Tag: frustration

Uncategorised

In Memoriam

I decided to stop the iron supplements today so I could level out before my eventual annual checkup. We had brunch planned at IHOP for Autumn’s birthday, and we barely got around for that. Eaddie slept late while Summer had to go to Atkins to pick up Noah. Things immediately started going wrong.

The restaurant was pretty busy, and they were not prepared. A table behind us had some kind of drama going on, so a manager demanded that they leave. When they refused, he walked away saying the cops would remove them. Things settled down pretty immediately after that, and we eventually got our order in. Of course, it was a full hour before we saw a morsel of food, so we sipped ice waters until then.

Afterward, I ended up taking Muad’Dib home while Summer dropped Noah off. Eaddie wanted to go ride bikes, so I was tasked with getting out the bike rack in the heat of midday. I immediately started pouring sweat in the humidity, but we eventually got everything loaded, aired up, and ready to go.

We had a false start when my watch incorrectly alerted me that I had left my phone. We turned back before I realized it actually was in my pocket. We got to the lake and unloaded the bikes, but I realized I didn’t have Muad’Dib’s collar remote, so I left Summer with him on a leash and ran back home.

I couldn’t find the remote at first, and in the process, I dumped a full tumbler of water all over the kitchen floor. I mopped that up, dried my socks, and eventually loaded up again. The kids had gotten their bikes and started riding around the marina, and Summer was walking around with Muad’Dib. I brought my Onewheel since I wasn’t sure what the mood would be like after I had been gone so long.

Summer got Muad’Dib into the water and splashed around with him a bit. I was still hot and burned out, so I mostly sat from that point on, but I did take Muad’Dib for a couple short runs. Eaddie, Eli, and Ceci eventually came back around and hung out with us before we loaded up to go back home.

We unloaded and the kids went for more biking while I took Muad’Dib to my parents’ house for a brief visit. Summer started a bath for him when we got back, but I made it in there to take over, which upset her for some reason. She always refuses any time I mention that maybe she could bathe him, so I just didn’t get it.

I got him bathed and she helped dry him. Then I vacuumed a ton of hair off of him before finally getting to wind down for bed. Eaddie got home and took a shower, but then started to leave again. Summer was in bed, so I had to play bad cop again and tell her she needed to give their family a break and stay home to finish cleaning her bathroom and bedrooms, which have been complete wrecks all week.

Finally, I made a mad dash to finish up for bed, exhausted from the break.

And not one “thank you” was heard.

Uncategorised

Try Again

We got out a little earlier today, with a sack full of goodies to take to work. It had rained overnight, but then rained on us again on the way, but we still made pretty good time. It had calmed down by the time we got there, and I continued tinkering with my Intune policies.

It was pretty early in the day that Teisha came around to let everyone know they were closing at three. I picked a good day to bring my lunch, because I would have felt a little bad leaving for an hour and then leaving work early too. I warmed up my old gas station burger inside the network rack while I bounced back and forth between my office and the maintenance computer I’d been managing.

A while after lunch, Janice came up with a bowl of strawberry shortcake. She said she assumed I would want some from when they had it for David’s birthday while I was out. I often question whether people actually like me there, or whether they think I’m doing a good job, but it’s been a long time since I’ve had a job where anyone did something like this for me.

The afternoon was short, but I ended up staying nearly an hour late trying to reset the maintenance computer again just to test its behavior. We still beat Summer home, even though she was supposed to be off at four. It downpoured on us again on the way home, but that was short lived. We ran to pick up a package for Julie, and then Summer decided she wanted steak for dinner, so we ran Muad’Dib over to stay with Dad and went out to eat.

Check-H was pretty quiet, with mostly empty tables. The food was above average though, and we had some awesome salads and some of the best service we’ve ever had at a restaurant. We filled up, then headed back to get Muad’Dib. Dad had taken him on a little walk, so we had to go fetch some poop down the road before heading home. I let Muad’Dib run again, and he trotted along happily all the way.

