R.O.U.S.

I slept hard with vivid dreams last night, and had to drag myself out of bed in the morning. We got to work and Joel had brought Dexter, who didn’t take very kindly to Muad’Dib. It didn’t help that Muad’Dib just wanted to eat his food, so I had to shoo him up the stairs. I did pretty well in the morning, but after another Monopoly run, I found the afternoon to be pretty dull. I did discover that I could get hot tea to drink for an extra game piece, which was cool.

I remembered to call TCW to schedule another service call, and they somehow managed to make it out the same day. Luckily Summer was home early to cook dinner, so she was there for them to complete the job. It was rats again, and they threatened to charge the next time they had to come out. My response would have been for them to run rodent-proof cable if they’re going to leave bundles of it lying on the ground like that.

The kids were basically sitting at the table ready to eat when we got there, so we sat down for a quick dinner. Then Summer and I went out back to investigate the basement situation. Dad showed up to join the party, and the two of them wandered back farther than I could go. I actually had some spare PVC pipe sections from, I think the kids’ History Day project, so they ran the fiber through that, and I coiled the rest and hung it up in a place that hopefully a rat won’t find. While they were down there, they looked for a doorbell transformer without any luck. They did find a cat skeleton, but Summer said it looked like it had been down there longer than we have been here.

It was a short night after that. Just more frustration and bed.

|floodgates|

Prodogtive

I tried extra hard to stay focused today, and it sort of went okay. I tried to tie up some loose ends and choose a project of some importance that could keep my focus. We ended up getting pulled away from that to go downstairs, and I decided to let Muad’Dib into the office with Teddybear. I was proud of him for listening and playing nice with the little pup, and even Rhonda had to stop and take a picture of them just staring at each other. Being down there gave me the project I needed to focus on, so we went back and pecked away at that.

Monopoly was back at McDonald’s, so I had to go there for lunch. Muad’Dib was mad that I left him in the car, but I was only inside for a little bit anyway. The afternoon went by at a very normal pace. I couldn’t remember whether I had my anxiety attack then, or earlier in the morning, but it hit me pretty hard whenever it was.

When we finally left, something caught Muad’Dib in a laser-focus, and I turned back around the corner to see one of the guys leaving the plant with a bag of chips. He offered one up for puppy tax, and then I had a little trouble rounding him up to leave. We stopped at the wash to see Summer, but she was too busy to really visit anyway.

We weren’t at the house for very long before Summer showed up, and we decided to go to Cici’s since they had the cheapest meal in town. I just had to go easy on the pizza, and left actually feeling pretty decent after a good salad. It was dark when we got back, but we walked Muad’Dib to my parents’ house to see Dad after his trip to Alabama. Then it was right back to the house for bed.

Toxic Gift Cards

Let the Hauntings Begin

I got up right after Summer this morning and made us some bacon, eggs, and cheese to go on a couple leftover biscuits from Popeye’s. Eaddie had a game in the evening, and Summer wanted to go to the gym early, so I spent the day vacuuming the carpet some more.

Summer wanted to take some banana pudding to the people at the wash, so Muad’Dib and I went with her to get out of the house. Afterward, we went to Tacos 4 Ever where I encountered two super confused young people when I asked if we could eat with our dog outside. After disappearing into the back of the restaurant, a third young lady came out only to be just as confused. After some back and forth and me insisting that I wasn’t wanting to order to-go, they said we could just bring the dog inside and they would seat us in the “back” of the restaurant, which was just the end of the aisle of seating they had.

Our food was excellent as usual, and Muad’Dib got a handful of chips. Some were even dipped in my birria juice. We left there and went straight to Tech to find a place to watch the band. We were there way earlier than I expected, and I kind of cooked in the sun a bit. I tried to walk around with Muad’Dib to find some shade, and then an officer approached us and asked me to put him on a leash that people could see. He was being a good boy and let me wrap it around him for a while, but Summer felt I was protesting too much.

