Tag: health

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Husky Nights and Melancholie Days

Summer had to open one of her stores today, so I just met her at Saint Mary’s for her mammogram and ultrasound. I walked in and saw Allen sitting there waiting to go back, so I sat next to him to chat until seats cleared up and we could all sit together. He was there getting X-rayed, and stayed to chat with me while Summer went back. She wasn’t in there long though, and came out looking really upset. I may have misread her based on our conversations the rest of the day, but they referred her to get an MRI in Conway instead of taking a biopsy, so I’m hopeful that it’s just nothing.

She had to go back to work, so I ran to McDonald’s to grab her some breakfast before meeting Allen at Price Break. Wednesday was apparently dollar day, and the place was absolutely packed. He didn’t stay long, but I grabbed a Christmas ornament of Rocket Raccoon and a case of some soda or energy drink stuff to try. He had another doctor appointment after that, so I headed toward home but stopped at Ridgewood Brothers just to say, “hello.” Grant accidentally messed up his macaroni sauce somehow, so I got out of the way and went home just long enough for Allen to text that he was done.

We met at Panda Express for some lunch and chatted for quite a while. I thought he’d come see the new house, but he changed his mind at the last minute and I headed home to run Muad’Dib. We went to the basin and saw that Dad was at the old house, so I thought we’d run across town to see him. He was mowing the lawns, so we rode on down to Allen’s house and got to play with Davis, his new dachshund. Davis ran circles around Muad’Dib in the back yard for a bit, and then we continued on down to the airport to visit Kevin for a little while.

Summer mentioned us coming to see her, so we headed back to the old house for a break before making our way to Superfast. Everyone there loved him, but Muad’Dib was tired. He had some popcorn, and then we continued home, stopping at the little paved pad with bike tools and a picnic table to rest and enjoy the shady breeze for a while. We got through the basin, visited Dad at home, and finally made it home where he laid down on the porch for a snooze.

Shawna called and we caught up for a little bit while I sat out on the porch with Muad’Dib. Eaddie got home from band solo and ensemble, and played with him for a little bit before coming in to eat. I cleaned up some of my own leftovers from work lunch, and then Summer got home and I made her a bowl of meatballs she made last night. We had a nice chat for a while until she went to bed, and then it was a slow wind-down for me.

Perfect.

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Dynamism

Randy had Kyle, Jim, and me meet at the high school core closet today to try and resolve an outage from over the weekend. It was a fair amount of sitting, but I did manage to pull a DHCP configuration off of a bare metal installation, then import it into a spare DHCP virtual machine we already had. Kyle did some magic on his side to fix some other related issues, and I think we eventually got the middle school back online as well, but Randy indicated that was Windstream’s fault.

That got us all the way to lunch, and I met them at David’s Burgers for one of the better burgers I’ve had there. I like their fries when they’re hot and fresh more than the ones I’ve had from CJ’s in town. Then after lunch, I ended up back at the office for the rest of the day.

The afternoon went by pretty quickly, and I washed the car as soon as I got into town. Muad’Dib ended up eating the Google TV remote last night, so we put him outside again. I took him out for a really good run and chatted with Shawna for a little while. We got to meet a little dachshund that got away from her owner, so she got a treat. Then we encountered Dad’s drone on the way back toward the other side of the basin trail, since our usual path was flooded.

We visited briefly, but then headed home to meet Summer. Her mammogram came back cloudy, so they scheduled her again for Wednesday to do an enhanced image and ultrasound. She had a difficult day even before that call, and had to discipline one of her leaders that was showing signs of her own personality traits, and I think that was a turning point for her in a good way. There’s no reason for her or anyone else to break themselves for a job like that. It might be different if they were helping people, but they’re changing oil and washing cars.

Summer went to decompress in a bath, and I ended up calling Shawna again while I drained the sump room. It was absolutely full of water, and Josh peeked over the fence to remind me in the most polite way possible that I was flooding his yard. I’ve got to run a drain line over to the corner of the yard, or at least hook up an automatic sump that drains more frequently to avoid flooding.

When I got back inside, Summer and I talked about her day and ended up calling Shawna together to break through Summer’s resistance to accepting the fact that friends aren’t burdened when they get to listen to your troubles. It’s different if you’re constantly in turmoil that you’ve created yourself by being an idiot. They’re shaping up to be beautiful friends.

I always play Support class.

