Tag: food

Uncategorised

These Axe Puns Are Bringing Me Down

I got up a little early this morning so we could head up to Bentonville for Brandon’s semi-surprise birthday shindig. Brandie messaged me early to let me know she was bailing on us, so after dressing up and washing the car, I picked up Josue and we headed out of town. We stopped in Ozark at Rivertowne BBQ for lunch, and though the food tasted pretty good, it seemed to lack in presentation a bit. At least the portions were huge, and I boxed up about half of mine.

We still had a bit of time, so we continued up to Fayetteville and stopped at Kohl’s so I could burn my $45 in bonus cash. I assume the slight difference in climate drove up the demand for winter wear, because they had a ton of coats on clearance. I picked up another hoodie and a coat after I couldn’t find anything else compelling. I wish I could have fit into one of the leather jackets better, but they were super tight around the shoulders. Both Josue and the cashier acted stunned when I checked out under five bucks for the two articles, but their rewards program doesn’t have me fooled. Luckily by spending so little this time, I think I’m out of the cycle of repeat visits to spend rewards.

At last, we made the last of the trip to the Urban Forest Axe House and met up with Diana, Brandon and his brother Ryan, and a couple of his other friends. Our coach was quirky and a little awkward at times, but it was a good time. Diana brought snacks, though Josue and I were still pretty full from our big lunch. My second throw was a bulls-eye, but when it came down to Diana and myself for the finals, she won with a killshot that I had never been able to nail, and eventually ignored in favor of the larger and lower bulls-eye.

Once our time was up there, Brandon decided we should go by Dave & Buster’s for some drinks and gaming. We all sat at the bar, and I chugged soda waters as we visited. Brandon talked to me a little about his job, which was the first we had really talked much about anything since we were all kind of busy throwing axes. Eventually we got up to play some games, though I didn’t spend very much. My birthday promo had expired, and the place was kind of busy anyway, so we just mingled for a little while and then left.

Ryan suggested we go to Bariola’s for cheap appetizers and free ice cream, so we made the quick hop down the road and visited some more. It seemed like a pretty good pizza joint, but the cheap appetizers were perfect for sharing and just hanging out. In the end, I asserted my dominance by creating a huge ice cream cone, and eventually it was back to the road to head home.

I really hate that drive… And after all that, I never even got out of the state!

Uncategorised

Bye Forever!

It was nice enough, and I got out of the house early enough that I got to ride the bike to work this morning. The first thing on the agenda was to get some plants planted in the new office goldfish aquarium. It’s way overstocked and way underfiltered, so I figure some plants would help as much as anything else. The rest of the day was mostly spent working on laptops while the rest of the building started on testing.

I made it back to the shop for lunch just in time to hear we were all taking Jason to Taco Tuesday for his last day. For some reason, eight of us didn’t want to squeeze into the two appropriately-sized tables, but I guess there were still open tables for others. It wasn’t a particularly sentimental moment the way that others might have been, but we enjoyed our time together. Then I rode back to the high school to chug away at more laptops.

Classes let out early for the students to watch the basketball tournament in the arena, so it was really quiet. My office got super cold super fast, and it finally got to the point that I just had to get up and leave. I went back to the shop for the last 30 minutes or so, and chatted with Ben about his plans for the department moving forward. I would have liked to just take over the position, but I also know some of who I would be up against. Instead, I think he’s really leaning into adding a second tier for us so that multiple employees can benefit from an overdue wage increase.

I rode home for just long enough to get cleaned up, and then I met Summer at Ruby Tuesday for $5 salads. John served us, and I shared stories of his greatness. As we left, I finally asked the best way to pay our compliments, and proceeded to submit my entry through the company’s corporate website. Summer was exhausted from work, so I got Eaddie from karate and Autumn from hanging out at the basketball tournament. We headed home and everyone settled in to bed pretty quickly. Even I was feeling pretty exhausted.

Whatever you do, do it well.

Uncategorised

Little John Mountain

We got up a little early this morning so we could have a day up on Petit Jean. Summer took Autumn to get things to make sandwiches while I went home to clean up. Then the girls and my dad met at my house so we could drive up the mountain. We went up the back way and stopped at the bear cave trail first, where we had lunch in the back of the car. It was cool, but great weather to be out in the wilderness. We climbed up on some of the rocks where we found some chiseled out steps, and I collected a few mosses, and Dad took a bunch of pictures of nature. Autumn didn’t originally want to go at all, but once we were there she insisted that her knee was fine to continue trailblazing and climbing up rock faces.

The next stop was Mather Lodge to clean up a bit, and then we continued to the Cedar Falls overlook. As the day progressed, it seemed to get windier and cooler, but the rain never showed up. Summer wanted to go to a new coffee shop on the mountain, so we had some drinks while the girls played Scrabble. Then it was off to the Petit Jean gravesite. That’s where it was the coldest with the most wind. I don’t think Eaddie really put anything together in her head for the homework she had on the subject, but it was still a nice day to get out of doors. It was personally very aggravating to feel how I’ve aged since I last spent any significant amount of time hiking, and I think Dad felt the same way. I guess the best thing any of us can do is keep at it to maintain dexterity.

