Tag: frustration

Uncategorised

Electrotherapy

The dogs were asleep on the porch when I got up, but as soon as I got to work, Summer texted that they were gone. I texted Dad, and they both went out looking. Dad was able to recover them and Summer used a sledgehammer to bury some wooden stakes along the fenceline, but it was too late. Dad texted that his neighbor found a dead cat, and later said she reported them to animal control. I was pretty uptight about it at work all day, but there was nothing I could do from there. I worked on what I could, and dreaded what work had to be done when I got home.

Charles called our Dell vendor to complain about having to deal with customer service when repairing laptops, and got us free lunch out of the deal. Whole Hog tasted like free lunch, too. I had the brisket sandwich, potato salad, and beans, and it was a pretty miserable looking plate. The sandwich was about 60% bun, 20% brisket, and 20% slaw. It didn’t taste bad, but it wasn’t good, and it was cold to boot. The serving size was a small ice cream scoop of potatoes, and the most shallow single-layer of baked beans on a divided plate that you could imagine.

The afternoon went by fairly quickly, and Randy and Jim would be out for the rest of the week to go to the Howard conference in Alabama. I headed toward home, Supercharged, and walked in to Summer ruining what leftovers we had from Noah’s dinner. She ruined a huge pot of rice trying to fry it with the squash and zucchini. What resulted was basically a gummy rice dough with completely indiscernible vegetables, and thankfully no steak. I would have walked out if she ruined those T-bones on top of everything else.

We had an argument, and I feel pretty confident she learned nothing again. I went out to make sure the dogs would be secure after her shoddy patchwork and found a different place where they had started to dig. We ate, and then had to run to the high school for a pretty crappy band concert that ran about an hour behind.

The mentally deficient couple behind us in the second row talked loudly during the concert band’s portion, and I turned around to glare at them. They were mostly quiet for Eaddie’s symphonic band, until the point where the guy tapped a link on his phone, or otherwise somehow unmuted whatever video he was watching. After the day I’d had, it took every fiber of my shaking body not to turn around and knock him out in front of the whole auditorium.

We made it home and it was another mad dash to get to bed. The dogs may get chained up in the morning if they dig any more overnight. The only other real progress I made was when I learned how to properly attach their shock collars around the front or side of their necks instead of the back. I tested them out and got Stilgar pretty good when he started barking at one point. It’ll be good to take them on a run sometime how that the shock can actually be felt. I also made a double-ended slip collar to leave with Dad so we won’t keep having to run back and forth for tools.

More like Won’t Listen-Al-Gaib and Not Stillthere.

Uncategorised

Loose

I didn’t sleep very long again today, so I guess I’m just waking up with the sun now. I took my meds and fed the dogs, and I guess I should have been paying better attention to the barking. The neighbor’s dogs were yapping, and mine got out again. I immediately took off looking for them and brought them back home in relatively short order. They just ripped the board and screws straight out of the fence.

Eaddie went to church, came home, and then left again to go rehearse with her band group. Summer went to the gym. I cleaned up a little bit, but mostly spun my wheels for much of the day. I did decide to take the dogs to Walgreens so I could pick up my prescription, but the pharmacy was closed when we got there.

We continued over to the basin, then to my parents’ house. They were trying to pick out paint for their kitchen and dining area. Dad said the pharmacy was probably just closed for lunch, so we decided to ride all the way back, and successfully got my medicine that time. All total, we rode over seven miles.

Summer and I both finished the leftover pizza, separately throughout the day. She spent all afternoon cleaning, dusting, and vacuuming. I tinkered with some things around the house, and installed a couple of things in my car.

I took my car across town to the quarter wash, then stopped at the Neighborhood Market to get Summer some coffee creamer. They had grapes on clearance, so I got a bunch of those too. When I got home, I put together the little stirling engine I got from Vine that goes on your coffee mug. I started on some boiling water, then realized the dogs had gotten out again.

