Tag: food

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Blockin’ out the Scenery, Breakin’ My Mind

It was quite chilly out this morning. My fingers felt the sting of the autumn air on my ride in to work. I got out of the teens on my work order count, not counting any of the 1:1 laptop stuff, so I felt pretty good about it. I got a response back from 000webhost about my site and got the suspension lifted. The first thing I did was make a backup, but I have a feeling this is ultimately going to end in me paying for hosting. They’re cheap enough though, and the support response was fast and helpful. I’ve definitely gotten my money’s worth so far.

Gary said he was going to Tropical Smoothie for lunch, so I met him, Zach, and Heather there. I had a coupon, but it was “Pick 2 Tuesday” that got me the same thing for a buck less. The flatbread was really good, and the pumpkin smoothie was delicious and larger than I expected to get in a twofer. It still wasn’t cheap, but I felt pretty good about it. I couldn’t believe how busy they were though. The drive-through line just didn’t quit, and there was hardly any room for other traffic to pass through. It didn’t bother the bike any though.

After lunch, I met with Ben and we worked on the LED road sign. We were out there for nearly four hours working on the damned thing, and we really didn’t do anything to fix it other than reboot it several times. Once we got it working, I screwed it up again by updating the publishing software to a version that evidently isn’t compatible with our sign’s firmware, so that’s another call in to the company that no longer supports our sign. I have a feeling they’re going to just have to replace the stupid thing anyway, probably with an even stupider thing. The whole time we were working on it, I just felt like maybe if there was only someone that worked specifically at the Center on their very technical things, that we wouldn’t have to be out there. At least the weather was nice, and I even got some closeup time with a black widow mamma and her sack of eggs.

Once home, I spent a little time cleaning up before going to get the girls from karate. Then we met Summer at my parents’ house for bún bò Huế before heading home for an early night.

ESPORTS REGISTRATION NOW OPEN
J/K

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Downtime!

It’s been three days since my site at 000webhost was shut down for some unknown violation of their terms of service. I finally sent an email off to them to appeal the shutdown. I guess I’ll give them a couple days to respond before I try and migrate to a paid plan. Their free service has always been more than enough for me, and I figured it would be fine for the foreseeable future.

Not much else of note happened today. I went to Popeye’s for lunch with Allen and was reminded of the maddening inconsistency in the size of their tenders. After work I went to my parents’ house for grilled pork chops before coming home to clean house. I can’t let all these responsibilities keep slipping by. Maybe this is the year.

I can’t get no relief.

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Retire S’more

Today didn’t start with an overabundance of direction, but somehow I found my way pretty quickly. I got a bunch of stuff closed out, and moving around a bunch made the day go by a lot faster. It also helped that I left for an early break for Becky’s retirement shindig. I had to get some gas first, but then I ran to Walmart and grabbed a huge bag of knockoff Golden Grahams, two bags of mini marshmallows, and four bags of chocolate chips. I thought I was being clever making s’mores trail mix, but a quick search on the internet showed I was far from the first person to come up with that idea. I did think about adding a twist with pretzel sticks sprinkled with liquid smoke, but I didn’t have the time to experiment with that properly.

I brought a couple laptops with me so I could get some work done, and just sat in the lounge with Becky for quite a while. It was nice to visit with everyone again while wishing her well, and we just had a rotation of people coming in to eat lunch with us. Brice came by a couple times, but I’m not sure where he had holed himself up to work. I didn’t get to spend as much time just socializing as I would’ve liked, but it was a great change of scenery working outside of my office for a while.

After lunch I went and got the interns from the library and let them dig into some of the computers I’ve had sitting in my office. Nathan seemed openly knowledgeable and excited to show that he could do things, while Spencer just quietly got to work and started fixing laptops. I was really happy with how well they jumped right into it with such limited direction, and throughout the afternoon I got a better idea of how to utilize them better.