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Best Doggy Life

Muad’Dib did great in our room last night, and Summer took him out for a potty break in the morning while I tried to sleep in a little bit. We eventually got cleaned up and she walked him, then I rode the Onewheel around the parking lot with him after we got everything out of the hotel and into the car. That was when I ran into Ashante, Julie’s old friend from school. She wanted to meet Muad’Dib, and I told her the story of how I found him. I mentioned that he made the trip from Russellville, and that got the wheels turning on how we knew each other. She remembered going to a pool party and me running around with a “Chucky” doll.

After all of that, we wanted to get lunch before Dad’s matinée show, so I found a dog-friendly restaurant called Red’s Pizzeria just a short walk from the trolly station with EV charging. Summer and I took Muad’Dib over to start charging and waited for my parents to show up. The restaurant was super cute, with basically a counter to place your order, and then a multi-level outdoor patio to sit and eat. Muad’Dib laid down by my side and was super chill the entire time, and the pizza was pretty good.

Back at the convention, the show was good. Dad’s Miser’s Dream went well, and Muad’Dib was much less nervous than the first night when we walked in and sat down right in the middle of a packed house. After the show, we tried to go back to the strip to walk around, but both chargers were occupied and I didn’t feel comfortable going to pay for parking in another place that was a tighter fit. We ended up going back to the chargers and just waiting for one of those two people to come back for their car. Fortunately it didn’t take too long, and it was a nice rest on a bench in the shade with the dog.

By then it was time to get dinner, so we made our way down to Local Flavor Cafe, who also had a porch for dogs. I rode the Onewheel down the hill in case I needed to go park for my parents and act as a faster valet service. They ended up just parking in the bank lane since they were closed, and we had a nice dinner. Our server even brought out a fresh bowl of water for Muad’Dib, who spent most of the time under my chair and got plenty of scraps.

The evening show was really good, but the three of us were exhausted from running around so much. Muad’Dib had the best doggie vacation he’d ever had, and behaved so wonderfully. He rode home perfectly with a quick stop in Ozark, and then he was super excited to see Eaddie when we got home. I let him sleep in Eaddie’s room, and Summer went straight to bed. I was up unexpectedly late, and I just know I’ll pay for it later.

I skipped a roll.

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A Dog and a Magic Show

Summer’s phone started ringing pretty early this morning, so we didn’t sleep in very late. My legs felt swollen all night even after I woke up and put a pillow under them to lift them up slightly. It was a really slow start to the day, but we eventually got ready and everything packed to go to Eureka Springs. Eli came over because Eaddie was staying behind for their anniversary. I had to run to my parents’ house for a shirt that Dad forgot, and the dog food he still had since we were out of the good stuff that Muad’Dib liked.

I liked the back seat protector I got for my car, so we set it up and loaded Muad’Dib up, and we headed up to Arby’s for some lunch before we left. We tied him to a light post outside where we could see him, then made the trip to Ozark to charge and get snacks, and give him another break.

That stop went well, and he handled the ride perfectly up to that point, but we were about to hit the curves and I was a little bit nervous after he threw up in Eaddie’s car the other day. He took it like a champ though, and calmed down enough to play with his little stuffed raccoon that we brought for him. We stopped just before we got to Eureka for another quick potty break, and he jumped right back into the car without any trouble.

My parents were getting a group together for dinner, so we arrived at La Familia Tex-Mex just before everyone started ordering. I tied Muad’Dib up on the deck outside and gave him a little bowl of food so he wouldn’t look so abandoned. I checked on him a couple times, and then Summer and Dad went out after they ate. She ended up spending more time with him while I finished up, and then we finally made it to the hotel.

We got checked in, and then I took Muad’Dib around the parking lot for a run to burn off some of that pent-up energy he had from the drive. He did pretty well, but was expectedly excited to be in a new place. I did learn that he really needs a rigid leash instead of an elastic one, because he responds perfectly to the feedback I can give him on a rigid line. The elastic completely ruins that feedback loop for us, but makes it more awkward than just going outright off-leash. We eventually made it down to the convention center for the evening magic show, and it took him a while to calm down, but he did eventually lay down in the floor at my feet.

The show was really good, and I was surprised at the amount of people in the crowd. When we got back to our building, I ran him around the covered walkway since it had rained slightly while we were at the show. He still had a bunch of energy and pounced on Summer in the bed for a while, but eventually laid down in the floor by me while I worked on my computer. I was up a lot later than I intended, but there’s nothing new about that. We’re only here for one day, so we’ll have to figure out charging tomorrow sometime, while also having somebody that isn’t allowed everywhere we might want to go. He’s still been great, but that’s why I chose this familiar trip to learn how to travel with a dog.

No accidents yet!

