Tag: family

Uncategorised

Grungeday

I slept fairly late today because I slept pretty well. Eaddie left for church, and we didn’t see her until bedtime. I got up and made some coffee, and then watched some robot mop reviews with Summer. She liked the idea of something to keep the floors from tracking dust, so I did a little last-minute research and ended up buying the new Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra while it was on sale. It’ll be overkill, but I think it will bring some much-needed sanity back since we’re tracking so much dust through the back door from the dogs.

Summer went to the gym and then came home to mow the lawn. I tried to blow some of the dirt back into the holes the dogs have been digging under the fence, but she ran me off to do some trimming in the front yard instead. Just as I was nearing the end, it started to rain pretty heavily. Luckily Summer finished mowing, and we hung out on the back porch with the dogs for a bit.

Summer had to go to work for a little while in the afternoon, so I worked on some other things around the house until she got back. Then we took the dogs out for a walk to my parents’ house. It must have been the rain this time, because they were super bad about pulling on the leash again today. We eventually made it home and fed them again.

I snacked quite a bit because I never really felt like making another burger. I showered late in the evening after collecting a fairly long day of grime. Eaddie got home late, and then she and Summer went to bed. I shopped for some more review materials on Amazon Vine for a while, and eventually settled in as well.

Big money

Uncategorised

This Grill Is on Fire

For some reason, Summer set alarms on the Google Home speakers last night, so I woke up to two extremely loud alarms this morning. I got back to sleep for a little while, but still woke up at a decent time to an empty house. I started cleaning up right away so we could have the family over in the evening for Dad’s birthday.

I got sidetracked for a bit when Dad said the restoration people were coming to paint the old house. I tried watching the cameras, but the Wyze app broke and quit showing any of my cameras at all. I ended up going over there and contacting support, but it wasn’t until I eventually got back home that they started working again.

On the way home, I picked up some tacos and quickly ate before getting back to cleaning. Then I went to the Neighborhood Market for everything we needed for hamburgers. Julie came over first and was a huge help prepping everything. I got the grill going, but promptly caught two whole packages of bacon on fire and basically ruined it all, and nearly burned the house down in the process.

By then, Summer had made it home, and my parents weren’t far behind. Overall, I think Dad’s birthday dinner was a relative success, but I still need more experience grilling on my gravity grill. It’s awesome for smoking, but grilling on it is almost like an entirely new skill. Maybe I’ve just gotten bad at it because of our reliance on propane, since that’s what Summer always had at her house.

I took the dogs for a quick walk around the block after everyone left, and I saw the neighbor on a recumbent bicycle. We chatted for just a brief moment about it, and then I made the loop back home. Eaddie got home from her after-school activities a little after I got home, and everyone went to bed pretty quickly.

It’s all about branding.

Uncategorised

Plan B Corp

Today was the first day after Two Rivers, so I tried not to sleep in too late. Summer was still home when I got up, but Eaddie was long gone. She eventually went to work, and I decided to have lunch with Kevin. I took a shower and then picked him up at AT&T, and we went to Cici’s for $5 buffets.

We chatted a while, and then went back to the store and chatted some more there. They were painfully slow, but even with all of that, he said he still makes a pretty good salary. I almost couldn’t believe that I was still struggling to get my earnings up to that level in IT. Schools really are the pits.

Summer wanted some Subway, so I ordered and picked that up for her and dropped it off at the carwash. Then I took her car to the manual wash to clean it. Somehow, somewhere, the back passenger wheel got some pretty wicked curb rash. Maybe we’ll get lucky and get to lemon-law it as well, if they don’t fix this air conditioning problem. I figure they have two more repair attempts before I file paperwork.

I made it home just in time to settle in for my fourth attempt at an interview with DeepNet, and she actually showed up! She said her husband fell off the roof of their house and broke both of his arms, so she transitioned back to working from home. I thought the interview went great, and she seemed to be the most excited about her own company out of all the interviews I’ve had, which got me pretty excited. It pays better than Moodle, and close enough to the school district that it would be worth it just to save myself the commute. The only wildcard at this point is Grace, which would give me somewhere local to work in person.

Eaddie and Eli came over after I finished the interview, and we went out back to play with the dogs for a bit. Then they left to meet Summer at the gym. Summer eventually got home, but wasn’t hungry enough for dinner, so I walked the dogs to my parents’ house where Mom had bún thang.

It was getting dark by the time we finished eating, so I headed straight home with the dogs. Everyone settled in pretty quickly for work, and I tried not to stay up too late. I think tomorrow we’ll grill burgers for Dad’s birthday, so I’ve got some housecleaning to do.

Call me “Butter,” because I’m on a roll!

Uncategorised

Oodles of Moodle and Noodles

I tried to study for my Moodle skills assessment this morning by poking around in their test instance. Eaddie went to church again, and Summer went to the gym. I finally just had to dive right into my assessment, and it was basically just another instance with one particular setting changed. It took me an embarrassing amount of time to find where the override was set, but I eventually sent my response. Hopefully my “customer service” response will be enough to make up for my lack of experience in their application.