By then it was pitch black outside, so I grabbed my flashlight and leash and took off through the neighborhood looking for them. I encountered Dad walking down Ridgewood looking for them as well, but there were dogs barking everywhere. I finally found Muad’Dib, but Stilgar didn’t come out. I got him on the leash and we ran a large block back to where we started, and then Stilgar came running. Just as quickly as he had emerged from the dark, he disappeared back into it. It took some coaxing, but he eventually came back and we made it home.

The stirling engine was still going when we made it back. I opened up some fencing that I got from Vine, and hammered one of them into the ground where the dogs had dug out the last time. I couldn’t believe they moved the large landscaping block as far as they did, and I wondered if one of the neighbor’s dogs had pushed their way into our yard.

Eaddie got back from Fort Smith late and caught up with Summer, and I wrapped up my own routine before trying to make it to bed on time.

Reunorganize

Uncategorised

Low Steaks

I actually woke up pretty early this morning in spite of wanting to sleep in a little bit. Eaddie left super early for a robotics tournament, and Summer and I had to get the house cleaned up and go grocery shopping so we could feed Noah and his friend Michael. I got started early, but I think my iron made me queasy again. I waited a couple hours before I ate something, and that helped marginally. Summer went to the gym when she finally got up, and we eventually made it out of the house together.

We went to Kroger first, and it seemed like everything was higher and less good than the Neighborhood Market. I definitely didn’t care for any of the steaks I saw there, but we picked up some fruit and frozen shrimp. I think even the shrimp was cheaper at the Neighborhood Market, but the steaks were for sure, and they looked like better cuts of meat, too.

As soon as we got back home, I got to work cleaning the grill so it wouldn’t catch on fire like it has the past few times I’ve tried to cook on it. It wasn’t that difficult, but I hate getting that black grease all over the place. Summer prepped zucchini, squash, asparagus, and made mashed potatoes. I smoked two T-bones and six strip steaks to temperature before pulling them off to rest before searing. My grill died at one point, and I thought it was the outlet, but it still did it even after I plugged it into the outlet inside. It may have been an issue with the temperature sensor, because I reseated that and it eventually got things reset.

I grilled the veggies and shrimp, then threw the steaks back on to sear both sides, and the four of us sat down to eat. I got pretty upset when Summer made a comment about hoping the boys weren’t slowing down, because it prompted both of them to each eat another whole steak to the point of complaining about having to blow up our bathroom. At that point, I was done having company, or housemates.

I gave the dogs a bunch of scraps and fed them dinner, but we didn’t get to take a walk. I’ll have to make it up to them tomorrow, and it’ll probably be a really long one for all three of us. Summer and the boys sat down in the living room and watched brain-rot YouTube compilations while she tried to paint her nails and I cleaned up the kitchen. Then Eaddie got home just minutes after the boys left, and told us about her day. After that, I didn’t waste any time wrapping up for bed.

Collector Gadget

Uncategorised

Cold Water

I got up early this morning so I could try and get a bunch of things done before my appointment with the hematologist, but the dogs had other plans. Dad said they were on their side of the neighborhood, so I rode around the block and they came running out from behind someone’s house. I ran them home off-leash and they did pretty well, but I wouldn’t have felt safe doing that any later in the day.

I got a text from Zany a little while later while I was trying to get showered saying that Paul was on the other side of their house in Olivia’s yard. Stilgar was yapping in the back yard still because he hadn’t gotten through the same hole, so I rode around looking for Muad’Dib. He ended up coming out from the backyard neighbor’s house on Ridgewood, but Stilgar came running too.

I got them back home and ended up chaining them to the tree so I could actually get ready for my appointment. I didn’t even get to the courthouse before I had to get to the clinic. Summer pulled in right behind me and we found the office attached to the hospital. It ended up being a super short visit. They got me back fairly quickly, took my weight, blood pressure, and temperature, and asked if I was depressed. That was really it until I saw the doctor in the tiny exam room. He asked a few more questions, most of which I had already answered in the new patient paperwork. Then he told me to keep taking my iron, along with some vitamin C for the next few months until a follow-up visit in May when they’ll actually draw blood again. It all seemed super steep to pay $115 for literally zero input from anyone there, and answering what felt like very surface-level questions.

