Tag: family

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Sunday Runday

I got up and made eggs for breakfast again this morning. The slow cooker barbecue chicken burned a bit and seemed dry, but I didn’t really think forward enough to actually turn it off. I tried to start cleaning the garage while Summer went to the gym with Noah.

It was pretty overwhelming to find a place where I could dig in enough make enough room to rearrange things. I paced around quite a bit at first. Summer eventually came back with Noah and we made a late lunch out of the barbecue chicken. It tasted alright, but you could really tell it was overcooked.

After lunch, Noah went to take a nap while Summer and I tried to tackle the garage together. By that time it started to get pretty warm out there, and I got crankier the hotter I got, and the more she pushed to motivate me. Then I got a text from Mark and realized I had to get cleaned up before I could go meet him.

After my shower, Summer took Noah to work and I left for Mark’s office. He had some new questions for me, and I felt good about what we accomplished in just over an hour. Before I left, he urged me to vote to keep the penny sales tax.

From there, I picked Summer up and we went to my parents’ house for bún bò Huế. Nova was there too, and I guess Dad had taken her out practice driving before ending up there. We stayed a little while, but eventually left as I seemed to be allergic to something there. My head stopped up and started to throb until we got back home.

Summer and I settled in pretty quickly, spending a little time to talk about our feelings some more before bed. Communication is easy if you just suck it up and do it.

When someone asks if you want a parachute, the answer is always, “yes!”

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!YOHA

I got up this morning and made some delicious egg sandwiches for breakfast. Summer left to get the Lit’l Smokies and smoked sausage started in the slow cooker while I got dishes cleaned and took a shower at home.

The afternoon was quite a bit slower than I expected it to be, but I sorely needed the time to just relax. Eventually Summer got back and we headed up to Travis’s for his pirate-themed birthday party.

John and Melissa were already there, but Veronica bailed on us as usual. Travis’s mother seemed to be doing pretty well, and a good, quiet time was had by all. The girls got into some temporary tattoos, and would have tried making full sleeves if we hadn’t come out to chat.

After the party, we came back home and settled in. Noah called to chat about his feelings for a bit, and gave me the best compliment I could ever hope for. I spent the rest of the night boiling the hell out of some chicken breast for the cat, but he probably won’t eat it anyway.

Do what you want, cause a pirate is free. You are a pirate!

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An Act of Piracy

I took Split into the vet this morning, tears in my eyes, expecting never to see him again. They met me in the parking lot and shuttled him away with the hopeful demeanor that veterinarians have, and I sobbed off toward the shop for work.

They were still mopping up water from the flooding, but for the most part everyone was back to work. I chatted for a little while, then went on to the high school to see what I could accomplish.

I worked a little into lunch, then left in a hurry to make my interview in Dover. I ran home first to change into some nicer pants and shoes, then made the 15 minute drive out of town to try and find their technology office. Excitedly, it’s on a bit of a hill in the old middle school building, so flooding shouldn’t be such a regular occurance.

I felt like the interview went really well. Josh, the superintendent, was there, along with Toby, one of the techs, and of course Sandy, the technology coordinator. They all seemed pretty friendly, and I was probably a little too relaxed, but it was nice to do an interview and not be so uptight. Not needing a job really does wonders for the nerves.

Afterward, I went back to the shop to update everyone. Then ran home to change again before going back to the high school. The vet called in the middle of all of that, and let me know that Split’s bloodwork came back showing signs of normal kidney function and blood sugar, so all we were really looking at was an enlarged thyroid. The stupid cat’s got too many hormones. Or a tumor. Who’s to say? The point was, I would get to continue shampooing carpet until he either quits making messes, or I give up and kill him myself.

After work, I stopped by the vet to get him, along with some meds and a can of special, bland food, to help him “reset” his tastes. I really don’t understand how that’s going to work, but he did at least eat about a quarter of the can of food when we got home. I watched him for a little while, then went to get Eaddie from karate.

When we got up to their house, I snacked a bit until Summer got home, and then she grilled some brats for the girls while I ate some leftover pork chop. I dare say it was better leftover and reheated. It didn’t even really taste freezer burned any more.

I didn’t stick around too long before leaving for Walmart to pick up some plain yogurt to give Split some gut bacteria. It was awful. It’s no wonder he didn’t want to eat it. Of course I also had to clean the carpet again, because that’s still my life. It’s inescapable. This damned cat is going to live forever.

