff as well as her own stuff, and I’ve gotten to the point where I’m just ready for her to move along with her own life, but she doesn’t have any source of income yet. I think we’ve agreed that we just need to do what we’re going to do in spite of her, because we’re always going to cook more than just the two of us can eat anyway, and then Eaddie can join us or not without any expectations.

Summer made mashed sweet potato and broccoli, and I grilled pork chops, zucchini, and squash, and it all turned out really good. We’ll have plenty for the coming week, with opportunities to amend our meals with other sides. Dinner was great, and I finished up some laundry before we started winding down for an early bedtime.

Pork paper!

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Flower Farm

We got up early today and basically had to drag Eaddie out of the house so we could make it up to Fayetteville in time to get everything done. Eli showed up at the house early, and I don’t know why she took so long, but we eventually made it out. I let Muad’Dib run to my parents’ house, and we tied him up to spend the day with Dad.

We made it to Alma for a short charge while we snacked on some cold chicken from Harp’s. Then we headed straight to the Rivercrest Orchard tulip festival. There were a ton of cars and people there, and it was even more “official” looking than I expected. It looked like they didn’t allow pets because they had food crops like strawberries growing as well.

You could pay per stem if you wanted to pick flowers, or they had several activities that were mostly free all around the property. We walked through the fields that smelled great, rode a little tractor train, and then a train on rails. I picked us up a couple loaded pretzels that were okay, but dressed more like pizza, so that was weird. I probably wouldn’t do it again.

They all seemed to really enjoyed it, but I think next time we’ll try another location. Getting out was tough, because presumably somebody gridlocked the place trying to get in and out. Cars were stuck in a complete standstill, unable to come in or out. Finally some employees showed up to try and clear the mess, and we were able to leave.

We went to charge in Rogers, and roamed a PetCo for a bit until that was done. Then we went to Viet Buffet for a late lunch. They were super slow and ran really lean on the food, but everything was still really good. They didn’t have any of the sausage I liked anywhere, but they had a few new things to try.

From there, we had two more stops for food to take home. Eli’s dad wanted some Pollo Campero, which was in the nearby Walmart. They must have taken a page out of Popeye’s playbook, because they were completely out of chicken and said it would take an hour for them to make a 20-piece order, so we left without. Next up was Hawaiian Bros. after griping at Eaddie for eating mine twice in a row. I don’t even know that it was worth it the last two times, but I’ve just been so upset that I haven’t gotten to eat my own food that I keep going back for more.

Finally we headed home, with a quick stop in Ozark to finish the trip. We picked up Muad’Dib after his day with Dad, and then the kids had to leave for their band thing. Summer didn’t feel great, so she was pretty lame the rest of the night. Eli spotted a jumping spider on my car right as we got back, so I captured it and tried to figure out how to raise it in captivity, but didn’t make much real progress with it. Hopefully tomorrow I can come up with something a little better for it.

let’s put a smile on that face

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ESOP’s Fables

I felt overdue for a casual Friday, so I went with jeans and a work polo today. I did pretty well in the morning, and then we had a pizza party for our ESOP update. It was neat to hear a little bit more about Garland’s operations even if it was a super high-level overview of some numbers. Business seems good, and we hope to keep it that way.

Immediately following that, I had to hop on our weekly call with Aptean to hear about some more “AI” stuff. Still not much we can use, and everything is in development anyway. The afternoon dragged a bit after that, particularly because it was such a beautiful day outside, and we didn’t even go out for our usual lunch break to enjoy it.

I ended up stopping in Atkins for a couple slushies on the way home. Summer was in the bath and didn’t want to go out, so she sent me out on my own. I couldn’t decide on dinner until she suggested I go to Taco Villa, so that’s where Muad’Dib and I headed. I stopped at Casey’s here for another free slush first, and then let him wait for me outside while I ordered food.

They were super busy, but then died off just as we finished our food. Muad’Dib did great through all of that, but then we went down the block to wash my car. A cat came along and prompted him to climb up onto the center console, and when I opened the door to scold him, he jumped all the way into the front seat. I let him out and he stayed nearby, so I finished the job and then we headed home.

