Tag: food

Uncategorised

Working Girl

I got up early with Summer this morning so I might be able to go to bed early tonight. Even Eaddie got up pretty early because she had to record a session at Tech. I cleaned up some leftovers by making steak and eggs for Summer and myself, and then she went to work to help replace a starter in Trent’s car. I cleaned up the kitchen, washed dishes, and started some laundry before she got home.

I kept busy as the day flew by. Eaddie got home and then left to go to an Imagine Dragons concert with her father. Summer got home, but didn’t have long before she had to go to Greenbrier to train the staff there on how to properly clean the wash. Mom started making shrimp noodle soup early so Summer could come eat before she left town.

I took my Onewheel with us so Summer could leave straight for work, and then after I ate, I rode home to take the dogs out on a run. They were pulling pretty hard, and Stilgar is heavy and strong enough that it’s a real problem on the Onewheel. I got a prong collar in from Amazon Vine today, but I’ll need some walking time with him alone to properly train him.

We rode nearly four and a half miles, stopping briefly at my parents’ house for a drink. I should have brought their water bottle too, because Stilgar was super thirsty when we finally made it home. Overall they did fairly well even when we encountered other people with dogs, but they’re just too strong for me to pull away from a distraction when I’m on the Onewheel.

Once we got home, I fed them and took a late shower. Then I packed up a few last-minute things for the new commute starting tomorrow. Who knows what new adventures await. At least they pay better.

But that drive, though.

Uncategorised

Food? Check.

I got up fairly early again, so my sleep schedule is slowly getting back to normal. I’ve enjoyed making coffee at home, but I’m not sure I’m ready to make it a part of my early morning routine before my drive to work. It just seems to taste better when I brew it while I’m on the clock.

Summer wanted to try Check-H, the re-skinned Western Sizzlin, so I met her there after I took a shower. It was absolutely identical, all basically run by the same people. I guess they finally paid off, or didn’t need the franchise any longer. I never really understood how that worked. Jen actually saw me and patted me on the shoulder while I was getting dessert, and we talked briefly about my sudden departure from Two Rivers, and we wished each other well. I also spotted Todd and his wife finding a table just as we were finishing up. Overall, the food was identical, and it was still one of the lesser experiences I’ve ever had there. It was fine, but I prefer days with steak and shrimp on the bar.

After we ate, Summer had to go downtown to help one of her employees with his dead car. We tried jumping it with the Murano, but the starter would just click once and never crank. They worked on it for a while, and fortunately he parked it right outside Bumper to Bumper, but the only help they could provide was to suggest the car wasn’t worth the cost of repair.

I headed on home and waited for the girls to get home. Summer was a little later than she said she would be, and once Eaddie got home, she wanted some peace and quiet to record her flute. Summer went out back to work on the porch, and I took the dogs for a ride.

We went to visit with Dad, and I talked to him about the house we viewed yesterday. I had been getting excited about it, but when I talked to Kevin, he said he really needed three bedrooms. I don’t understand the appeal of staying in a duplex when he could move somewhere even slightly better for similar money, but maybe we can talk more about it later. Alisha actually texted and said the homeowner liked us, so we traded numbers and we may try taking her out to lunch next week.

Mom got home from work and we walked the dogs around the back yard for a while before I got them home. Then Summer and I picked up Nova and came back to my parents’ house for phở. Mom used the oxtail I got from Kim, and she and I each bit into a little lead pellet in the meat. Someone must have shot the cow in the rear with birdshot for some reason. It wasn’t a surprise for those Yell County folk.

Summer wanted me to drop her off first so she could pack for her Conquer the Gauntlet race in the morning. I took Nova back to her dorm and then came home to a quiet house. I got things wrapped up super early, so hopefully I’ll be able to pass out quickly.

water water water

Uncategorised

Clean in an Hour or Less

I thought Summer might rush me out of bed a little earlier, but she let me sleep in a bit. I made some coffee once I got up, and then got ready for another work trip to Conway. She was stressing about performing a site inspection, so I washed her car for nearly an hour in the manual wash while I waited. After that, I went to the junk store again, but she texted just after I got a couple aisles into the store. I bought a few snacks and went back to get her, and then we drove through town looking for some food.