Dad had messaged us early in the day that Mom mentioned spring rolls, but it didn’t seem like anyone got a hold of Mom to confirm. We did end up going over there, but not without jumping through some hoops first. Summer and I went to get Nova from her dorm, but then were sent back home to get our electric skillet so we could set up two tables for everyone to have enough room to reach all of the food.

As Summer and I rounded the corner to get back home, I noticed the house at the end of the road had a table and some stools out by the curb. We ended up going back home to get the Murano, I knocked on their door and confirmed it was okay to take them, and we hauled them home and into the back yard. It was all in surprisingly good shape, so I don’t know why they were getting rid of it instead of selling it.

By then, Eaddie was home and had decided she wanted to go eat too, so the three of us headed back to my parents’ house. I spilled a bunch of raw noodles in the floor, but we eventually got everyone sitting and eating. In the end, we dropped Nova back off at her dorm and made it home for the evening. Not having work for the next several days will be a bit nerve-racking, but I’m sure I’ll survive.

Cleanup time!

Uncategorised

Local Jobs, Diversified

I was early again this morning and thought I’d stop by McDonald’s for a McMuffin. That turned into a short ordeal, and school traffic was pretty unhinged. I guess I just missed all of it yesterday, but I got right into the middle of it today. I still got to work before James though, and we took a walk to find that power had gone out in the core closet, and at least one UPS had died. I helped a bit more than I wanted to with the HVAC because Steven and Toby were having trouble, and James got busy replacing the backup battery.

I left a little bit after lunch so I could make my interview at Grace Manufacturing. It seemed like a really tiny place, but I guess business has been good and they’ve been growing – globally! Their office was the main headquarters, but they had other sites in Mexico, Germany, and the far-off land of Arizona. I thought the interview went really well, and it was super casual. They were smiling a lot, but the job also hadn’t actually been posted, so they were just scouting me out for a future opening around January. I actually suggested they bring out the retiree-to-be so I could talk to him directly, and we all had a pretty good chat. The job actually seemed pretty simple compared to my responsibilities now, so I’m curious to see what the actual pay would be like.

After the 30-minute interview, I headed home to change and then picked up Dad so he could help me get the dogs to the vet. We walked in and got their stitches removed, and then took them back home. Afterward we went back to his house and played with his new drone for a bit. He didn’t get any antennas with his headset, so we just used the controller to play the simulator on his phone instead.

I eventually headed back home to eat some leftovers, and then I took the dogs for a walk. Summer had come home but was in a mood, so I talked with her about her tough day when I got back. It seemed like she just needed to focus her energy less on being sad about it, and more on being mad at other people not living up to the same standard. I could relate.

So many strengths to choose from… I guess being super humble is my greatest.

Uncategorised

Video Game Movie

I slept in pretty hard today while Summer got up and did some working from home. When I finally got around to snack on some breakfast, she suggested going to Price Break and a movie in the afternoon. Dad said Uncle Giao, Erica, and Nova were in town, so I assembled my arcade stool and we stopped by their house for some lunch first. They were dropping Nova off at Tech, so they didn’t stick around super long.

Eaddie had band stuff all day, so Summer and I made a quick and mostly boring run through Price Break. It was $10 day, and there were a ton of people there rummaging through stuff. I think it’s more fun to find really cheap stuff that hasn’t been picked up yet.

After that, we went to UEC to watch Borderlands. I liked the visual style, but a lot of the CGI was really hoaky, and the story didn’t really grab me. I never really played the games because they weren’t made for mouse and keyboard, so I wasn’t invested in it at all. I was also still pretty exhausted from general stress and the heat, so I had trouble staying awake in the recliner.

Dad gave us their Roomba, so I cleaned it up when we got home, and had it vacuum the living area. I think I’d really like to get a mopping one for the hard floors, because that’s where the dirt ultimately comes from. It did pull a bunch of crap out of the carpet though, so I need to start seriously shopping for a new vacuum cleaner.

Eaddie didn’t get home until super late, and I spent too much time dawdling before bed. The overbearing heat has me lethargic, and is possibly causing anxiety attacks again, because I’ve been having at least one a day for the past few days. I couldn’t think of anything else that could be triggering them, but I hate it.

Park it.

Uncategorised

Experience Depreciation

I got up extra early today so I could try and beat the new guy to work, but that failed for multiple reasons. I stopped at Taco John’s for breakfast, which ate up all of that extra time, but he also showed up a full hour early. Todd had already given him the tour, and as I would learn later, Samuel had actually given him a tour the week before last, while I was still there. In fact, Samuel was the one that called him the week that Blake told me they weren’t going to keep me, and told him they were looking for a new Tech Coordinator. The entire thing has been super shady, and it just made my day worse and worse until the end.

I walked around with him again and we visited all of the switch closets in the high school and elementary. We didn’t bother going anywhere else, and I probably won’t, except maybe Plainview to see if there’s anything out there that I want for myself. Maybe I could get lucky and find some rails.

We had several waves of kids come in for password resets, but otherwise it was relatively quiet. I had to keep telling him that I wished him the best of luck in spite of how crappy they’ve been to me, but secretly I just hope he gets the same and leaves them in a short amount of time. It’s just not fair that I invested all of that time and effort to fix so many major problems, and he gets to come in and ride the calm seas at a higher rate of pay with two fewer years of school experience.