Once everyone started toward the gates, I left with Muad’Dib to find more entertaining things to do. We were on the way home when I saw a crowd at the train depot, so I thought we’d stop in to see what was going on. I remembered something about a fund raiser for hungry children, but in spite of a small crowd, there really didn’t seem to be anything fun for us to do. There weren’t many vendors, and though it seemed like some people were still arriving, it also seemed like others were leaving. I was confused, and not in the mood to stick around, so we walked the block and left.

When we got back to the house, I felt like I hit a brick wall. Muad’Dib didn’t waste any time going to bed, and I eventually laid down with him for just a few minutes. Eventually halftime came and went, and I got my text to pick up Summer. We got her home and wound down pretty quickly. I watched a very small bit of Dodgeball with Summer in bed before getting up to finish my routine. Not long after that, the fiber went out again. I went outside to investigate, and found the basement door wide open. I didn’t see any trouble with the part of the fiber I could get to, but we’ll have to investigate further tomorrow. Power flickered sometime later for only a second, so maybe the whole place will burn down so we can just leave.

This place is cursed.

It’s All in My Head

I started stuffy last night, but then then my nose was running profusely all day. I progressively felt a little bit worse by the hour, but had an okay lunch at Sonic. The afternoon dragged on a bit, but having lunch late helped. Summer met a tech at the house from TCW to investigate our bad fiber, but couldn’t stay with him until he replaced the rat-chewed cable. I got no further details until she asked me at home whether they had scheduled a new appointment with me.

As I got to the house, Eaddie was leaving for a date night in Conway to see one of their wind ensembles play. I had a few ribs and then walked to my parents’ house with Muad’Dib. Mom had stuff to heat up some phở, so I stayed for dinner. Dad unboxed his new computer but wasn’t ready to do anything with it. By the time we left, it was already dark outside.

Summer was in bed when we finally made it back. I felt terrible, and prepped for sleep. Maybe tomorrow I’ll be able to start vacuuming.

always|dniheb

Pick Me Up

Summer took Muad’Dib out back for coffee this morning and he got dirty chasing squirrels, so he had to stay outside until I was ready to give him a bath. I got up and finished some old eggs and RO*TEL out of the fridge before starting on my projects. Summer went to the gym, and I started digging under the sink to find where the garbage disposal was leaking.

I got everything cleaned up, but never could find a leak, so I just kept cleaning up the kitchen. Summer came home and mowed the lawn. I took a shower and kept at the cleaning. I misunderstood and thought the girls were planning to go out without me, so I ate some of the ribs I warmed up for them. When they finally explained that they wanted to cook something for dinner, they ate some of the ribs to tide them over.

I really wanted to make a few passes with the vacuum cleaner, but I just never had the time. I eventually took Muad’Dib out for a run and let him splash around in the creek. We visited my parents, and then my Onewheel died at the end of the street again. I turned it on and tried to power through, but it shut off on me without warning as we were climbing the big hill. I hit the ground hard and got some road rash on my left ankle and knee, but my elbow was by far the worst.

Summer came to get me just as dinner was done. Muad’Dib had to ride in the trunk, but he did great. We got home and I went straight to give Muad’Dib a bath and spray myself down in the process. The blood was only dripping a little bit, so we got through the bath and then I ate before bandaging up. Eaddie and Eli made Oreo balls and then disappeared, and Summer and I went to bed early.

My, what big teeth you have.

Family Day 2025

Summer woke us up with a classic bacon and eggs breakfast this morning. Eaddie had a football game in the evening, preceeded by a big family day tailgate party with free tickets to the game, t-shirts, and apparently a “barbecue” lunch. I figured I would go along, since there’s not much I like more in this world than a free shirt.

The girls left, for early rehearsal and the gym, and I got ready to meet Summer outside the football stadium for the event. I think she actually got to see the band practice early while I rode the Onewheel around outside the stadium with Muad’Dib. I was concerned that somebody might say something about him being off-leash, so I tried to avoid anyone that looked like they had any authority. Muad’Dib did great, and the only people that said anything had kind things to say about his behavior.