It had started to sleet a little bit when we left. Summer went back to work and I ran by the assessor’s office to add the Model 3 to my personal property tax. They got me assessed and I continued on to the revenue office to get the car tagged and my license renewed. The office seemed fully staffed with a handful of people waiting, and they were churning through them. It wasn’t long before they called my number, but I failed at both tasks. I’ll have to go back with a blank check to pay the sales tax, and they absolutely would not take a new birth certificate from the health department. My birth card and the hospital birth certificate were both worthless there. They also locked the door for fear of the freezing rain, though things didn’t really get bad until long after they would have closed normally.

After being run out of there, I tried to find the health department, but the one building I tried was locked up. I figured, like the schools, anyone in a government office was likely sent home. I decided instead to use an expiring free pizza from Domino’s, plus ordered a couple more to take home. I got to the restaurant early and chatted with the guys, and then Neal showed up and I talked to him for a bit.

On the way home, I noticed Robert and Kyler’s cars at the smokehouse, so I stopped by to say, “hi.” It was actually Kyler and Grant outside because Robert was inside fighting with Toast. I chatted with the two of them for a bit before making it home, where I discovered one of the pizzas had leaked some grease onto my seat. It appeared to clean up well, but the ventilated seats had me worried about what got beneath the surface. It looked clean when I finished, though.

Eaddie had a little bit, but had just eaten some chili before she found out I was bringing food. Summer was on a call for work, so I ate in the kitchen by myself before going out to check on the dogs. They were looking pretty miserable after being chained to the tree for so long, and were staying on the porch with their heads down. I eventually got to catch up with Summer a bit, but then Dad wanted to go move the computer desk out of the bedroom at the old house. Summer and I went to get him and made it to the house, but then we found out that the guys probably wouldn’t be coming back the next day to clean the carpets since they were done with everything else. They could come back when it wasn’t freezing rain, so we didn’t have to be there dealing with packing and moving with the car out in the weather.

We took Dad back home and then I went outside to try and fortify the fenceline some more. The problem appeared to be a soggy spot where the downspout from the outbuilding was constantly dripping water. Muad’Dib is a digger, and Stilgar is content to follow him through a hole. Hopefully they’ll stay put over the next few days, and I ordered some anti-dig fencing that we can hopefully hammer into the ground to help with our little problem.

Once we finally settled in for the evening, I spent some time cleaning up and then watched some YouTube on the TV with Summer. Eaddie came out for a little bit, but I ended up by myself for most of it. I’ll have to dedicate some time to catching up on bills and other paperwork tomorrow, because the tax man cometh, and I am not prepared.

Can you pay my automobills?

Uncategorised

Whatever. Works.

The roads were nasty today for some reason, even though they seemed clean after the rain this weekend. I got peppered multiple times and ended up with several pits in my windshield. I didn’t notice any obvious paint damage, but I counted at least three tiny divots in my glass. Somewhere after Conway, a loose tire ring flew up from under a truck in front of me. Fortunately it bounced up and off onto the shoulder left of me, but then I saw a girl in the right lane with her hazards on, driving on her bare rim on the rear right wheel.

Best I could tell, nobody died on the way to work. I thought I’d have to fight SCCM some more, but it just worked this morning without any other effort. I changed nothing. I dug around in group policies after that and tried to find our AppLocker policy, which I could have sworn we had set up, but I couldn’t find it.

Jim came to the office and mentioned needing to take a ton of Chromebooks to FedEx, so I offered to lend a hand. He wanted some help getting a document scanner to work anyway, so he drove us to the high school where he left me in the office to work on that while he loaded shipping boxes onto a dolly. I made quick work of the scanner software and then we left for FedEx, followed by lunch at Red Lobster.