We took the interstate back home, which felt quite a bit longer, and definitely more boring. Dad and Summer each went home while the girls stayed with me to watch TV while I started some laundry. Once that was done, Summer came back and we met my parents at Bocadillo for a birthday dinner and ice cream. Mom didn’t seem too happy that it wasn’t the same type of Mexican place they usually visit, but I thought it was good. Afterward we got some dessert and I split a strawberry and cream funnel cake with Summer and Eaddie that was just divine.

With this year’s birthday plans out of the way, I took the girls back to their car and went to Amanda’s to check on her cats one last time. Then it was back home to finish up some laundry before bed.

I’ve really taken a lichen to you.

Uncategorised

Feed Me!

We had a little training session this morning, and Ben brought little sausage rolls and donuts for us. When we finished there, Allen asked for some help picking up a cart, but wanted to stop by the middle school first. Charlotte gave us some apple dumplings and ice cream, and then one of her ladies gave me a big Salvadorian sandwich she had made that I ate on the way out to London. It ended up being a tiny cart that Allen could probably have actually fit in his car, but it didn’t matter at that point.

We got back to the shop with a little time before lunch, so I chatted with Gary for a little while. The guys decided on Fat Daddy’s in London for lunch, and I wasn’t hungry at all, but for some reason I let them peer pressure me into driving them out there. The place was completely empty when we got there, and the owner walked in right before us and said he wanted to take care of our meals, so we all got to eat for free. Being full already, I just had a bowl of chili that stuffed me over the edge. It was alright, but tasted too barbecue saucy for me.

I spent a little while in the afternoon chatting with Ben before going to the high school to finish up the day. He said we could go home at 3, but Johnny called needing some help at the aquatic center for a diving competition and I opted to try and help out. We don’t actually have anything at all to do with any of that equipment, and nobody out there really knew what they were doing or how to help me help them, so I spent a good amount of time on someone else’s iPhone talking to their IT guy. He pointed me in a few different directions, but we could never get the scoreboard to work.

With the work week over, I stopped by Summer’s to see her on the way home. She wanted me to stick around and wait for the kids, so I sat on the bench for a while and ended up video calling Suzanne to catch up for a bit since she’s been at school. The kids never showed up, and it started getting really cold outside, so I left for home and played a bunch of video games.

Bác Vân called with some TV trouble, so I went next door to help with that and she sent me home with some papaya salad. Then Jack and Johnny got on to play Deep Rock Galactic, which was weird and entertaining, but long. We ended the night with some Overwatch with Aaron and eventually Clint. Finally, I made my way up to Summer’s for bed.

Leave it to shrimp paste to ruin the day’s trend.

Uncategorised

Mama Don’t Take My Photochrome

I made it out of the house a bit earlier today, so I decided to try Wendy’s Breakfast Baconator. It took me longer to get across town than I really expected, so I ended up getting to work late, but it was worth it. It didn’t look like much, and for something called a Baconator I would have expected the bacon flavor to stand out more than the spicy, squared sausage patty, but it was delicious. The seasoned potato wedges were just as much of a star in this breakfast trio, especially with how hot, fresh, and perfectly crispy they were. The Frosty-ccino was okay, but nothing special.

My morning was busy with a fair amount of running around. I had to go to the arena again for a little while, and along the way I ran into Ben and Jason in the cafeteria with River Valley Home Theater. They thought it was going to be a training issue, but there ended up being a component failure in the AV cabinet. Then on the way back inside from the cafeteria, Kayla made a comment about my glasses and I had to look up my order and confirm I had actually gotten the photochromic lenses. I’m just never out in the sun with them long enough for it to have much effect.

I was going to go to IHOP with Allen for lunch, but just as I was walking out, I got a call that one of the lunch lines had malfunctioned. I ran over there to take a look and ended up staying late, so I just skipped lunch and finished my Soylent from a couple days ago. I continued working on laptops all afternoon until it was time to go.

When I got home, I started a load of laundry and played a couple ranked matches of Overwatch. One of the games was really close, with three really close matches. The other two were absolutely garbage, and made me remember why I only play the arcade mode. Once my laundry was done, I headed up to Summer’s to make burritos, and we sat down and watched Hancock as Summer reeled in pain from her day-long headache.

The only thing spicier than Wendy’s breakfast sausage is their Twitter feed!

Uncategorised

Too Livery

Summer left this morning while I started on some laundry. I ended up having to dry my pants twice because I forgot to clean the lint trap after washing my new set of towels, but at least my house didn’t burn down. We both finished chores in time to get some lunch before the girls got home, so we decided to try a new place in town called Sam’s Southern Eatery. Evidently it’s a pretty good sized chain, so maybe they’ll last a little while in that location.