Summer eventually made it out and we waited for a line to form for shirts and tickets. It wasn’t much after that when we had to line up for food. They had Fat Daddy’s pulled pork, potatoes, beans, and slaw – all served to barely cover the plate. If I had known they were going to be that stingy with the pork, I wouldn’t have stayed. We ate that and then headed home so Summer could shower. I actually stopped by Ridgewood to see if anyone was there, but the guys were inside and the restaurant was still closed.

We got home and hung out there for quite a while before Summer wanted to be back for the game. We rode together and watched the band perform outside the stadium before the game, but I forgot Muad’Dib’s e-collar remote and he had to stay on his leash. Once that was over, Summer went inside and I went home because I had no interest in football.

We stopped by Ridgewood again, this time to pick up some of their specialty ribs. I got a rack of each since I hadn’t had the opportunity to try them before. Grant was there long enough to wave at me before he had to leave, but I talked to the rest of the crew for a little bit since they were so slow. The bag came out pretty greasy, so we headed straight home to eat. Muad’Dib even got a bunch of scraps.

I had the game streaming in the background so I could have some idea of when halftime would be. The stands were packed though, so I opted not to go at all, and just picked Summer up afterward. We made it back home and she tried the ribs before going to bed. I vacuumed a strip of the living room and came up with a shocking amount of dirt, so I sent an email to Kyle at Hydro Carpet Solutions. I don’t guess he has to do anything for us, but I couldn’t be more disappointed in the result.

I walked through the bedroom a few times to see Muad’Dib watching Summer’s baking shows after she had fallen asleep. I couldn’t bear the thought of both of them watching the crap and still not being able to actually bake, so I tried to find a dog show. I finally just went to Disney+ and put on Homeward Bound. Eaddie was out late, and I actually got an email from Kyle that basically said, “sorry, just vacuum it with something that has a beater bar.”

All a waste of time.

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We got in early today and I fought with the breakroom computer some more. I ended up just taking it back upstairs to try and do a recovery because I couldn’t get it to do anything downstairs. It took me all day to figure out the video issue I had upstairs was with the HDMI adapter I was using.

We picked up some Subway for lunch and ate it out in the smoking area just to get some air. That was a little bit gross and just awkward enough that I probably won’t do that again. I wish we had a nice picnic table out front or something.

I stopped by the post office when I got back into town because they woudln’t leave a large package for me. They were closed, so I’ll have to leave work early tomorrow to get it. Dad was supposed to cook spaghetti for dinner, but texted to say he wasn’t feeling well while grilling some chicken wings, and we thought we’d be doing something else. By the time Summer and I both got to the house, he said everything was ready, so I rode the Onewheel with Muad’Dib over wet streets, and Summer met us there to eat.

We left right after that to rearrange the living room, and Muad’Dib and I got about halfway back when I realized I forgot his treat bag again. We turned around and finished our route that direction. Then Summer and I moved the sectional around. I got to use my laser leveling system to line up the center of the couch, and it worked great. I was only about a quarter of an inch off by eyeballing it.

Reticulating splines…

It’s Like Draaaeeeaaaiiiinnn!

We got out surprisingly early today since Summer was out of the house before I got up. I was going to stick with a Soylent, but by the time we got to Morrilton, I had talked myself into stopping at Wendy’s. I had a couple calls in the morning, which got me through to lunch. Sonic had cheesesticks on sale, and I wasn’t super hungry, so we went and split an order of those and a couple cheap wraps.

The afternoon was fine, but I didn’t have much luck working on the little desktop I brought from the breakroom. Muad’Dib kept begging for food while we were down there, and I think one of the guys spilled some liquid from his food on him, so I had to wipe him down when we got back to the office.