My parents were just getting back from Little Rock, so I eventually took Muad’Dib over to see them and visit for a little while before coming home for bed.

Everyone loves Hypnotoad

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Damned Scavengers

We managed to get out of the house early today, so I made a last-second decision to grab Hardee’s on the way out of town. Dexter was at work today, so Muad’Dib ran around with him just a little bit in the morning before we went back upstairs to continue reading through Intune policies.

It was chilly out by lunch time, so I just went to McDonald’s for another Big Arch. There was already a line of disgruntled people there, so I shouldn’t have been so surprised when I saw they didn’t make my burger to order. I went to have them remake it, and of course my somehow-perfect fries were cold by the time I got back to them.

The afternoon dragged a little bit as I went through security baselines, and then we headed home. Summer was just getting into a bath, so we didn’t get to go walking right away. I waited for her to get out, and then still had to talk her into going out again.

We walked to my parents’ house to see them, then came right back. Dad gave me some more rat poison because the stuff I had already put out was already gone, and we still had rats. They also ate all of the bait I put on the bucket trap, but didn’t actually get trapped. I hate to use a glue trap, but I’m running out of options.

Eaddie ate my leftover Hawaiian Bros. again, so I went to bed pretty angry, but at least this time it was my fault for not having finished it by now.

Kindly fuck off.

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Intune with Nature

I had another good day in Intune policies all day today. It was really quiet and a bit rainy otherwise. If I had realized it wasn’t raining at lunch time, we would have gone to Sonic, but instead I had already ordered Subway for pickup. We got that and I ate in the office.

The afternoon was more of the same, if not a little distracted. Summer got home early and made dinner, so we rushed back for that. Then I started some more laundry while we took Muad’Dib for a walk to my parents’ house. We visited briefly and then let him lead the rest of the way home, which was a surprising twist from his usual route.

I cleaned up a bit more when we got back. Summer went to bed, I updated WordPress, and then it was off to bed a minute or two early.

Shoutout to Updraft for keeping backups dead simple!

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Full on Monday

It finally rained a bit today after threatening for a while. We got to work early, and then out of nowhere I started to feel gross inside. I managed to keep myself busy enough helping the girls with something downstairs, and we made it to lunch time. We left without a plan other than to grab cheese sticks from Sonic, and ended up at Wendy’s for a break and a cup of chili.

I felt much better after that, and tinkered with Intune some more in the afternoon until quitting time. Summer had call-ins and had to close the lube, so we stopped by AT&T to see Kevin for a moment, then by Superfast to see Summer. They were dead, so we went to Walgreens to pick up my prescriptions. They had lines inside and out, so I just had to stand there and wait.

Once we got home, I changed and then went to pick up Nova at Tech so we could have dinner with my parents. Mom made noodles for pork chops, shrimp, and egg rolls. Summer met us there, and we finished eating just as Julie and Kevin showed up.

Summer headed home to clean up and go to bed, I took Nova back, and then wrapped things up quickly so I could try and get some better sleep than last night.

Bonus pill!

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Short Sunday

The time shift didn’t do much for us today. I tried not to sleep in too much so I could go to sleep in the evening. Summer got up to some coffee and I ate my leftover chicken strip, and then the brisket with the beans and chips from our trip. With the refrigerator mostly empty, I wanted to go shopping and cook a nice dinner.

Summer went to the gym with Eaddie and I got ready for a late start to the day. When they got back, Eaddie showered and left, and then Summer decided she wanted Chinese. All planning out the window, we eventually went to New China where they appeared to still have a steady stream of Hispanics coming in from church services throughout the day. The food was hot and fresh, and I managed to fill up on a few different kinds of broccoli.

After that, we wanted to take Muad’Dib for a walk around Bona Dea. Summer immediately had to stop at the trailhead, so I walked around the short ring with Muad’Dib, and then Summer just wanted to go on home. With her not feeling well, Muad’Dib and I just laid in bed to rest for a bit. I felt like I could take a nap, but didn’t actually fall asleep.