When I finally left work, I ran by Oakland to get my bowl before going home to change. Then I went by the shop to get the girls so Summer could go to the gym, and we went to my parents’ house to clean up some leftovers. We got back to Summer’s just a little before she did, I tinkered a bit, and then we went to bed with some Battlestar. Eaddie came in and watched just a few minutes with us too, which was nice because she’s usually reluctant to hang around for very long.

Space sure does have the best glassware.

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Gromroll, Please!

I slept pretty well last night after a couple Aleve to dull the aches of the day. Summer left to get the girls home and start some cleaning before lunch. Mom had leftover beef spring rolls ready for lunch when they got up. Summer and Eaddie wanted to ride their bikes, so I drove Autumn and met them there. Autumn was more or less a lame duck, but Eaddie at least pretended to watch Dad work on their telescope a bit.

After a little while, we all headed home so Summer could get some time on the Grom after several weeks without. I wouldn’t let Autumn stay at the house, so I gave her the choice of riding with me or riding her own bike. She reluctantly climbed onto the Grom with me, and we made our way to the park. Summer and Eaddie beat us there on their bikes from my parents’ house, but the parking lot was cluttered with cars for a ballgame, so we rode up to the highschool instead. Summer jumped on and did really well today, weaving through the concrete parking bumpers and other obstacles. She even left the parking lot and drove around the little streets around the campus.

They all had to get home to finish their chores before school and work tomorrow, so we all rode back to my house and they headed home. I milled around and did some cleaning myself after having a Full Throttle to wake myself up. I took care of the pets, started some laundry, and got things ready for work in the morning.

Try to remember the kind of September when life was slow and oh, so mellow.

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♬ I Told the Butt Doctor I Had a Bloody Poo ♬

♪ It’s been leaking blood from me just like it was a geyser! ♪

I forgot my badge and keys at home this morning. I also forgot to take my meds after deciding to take them a little later in the morning rather than before I left for work. None of that seemed to matter much though. I went with Amanda, Heather, and Gary to hang a TV above James’s piano. I had an above average time drilling into the brick at first, but I could tell the bit wore out pretty quickly. We were supposed to rehang another one I had hung last year because they wanted it higher, but the class was occupied and we didn’t make it before lunch. We ended up killing some time in Heather’s freezing office, chatting with Kevin a while until lunch.

Allen and I decided to walk next door for FryDay, where we sat across the room from Heather and Gary since they didn’t invite us. We both got the three meat fries special of the day, which was beef, chicken, and shrimp over fries with garlic butter and “taco sauce” which was more of a taco-seasoned cream sauce. It was all good, but left me a bit gurgley from all the butter. I took a half sick day to go to the gastroenterologist for my meet and greet.

I went home first to change, then went to my appointment and filled out a bunch of new patient paperwork. It was probably the least painful that I’ve ever experienced that process, and the girls at the front desk were just great. I thought Dr. White was a relative hoot, though he definitely controlled the conversation. I was most impressed with how quickly I was in and out of there, and I wished I could have that experience ever again in healthcare.

After that conversation and subsequent scheduling of a proper pooperscope, I went home and got the Grom to see Summer at the shop. They weren’t super busy, so I got to tell her all about my doctor visit before going home. I relaxed for just a little bit before taking my bike out for a bath. Then I met Allen at his place for a quick polish on the bikes. With that done, I had just enough time to get gas with him, and then head on home to prepare for the evening.

Travis was hosting a Star Wars Monopoly night, so I went to get Summer and we met him and John for game night. I was either the first one out or the winner, depending on who you ask. A great time was had by all, and Summer got to bring home an oddly monochrome JAWS sink stopper. By the time we wrapped things up there, it was time to get home and into bed for the early ride in the morning.

♫ He said that, “Poo-py, oooh ah ah! Ting tang, walla walla bing bang!” ♫

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Jesus Hubert Christ

I made it in really early today and got started in a classroom to test and fix an Airtame 2. The teacher’s laptop was still trying to connect to the old device for some reason, so I just had to point it at the new device instead. I was pretty productive the rest of the morning as well, but then got stuck on some medieval software that another teacher wanted me to install on all of her students’ devices from a compact disc.