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The Breakdown

I got up this morning to an empty house and checked on Muad’Dib. I didn’t have any messages about Stilgar, so I got showered and took the Pathfinder to visit Animal Control to see if they picked him up. In hindsight I guess I could have called again, but I was desperately hoping I’d get to bring him home. As soon as I got into the car, I saw how filthy it was from all of Eaddie’s junk in the passenger seat, center console, back seat, and trunk. There was crap everywhere, and the gas tank was empty to boot. I wasn’t even sure I’d make it to the shelter, so I turned around and went to Casey’s for some gas first. I redeemed a birthday donut and ate that in the parking lot, then made my way to the shelter.

The two ladies that were working said they hadn’t picked up anything like Stilgar, but immediately knew of him when I mentioned that Nancy had called 911 the day before. They said they had a couple people call about them killing cats, and that one of them, presumably the man, threatened to shoot them if they came around again. I think I knew it all along when Muad’Dib showed up by himself, but it really sank in when I got home and found the “final warning” door tag they had just left on our front door before I drove over.

I brought the leashes in from the car and had an absolute screaming fit before going outside to hold Muad’Dib. He hadn’t been eating, but he would take a few kibbles out of my hand if I offered them. We went out riding around to look for Stilgar, but didn’t hear a thing in the neighborhood. It was almost eerily quiet. We went all the way up Inglewood and visited the bank so I could pay Dad back for writing my sales tax check to the DMV. I realized I didn’t have my wallet once I got to the window, so we had to ride back home to get that, then made it back to the bank.

We waited longer the second time, but eventually got the cash and rode back to my parents’ house to give the money to Dad. That was when I realized they shorted me by 95 cents. We got back home and I got Muad’Dib situated in the backyard. Then I changed clothes and decided to take some returns to The UPS Store and then wash my car before going back to the bank for a third time.

The UPS Store visit was short and sweet since I took care of all the re-taping at home. The car wash was mostly out of soap, so it was a short wash. As I sprayed the side of my car, I noticed a fleck of white appear on the driver side rocker panel. Paint had actually flaked right off under relatively light pressure. I suspect they’ll try to deny it under warranty, but I feel like it’s worth pressing. Finally, I made it all the way back across town to get my missing 95 cents, and took Aaron for a ride in the new Model 3. I took him to our house since he had driven down Inglewood anyway. After I dropped him off, I went by the Neighborhood Market to get some hamburger meat to make tacos and clean up the veggies we still had at home.

I was unboxing Vine deliveries when Summer came home, and I was nearly shaking from the confrontation I knew we were about to have. Then she hit me with, “Why have you been ignoring me?” “I’ve been exhausted and in a tremendous amount of pain from riding 25 miles looking for my dog.” “You’ve been ignoring me all week.” I trembled as I yelled at her to leave me alone, and had another screaming fit in the laundry room after she slammed the back door going out to see our one remaining dog.

I eventually gathered myself enough to try and talk to her, but then after nearly eight years, she finally felt something strongly enough to yell at me. She was mad that “everything was her fault.” Ironically, that was precisely why I was mad as well. Of course she was wrong, but of course I wasn’t going to give her a list of all the stupid things she’s done on a daily basis to make my life more difficult at best, no matter how many times she asked me to name something. It was mutually assured destruction.

I had to clean myself up and went back outside to hold Muad’Dib, but knocked on the door to tell Summer she could come out too. She had calmed down and wanted to go to the gym, but I told her I had stuff to make burritos and that I hadn’t eaten anything all day. Then I asked her the question that’s been buzzing in my head for weeks: Did she book a hotel in Indianapolis with car charging?

“I don’t know.”

Eaddie got home just as Summer left for the gym, and we talked for a while as I cooked. We both ate, and then I had to go back to the store to get some Theraflu for my parents. Everyone was pretty much off to bed by the time I got home for the night, and I was up late stewing in my head for the next few hours.

Broke the Bank

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Killswitch Triggered

Summer left early this morning for a run in Danville, and Eaddie got up shortly after I did, then left for some band assessment event. I felt a little rough from my meds again, but it wasn’t terrible. I got out to check on the dogs, and it sounded like they were gone. Summer got home just as I was getting dressed to go find them. Then I rode about nine miles all around the neighborhood before I finally found them on my second trip to my parents’ house. I kept listening for barking dogs, but hardly heard anything anywhere, and nobody I encountered had seen anything. We got home and I ended up tying Stilgar up and putting the shock collar on Muad’Dib. I think Stilgar just had too much fur for it to work on him.

