Tag: family

Uncategorised

See, You Inhale!

I didn’t get to ride yesterday, so at only a couple degrees cooler, I rode to work today. I had to stop by the arena first thing for a big PLTW fair they were putting on for other schools. Ben came by too, and we wandered around listening to kids talk about their PLTW projects from all grades. There were way more elementary kids there than anyone else, which was probably good because they seemed more interested in what they were doing, and acted like they understood more of the content than anyone else. The older kids all had projects that were pretty obviously on rails and didn’t really grasp the concepts they were supposed to be learning about. I guess it’s pretty easy to be cynical about it though, even though I was probably in about the same place as them in junior high.

After we left there, I spent some time trying to track down some cabling with the guys from the PAC. They didn’t seem to really have anything else going on, so we just wandered all around looking for switches with unpatched network lines in their racks. The last rack we stopped at had four new lines run to it that just weren’t terminated, and it sounded like Jason ran it to his office himself. Ultimately knowing that last piece of information, we wouldn’t have had to run around on this wild goose chase, and I could have just made those new lines work for him and freed up the other good line in the upstairs control booth.

Allen and I went to Ruby Tuesday for the $5 salad bar, and we got our favorite lunchtime server. He got pretty close to remembering our drinks, and got us in and out in record time. Back at the shop, I sat with Ben for a bit talking about my morning before heading back to the high school to complete my morning’s task. As I wrapped up, I went to Jason’s office and found his fancy new RTX-wielding computer stowed away, and three other decade-old, non-district computers hooked up in its place. It looked exactly like what you would not want to see some random guy doing at work with your physical network infrastructure. I don’t know what he was hosting on that machine, but it all seemed very sketchy and I just decided to document my findings and run away.

I finished the day at the shop with several other unmotivated guys for the last hour, then went home for just a little while before Summer asked me to deliver the girls to their activities. I took Autumn to the junior high for a game, then Eaddie to karate before stopping by my parents’ house. I visited with Dad for a little bit before heading home to dope up and pass out.

I found a couple NyQuil and chased it with some Party Fuel to kickstart my night. It went to my head pretty quickly, so I laid down and dropped a Vicks inhaler into my CPAP to doze off for a few hours. It pretty clearly didn’t help my sinuses as I slept, but I guess it was worth a try. I woke up to write this post and discovered how much better the Australian website is for the VapoInhaler than the American one. We’re such a clinical society. I hope we’re happy.

Here are Newton’s laws of motion, which are apparently pretty important…

Uncategorised

Lunch Is on My Face

Today started out cool, but quickly became pretty temperate. I had to reset the sign again in the morning, and then I ran around the building taking care of a few work orders. It went by pretty quickly, and I headed back to the shop a little early to see if Gary wanted to go to lunch for his birthday.

Gary initially didn’t want to go with us, then my suggestion of Bocadillos seemed to pique his interest, but ultimately he declined and left me with Ben and Allen. The three of us headed to Dardanelle, and all got the two tacos and burrito special. It took me a bit, but after several attempts I got the Clover app to accept my check-in photo, and I got to experience that process. It was pretty cool being able to just tell them I needed to check in, and then let the app automatically pay for me. It didn’t give me an opportunity to tip, which would be a bummer for when you get table service, but I’d use it when I’m just there for ice cream.

After lunch, Ben and I sat at a computer in the shop and poked around the G Suite settings to try and figure out why a few emails to students weren’t being delivered. Then I wrapped up the day back at the high school, setting up some computers in the arena for an event tomorrow morning. Ben and I have to go by there first thing in the morning to help out, but hopefully that will just be to stand by for assistance.

Eaddie came to the high school and I took her home with me. She was in a bit of a mood and just wanted to watch YouTube videos on her phone, which annoyed me a bit. Once I got changed, we headed to Pizza Hut to pick up a free order of wings that I got, compliments of Sprint. Then it was off to her house to wait for dinner. Summer got home after dropping Autumn off at an Explorers meeting and grilled some brats and asparagus. Then she, Eaddie, and I watched a couple episodes of Parks and Recreation before bed.

We’re all just calm and happy people together enjoying ourselves on earth.

Uncategorised

Move It, Buster!