I would say that my biggest weakness is that I never have a good answer for this question during interviews.

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Triple Chicken

I slept in just a little bit today so I could stay up with the cat and try to get him in to the vet. When I did finally call, they couldn’t get him in until Thursday for a morning drop-off, so I spent the rest of my morning running around town looking for something he might eat.

I stopped by Casey’s first, to redeem a free slice of breakfast pizza before it expired. I didn’t want to sit in my car in front of the gas station and eat, so I just stopped at the park on the way to Walmart. It rained pretty much the whole time I was out, but I got an arm full of stuff, including three kinds of chicken.

When I got back to the house, I started boiling a chicken breast while I tried to feed Split some fried chicken. He ate a nibble of breading, but refused anything else I put in front of him. I waited around for a bit longer, then left for work in the afternoon.

It was a quick and fairly productive day, but I still feel like I’m drowning. I just need to choose a project and finish it so I can move on to the next thing. Everyone’s begging for attention though, and I hate having to put people off until later.

After work, I got the girls to karate. Then I went to my parents’ house and waited for Summer and Eaddie to get there for some mango soup. Julie showed up to eat too, and started looking at timeshare stuff.

The girls stayed with their grandparents, so Summer came back home with me. She showered and went to bed while I cleaned more carpet. Even a fresh can of tuna didn’t do anything for the cat, but he’s still walking.

Imagine vacationing, but like…forever. That’s how sailboats be.

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Resume Work

I got up this morning and made some banana nut muffins for breakfast. I only set off the fire alarm once, because I left a drip pan full of oil in the oven at a higher than normal temperature. The muffins came out alright, though probably a bit dry for as large as they were.

Summer left to get the girls home, and I worked on my résumé and cleaned up after the cat some more. I really need to get him to the vet early this week, so I may take off early tomorrow. It feels premature to just put him down, but I doubt they’ll have any magic cure to make him eat something.

I eventually made it up to Summer’s for dinner, where I grilled some old pork chops I had in the freezer along with some fresh asparagus. Summer fried some potatoes and onions, which were the star of the show. The pork chops were too freezer burned, dry, and tough to be any good.

The girls wanted to finish our game of Phase 10 after dinner. Then Eaddie wanted to watch an episode of Glee before I left for the evening. Back home, I filled out an application for an IT job at the Dover school district. They pay more than we do, and if I were to get a step bump to where I think I should be, it would be a pretty significant pay raise. All I have to do is click the submit button.

Objective: Employment
Qualifications: Modest
Experience: Varied

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The Boys Are Back in Town

For the first time in over a week, I went straight to the high school this morning. My first job was to deliver a box of hotspots they had been screaming about for days. Al said some parent was blowing them up on Facebook about not getting her free internet from the school. I told him to snap back at her that she must have internet if she’s on Facebook. I think he appreciated the irony.

It was overall a pretty relaxing day. I caught up on a few things, but didn’t wear myself out trying to get to everything. I still have plenty of rooms to visit in the near future. Lenovo shipped me three huge boxes of parts, so I ended up taking a late lunch. I just picked up some Burger King to eat at home so I could check on the cat. Autumn was still there, but Summer picked her up before I left for work again.

I went back to the shop in the afternoon just to see some people again. That ended up being an adventure in charging cart deliveries with Ben. Then I wrapped up the day back at the high school.

After work, I went by the house for a little while until Summer got home from work. Then I went up the hill for a dynamite spaghetti dinner that Autumn threw together. Then we played most of a game of Phase 10 before I headed back home.

The cat still seems to be eating pretty steadily, but he’s still really loose. At least he’s enjoying getting outside more, and I’m not going quite as crazy cleaning up after him.

Should I stay or should I go now?

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The Suits

I went to the shop this morning to find that Gary had returned to work. He survived the Coronavirus, and all he got were the dadgum antibodies for that crap, man.

I went straight to hotspots again, and spent literally the entire day doing nothing but that. Bryan was there for a little while asking me things and kind of trying to pawn some of that work off on me, but then even he had to leave to visit with other people for the rest of the day. I soldiered on through the day, stopping only to eat some old, wilted fruit that was left in the fridge. In two separate instances, Mark and then Danny stopped by the office to check in. I think they were there looking for Bryan, but in finding only me, just thanked me for washing my hands.