After that, I took a shower and got ready to leave town. I washed my car first since it was covered in spots from being washed, sprinkled upon, and then dusted. Then I headed toward Fayetteville for Brandon’s birthday event. I stopped to charge in Ozark, then made it up to the Northwest Arkansas Mall to charge outside Dillard’s for a few minutes while I waited for everyone else to show up at Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza and Taproom.

The mall was quite busy in most areas, but there were definitely dead spots too. Dillard’s had a surprising number of people, and there were a couple interesting stores inside. The food court seemed like the busiest area even though it was a little between lunch and dinner time.

I got to the restaurant just moments before Brandon, Diana, Ryan, Aaron, and Alma. I didn’t know what to think about the place, but it was their first time as well. It looked like it was a part of a fancy apartment complex, but it may have just adjacent coincidentally. It was a neat looking establishment though. We found a couple of tiny sofas and sat around a coffee table thing before getting any food. They had a wall of beers and wines that were all self-serve, and we had to go get an RFID bracelet that let us tap to pour. I really liked everything I tried, and the pizza wasn’t bad either, though it was all pretty pricey.

It was a great time catching up, but we had to get down the road to the concert at JJ’s Live. Aaron and Alma weren’t going, so we bid them farewell and I ended up driving the other three to the venue. We parked across the street at Target and walked over where it was a relatively easy entrance to a pretty packed floor. It was a very industrial chic with a catwalk balcony overhead. We were late enough that we completely missed Frozen Soul, but we stood near the back of the floor for Fit for a King and got to see their whole set. By the end I was sweating pretty hard and went to the concession stand to get some water.

While standing in line, I started to feel faint like I did at the school’s self-care fair. I ended up taking a knee right in line a couple of times, and finally got to the point where I turned to the guys behind me and let them know I thought I was having blood pressure issues. I asked them to help me get some water while I walked to the wall and had a seat on a flat dolly. They mentioned a nearby EMT, then reported the venue was out of water bottles, but the bartender poured her water into a cup of ice and gave that to me. Then I asked the guys to go ahead and get the EMT just to have him check my blood pressure.

That was when I met Hunter, the 22-year-old, patchwork tattooed, chatty EMT. I had a giggle to myself at his little Kilroy tattoo. He was super friendly and did his best to get my BP, pulse, and oxygen levels while I was sitting there. It was hard for him to hear, but he thought I was right around 120, which was unexpected. After sitting through all of that, I felt good enough to walk outside while he accompanied me to find a chair. It got super cold, super fast.

I texted the group and stayed outside for all of Kublai Khan TX’s set, but from what I heard, they would have been way too hard for me anyway. Diana came out to find me outside between sets, and then we went back inside for Killswitch Engage. I definitely liked them the most, but most of it was still too hard for my liking. We weren’t close to the stage at all, but it was still too much of a packed floor for me. I thought I was going to feel bad again at one point, but kept drinking water out of the sink until I felt fine.

After the show, we made it to the car really quickly and I dropped Brandon, Diana, and Ryan off at their car. Then I made it back to Ozark for a charge, break, and snack. I got home well after midnight and wrapped up quickly for bed.

Hydrate.

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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?

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Back to Packed

I was a bit out of sorts this morning, but I managed to swing by the new Starbucks for a free coffee and still made it to work just a couple minutes late. Randy said last week was super rough without me, which I guess made me feel good about myself, but I feel like a placebo. Surely I’m not contributing that much most of the time. I kept fairly busy trying to image a couple of laptops all day. Jim was having trouble with it, and I’m still having trouble setting a naming standard for everyone across the district because of our weird mix of devices.

We went to Skinny J’s for lunch because they had a $9 sandwich deal, and then $3 pickles on top of that. Dad called while we were there and said the dogs were at his house. Luckily Summer was home and could go pick them up, and she reattached the pallet they tore off of the fence. It started sprinkling a little bit after lunch, but it didn’t really rain hard until the evening. I supercharged for a while on the way home, and just as I was changing clothes to take the dogs out, it started to pour.

It let up a little bit and I took a bunch of Amazon returns to UPS. Summer was home from the gym when I got back, but she didn’t want dinner. Eaddie showed up and said she would be down for a $4.99 Cici’s buffet, so the two of us went out. They were packed and kept a good rotation of pies up, so it was pretty good.

When we got back, Summer had to get on a Zoom call for the band trip. I played with the dogs for a bit since they didn’t get to go out on a run with me, and Muad’Dib wouldn’t eat any dinner. I hoped that he had just found some other food somewhere else, and wasn’t just sick and not eating. Stilgar hadn’t lost his appetite.