The clocks rolled back an hour last night, so of course I woke up fairly early and just lounged around with the cat until Summer got up. Eventually I got cleaned up, and we headed to Conway for a bit of shopping. We stopped by Kohl’s first, then Target before meeting Hannah and Dylan at Red Robin for lunch. They made the trip down after church, we ate, and then ran through Sam’s for a few things before heading on to Little Rock.

We got to Dave & Buster’s relatively early and went right in to play. I had picked up a Groupon for a “date night” pair of unlimited play cards a while back, and we had been meaning to make it down there to use them for the past couple months but just never made it. This was the last weekend before they expired, so I was feeling the pressure. They each came with 18 chips and unlimited free plays on any blue card readers, which basically eliminated anything new or that gave tickets.

It took us a little while to get used to the cards, since we were technically improperly using them for four people. We had to wait 60 seconds after scanning each card, so getting all four of us in the same racing game was a bit of a challenge. We did find that it worked well for shooters, since you could just keep scanning every minute to bank credits. We finished the entire 15-stage first chapter of Tomb Raider in a bit under an hour. At first I wasn’t sure I had made a good purchase, but I think at the end of it all they convinced me it was a good buy. It would have been less awkward to use them for just two people as intended, but I bet we could have made the kids share.

Nobody wanted to eat when we left, and it was getting a bit late anyway, so we headed on home, dropping the others off at their car along the way. I got home and cleaned up a bit before heading up to Summer’s for the evening.

A truck of Vick’s VapoRub crashed and spilled all over the highway.
There was no congestion for eight hours.

Uncategorised

Turn Up the Heat

A thin layer of frost covered everything this morning, so I had to wait for the car to warm up before heading home. We burned the first hour of work sitting around the shop yapping at each other, and then I helped Brice hang a touch panel at Oakland. He must not have felt very motivated, because we ended up sitting around there the rest of the morning until lunch time. Somehow I had convinced everyone that New China sounded good, so five of us went there to eat before coming back to the shop to form two more groups.

This time I was sent with Heather to hang a touch panel at the junior high, which I expected to be a pretty straightforward in-and-out job. That quickly turned to rubbish though, because we were super unprepared for anything. We ended up running the video cable three times, couldn’t get any of the old cable or the old ceiling-mounted projector out of the ceiling, and had to make two trips back to the shop on top of her countless trips back to her office for more parts. It took us all afternoon to do what should have been completed in about an hour, and by the end of it all I was just completely beat.

I headed home to relax and no sooner had I pulled into my driveway, than Autumn called wanting to know if I was coming to pick them up from the junior high, where I had just left. I was super aggravated, but not at them. I missed Summer’s text from the middle of my fighting to get the last job done, and was just completely over having to run around everywhere. I immediately left to get them, then dropped them off at their house. Eaddie somehow left a giant something in my back seat, so I had to turn around from a mile down the road. Neither of the girls would answer the phone or look outside to see who was honking their horn so annoyingly, so I just got out and threw it up at the front door.

When I finally got into my house, I could barely even sit comfortably out of feeling so defeated. Eventually I was able to wind down with some drinks and a long, thoughtful game of Oxygen Not Included. My heater finally kicked on for the first time this season, and I’m pretty sure the current setup will never even utilize the heat pump because I keep my house so cold. I guess all that planning ahead and overthinking for the month and a half of summer without air conditioning ended up being just a big waste of time and money.

Everything is cramps.

Uncategorised

Hey You Guize!

It was just above freezing this morning, but fortunately a clear drive home. I had to take extra care getting ready, to layer my costumes well. I was to dress up as Amanda, but I wanted a less niche and more casual outfit underneath, so I had my usual Dracula t-shirt on. Then I donned some skinny jeans, cow socks, house shoes, a blue zip-up hoodie, wet hair parted on the right, hole-punched red dot stickers for gauged ears, Red Bull, and a flask of lighter fluid to complete the look. When I got to work, I got a few chuckles, but I don’t think most of them truly appreciated how much effort I put into the ensemble.

We didn’t actually have a meeting other than to see each others costumes, so I headed on to the high school for real work. There, I ran into Doug as he was helping Misty bring some things into the greenhouse. Then I immediately changed out of my skinny jeans into some slim ones that felt suddenly very loosey goosey. I fixed a couple other things pretty quickly, and then mulled around the laptops a bit more.