Summer and I didn’t really see each other much after that. She did a little work and then went to bed. I was going to lay down with her for a bit, but then she disgusted me with her lack of attention to hygiene when handling dirty things, so I separated myself for the rest of the night.

Bugged

Uncategorised

Are You In, or Are You Out?

I took the Model Y to work today so Summer could keep the Model 3 in town without burning the battery before our evening trip to Fayetteville. It was frustrating how junky her car is on the inside, but I’ve just had to turn a blind eye to it. It was quiet at the office, so I spent all day fighting the firewall and setting up more restrictive policies for devices in the plant.

I forgot my cheese sandwich, so I had my banana alone for breakfast. My iron left my stomach a bit unsettled all day, but we persevered. I skipped a proper lunch, but picked up a couple order of mozzarella sticks from Sonic and then came back to the office.

I basically completed what I had set out to do, which was get the new maintenance computer ready for deployment. We left close to 3:30 and raced home to get ready for the Coheed and Cambria concert. I swapped cars with Summer at Superfast, then headed home to change. That was when I learned that Eaddie had taken my earplugs some time ago, and left them in her old flute case that was on loan to Jenny. She said I gave them to her for marching season, but that had to be a lie because I had already given her a completely different set of her own. I tried to get her to retrieve them, but she got an attitude to the point that I nearly left her at home.

We dropped Muad’Dib off with Dad for the hour until Summer got off work, and then I chauffeured Eaddie and Eli to Fayetteville. Eaddie started fussing as we came up to Ozark and wanted food. I told her I wouldn’t stop, but then I did anyway. We ate some food at the picnic table outside, then continued to the Ozark Music Hall. I was pretty frustrated that all of the EV spots were taken by gas vehicles, and would have keyed them if my Tesla key wasn’t a plastic card.

The line stretched down the sidewalk, but we made it inside without any trouble. We had plenty of time before the music started, but of course the mob was already at the center of the floor and on up to the stage. We found a winding merch line and I picked up a shirt. The guy was too busy trying to serve the next person, so he didn’t hear me ask for a bag of coffee beans they had, but they were overpriced anyway.

The concert started with an Arkansas band called Little Towns, which were very good, but didn’t really speak to me in that special kind of way. I would have considered their merch if it didn’t have a big razorback on it. They played quite a few songs, and then the set change took a while, but Coheed eventually came out and rocked. It was a good show, but I would have liked to get there as early as I had planned before Eaddie dragged behind.

As they played their last song, Welcome Home, Claudio came out with a double-necked guitar that was tuned incorrectly. They had to stop, adjust, and then restart, but did so with a laugh. It was a good time. Afterward we headed home, having to stop in Ozark to charge again since we couldn’t during the concert. We picked up a ton of food again because the lady said it was all half-off. We shared a couple sandwiches and a bunch of other fried snacks before making it the rest of the way home for bed.

Bye bye, beautiful. Don’t bother to write.

Uncategorised

No Buds

I didn’t sleep great again, but I managed to get up and out to check on my parents before going to work. Dad was out of his chair before Mom was, and sounded much better. We ended up getting to work just a little later than usual. I chatted up front for a little bit, then headed upstairs to find a project.

Summer told me last night that she was taken out of the regional meetings, so she wouldn’t be going to Little Rock any more. That meant she wasn’t meeting me for lunch, so I went to McDonald’s for a $2 order of McNuggets, and then Arby’s for a gyro. We took it back to work to eat, and I started on the nuggets in the parking lot while Muad’Dib wandered about. The wind had been going, but about halfway through it wanted to carry my food off, so we went inside to finish.

The afternoon carried on a bit as I caught up on the Google I/O summit. Quitting time eventually showed up and we headed home, driving with my meats because it was raining too much for autopilot to do it quickly. Summer was playing Torchlight, but I asked if she wanted to check on my parents with me. She got up and we made it over there to talk briefly. Mom got up to warm up some dinner for them, so we left. Terry walked up just as we were leaving, so I pointed him to go on in.

