Tag: family

Uncategorised

M R Not I. M R Ducks!

I felt pretty sour this morning, but I made it back to get the girls for their trip to the Children’s Hospital. There was a report of a crash around Pottsville, so Waze routed me off the interstate from there to Atkins. Fortunately we still had plenty of time to get there. I dropped Summer and Autumn off at the hospital for Autumn’s MRI, and then drove a few blocks away to Ben’s new office.

I was surprised how close it was, though it took some Google Fu and driving around his building to realize I was right under his office the whole time. I found the Arkansas Public School Resource Center on the directory downstairs, took one of the four elevators up, and could not have been any closer to their office. It was just a short walk down the third floor, past a big open stairway above a big water fountain. When I walked in, I told the lady he’d get a kick out of it if she told him his StripperGram had arrived. He didn’t answer the phone, so she had to go back and find him, and I heard laughter from around the corner.

He took me back to where he was working and we chatted for a bit, and then I got my laptop out to work on the importing of new laptops for the junior high library. I was on the right track and really would have had it figured out on my own, but it was nice to get some back history of his process so I could more easily replicate what he had done in the past. I really doubt it’s something the libraries will be able to do themselves in the future.

Autumn ended up not getting an MRI today after a new doctor talked to them about checking on some mental health issues that may be more likely, so maybe his words will carry some more weight. When Summer said they were done at the hospital, we picked them up and drove just a few blocks further past Ben’s office to Cotham’s for lunch. They were pretty packed, likely from walkers since there was plenty of parking available. Service was extremely slow, but not the worst. Three of us got hubcap burgers, which had a pound of meat that completely dwarfed the already large buns. The meat and the fries were both seasoned well, and everything was really good. Summer had to be different and got the chicken fried chicken, since they were out of regular fried chicken. She seemed to like it, on account of her happy plate.

After we ate, we dropped Ben back off at work and headed to the Splash Carwash on JFK for a quick detail. Then we went to McCain Mall and wandered around uncomfortably in the heat. I was absolutely miserable for nearly the entire time. I agreed to get Autumn some cookies from the Nestlé Toll House Café because I thought some ice cream would help, but it really didn’t. The young girl at the counter was having some trouble with her receipt printer, so I fixed it for her and jokingly asked if I earned a free cookie. She smiled and nodded, and I gave her another buck for a tip because she was so nice.

We made our way back through and out of the mall, and drove across the street to Target. There, at least a gust of cooler air came out of the door as we walked in. I was still uncomfortable though, and ended up just fanning myself with an Exploding Kittens expansion that I picked up on clearance.

Summer wanted to stop for some wine on the way home, so I looked up reviews and we drove the opposite direction to a well-reviewed one in Sherwood. They were nice, with a pretty good selection, and I even got a case discount on some Flyway. Once we loaded everything up, we made our way home, having to stop in some construction traffic around Morrilton. It didn’t take us too long to get through it fortunately.

The girls went to their rooms as soon as we got home, and I finished importing the rest of the laptops for Jessica. Then it was off to bed.

Time to sync some photos…

Uncategorised

Overtaken by My Own Shadow

It was a quiet, brainy day at work today. I made some progress, but it was slower than I would have liked. I didn’t get distracted much, but I did get frustrated a couple times with others pulling my attention, which I’m sure is why Gary is so grumpy most of the time.

Brody wanted to go to Fat Daddy’s in London, but they were evidently closed due to staffing issues. The same went for Zaxby’s. Slim Chickens was a solid win today with the salad I got, and then we dropped off some strips for Summer, who was stuck in the pit all day.

I left near quitting time today and went by the shop to order some new tires for the Murano before going up to Summer’s to heat up her lasagna. I made it about halfway to her house before I realized I didn’t have keys to get in because I was on the Shadow, so I ran back home to change and get the keys.