I was the last one out of the office, and I had already relinquished my keys, but luckily Keith was there and I could borrow his to lock the office. I headed toward home and fed the fish, and got gas at Casey’s. Summer was making a baked spaghetti with pink sauce when I got home, and I just held her for a bit before I got changed and went out to sit with the dogs.

Summer called Eaddie home for dinner, and the three of us ate. Julie called because she saw a Cybertruck in town and thought it might actually be me. Then I went out for a run with the dogs. They did super well, ran hard, had some mostly solid poops, and for the most part weren’t too bad about getting distracted until the very end. It got dark fast, so we only stopped at my parents’ house long enough to say, “hello.”

I wound down pretty quickly, and everyone was off to bed. It was an awful, emotional, maddening day of being the better person, and the frustration of living by an unmatched code of integrity just made me incredibly sad.

And either I’m right and justice is never served, or I’m wrong and I go to Hell anyway.

Uncategorised

Collared Greens

Summer was up early doing some work, and I ended up sleeping in later than I wanted. I eventually got up and made some more eggs for breakfast, and even cleaned up some leftover stir fried beef. It was rainy all morning, but it eventually dried up enough to go out with the dogs.

Eaddie wanted to take my car to drive around with her friends because it was nicer than her Pathfinder, and we ended up having a big family discussion after she didn’t like my answer. That threw all of us off for the rest of the day.

I took a really late shower and then took the dogs out for a walk. We took a new path up and around Inglewood this time, and on the way home I couldn’t break their focus off of a nearby squirrel. I’ve got to do something to fix that behavior, because Stilgar is just able to throw around too much weight.

They were about out of food when I got back with them, so I got Summer up and we went to Walmart to look around a bit. We got more food, and a couple cowhide sticks for them to chew on, with the hopes that they’d stop chewing on important things. Eaddie spotted us while we were there, but we didn’t actually see her. She was out super late, and we ended up going to bed before we ever saw her again.

Interesting days ahead…

Uncategorised

Interview Season

I let myself sleep in a while since I was up so late, but I still wanted to get up early enough to shower before my phone interview. I had leftover waffles for breakfast while Summer was at work, and then went outside to clean up after the dogs. They had gotten into a bag of potting mix and dumped it all over the porch, and at some point they also killed a possum. I cleaned up some poop in the yard, but I’d have to borrow a better shovel to dig a hole for the possum.

Eaddie went out with her friend Autumn once they got up. I sat down for my interview with DeepNet, and as the appointment time passed, I saw an email from the lady saying she couldn’t make it due to a family emergency. Fortunately I also made the shortlist for a job with Moodle, and the pay should be comparable to what I’ve been making. It’d be nice to get a raise, but not having to leave the house will save me some money and a lot of time.

Dad was mowing the lawns across town and wanted help moving a display case out of Bác Vân’s house, so I called Eaddie back with my car and headed over. The restoration people were also there to fix the drywall in the front bedroom, but I didn’t see much of them. It took some work to air up the tires in an old dolly to move the case, but we got it into his car and then I headed back toward home. I stopped and saw Mom along the way to borrow a shovel. Summer was home when I got there, so I sat with her for a little while.

Mom had leftover pork chops and noodles for dinner, so Summer and I headed over for that. We tried to get Eaddie to walk the dogs over, but she insisted that she couldn’t, and I drove back home to take them on the Onewheel while she drove over. We got there, I tied the dogs up, and then Summer and I went for a swim. Eaddie yelled at me for disciplining the dogs for being bad around the cat in the yard, and I got mad at her for speaking out of turn when I’ve been the only one to actually try and fix their behavior.

From there, the girls went home and I continued around the block with the dogs. They were still pulling really hard and trying to chase things, but we made it home alive. Everyone went to bed pretty quickly after that.

Sleep time.

Uncategorised

Big Ask

Breakfast was better this morning, but Kim was by all accounts worse. She disappeared often, and left at some point to drive to another town to retrieve her wallet from her husband’s unlocked truck where he parked at work. Fortunately it was mostly quiet for me. The afternoon dragged horribly after we got our hibachi food truck for lunch.

I got a call from Grace Manufacturing to do a same-day phone interview, so I took that at the end of the day after everyone had left. I thought it went alright, but I had the feeling they weren’t looking to pay anywhere near my asking price, and it’s not at all in the technology field either.

I eventually made it to the old house to grab some things and feed the fish. Then I headed home for some peace for a while before Summer got home and I left with the dogs. I took their water bottle along this time, and it really seemed to help pace them. We stopped at my parents’ house, and then went through the basin again. We ran across several others walking dogs, so we had to take some breaks and then ended up on the divided street before circling through the neighborhood again to get home.

Noah was back for some reason. Then Eaddie got home late, and I was upset at the state of her room. Summer failed to take the evening off for our concert tomorrow, and Eaddie still doesn’t want to go next week, and it has me wondering why I plan anything with them at all.

Good boys, anyway.