Dad wanted us to bring the Model Y over so their neighbor could check it out. He seemed to have done enough research that I don’t know why they didn’t just go test drive one at the factory, but I talked to him for a little while about it, then gave him a quick test ride. Muad’Dib had run over ahead of me, so I let him run back home as well. Then he and Summer went to bed pretty early. Eaddie was home for a moment, but left. I tried to pay our toll fees from our trip, but failed, so I’ll try again during the week.

Fine, I’ll do it myself.

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More Less Better

I woke up to some weird, strange, scary dream last night, but I couldn’t remember anything about it. I didn’t think I’d be able to go back to sleep, but luckily that didn’t last long. I still had a bit of a rough start, and though I got up early for a free birthday drink from Starbucks, I didn’t end up going because they must have been out of milk somehow.

We got to work and I did a pretty good job of focusing on my Autopilot task. It’s finally starting to get kind of fun to tinker with that stuff, though there’s still plenty I don’t understand. It still wasn’t rainy during lunch time, but I really wanted to try the new BIG ARCH burger at McDonald’s, so Muad’Dib just had to wait in the car.

I didn’t realize how big it was, so I also got a small Happy Meal for some McNuggets and a Changeables toy in order to bump the total up enough to qualify for a discount. I ate that first, so when I actually opened the burger and realized how big it was, I knew I was in trouble. I was actually really pleased with the burger though. It was tasty enough to drown out the noise of the obnoxiously loud group of teens that were at my usual bench seats. There must have been a bus of them somewhere, because I later saw several groups of them convene across the street at Taco Bell.

I let Muad’Dib run some more coming back to work, and a little later in the afternoon Janice had cake for me. She made me a lemon poke cake, and it was super good. It felt really nice to be in a work family that did stuff like that again, though there’s no telling whether that will continue to be a thing when she retires. Hopefully we can continue in some fashion.

I had an anxiety attack sometime in the afternoon, but I don’t remember if it was before or after cake. I felt progressively worse all afternoon like I had gas in my chest that just kept coming out as burps. I did my best to relax because my heart was racing as well. I lived to see the end of the day, and picked up my Starbucks on the way home to save for later, then found Summer in a bath.

She was really hungry, so we decided to take Muad’Dib to Point Remove for some boneless wings and a couple beers. As soon as we got there, a lady recognized Muad’Dib and asked if he was the dog that kept getting out in our neighborhood. She remembered me working at Two Rivers, and I think I remembered encountering them on a run or something. It really feels like I’m living with a celebrity sometimes.

I only finished Summer’s first stout because she wanted to try one of the wines, and then I only had a couple of the wings just to take it easy. I felt a little better by the time we left, and we swung through Tropical Smoothie for a free smoothie to save for the morning. Then Summer went straight to sleep when we got to the house. I kind of wanted to go for a walk, but also wanted to get to bed early. I started to feel a lot worse for a bit, but checked my blood pressure and took a clonidine since I was right at the cusp of being that high. I felt better as I continued to burp, and wondered if it was mostly due to the poor nutritional value of the food I’ve been eating. I think it’s time to go regular on the Soylents again.

I’ve never been this many before.

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The Browns

I managed to stay pretty busy at work today, bouncing around in Intune and HubSpot. I also got my Windows 11 Pro license key delivered, so I was glad I hadn’t tried to get an update from Janice on account of how busy she always is.

There was a slight chance of very little rain, but it felt nice outside, so we went to Taco Bell for lunch. Muad’Dib did great, so he got go run back down the street afterward. The whole day went by pretty quickly, and then we headed home for an early birthday dinner.

I stopped by the old house looking for my Brown’s Catfish birthday reward, but it wasn’t to be found. When we got back home, it was in the mailbox, evidently having never been delivered before. I must have just imagined receiving it in the first place, though I did have another points reward that was delivered.

The girls, Muad’Dib, and I loaded up in the car and met my parents, Kevin, and eventually Julie at the restaurant. I let Muad’Dib run around a bit at first, but then he had to wait in the car. I wasn’t starving, but the food was good and I overate. I was frustrated that the girl refused to scan my reward card, so we didn’t earn any new points on the nearly $200 ticket, which still would not have been enough to earn another $10 certificate. She said to scan for points would be “double-dipping.”

Eaddie had a concert to attend, so we left there and came home to bed.

AND a credit fee? Get outta here!