After our bougie lunch date, he dropped me back off at the office where I quietly chugged away at cleaning up my task sequence for the rest of the afternoon. Randy came out and said we would be closing school after a half day tomorrow due to anticipated ice, so I cancelled my sick leave for the freebie. I finished the day filling out my new patient paperwork for the hematologist tomorrow, then made it to Conway to charge.

Summer called when she got home and said the dogs dug out under the fence. She went to see if they were at my parents’ house, but said they weren’t. Then Dad called maybe five minutes later and said they were there. I made it home and rode over to get them. I tried to run them pretty hard on the way home, and then they didn’t get dinner or treats. I drained the sump room, then spent the night cleaning the kitchen and dining room, unpacked Vine stuff, and eventually made it to bed late. Tomorrow we’ll see how many government offices I can hit before my appointment with the blood doctor.

Nobody said to fast, but I don’t like to slow anyway.

Uncategorised

Pack and Roll

I woke up to barking this morning and swatted the dogs for carrying on. Summer got up right after me and had to go out and investigate prepaid cards to loan Noah some money for a trip to Texas and then possibly Louisiana to start working outages at a plant down there. Noah eventually came over with his friend Michael so we could talk about their opportunity. Summer mostly wanted to understand why he kept insisting on borrowing such a large lump sum instead of letting us refill him as necessary. We finally got out of him that he did have a Cash App account and card, so he won’t just be carrying around a wad of cash.

Eaddie left for church and Summer went to the gym while I ate some leftovers and got some things cleaned up around the house. Then after she got back and we both had showers, we went to the old house to pack up the master bedroom. The wood planks on the bathroom floors looked nice, but the showers had cosmetic problems with the walls and trim.

We loaded the Model Y up with several boxes, but still had more to pack and nowhere to go with it. I got super frustrated when I kept pulling things out of the trash that I had intentionally kept, or that belonged to other things that had been jumbled around. It was my own fault for not having things together, but moving out was so impromptu after the storm damage and losing Bác Vân. I’ve been more or less a wreck since then without any signs of turning around.

When we got back home, I took the dogs out for a run in the light. They were pretty well behaved, but we encountered a loose dog after we left my parents’ house, and he kept bounding around trying to chase us, and I kept having to hold mine back. They did reasonably well, but I had to be super careful on the Onewheel. We got back home for hot dogs and dinner while I did some laundry. I had too much to do and not enough time to get back to the old house, but fortunately the smart lights took care of themselves.

Eaddie got home super late and caught up with Summer while I struggled to wind down. Tomorrow will be a busy day at work followed by an even busier Tuesday, and I just can’t wait.

Chew on this!

Uncategorised

Destruction Derby

The dogs were barking in the back yard when I left for work this morning, but Dad texted shortly after I got to work and said they were at his house and killed his cat. Summer was already nearly to Conway, so nobody was around to take care of them. They kept getting out of his fence too, so he ended up getting their leash from our house and dying them up. Stilgar chewed through that and got out again, and even destroyed the oil drain pan they were using for water.

Meanwhile, I broke PXE booting at work and could never get it working again. It was a miserable day trying to undo whatever change I made that broke it, and I had zero success. The only win for the day was Waldo’s Chicken and Beer for lunch. I had their Fowl Mouth spicy chicken sandwich, and it was probably the best chicken sandwich I’ve ever had. It was awesome. The cheddar biscuits were too small, but tasted good, and the service was great too.

I had to charge at a nearly full Supercharger station on the way home, then quickly patched the hole in the fence while Summer worked on a cake to go with the chili she made for dinner. I rode to my parents’ house to get the dogs, and dragged them home pretty aggressively. I think they knew they were bad, because they pouted on the porch all night.

I had to run to the Neighborhood Market for some cheese, and then Summer and I ate. Then I took care of my Vine haul while Summer watched Mary Poppins and then went to bed. Eaddie got home really late and went to bed. I was underslept, exhausted, and frustrated all day, so I was anxious to get there myself.