We ended up at Hideaway Pizza, as recommended by my pal Kevin. The fried mushrooms were spectacular, but I let Summer pick the pizza. She wanted their “Maui Magic” with Canadian bacon, pineapple, and mandarin oranges. Our server recommended barbecue sauce instead of red sauce, so we decided to get it on half of the pizza and get red sauce on the other half. Then Summer piped up that she wanted to add olives to the barbecue half as well. I was fine with most of this until the pizza came to the table and she claimed the “interesting” half of the pizza for herself. She knows I find pizza with only a couple toppings to be quite dull, and that I didn’t want a Hawaiian pizza to begin with.

We ate, and then I took us shopping through Best Buy and PetSmart before going back to Bargain Hunt. We got just a few more things and then headed home so we could go to my parents’ house for barbecue chicken wings and corn.

I fed the dogs, and then we walked them over to my parents’ house to have a swim while Dad cooked. Julie and Kevin eventually showed up, and then Eaddie walked over once she finished with school stuff. Stilgar was loving putting his snout into the pool and blowing bubbles before drinking the water. When Summer and I got out of the pool, I went in to help Julie register their domain before we ate.

The walk home was dark, but nice. It was actually cool enough today that I wasn’t dripping sweat at the end of it all. The dogs also did much better. I fed them once more, and then everyone was off to bed.

I crave MEAT!

Uncategorised

It Ain’t Too Early

I set an alarm today so I could get up and ready to go to Conway with Summer. She needed to shuffle some chemicals around between some of her washes, so we went to Morrilton to pick up a bunch. Then we made it to Conway in time to watch Twisters. I found the first half of the movie to be pretty dull, but eventually they got some character discovery going and it made the last half palatable. It was just too much dumb cowboy storm chasing stuff, throwing caution to the vortex-shaped wind.

After the movie, we headed up to Greenbrier to drop off and get some different chemicals for Russellville. Fortunately we didn’t actually have to deliver those right away, so we went back to Conway and did some shopping.

Our first stop was Bargain Hunt where we picked up just a few small things. Then we went to Kohl’s and shopped for a while until Summer got hungry. I did a quick search and found a well-rated cajun and steak place on the east end of town called Almost Famous Smokehouse & Grill. They had a good variety and good flavors, but they appeared to have some trouble in the kitchen. Service was a bit slow, and the small dining room filled up quickly. Both of our meals were served with incorrect choices. I asked for beer-boiled shrimp, but got fried. I think Summer was supposed to have a potato with her steak, but got rice. She liked how her food was cooked, but I thought the steak was a little under. My catfish was overcooked and dry. Otherwise, everyone was super friendly, and I’d definitely give them another try.

After we ate, I made Summer follow me through Target and Home Depot before we headed toward home. I made a quick stop in Morrilton for a keg of Fireball in case Aunt Diane comes down to visit for the holiday. Once we got back home, I reflected on the small taste of the drive I’ll have to make five days a week if I don’t get an offer from Moodle. It really got me considering another Model 3, but I just think it’s a bad time to buy.

Eaddie and Eli were at the house when we got home. Summer and I took the dogs out for a quick walk around the block before it got dark, and we sent Eaddie to pick up her car after she left it at school from the football game last night. When she finally got back home, Summer went to bed and Eaddie and I chatted for a little while, and we eventually went to bed.

And It Ain’t Too Late

Uncategorised

DeepNot

Johnny called and woke me up this morning to chat about finding a decommissioned server that he wanted to use for SCCM. He interrupted a strange dream in which I was about to take a ski-lift from California to Washington D.C. I wondered if I would dream that in real time.