As I came back outside, I hopped on the bike and started to pull away, only barely remembering to get the keys. I stood up to get off and immediately lost all balance due to the low, heavy nature of the bike. I had forgotten that I already lifted the kickstand, so the bike tumbled over on top of me and threw me to the ground. I avoided any major damage, but the handlebar controls and mirrors got a bit out of whack. The handlebars themselves were still bent from before I got the bike, so the only new “damage” was to the rear, left turn signal that now rattles from something being broken off inside it.

I finally made it up to Summer’s with bruised palms, and heated up the lasagna and baked some garlic bread. She and Autumn both made it home from work and we ate. Then Summer had to tend to some work business as we waited for the scattered showers to wane enough for me to make it back home for the evening.

I tried to pick up a little, and ended up on a trip down Memory Lane when I found a bunch of folders from my time at NEW. Then I went to bed as hastily as I could, since someone decided that working at 6am tomorrow will be fun when moving some old laptops around at the junior high. At least by then it will have reached the day’s low of 74º.

More like PowerHell.

Uncategorised

Blow Me

We didn’t sleep in super late, but laid around for a while this morning before getting around. Summer’s car was at her house, so I had to take her home before I could get into anything. Autumn wanted her to make a lasagna for dinner, but I made plans to take my parents out for an early anniversary dinner instead.

Once I was ready to leave the house, I met Summer at Walmart to pick up some groceries and check out the store remodel. They ripped out all of the wood grain flooring and left everything on polished concrete, which kind of made everything a bit louder and more warehouse-like. It was pretty clear they weren’t done yet, so hopefully there will be some good changes.

They had one long aisle of clearance stuff, where I picked up two overpriced hairdryers. Reviews weren’t much help, so I figured I would just return the one I liked the least. One of them looked like a travel dryer, and pushed about as much air as you would get from a hotel dryer. The other was cheaper, but I still wasn’t sure it was worth twice the price of a cheapo model.

When we got back to Summer’s, we unloaded groceries and she prepped a lasagna to bake for dinner later in the week, and then we met Autumn, Julie, and my parents at Western Sizzlin. Things started out pretty rough, but settled as well as they could have, I suppose. I ate too much, but at least a part of that was a plate full of kale.

The girls came home with me only for a minute to get some things, and then left me to do some laundry. It was then that I unboxed and tinkered with the hair dryers. I really expected more after all that fancy packaging, but I should have gone with my gut and just gotten a cheap fan-in-a-tube. Everything else is just bullshit marketing. Seriously? Ions to coat and protect your hair? With socks dried, presorted, resorted, and stored, it was time for bed.

Have you tried being less awful?

Uncategorised

I’ll Be Your Pilot Today

I slept in just a hair this morning since our appointment with the lawyer was an hour after I normally get to work. I thought I was going to be late, but I ended up arriving first, just before Mom and Dad. It took more time for him to write down their names than anything else, because he immediately told us he didn’t do, or even recommend what we were asking about. Julie showed up at the tail end of it, and then we left to go discuss things amongst ourselves at their house.

Things went predictably, with seemingly no real personal growth for anyone. The aggravating thing is that Julie and I actually agreed on the financials, which was the important part of the conversation. I had previously suggested speaking to an accountant, and I think we should have done that first, because we really need someone to just crunch the numbers first, because the problem we’re trying to solve is almost entirely math. The legal stuff is already in order.

After Julie left, they wanted to look at homes and land for sale the old fashioned way, so Mom had me drive them around while they looked through neighborhoods. That took us at least a couple hours, plus a stop at my house for a bathroom break. Bác Vân came out and talked with us for a little bit, and then we continued on up the other mountain.

Dad and I got pretty hungry after a while, and he suggested CiCi’s. We never could tell how hungry Mom was, but she went along with it. For such a late lunch, the food was hardly fresh, so I had them make a supreme on top of spinach for us. Then we went to Lowe’s so Dad could pick up an order and we could walk around a little bit.

When I got them back home, Mom wanted to review some cars, so we poked around YouTube for a bit. Then I finally made it home and tried to do a bit of picking up. The evening went by pretty quickly, but I got a few things filed and put away. I also got the guest bathroom measured and modeled, so now I can print them both out and write in some measurements to order some tile. Next up will be deciding on fixtures.