Allen wanted to go to KFC for lunch again, and I’m always down for that party. We had just sat down to eat when I looked out the window and spied, with my little eyes, Jesus of Nazareth. Not like a long-haired, blonde, homeless vagrant type, but like a guy wearing potato sacks for clothes. You don’t get that stuff at Walmart. I don’t even know where you’d begin to look for fabric like that. I told Allen that he was about to be raptured away, and that I would be left to eat the rest of the chicken all by myself. The guy came in holding something square under his arms wrapped in the same fabric, but I couldn’t make out what it was. His ensemble was complete with some kind of rope or heavy twine for a belt and everything. I knew for sure that this was it. Either the end times were here, or we were about to be blown up by some religious nut coming after gluttons at a buffet.

The man came in, spoke to someone at the counter, and then left just moments later. It seemed we were all spared. Or all left behind. I’m always telling Allen he’s not living right, but he never listens. Not one soul was spirited away, so maybe we’re all damned. I’m not really sure how we would know in any event. Allen suggested that maybe there was a play going on at the church next door, but I told him that this was no Thursday matinee Jesus. This was the Saturday night, packed mezzanine, prime-time son of God.

I went back for seconds. Then dessert.

After lunch, I went to the junior high to pick up another rubber cable cover, then stopped by the library on my way out. When I got back to the shop, I chatted with Ben for a bit about various goings-on before heading back to the high school. I wasn’t super motivated by that time, and ended up talking with Karen about my spiritual encounter. Eventually I did get back to work, and the girls came to my office so I could shuttle them around after school.

We left first to go to my house so I could change. Then we dropped Autumn off at the junior high for her football game. Eaddie had some time to kill before karate, so we ended up at Sonic for some cheese sticks and fried Oreos à la mode. Everything was incredible. I dropped her off, then went to my parents’ house to visit while she was in class. Dad brought out a bunch of old junk for me to discard, and I went to get Eaddie.

When we got to her house, Summer was laid out in bed feeling ill. I started watching Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus, which I wholeheartedly recommend for any old fans. Autumn called for a pickup just as the credits rolled, so I went to pick her back up from the junior high, and we all came home for bed.

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This Drill Is Not a Drill

It was a little wet outside this morning, but I wished I had ridden the bike to work anyway for as cool as it was in the morning. I jumped right into the work I had and got things done. The fire alarm went off just as I was finishing some of that work in a classroom, so I couldn’t hide out inside like I normally would. It was a little creepy going outside in the back, so I just kept my eyes open and watched people. When things calmed down a bit, I wandered around to a couple people that had open tickets, and managed to get enough information to close them out as well.

Allen responded with Quiznos for lunch, but by the time he said it I would have been meeting him there late, so I just kept working instead. Eventually I did take a lunch break and went to Sonic, but it was one of the worst visits I’ve had there. The tots were probably the most stale tasting potatoes I’ve ever had at a restaurant, ever. The “Philly cheesesteak” barely had anything in it, so it was mostly bread. The only thing that saved my break was the fact that I went home to eat in front of the shrimp tank, where I just sat and relaxed for the rest of my hour before going back to work.

My afternoon was short after having such a late lunch, and by quitting time I wasn’t in the mood to stay much later. I went home and started researching eye doctors. I wish I had made an appointment at the very start of the year so I’d be sure to have everything filed on insurance before dropping it. Now that I’m researching it, everyone in the EyeMed network seems to have terrible reviews except the CFO’s wife’s clinic, and there’s no way in hell I’m supporting that racket.

Summer had a roast going in the slow cooker, so I went to Walmart for some slaw mix and met up at her house. The girls said they forgot about tacos, and had already eaten Wendy’s with their grandparents by the time I got there, so Summer and I just ate in the kitchen. Eaddie couldn’t help but have a few herself because they were so good.