We chatted for a while and then I went outside to find the dog bowls. Then I started cleaning up around the coffee bar so I could place the new silicone drying mat that would be delivered later in the day. I tried to stay fairly busy, but then I got a rejection email from DeepNet that got me kind of sad. After hearing how excited the girl was about the company, I got excited myself, but I didn’t even make it to the second round of interviews. Maybe I was a little too honest about my worst boss story.

I finished up a bunch more leftovers and got the coffee bar put back together just before Eaddie got home, but she and Eli changed for a football game and then immediately left again. I waited around for Summer to get home, and she really wanted spaghetti, so I told her we could go out.

We ended up at Pasta Grill, and she didn’t even get spaghetti. We had to wait about half an hour to be seated, and then service was incredibly slow. The food was good though, and we left with a ton of leftovers. I thought we’d walk the dogs together when we got home, but dinner didn’t sit well with her and I ended up taking them on a quick walk around the block by myself.

We ended the night with the old movie Twister, which had me completely bored out of my mind. I thought it would be better after hearing so much about it years ago, but I just didn’t find myself caring about any of the characters at all. It all seemed really far-fetched and unrelatable. Dull.

Eaddie made it home late after a losing game against Morrilton, and then they were off to bed. I spent a couple more hours researching mopping robots before I got there.

Twister Cafe

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

Instant Offers

I woke up about an hour before my alarm with some stomach pain, which was perfect for a day of travel. I got up and took a shower, but gave myself some time to settle down a bit before leaving town. Summer was working in town, so I brought her a breakfast burrito and then headed to Conway for my first stop.

I really wanted to go to Kohl’s and a couple Home Depots before my interview in North Little Rock, but somehow Kohl’s absorbed every second of my extra lead time. I ended up getting a dog toy, and as I pulled out of the parking lot I realized I needed to get straight to the interview.

The rest of the drive was pretty quiet. I got to the building and sat outside the conference room for a few minutes before they called me in, and it was Randy with four of his guys. I don’t even know what they were doing before they called me in, because nobody else left. The whole process felt like an interview speedrun. They introduced themselves, then I chatted about my time in schools, which actually answered most of their official interview questions. It was a little awkwardly quiet at first, but we eventually got to the laughs and disparaging remarks about K-12 education.

I was done in less than half an hour, and there just happened to be a Home Depot right up the road, so I stopped there to hunt down some clearance Nest thermostats. They had four – one of which was an opened box. I haggled them down from $75 to $60 to clear them out, and then headed to get Ben for lunch.

I thought we might go to Cotham’s, but he chose Three Fold, which was a noodle and dumpling place just a few blocks away. It was a relatively fancy looking place, and though staff was friendly, I found the food to be pretty lackluster. There was zero heat to the “spicy” level, so I should have read the menu and chosen “poison.” I guess the noodles were also supposed to be dry, but they had enough “broth” that I assumed it was a soup with too little of it. The dumplings were bland, and the jelly tea was watered down in an already-tiny cup. The portions were miniscule, especially for $35. I would not go again.

We chatted for a while and then I took Ben back to work. I started to look for other things to do, but then decided to drive up the road to charge a bit at Franklin’s. Unfortunately, the Tesla and the wall outlet were both out of service for some reason. I couldn’t tell if they were disabled or broken, but I couldn’t do anything. Then my plans got derailed again.

Randy texted and asked if I had some time to chat, so I ended up just going back to their office and sitting with him there. He offered the job at $67,145.64 and suggested I complete an associate degree for an 8% bump at the base, but that won’t be worth anything if I don’t stay long-term. With the added drive, I was really hoping to get closer to the $80k mark, but this is still better than nothing. I explained my scattershot applications and week full of other interviews, and he said he wouldn’t hold it against me for taking another opportunity later, so I’m a tentative “yes” until the next board meeting.

By that time, he said traffic was about to get wild, so I started heading home. I stopped in Conway for some Long John Silver’s, and then made it home with about 10% on my battery. It wasn’t a bad day, though I only accomplished about half of what I set out to do. I was relieved to have at least one offer on the table though, so my next step is to complete my Moodle skills test and see where that goes.

Am I that good, or are they just that desperate?

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.