The vast majority of the world doesn’t care about your issues. Live accordingly.

Uncategorised

I Watched, I Let it Burn

Gary actually had me join him for some higher level systems stuff today, but what it really turned into was some babysitting while a guy from Pure Storage came and replaced the controllers in our drive array. It was still cool to be a part of it, and while we were in the main server room, I initiated a quick cleanup of some of the trash that had been neglected over time. It ended up taking through lunch, so I grabbed a Soylent for Gary while we waited. Greg ended up bringing him food, but I wasn’t really hungry enough to eat out and decided to stick with the bagel and kiwis I had brought.

I spent the afternoon in the office just picking at random things until it was time to go. Then I got some gas for the R1 and stopped by AT&T to check on Kevin. We chatted for a bit since they were pretty dead, and then I went on to the shop to see Summer.

When she got off work, we went to my parents’ house for leftover fish soup, and then stayed to chat while Dad brought out some stereo slides. I told him I thought we should get out the slide projector sometime this winter so the girls could come cuddle up on the couch and have a look at some real history; the important stuff – not that boring stuff they teach you in school.

Autumn got home shortly after we did, and Summer and I watched some YouTube. Bác Vân stopped by with some bánh bao that they made at Linhs, but it wasn’t anywhere near as good as Mom’s. Then it was off to bed.

I don’t care! I love it!

Uncategorised

Gotta Get Away

I got up early and ran straight home to clean up before going back to pick up Summer and Eaddie. We had to run by Summer’s shop to print Eaddie’s itinerary before we could leave, but then we were off to Little Rock. We made it with plenty of time, but they only let one of us go through security to the gate, so Summer went in while I sat on a bench outside just out of the rain. Fortunately it felt pretty nice out, and I had my earbuds on me.

Once the plane took off, Summer came back down and I took her to a place called Lakewood Fish & Seafood House to cheer her up. Watching Eaddie take off hit her a lot harder than she expected, so that pretty well set the tone for the day. At least everything we ate today was delicious. The stuffed crabs and seafood chowder were probably our favorites. The crab claws were odd, tasty, and overall left me a bit hungry.

After we ate, we walked all around McCain Mall and basically just felt sad about the state of retail in America. The nostalgia is all but gone. Even GameStop was uncharacteristically empty. JCPenney felt like a ghost town in areas. None of it made me happy.

I took us to Best Buy next, which again only served to kill time. They had zero deals, so we left and went to Sam’s Club. By that time I felt like I was just dragging a corpse around, so I picked up a couple things and we headed toward home. We had spent enough time out that we were both hungry again, so we stopped in Conway and ate at Bulgogi, which was excellent.

It rained all day long, but we eventually made it home, and Summer went straight to bed just as Eaddie landed in Milwaukee. I knew she could handle it.

I still kind of just want a steak.

Uncategorised

Slow Return to the Cinematic Universe

I pretty much worked with Kyle all day today, finally running some cable at Dwight in the morning, and then shuffling devices at junior high in the afternoon. We only had to make one trip back to the shop, but we ended up with a pretty clean install.

Everyone really wanted Fat Daddy’s for lunch, so I followed along and had an overpriced chili dog. It looked pretty gross with everything added on it, but tasted fine except for the cheese dip, which was just a bit too much. There wasn’t enough chili, and the coleslaw made the whole thing cold in the middle.

After lunch, I ran by The UPS Store and paid for our lease shipment finally. Then I tried to track down a single missing device that I’m pretty sure was dead out of the box at the junior high. I couldn’t find it after a couple rounds through the building, so hopefully it turns up sooner than later.

