Tag: food

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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?

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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…

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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.

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Plant Proteins

Today was warm enough to take the bike in to work, but it was supposed to rain in the afternoon. I never heard from anyone all day, so I just stuck to myself and worked on things in my office. My morning was fueled by Soylent, but I wasn’t going to miss out on a free Beyond Burger from Hardee’s, so I left for a super late lunch at the end of the school day.

I hate to be at all disparaging toward the employees at our only remaining Hardee’s, because they’ve never been anything but kind. I just can’t shake the feeling that they all arrived for their shifts on the same bus from their community care center. They do manage to get the food out, and my burger was actually put together quite nicely today. The fries were cold though, and every interaction I observed felt really…unpolished? I’m absolutely for the employment of people with special needs; work just wouldn’t be the same without Allen. I’m just suggesting that maybe one of the staff on duty at any given time should be a better trained and better compensated employee. I really think that would raise the bar and maybe help fill some seats. I’d hate to lose the restaurant due to poor ownership.

The afternoon went by super quickly after having such a late lunch. I tried stopping at Walgreens for my blood pressure medication on the way back, but the line was both long and immotile and I had to get back to work. When I left work, I went by my parents’ house to visit while I waited for the girls to be ready to go home. They ate with their grandparents while Summer was away for a work meeting in Little Rock, so I picked at some of what my parents had out. Once the girls were ready, I fetched them, made another stop at Walgreens, then went by my house to change before taking them home.

The evening flew by as the girls begrudgingly took care of their chores. Summer eventually made it home, and it was off to bed with everyone.

If you close your eyes, it’s like you’re eating a real, overcooked hamburger.

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Meeting the New Doctor

I had to go in for my 6-month checkup today, and my old nurse Stephanie had left some time ago. They actually scheduled me with Doctor Carter, whom I’d never once met. I got to sleep in a little, then went straight to the clinic where they got me back behind the door in record time. I still had to wait a while for the doctor to see me, and once he got there he basically went on a 20-minute rant about how I can’t eat starchy, fried foods. Both times in my life that I’ve had to meet a new primary care physician, that’s all I get. This time was probably the worst with assumptions about the kind of diet I have. Just tell me to exercise and move on with it.

When I finished up with that mandatory meeting, I went to Superfast for an oil change and to convince Summer to go to lunch with me before I had to go to work. I wasn’t sure if it was because I had left my car idling in line for a while, but after the oil change I had to get a jump start to get moving again. We stowed my car in the back bay for a charge, then took hers to Denny’s for a couple free Beyond Burgers.

Steven and his coworker were there for lunch as well, and they seemed to be having a better time. Summer seemed genuinely surprised that our service was horrible, but I’ve only very rarely had a good experience there. The food is always fine, but it’s always incredibly slow. It took us half an hour to get our drinks, and mine wasn’t even what I ordered. Our waitress actually brought them out with our food, so we just scarfed everything down at once. The burger was decent, but they were definitely disguising it with a fancy bun. The bun was great, but it was about three times the size of the burger patty. The patty itself tasted okay, but was a bit too tender.

With lunch out of the way, we headed back to the shop so I could go to work. Alex evidently tightened my battery terminal, so I didn’t have any trouble the rest of the day. I went by a nearly empty shop for a little while, then went to the high school and spent a good hour walking back and forth, getting in my steps, to work on the sign. I still couldn’t get the radio to talk, so I gave up again. The rest of the afternoon went by super fast as I did mostly things for which I did not have a proper work order.

After work, I went home to change and then ran by Superfast again for a tire rotation. Then I went to AutoZone to have them check my battery. I thought Alex had just adjusted the charger earlier in the day, but Summer said he actually moved the connector down the terminal, so the tester at AutoZone read my battery as low, but healthy.

By the time I finished there, Summer was on her way home with the girls. I stopped by Dollar General to kill a little time and ended up buying a rake. I joked with the cashier that this is why I’m normally not allowed out of the house. Then we had huge salads for dinner and watched The Matrix Revolutions.

Illusions, Mr. Anderson. Vagaries of perception. The temporary constructs of a feeble human intellect trying desperately to justify an existence that is without meaning or purpose.

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Eat Your Damn Eggs

I got up this morning and cut up some fresh tomatoes and serrano peppers to scramble into some chopped bacon and eggs. Mom used to make something like that, but I’ve always just cheated and used a can of Rotel. I wasn’t sure how it would turn out, but after cooking off all the liquid, I thought it was perfect. We barely had enough rice for everyone, but Autumn initially refused to touch it anyway. She came into the kitchen and got really quiet when she saw me cooking, which was a good indication that it was about to get dramatic. Summer turned on her Mom Voice™ and made her sit at the table until she ate the bowl I fixed her. A bunch of yelling later, and Autumn called out to me that she actually liked it as we all let out a collective eye roll.

We spent the rest of the day watching TV. The girls each spent a bit of time cleaning up house, and I pulled all the literal trash out of the junk drawers. We sobbed through a bunch more Glee, and had leftovers for dinner. I wanted to be more productive, but I guess it was my own fault for not just getting up and going home.

Who started this tagline tradition anyway?