Straight to doggy jail.

Uncategorised

Just Wandering

I got to witness someone going off the road into the grass this morning because they were outdriving their brakes. I think someone hit a deer at the 430 split, and it had traffic backed up for a couple miles. I still beat the important people to work, and it was another day in the doldrums after that. I brought some containers to take the leftover barbecue and coleslaw home, and I helped plug in a TV.

Dustin took us out for a vendor lunch at Brood & Barley. I refused to pay $4 for parking, so I reparked a block away for free. The components of our meals were good, but I thought the Philly sandwich special had about a third of the filling that it should have for the price. It honestly tasted mostly of corn and avocado. Maggie had a meatloaf sandwich that would probably have been better as a burger.

The afternoon was quiet and dull, and I was still hungry. Not much success anywhere. I was eager to get out, charge, and make it home to run the dogs. Summer was making dinner, and just as I was walking out the back door, Zany called to say they had gotten into her yard and that she was about to walk them back, but they had gotten out and run off. I rode toward the basin, then came back up and found them at the top of Ridgewood. We took an odd course to my parents’ house, then came home backwards.

Summer’s salmon, asparagus, and potato dinner was actually really good, but then she wanted to talk to Noah about his asking to borrow money. Eaddie had Eli over for a bit, but Summer and I were stuck talking to the misguided one. I stayed up way too late after that, and I was exhausted.

What union?!?

Uncategorised

Chilly Mac

I felt sick to the stomach for much of the day, but it could have been yesterday’s milkshake catching up to me. Eaddie left for church for a bit, and Summer went to the gym. I felt like I kept getting stuck in a loop. I felt like I kept getting stuck in a loop. I did manage to take a shower, and I got dressed to take the dogs out on a run in the early afternoon because it was getting super cold again. They didn’t come running when I opened the door, so I knew something was up.

Eaddie and I walked out to the fenceline, and they had torn down the top halves of three pickets, and climbed out. She and Summer worked on fixing that while I rode the neighborhood looking for them. It was a bit of a wild goose chase, because a lady that walked past our house said she saw them on Honeysuckle where they started following some other walkers. I went down that way and over toward the basin, then encountered two different walkers that had seen them around Ridgewood. As I rode up Ridgewood, a car passed me and stopped to flag me down. He said they were just up on Eastwood, and that one of them was WET. I made my way up and over the hills to find them on Ridgewood, so we collected ourselves and finished the walk to my parents’ house to visit Dad.

We got back home and Summer was working on a tres leches cake, and eventually some baked crab macaroni and cheese for dinner. I felt like I kept getting stuck in a loop. I didn’t really feel good about anything for a while, but dinner was pretty good. Eaddie got sick up in Jonesboro, but appeared to mostly be dealing with a head cold. I just hope I don’t get sick again myself.

Freezing temps, but free coffee!

Uncategorised

The Long and Unnecessary

I got up to pack this morning and started to take a shower, but then I thought I heard Julie scream “LET ME OUT” from somewhere across the house. The next thing I knew, Mom was up the stairs looking for her. It didn’t take us long to realize she was just screaming about hot and cold water shifting due to a flushed toilet. I continued packing until it was my turn to shower, and then I came downstairs to help clean up the food we had in the fridge. Julie made omelettes, and I ate mine with some leftover hot pepper oil and the last of the injera.

We got everyone loaded up and out of the house just in time for our late checkout, and someone we presumed to be a housekeeper pulled up just as we pulled out of the driveway. We went to get some food for Bác Tuấn and let the adults go in while Julie and I unloaded the goodie bags we made the night before.

I left her to chat, and when I got back to them, Uncle Tuấn had started feeding himself really well. I thought he was going kind of fast though, and after a little while we realized he was just packing his mouth with food but not swallowing. Bác Trân had him spit out a HUGE wad of food that nearly filled an entire plastic cup, he rinsed his mouth out with some water, and we gave it a rest for a bit. Otherwise he was in good spirits though, and was very lucid.