I was going to stop by the shop to see if I could find a lunch partner for something a little lighter than usual. I had gotten stuck by the D&R Railroad when Ben called to see what I was eating, and we decided to meet up at Linhs. We had a really good chat over some really good food as we usually do, and then it was back to work. I decided to end the school day by blaring Thriller as the final bell rang and kids flooded into the hallways. Again, I felt like not many truly appreciated what I was doing there. The workday ended on a higher note as I was able to recover my bricked touch panel by installing the correct firmware.

When I got home, I shed all the extra clothes and tried to make sense of my evening. The girls had gone out to eat for dinner and weren’t doing anything for Halloween. Summer was working out and would have to start prepping some chili for work tomorrow. Suzanne was going to come visit and meet the family, but wasn’t certain of the time or whether she’d be able to join us for an actual meal that was up to me to produce. I ended up picking up some Taco Villa on the way up to Summer’s, and we ate as she ran around the kitchen all evening.

Suzanne eventually showed up with a gift of some fresh sourdough bread that she had labored over all afternoon, and we sat and chatted for quite a while. I do miss the days of being able to stay up and do that for longer, but hopefully this time of year will allow for more of that.

This hammock itches inconveniently.

Uncategorised

Rocket Legs

Today was cool and drizzly, and it crept along just like you’d expect a cold, drizzly day to creep. I got a few little things done in the morning and thought I might start messing with the 1:1 laptops a bit in the afternoon. Brice sent us a picture of a Mac ‘N Cheeseburger from Ruby Tuesday, so he, Allen, and I decided to go try it out for only a fiver. Our server was a guy I’d seen around town a lot, and I think he worked at the call center for a little while back in the day. He was nice enough, but it felt like it took him forever to take our super simple orders. Luckily the food came out super fast, and though it didn’t look nearly as good as the picture, it did taste pretty good. I still think it’s hard to argue it against a $5 combo deal at Wendy’s though.

I went by the shop for a little bit after lunch just to catch up on things, then went back to the high school. Dad confirmed that insurance would cover my windshield chip, so I set up an appointment online with Safelite. I had only just submitted the form when my phone rang with a lady calling to confirm the insurance information. Just a couple minutes after that, a local guy called to reschedule my appointment for tomorrow morning since everyone in the area had already left for the day. With that taken care of, I wrapped up the day swapping parts on some laptops. The district won’t make any self-maintainer money from it, but they couldn’t anyway since I don’t have the certifications required by the program. Frankly this way is less wasteful anyway, so I’ll put in the extra effort to save the planet a bit.

Eaddie rode the bus to me since Autumn went home with a fever today. I took her home so I could change, then dropped her off at karate while I went to eat with my parents. Neither lunch or dinner left me feeling totally satisfied today, but I filled up on some water rather than eat more. The hunger came back well before bedtime. When I got back home, I cleaned up a bit and then sat down to play some Rocket League with Josh for a bit. I hadn’t played in a super long time and was using my Xbox Elite Wireless Controller that I hate, but I made it work and didn’t flail around too horribly. Aerials were rough and pointless, but I scored a goal or two.

Maybe time to do some future shopping.

Uncategorised

Magic Screams 2019

Summer went to get the girls this morning after spending the night with friends, and I went home to clean up and get ready for our trip to Magic Springs. We left right around lunch time and headed down to Hot Springs to meet Ronda, Steven, and Maleea at Outback Steakhouse. We got behind some pretty slow traffic for the majority of the trip, so we ended up getting there quite a bit after them. The service was pretty great when we did get there though, and it was pretty funny how much bread we were going through.

After we ate, we headed to the park. Along the way, something flew up over the car ahead of us and gave me a pretty big chip in the windshield. I’ll have to get that fixed immediately so it doesn’t get worse. The park was fun, and Summer let us talk her into riding all the roller coasters. Eaddie really enjoyed them, and she and Maleea had a good time together. I couldn’t fit into the restraints for the X-Coaster, so Summer ended up riding that one without me. At the end of it all, our last wait was a ridiculously slow, short line for the bumper cars. They only had six cars, and hardly anyone doubled up.