Just as we got to the house, I realized I forgot my eyeglasses at my parents’ house, so I dropped Summer and Muad’Dib off and went back. Terry was just leaving and commented on my car, so I talked him into a joyride. Then I had to find dinner because Summer didn’t want to eat like we had planned. I tried Gary and Grant, but neither answered. I circled around a bit, but still ended up at our planned Cici’s for a $5.99 salad. The salad was great, and I felt like I didn’t stuff myself.

I made it back to the house and took Muad’Dib on an acoustic walk before coming in for the night. I thought to look for my earbuds for our concert the next day, and couldn’t find them anywhere. I’m pretty disciplined about putting things like that in their home, so it was frustrating that they seemed to have disappeared. Even Summer eventually got out of bed to help look, but we couldn’t find them anywhere. I just went to bed, disappointed again.

How did I get here?

Uncategorised

Reedy or Not

I slept in pretty well today, and hoped that would help my recent concerns. Summer and I ate some leftovers and Eaddie left to get ready for Jenny’s recital in the afternoon. The whole day went by pretty quickly, but I tried to stay useful and productive. Summer took some time to get out her old laptop and play Torchlight II, which seemed like a good mental health break.

I got showered and we barely made it out of the house in time to drop Muad’Dib off with Dad before making it to the recital. Eaddie was only playing in one of the songs, but it was a nice, quiet show with just a bunch of the band kids and families. The kids did great, and then afterwards I saw Russ and talked to him for a moment before heading out.

Summer really wanted ice cream, so we went to Las Delicias where she got a cone and I got a mangonada. I didn’t think it was as good as Bocadillos, and I didn’t much care for the atmosphere being dark and loud, so we left and headed back to my parents’ house to get Muad’Dib. We visited there for a while before I really wanted to find dinner.

I wanted to try and find something with a bit more nutrition than the leftover Ridgewood nachos that were in the refrigerator, so we drove across town looking. We turned around at the old Valley Park Center where they had a whole lot of construction finishing up. Then we stopped at Aldi’s to see what aldi fuss was about. It was surprisingly cold and quiet in there, with a pretty limited selection. It didn’t seem worth the drive to me.

I got a box of salad, and we headed home to eat the last of the spaghetti squash casserole that Summer made. Then she cleaned the kitchen while I picked up around the house. She eventually went back to Torchlight and I took Muad’Dib on a run to take some old shirts to Dad before his surgery in the morning.

We wound down a bit more, then I did my best to get to bed on time.

DRINK MORE!

Uncategorised

Browntown and Down

I managed to wake up feeling better this morning, though I didn’t sleep very late. I have no idea what caused my sudden confusion last night. I suppose I had been low on sleep, and I was stuck looking at confusing file paths trying to recover my lost tabs sessions, but I’ve never been so immediately disoriented like that before.

Summer went to the gym while I got around. I took my iron pill again, which may have upset my stomach a bit. Once Summer made it back and we got all showered up, we went to Brown’s to use a couple coupons for lunch. Muad’Dib had to wait in the car since Eaddie left for rehearsal. The restaurant lobby was absolutely packed, but evidently it was just one large party, because they were able to seat us in a fair amount of time once all the others were taken to the back room. We also saw Steven while we were waiting. I guess he just walked over from his food truck to use the restroom. We should really go visit him again.

After we ate, I dropped Summer off at work for a closing shift. Then Muad’Dib and I found Eaddie at home, ready to do some pressure washing. She brought out all the chairs from the back porch while I set up the pressure washer in the driveway. I was full and it was super hot, so I burned out quickly just moving around. She did a great job of cleaning the chairs though, and I even got to wash my car and try some new soap and a new foam cannon. Once everything was cleaned up, I covered them on the back porch so they’ll be clean the next time we want to go out for an impromptu porch sitting.