I played a bit of Superbeat: Xonic while the girls all got ready for bed, and then Summer and I watched another episode of Battlestar Galactica. Luckily it was actually an episode that really carried the main plot.

Who the hell shoots heavy artillery fireworks this late at night at the end of September? Country bumpkins. That’s who.

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Sink the Ship

Today was a fair day for getting things done. It was quite a bit cooler and rainy all day, so I just hunkered down and started closing work orders. It helped that I had multiple requests for the same couple printer issues, but I still got quite a bit accomplished. I picked Allen up and we went to Ruby Tuesday for $5 salads for lunch. Then I ran by the junior high for a couple things before going back to the high school.

After work, I did some water changes at home, then went to get the girls from karate. My parents made spaghetti for dinner, so we went there while Summer went to the high school for some career path dinner meeting. Eventually I got the girls home and we settled in pretty quickly. Eaddie lost another tooth for my collection, and we kicked back for an episode of Battlestar Galactica.

You’ll start losing your adult teeth, but they’ll keep growing back instantly and then falling out, and you won’t be able to stop vomiting teeth.

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Polishing the Doo

I thought I would start at the shop this morning just briefly so I could take the new, overbuilt, misappropriated computer to the PAC, but getting it going ended up being an all-day affair. It was maddening being around the shop too, seeing people casually come and go, or hearing them wasting time watching videos in their office. I’ve got a steady flow of too much work to handle, and all I get from those people is that they’re too busy or just flat out refuse to do any of it.

I felt like I couldn’t even get an assist on the computer this morning, and eventually Allen came back around for lunch and I just left it. KFC’s soda fountain was out of order, but the tea was alright. The food had been better. I saw Kyle there and asked if he was going to Bikes, Blues, and BBQ, but he isn’t. Back at the shop, I finally got a little useful help and learned the Dell-supplied drivers didn’t match the hardware revision, which was the source of my troubles all along.

As the school day ended, I gathered my things and headed to the high school for the first time. I got the computer set up in the curtain access room-become-office, and amazingly the wireless antenna on that thing was able to pick up a signal. I did have to run to the office for a longer power cable, but I got it running and able to access the network at the very least.

Eaddie had taken the bus there today, but Summer had to pick her up since I wasn’t there all day. I went home and spent a moment to decompress a bit, then went to get Eaddie from the shop just before Summer got out. I took her home and we had some chili that Summer had simmering all day, and then I killed most of the evening streaming random things on YouTube until Summer and Autumn got home.

While they ate, I got Eaddie to try her hand at the Melbourne shuffle. She enjoyed it at least enough to not completely goof off, and got the running man down pretty easily. Once the girls went to bed, Summer and I watched a feel-good episode of Battlestar and went to sleep.

Maybe if we keep throwing money at the corruption, it will go away.

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Shrimp Paste

I warmed up some leftover pizza and eggrolls for breakfast this morning once we all rolled out of bed. Summer started some laundry and eventually we started some Battlestar. Then I tinkered around while Summer went to the gym. Before too long we had to take Noah home, so we picked up his stuff he forgot at work and dropped him off. Then we went by my house to move a box spring outside for tomorrow’s bulk item pickup.

We had to go grocery shopping for the week, but we stopped by Harbor Freight first to get something to split up power behind the TV. Then we went to Walmart and got everything we needed for the week. We had a bit of time, so we made a quick circle through the store to look for anything good on clearance. Then we went to Summer’s to drop everything off. Mom made shrimp noodle soup, so we headed that direction and picked Autumn up along the way. Summer wasn’t completely grossed out by the smell of the shrimp paste, and even liked it well enough to have some in her soup. I still object. Eaddie’s father dropped her off eventually, and then we all headed home for the night.

The girls got a few chores done and headed for bed, and then I made Summer watch another episode of Battlestar Galactica before going to sleep.

One day, you just decide to… get up and walk out of your room.