Dad and Julie spent nearly the entire time talking to the staff to get the real story of what happened to bring us across state lines, and we basically learned that we were there due to poor communication across the board. Lan was visiting fairly regularly and making an effort to care for him, but was not doing a great job of rehabilitating him. Nobody held this against her because she was simply not an occupational therapist, or a doctor, or a professional caregiver. Instead, she was simply acting as a traditional Vietnamese wife trying to do her duty to care for her ill husband. Unfortunately, what we did witness was her loading him up on low value, non-nutritional treats because that’s what he would eat without any fuss. She didn’t want to hear any feedback from us though.

Bác Tuấn was very capable of feeding himself, but did have trouble swallowing. The biggest problem was that he didn’t like the cafeteria food and had been steadily losing weight. From our family conversations/fights, it seemed like Lan, though well-meaning, was doing more to interfere with the care that was being given by the facility. She felt like they were stealing his clothes, and she said she told him not to take all of his medicines. On the other hand, his level of care did allow him to refuse their food and starve himself out. At least Lan was bringing him “things” that he would eat.

We were happy to see that he wasn’t on the brink of death, but the family drama that ensued all week was incredibly frustrating. They had the best intentions, but every single one of the Asians wanted to interfere with the staff who were operating like a fine-tuned machine. Diaper changing times and inspections were done regularly, but not at the pace the family wanted, so they would interrupt staff while they were trying to work elsewhere. I had to chase Bác Trân down constantly and wrangle him away from getting in the way. Not a single one of them wanted to trust the system, but on the other hand, nobody wanted to accept the fact that they would have to pay substantially more for more involved care that Bác Tuấn may not really need in the first place. Instead, the perceived meddling in the situation immediately put Lan on the defensive and made everyone combative. On the other hand, Lan can’t play the poor-English miscommunication card and then turn around and make her own decisions on the best care for him.

We didn’t have very long before Bác Trân’s flight, so Mom called Lan and had her meet us in the parking lot as we were leaving. For some reason, they told her about the gift bags we made for the staff, and she didn’t like that at all. She immediately wanted to interject on our simple act of kindness, and wanted to redistribute them as she felt appropriate, which simply wasn’t the point. Furthermore, it was our act of kindness to perform, with or without her. We had already spoken with those in charge, and were assured the gift bags would reach all of the souls who directly care for our loved one at all hours of every day.

Eventually we were able to shove off and made it to the airport. Bác Trân was able to navigate himself from the drop point, and we killed some time at a restaurant called Paris Bánh Mì. The others had more traditional sandwiches, but I had one on a croissant. I would not recommend that because of how greasy and soggy it got. The sugarcane drinks were good, but may have been from a mix and not actually from fresh sugar cane. Overall I thought it was a super cute place though, and I thought the food was pretty good. They even had Korean corn dogs, so Julie and I split a half sausage/half cheese dipped in Hot Cheetos. She didn’t like it, but I did.

After we ate, we stopped at what was easily the cleanest Oriental grocery store I’ve ever seen. It didn’t smell funky, but had all of the usual goods. Mom said she wanted snacks, but didn’t buy anything, so we headed on back to the airport and waited a few hours for our flight.

While we were waiting, another flight was waiting for a whole new crew. The lady at the desk misspoke and said they were still waiting on a captain, which got a chuckle from everyone in the area. Bác Trân’s flight was delayed and then later cancelled, so he ended up staying the night in the airport hotel. Our flight came in quite a bit later, but we eventually got loaded up and flew home. It was a long flight and everyone was pretty tired, but Julie got us home without incident. I had her stop at the old house so I could turn off the light that the restoration folks left on all week. Then we dropped her off and they took me home.

The dogs knew something was up, so I went out to see them first. They were super excited, but behaved well and just laid down and nuzzled my feet while I scratched their bellies. Summer was asleep, but I let her know I was home and eventually made it to bed after an exhausting week.

Ring around the rosie…