Summer finished up around six, so Muad’Dib and I went to pick her up. Then I spent way too long trying to clean up the battery in the Murano so we could get it charged. It has always kind of eaten batteries, and both terminals were completely caked in corrosion. I had to clean off the toolbox to get to my sockets, but I couldn’t get the positive terminal off at all because the bolt was stripped or something. I vaguely remembered having trouble in the past, so it could probably just use a new terminal, or at least a new nut and bolt to tighten it.

I came in to take a cool shower for the night, and the girls settled in quickly. I was up later than I really wanted, and didn’t feel great, but it could have been much worse.

Sleep more!

Uncategorised

Delivery Wheel

I had a Soylent this morning to see if keeping things nutritious would help me feel better, and at the very least it didn’t hurt. Consciously breathing hasn’t been great fun either, but it might help. I had a cup of hot tea instead of coffee, and just kept busy.

McDonald’s pushed a notification for $2 McNuggets yesterday and said the deal wouldn’t expire until the end of the month, but I couldn’t find that deal anywhere. We ended up going to Sonic for a pretty cheap, small lunch. I still felt fairly hungry but didn’t want to overdo it either, so I went to Harp’s to browse a bit and picked up a couple tuna snack kits just in case.

The afternoon was a little dull until quitting time. I tried to gather notes for the staff meeting in the morning, and then I headed home to find Summer where she had been all day, not feeling well. She wanted me to pick up pizza for dinner, so I ordered some Domino’s and took Muad’Dib on a run down the hill to the new restaurant. He got lots of pets from a couple of the girls there, and then we headed home to eat.

After dinner, I took him to see my parents briefly, and them came back home to quickly wrap things up for bed.

Preferably, the backup solution would work.

Uncategorised

ANX

I didn’t feel great for a lot of today. We made it to work and I distributed a bunch of dog treats, but within a couple hours I had an anxiety attack in my office. It took me a little bit to shake that off, but sometime later I felt strange like my blood pressure dropped. My heart rate was right around 60, which was unusually low for doing even as little as I was doing. I took my blood pressure, so moving around got my heartrate up, and my pressure wasn’t terrible.

We got up and met Summer at Ortega’s for lunch, and I meant to scale back a bit but didn’t. She wasn’t feeling well either, so she went home with a headache. I finished up the day and tried to stay aware of how I was feeling.

We had therapy after work, but he was tired too. It wasn’t a great session, but I think we decided we could work together well enough to survive on a deserted island. Dwayne asked if we minded wrapping up early, so we left after just half an hour. I got some washer fluid from the lube and then met Summer at home.

I had to pick up a prescription before they closed, so I ran Muad’Dib to the Neighborhood Market on the Onewheel. When we got there, they said they couldn’t fill it because insurance had just filled it at Walgreens, so we raced home and then I drove by myself to Walgreens before they closed. Luckily I was able to get my prescription there, and they even filled it for 90 days instead of 30 like Walmart.

I made it back home where Summer had curled up in bed. I took Muad’Dib for a quick run to my parents’ house to visit for a bit, and then my Onewheel died just as we were a couple blocks from home. I was able to limp it most of the way after walking up a couple small hills. At least this was actually closer to the low end of the battery instead of over 50% like before.

I wrapped things up relatively quickly, but then I lost power to my computer, which broke my Tabs Outliner plugin again, so I lost the past several weeks of history again. I’ll have to fight it later to see if I can recover anything, but sleep calls.

Damned tab hoarding…

Uncategorised

Bumble Fly

I didn’t sleep great last night, but we made it to work and seemed to be rested well enough. Joel was back with Dexter, but he was still too chicken to play. I had a couple things in particular to get done, but otherwise just kept busy. The morning went by pretty quickly, but we were interrupted around lunch time when Julie texted that she messed up her website and email.