The food was really good and consistent, so it made sense learning that it wasn’t just some new local startup. The prices were high, but they weren’t too shy with the portions today. I had a feeling that wasn’t normal for the menu items we ordered, but it made it a worthwhile visit for us today. Summer had plenty of fried liver left over, and even I didn’t finish my fish and crab cakes.

It was drizzly all afternoon, so we headed back to her house for the evening and waited for the girls. They started chores when they got home, and I put on The Matrix Reloaded, which took us the rest of the evening to finish.

Nom de dieu de putain de bordel de merde de saloperie de connard d’enculé de ta mère. It’s like wiping your ass with silk. I love it.

Uncategorised

Fish and Burritos

We didn’t do much this morning. The kids ate whatever frozen food they could find, and I picked at some leftovers. Eventually I left for home as Summer went in for work, and the kids were left with a bunch of chores to avoid.

I played some Overwatch for a while before eventually taking a shower. The Reddit email digest I received today had a listing for some Salvinia minima in Arkansas, so I reached out and found out she happens to be in town, so hopefully I’ll have a local aquascaping friend soon.

As Summer got off of work and headed to the gym, I ran by Casey’s to discover they were out of their freebie, then continued on to Walmart to get dinner. Epic burritos are relatively cheap, quick, and easy. I managed to get most of the food ready before Summer made it home, and then I rolled and grilled burritos in a skillet. The kids wanted to watch Return of the Jedi with us, but fell asleep about halfway through. I guess sitting around watching TV and playing video games all day really tired them out.

Burrito in; burrito out.

Uncategorised

Genius Stew

It was pretty cold out today, but at least it had stopped raining. I started off in the fieldhouse, then went on in to tackle whatever I could find. Allen called for Taco Villa, so I picked him up and we managed to squeak in right before the rush hit. We stopped for a free beef jerky stick at Casey’s on the way back to the shop, and then I eventually made my way back to the high school.

I spent a little time stirring the pot in the library, fussing over inconsistencies in hiring practices. At least I also closed out several work orders, so I felt accomplished, and everywhere I went, it seemed people were exceedingly pleased with me. I was upset to get a laptop back from the service center without any repairs done at all. I guess I can’t decline the paid battery replacement without also declining the rest of the repair. I really was expecting to see the rest of it repaired so I could get it back out into circulation.

After work, I ran by Starbucks to get a BOGO drink for Summer. Then I ran home to change before meeting her at Chili’s. The girls went out with their father after karate, so we got to have our early date night. The place was packed, given that there was one section completely closed down. Surprisingly our service was actually really good, and the food seemed to come in surprising portions.

When we got back home, we watched an episode of Glee until the girls got home, and then I played a round of Overwatch until bed.

What would you do if you were going to die, and how did you convince yourself that you weren’t?

Uncategorised

Lunch With Newbies

I got up a little early this morning to pick up a breakfast pizza for work. The two new guys started today, so they were off with some of the others doing new hire stuff all day. My morning was blink-and-you’ll-miss-it. I barely made it back to the shop by lunch time, though that ended up not mattering much because Zach was at London with Josh and didn’t make it back until about half an hour later.

Greg, Ben, and I met them at Brangus where Ben ended up buying all of our food since we were the only ones that showed up for the traditional new-guy lunch. Hearing them in conversation helped me feel a little better, but I’m still bitter about their starting salaries. I guess there’s just no getting around it now, so I’ll just have to move up by moving out when I have the opportunity.

My afternoon went by pretty quickly too, as the high school had their parent-teacher conferences. I got a few things done, and then Melinda sent word that central office was sending us home an hour early. I went home for a little while until Summer got back home with Eaddie. She stir-fried some leftovers, and then we watched a couple episodes of Glee before bed.

To work, or not to work…

Uncategorised

No Phasing Them

We got up this morning and picked at some leftover breakfast from last week. I eventually made it home to clean up after the cat and hang out for a while. I played a bit of Overwatch and took a shower with my nice new bath towels. They’re almost too plush, but I assume that will wash down a bit. One of the hand towels frayed on one side, but I couldn’t find any way to contact the manufacturer. I guess I could contact J. C. Penney and pursue a refund that way, but that sounds horrible. I might as well just keep the stupid thing.

Summer made fajitas for dinner and had Nick’s son Zach over to hang out with the girls. I stopped by Casey’s on the way over to convert some old box tops into virtual credits, and the lady had to do it three times before she figured out what was going wrong. Eventually she seemed satisfied with her process and sent me on my way. Dinner was great, and we played some Phase 10 and Mario Kart until Zach went home and everyone went to bed.

Hey Google, play some music, here, in this house, where we are currently located.