Steven wanted to treat some of Ronda’s family to dinner, so gathered up the convoy and headed to Rod’s Pizza Cellar. We got there not long before closing, but the service was great there too, and the pizza was amazing. We got a 17″ spinach bacon alfredo that was by far our favorite at the table. It was the perfect end to a great day. On the way out of town, we stopped for some more spring water. The drive back home had me exhausted, but we made it in one piece past dozens of deer by the road. Now I’m excited to go again in the summer.

3 spoopy 5 me!

Uncategorised

Dropping the Count

I woke up feeling so exhausted today, and it kind of followed me for most of it. I was sluggish getting in to work, but managed to get quite a bit done in spite of it. I got some things started at the high school first, then went to the shop for another Jamf call. This time we actually got things working, but not before realizing I had broken something else last week. Fortunately it didn’t seem too difficult for Zach and Gary to fix, and I don’t think it was entirely my fault to begin with anyway.

Zach wanted to go to Morelos, so he, Gary, Allen, and I met Heather there for lunch. Then I went back to the high school to wrap up the afternoon. I got called to the office for advice on how to handle a disciplinary issue, which was interesting. I had to laugh when it ended up being something that we don’t even really punish employees for doing. At the end of the day, I took a little time and contacted Sceptre for the TV I got Summer. I had someone on the phone so fast that I didn’t even get hold music. It literally just rang through. The guy had me email pictures to their customer service email, and I had a response within a few hours to contact Walmart for help since Sceptre only does technical support for our particular ONN TV.

I went home to change and ended up nearly falling asleep. Mom had been fussing about me not coming to clean up some leftovers, so I headed over there and cleaned up a bunch of stuff for spring rolls. Then I came back home and got cleaned up for a super duper early bedtime.

I want to see gamma rays, I want to hear X-rays, and I want to smell dark matter… I want to reach out with something other than these prehensile paws, and feel the solar wind of a supernova flowing over me.

Uncategorised

Battlestar Finaléctica

This morning felt warm enough to allow a ride in to work, but it did bite the hands a bit. I forgot my breakfast at home, so I had half a Soylent instead. Unfortunately it didn’t give me as much pep as I expected, and I sort of dallied most of the day. I did get a fair amount accomplished, but my priorities were definitely askew. Having a taste for solid food in the morning left me feeling Wendy’s, so when Allen suggested it himself, I was all in. I ran into Kelsey as I was walking back to the bike, and we chatted for just a second outside. Then I went back to the shop for a bit.

The afternoon brought me back to the high school where I fiddled a bit more between getting things done. Summer left work early with the poison ivy itches, so I had kid duty. I ran home to change, then called Clint to chat on the way to get Autumn. I hadn’t talked to him in quite a while and figured it was time to check in. After Autumn, we had to wait a while for Eaddie. When she did finally come out, she walked right past us and we had to pull back around and yell at her.

Summer grilled some chicken and put together a zucchini, tomato, onion, and mozzarella salad on my suggestion, and it turned out really great. It even felt a bit light, and I really held myself back with only one little chicken thigh. Afterward the girls went to their rooms to hang out while Summer and I watched the last two episodes of Battlestar Galactica. I feel like we missed out on some of the suspense of having to wait between episodes, and I was surprised at how much of it I had forgotten or mis-remembered. It was a great watch though, and I was excited to hear of the show’s reboot next year.

You know it doesn’t like that name.

Uncategorised

Turning Up the Back Burners

I expected orders today, but none came. Brice and I were left in the shop, so he came with me to the high school to clean up some super old, low-priority work orders that I’d just never gotten around to completing. It felt really good to get so much accomplished, but I’m not sure anyone else was doing the same. Half of the department was out, and we never heard anything from the other half that showed up. Brice and I just kept trucking on what we were doing, only taking a quick break for some Zaxby’s. I dropped some off for Summer on the way back to the shop, where I spent a little time catching up with Gary before jumping back into the work we were doing at high school.

We didn’t see the email right away, but Ben sent everyone home at 3:30. Brice and I finished up what we were doing and left eventually. I came home and relaxed for a little bit before going to my parents’ house for dinner. Dad was back from his trip to visit his family in the north, so we chatted a while. Then I came home and intended to catch up on a little gaming since I don’t remember the last time I had an opportunity to do any of that, but instead got caught up watching some guy on the internet sort pennies.

The songs are there. They exist all by themselves just waiting for someone to write them down. I just put them down on paper. If I didn’t do it, somebody else would.