When I left work, I went home for a bit and waited on Summer to get back from Conway so we could use my BOGO coupon at CiCi’s. Then we met the girls at UEC for Black Widow. I was a bit uncomfortable for most of the movie, and ultra disappointed that we missed it in 3D. I guess all the movies rushing to release now after being held back due to the pandemic are pressuring theaters to run everything through really quickly. I got pretty stressed over it, and ended up disappointed in the theater as usual, from the stuff hanging in front of the screen and casting shadows, to the loud air conditioner, to the sound of the auditorium next door. At least the size of Auditorium 8 was better than I had remembered.

The movie was enjoyable enough, but did feel really lackluster after the prior movies, and even all of the Disney+ series. It felt more like a formality of passing the Black Widow baton than anything else. What I’m really looking forward to is more Loki.

It’s no “Falcon and Arm Guy.”

Uncategorised

Call of Doody

I had a pretty rough start this morning, but thought things might turn around eventually. We spent all morning at the junior high building tech tubs full of old laptops for summer school, which only lasts a couple weeks. We finished just in time to make it back to the shop before lunch, and Ben was there to join us.

We all went to CJ’s, which was pretty packed, so we ended up parking down the hill in the 40 club lot. Lunch was pretty good, but it was crowded and loud, and their sound system kept cutting out, which made the music annoying.

As soon as we got back to the shop, I split my pants and had to run home to change. By the time I made it back, everyone had headed to the middle school to set up an alternative learning environment room. We had enough people in the room that it felt a bit crowded, but that’s just how it goes sometimes.

Kyle and I ended up splitting off from Josh, who couldn’t keep track of the parts he needed, to do some work at Dwight before the day was up. We didn’t finish, but quitting time is quitting time. After a quick run home, I went to see Summer for an oil change. Then it was up to her house for dinner.

I prepped some veggies for grilling to eat alongside the pork she had in the slow cooker, and it came out pretty good. We ate as soon as she got home from the gym, then watched the last episode of Loki before I headed back home to clean up before bed.

Eggie wegs! I would like to smash ’em!

Uncategorised

Running in Circles

I didn’t feel great pretty much all day long, but at least I spent most of the day to myself at work. I was left at the shop alone to finish imaging the laptops for the secondary learning center. I took the opportunity to make a few trips out to the recycling dumpster to stretch my legs and sweat profusely in the sun and humidity. It would have been fine in the shade.

Greg and I split off of the rest of the crew and went to Taco John’s for lunch. For a rare occasion, I preferred it over Bocadillos because I could have a lighter lunch with just one Taco Tuesday and a small fried chicken snack that came with the tiniest order of Potato Olés I’ve ever seen.

We had to print some badges and create some accounts in the afternoon, which had me looking a fool when some of the accounts weren’t made. It made matters worse that most of those accounts that weren’t created hadn’t even reached the school board yet, so we had no proof that they should actually be there.

After work, I went home for a little while before heading to my parents’ house for some rice. Then I went up to Summer’s and started cooking some rice until she got home to grill the strips of meat she sliced off of a pork shoulder we had in the freezer for a while.

Autumn worked late. Eaddie shopped for some new eyeglasses with me since she got a new prescription. We ate, and then it was an early night to bed.

You’re making me look bad in front of my new boss!

Uncategorised

No Reservations

We were down to a relatively small crew today. Kyle and I went with Gary to the high school for the new core switch changeover. Gary configured switches while the two of us went around to every printer we could find and reconfigured DHCP reservations. Unfortunately we didn’t have the forethought to do the same for the release boxes on the majority of those printers, so we had to go back and do a lot of that in the afternoon.

We took a break and went to Sam’s for lunch before finishing up at the high school. Then we spent the last bit of the day at the shop before going home. It had been a relatively cool day, and a great day for a ride, but as soon as I would stop anywhere, the humidity had me sweating buckets.

Eventually I made it out of the house to go to Summer’s for dinner. I stopped by her shop first to try and get an oil change, but I didn’t make it in before closing time. I headed on up to the house and started warming up the spaghetti she prepped the night before.

As soon as Summer made it home, we all sat down to eat. Then we played a game of Uno before watching the latest episode of Loki. Finally it was an early night to bed.

Annihilating entire realities, orphaning little girls… Classic hero stuff.