We went by Subway to pick up a sandwich, but then ate at the office while I tried to figure out what happened. Evidently ChatGPT directed her to set up a different hosting company, so she messed up her DNS settings. It took a while to come to that conclusion, but I got things straightened out. Verizon was slow to get their DNS updated though, so she had trouble getting her email on her phone all evening.

We made it home to find Summer on the couch. She bathed a little later while Julie came over to get help fixing her phone email. Then I unboxed a bunch of stuff from Vine. As it started to get dark, I knew I had to take Muad’Dib on a run. I cut it short since he hasn’t been very fast for very long lately. We stopped to see my parents, then chatted with Rick for just a second when we passed him on the way home.

Summer was ready for bed, but ate a few leftovers and poked at Julie’s website for a bit. I got WordPress installed, so at least now we’ll have something a little familiar to work with.

It been that day for me. Sit down.

Uncategorised

Sad Grad

Summer got up early for Run Like Yell in Dardanelle. I originally said I would go, but she insisted that I didn’t have to, and I didn’t sleep great. Of course I couldn’t really sleep after she left, so I got up and made myself a croissant sandwich. I burned the bread and set off the alarms, and then Eaddie got up and left to play at graduation. After that, I repotted a plant and watered the rest. Summer showered, then I followed suit before we left to meet the girls at Buffalo Wild Wings.

Muad’Dib did reasonably well there, and we stuffed ourselves with junk food again. Autumn fussed about not being able to eat much, and then about her relationship, so the conversation started going in circles a bit. I tried not to be too involved, but it really served as a reminder of the past drama we always had to endure. Eaddie showed up late after rehearsal, ate a bit, and then I think she left with Autumn while Summer and I took Muad’Dib to stay with my parents.

It didn’t take Muad’Dib long to break out of the back yard, and then Summer kept calling at him to go back, which of course drew him to jump on my car. I yelled about it, so she got quite for a while. We made it to graduation nearly an hour early and found seats in the second row. It wasn’t terribly long after everything finally started that I got an alert that Muad’Dib had left his safe zone.

I panicked and got up to call Dad, who didn’t answer. Mom answered, but didn’t have a clue where he was. I couldn’t tell if Dad had taken him out for a walk or if he had left to look for him. I also couldn’t send a screenshot of the GPS location because my phone got hot and started acting jittery. I got most of the way back to the car when the location finally updated to show Muad’Dib back near my parents’ house, but Dad still wasn’t answering. I waited a while and eventually felt good enough to go back inside.

We watched Autumn walk, and Summer kept yelling at other people she recognized. I kept feeling like she needed to go back to education if she wanted to feel happy about that kind of stuff again, but we’ve also gotten used to bigger paychecks.

They finally wrapped things up and we met the girls outside in the sun. I got pretty warm and was annoyed that we kept having to wander around looking for kids that were doing their own family things, and hadn’t asked to meet anywhere in particular. We got some pictures, but Summer wanted specific group shots. I ended up sitting in the car for some of that. When the girls all finally caught up with one another, she called me to drive over to them. Then Autumn started fussing about Adam some more. I said my peace and then wandered off to chase my car, which was driving around on “Smart” Summon in an annoying pattern without crossing parking lines.

I finally got Summer into the car, and the kids allegedly left to go meet up with Noah. I dropped Summer off at home so she could rest before going to a team meeting at work, and then took the Onewheel to retrieve Muad’Dib. We sat inside for a little while, then Mom came out to look at her plants. We helped a very little bit before riding back home. Summer called just as we got there because Autumn wanted to tell me I helped motivate her to break up with Adam. I just told her to keep pushing herself to be better and do the right thing.

Summer eventually made it home and we watched a YouTube video about digging for supercritical geothermal. Then she went to bed and I followed for just a little bit before going off to do my own thing. I was up later than I wanted to be, and had an anxiety attack at one point while playing on my phone. Eaddie eventually made it home near midnight, and then I went to bed as well.

Late night drops!