I thought Summer was going to be at the house when we got there, but she had to go back to work to retrieve some security footage of a drunk driver. By the time she got back and I was ready to take Muad’Dib on a run, things were looking pretty stormy. We made it a couple blocks before I realized I forgot his treat bag again, and when we got back to the house I just left him and drove to my parents’ house for dinner.

They planned to have spaghetti, but didn’t have noodles, so the three of us ate leftover spring rolls through the torrential downpour. When I got back to the house, I had to try and unclog the driveway drain pipe to keep it from flooding into the garage. I got the leaf blower at it from both sides, and finally got a little bit of flow out of it after digging a little trench to the bottom end. I need to figure out a good way to keep that from clogging up.

It was a quick evening to bed since Summer fell asleep really early and Eaddie was out really late. There’s no room for anything any more, and we still haven’t reset the living room.

I need a beat.

Out of Control

I had a rough start this morning. We lost power for a bit last night and I thought my CPAP was fried, but it eventually came back on. It was storming and pouring rain, but even after hydroplaning all the way to work at 65mph, somehow I still wasn’t really late. I had a few things to catch up on, but it was super quiet upstairs. The guys were gone more than there, and Janice was out all day. We just stuck to ourselves the whole time.

I had to call our new marketing girl to reset her password already, so that got us to lunch late. I just wanted something small and cheap, so I did the McDonald’s $6 combo deal and then took Muad’Dib some fries when I left.

The afternoon was equally quiet, though I did step downstairs to look at a computer in the breakroom. It appeared to be a system of normal specs for the office, but for some reason it was painfully slow. I left it for another day and headed home.

It had dried up by the time we got there. Summer arrived just after we did, and then the kids showed up and had a fit trying to find Eaddie’s car keys. I get so frustrated at her mindlessness because as hard as she works, she relies on so many other people to make up for the simple things. She doesn’t have to use my system, but she needs to come up with something to keep her stuff together.

I ended up leaving to run Muad’Dib, though he wasn’t much in the mood to run for some reason. Dad said they had spring rolls, and then Kevin called to say they were there ready to eat, so Summer met us over there. Dinner was good, and then we got back to the house well after dark. Summer stayed up really late to help Eaddie with homework even though she had to be at work at five the next morning.

We haven’t heard a rat since the last one I caught, but we’ve been overrun with flies again. Big ones. They seem to be coming in around the garage, but nothing smells foul. I just had to let it all go and go to sleep.

chaos

So Much for

Today was kind of rough. I got up and made some rice to go with some of the leftovers we had. Summer came in from her porch coffee and just had a look about her. I broke down a ton of old boxes I had been keeping to help with moving from the other house since I seem to be out of control of everything now.

I did some more reviews, cleaned up some stuff, and hoped to maybe take the girls out for a nice dinner. The day went by pretty quickly and we never got our heads together to rearrange the living room. Summer helped Eaddie with some homework and I had an anxiety attack before I eventually convinced them to go for dinner. Of course I wouldn’t learn until after we got our food at Sam’s that neither of them were very hungry.

I decided to try their surf and turf at the recommendation of our waitress, and it came out quite a bit later than the girls’ food. It looked really good, but the aside from the color of the inside, the steak itself was bland and tough. It was served on a massive pile of soggy, grilled onions. My hushpuppies were practically burned, and were like chewing a mouthful of dry cornmeal. All the while, the girls spent the entire time complaining about Eaddie’s friend and how she shares more than a name with her sister.

We got back to the house and I took Muad’Dib for a run. I forgot his treat pouch, so we had to run back for that. We passed by a house where a couple were working outside, and the girl asked if I was a professional dog trainer. I shared our story, because apparently I love to do that. Then we made it over to see Dad before rushing home as it got dark.

Summer had to go in for a work meeting and didn’t get back until a little bit later. I gave Muad’Dib a bath since he splashed in some water in the street gutter. Then I discovered our garbage disposal had a small leak under the sink, so that will be a problem for another day. Eli came over to visit with Eaddie for quite a while, and I went to bed.

anything