After work, I had to get the girls to band and karate, and then I stopped by my parents’ house for some leftover shrimp soup. We recapped the Master Plan again, and then I went home to clean more carpet. The girls eventually showed up, and we had to have another heart-to-heart with Autumn about who gets to make the decision on whether she’ll be attending school in-person, and why we were doing so solely to make her miserable.

With step one of the Master Plan underway, it won’t be long before I’ll finally be able to harness their misery and turn it into a magical elixir that will let me defy the effects of aging.

And your little dog, too.

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The 35 Year Plan

I got up this morning and cooked some sausage and eggs for breakfast. Then I tried to stay at least a little bit productive all day while Summer went to the gym and home to do a bit more cleaning herself. I got a few things picked up and did some more laundry while looking at some real estate listings just to get an idea of what’s out there.

Summer got back in the middle of the afternoon and started looking at some houses too, but it was all just sort of dreaming about the future. I rehashed the multiple stages of my plan with her, and then again with my parents over a shrimp soup dinner. I think it helped get everyone on the same page again, and I think we’re in a good place for steady improvement.

After dinner, we came back to my house so she could collect a few things before going home to the girls. I started my last load of laundry and did a bit of work to prepare for tomorrow. For better or worse, it’s the first day of school, and I’m mostly going it alone. I’ll just have to churn out what I can, and ignore the rest.

The Plan isn’t a step-by-step path to what you wanted today. It’s to maximize the opportunities for you to learn , and be in the right mindset to take advantage of new opportunities as they arise.

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Small Drive

We slept in super late today and got up for lunch at Cici’s. I had another incredible spinach alfredo pizza with all the extra toppings on top. The kids filled up, and we headed back home so they could go ride their bikes for a while. Afterward, Summer took the girls home and Noah to work.

A little while later, my parents brought Nova over to borrow a laptop for college. When I asked about it, it sounded like something that I should be able to fix pretty easily, so they left to retrieve it. I had to remove just under 20 screws to get to it, but determined that the hard drive was bad. Luckily I had a spare to donate, and we got her up and running again.

At some point in all of this, I wandered around outside with the cat for a bit and lubricated my sliding glass door, which helped way more than I thought it would. Then I went next door and did the same for Bác Vân after such a positive result. Split seemed to be quite a bit better, and definitely had more energy than the past few days.

Both girls decided to stay the night with their grandparents, so Summer eventually made it back over by herself. We got sucked into some couple’s YouTube channel where they were building a beautiful A-frame house. I ran to Arby’s for a couple French Dip and Swiss sandwiches, and then it was a pretty late night to bed.

If they can do that in 20 minutes, imagine what we could do in 45!

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Can You Print Me Now?

I woke up about half an hour before my alarm went off and couldn’t fall back asleep because my mind was just racing. I didn’t really know what to expect for the day, but the rest of the week had been pretty awful. Ben wanted me to prioritize hotspots, so I started at the shop doing those. I actually found a bit of a groove and got quite a few done before I had to head to the high school for another call with PaperCut support.

I stopped by Casey’s for a free slice on the way, then made it to the high school with plenty of time to set up for the call. It was a pretty quick call, and the solution was simple enough. I just had to go to the settings for every single network printer in the district to stop rendering devices on the client computer, and disable bidirectional support.

Afterward, I went through and closed all the print-related work orders I had been sitting on. Then I wrapped a couple other things up and headed back to the shop. I had a wild hare to clean out the fridge since everyone had basically been snapped out of existence last week, so I shared pictures of all the gross moldy food, and ate Allen’s peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

The afternoon was frustrating because I had several hotspots that wouldn’t get the enrollment command. I got close to the number of required devices, but at the end of the day I was short. I was almost glad it was sort of a failure, though it really wasn’t.

I headed on home and started cleaning up house before everyone got home. The girls went out to eat with their father, so Summer brought Zalads from Zaxby’s for us. The girls arrived with Noah after he got off work, and they sat around while he ate. Then we eventually played some Cards Against Humanity, because we are bad parents.

Finally, another win for the week – Split actually ate nearly a whole can of cat food. Classic pate. He’s never really loved that stuff, so this is the first one I’ve even tried. Who knows if he’ll like it tomorrow, but hopefully this will help.

Technically, it does cover your face.