As I was getting ready for bed, my head felt completely clogged, and I hoped I hadn’t caught whatever Eaddie brought home. I just finished two rounds of antibiotics that didn’t really seem to help my cough at all, so we may just be going into month three with this crud.

Don’t blink!

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Family Reuniration

I didn’t sleep great on the hard, flat, box spring-like mattress last night, but it could have been worse. I was pretty tired, but not as tired as I would find myself after another full day with the family. Dad got up and started making some breakfast. I made it downstairs and made myself a couple eggs to eat with the rest of the Ethiopian leftovers, and it was absolutely spectacular. I may have some eggs with the last of the injera tomorrow. Bác Trân brought a load of shredded pork with him for some reason, and kept setting out bowls of it in the kitchen, so I kept eating little bits of it any time I would pass by. Mom always made it with chicken when we were younger, but it was all pretty similar.

Julie ended up taking the adults to get some food for Uncle Tuan while I got ready to go. I hate shower curtains because they always blow in toward the shower. This one was twice as bad because my shower had a window with a curtain that stretched the span of that entire wall. So there I was, taking a shower between two full-sized shower curtains, having a terrible time. It could have been worse too.

I noticed a vehicle parked out front before Julie got back, but he got out when she pulled up. He was here about a couple maintenance issues she reported, and then he was gone. We headed on back to Park Village to visit with the family, and Uncle Tuan seemed to be doing much better than the night before. He seemed to be all smiles, had eaten all of his soup they brought him, and Julie even had him talked into rolling outside for a bit of sunshine.

I wasn’t ready to blame it all on her, but when Lan showed up, things seemed to shift. The Vietnamese started flowing, so nobody else could keep up. Their voices escalated as they always do, and we could see Uncle Tuan’s smile shift to mild anguish and eventually some tears. It was all we could do to force all of the adults out of the room to have their discussion elsewhere, but from that point on, Uncle Tuan was back to being disinterested. I don’t know how much of him was ever there, but the family needed to make a better effort of keeping things positive around him.

Dad found us a room across the property and I said my peace. Then Julie and Lan came down and Dad and I ended up going back to sit with Uncle Tuan. We watched Teen Titans, but didn’t make any other progress after that. Eventually the rest of the family came back around and they wanted to go eat, so we drove up the road to Phở Hoà for a late lunch with Lan’s family.

The food was pretty good, and then we had them over to the Airbnb for a tour. I caught up with Summer while she walked the dogs, and the elders took a nap. When they were ready to go back, Julie and I dropped them off while she went to a wax appointment in the city. It happened to be right next to the Best Buy, so I went there to stand by their Pixel Watch display and borrowed their charger to get my watch back up to 97%.

Julie actually finished before me, but I found her at the car and we headed back to the home to visit. Lan had brought him some more food from home that he ate, which seemed to have spirits up again, but then he was getting a little hazy from his evening medication so we left for the night.

Lan really wanted to show off the house she just bought, so we drove way across the city to see that. She was there with one or two sisters, but I couldn’t be sure without speaking the language. She had some nice things, but overall it felt more like a college roommate situation than anything else. We stood there for a while before we finally made it out.

Julie and I spotted a Jack in the Box nearby, and I was a little bit surprised to see that it piqued her interest as well. We stopped on the way out to try and get some food, but they were only open for drive-through. Julie wanted to order at one closer to the Airbnb so the food wouldn’t get so cold, even though it meant driving past our exit and then turning back. Neither restaurant had good reviews, and they definitely messed up our order, but it was interesting having a late-night munchies type meal with the elders.

After that, everyone fell out pretty quickly. It was a long, difficult day, and I honestly couldn’t predict whether the next two days will be even more difficult, or if they’ll turn around. Eventually a decision will have to be made, and I just don’t know how well it will go for someone who thinks it’s 1990-something.

Oh, how I’ve missed these little talks.

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Half Awake

I got to sleep in a little bit from my normal work schedule, but still had to hit the ground running. I had all but a couple of things packed and ready to go and thought I might have enough time to take the dogs for a quick run, but after staying up so late to pack, I just didn’t make it out. Dad felt like we were super late, so he sped over to get me and then had to go back and get Mom, but they could have just finished loading themselves up first.

After a harrowing trip across town, Julie took over and got us to the airport. We got parked, through security, and onto the plane without any trouble or much wait. Things seemed pretty quiet in the airport. We had a straight shot to Charlotte, but then that airport was under major construction. It was a mess getting out of there, but we finally got our rental van and made it to the Airbnb.

It was an old house, next to some brand new construction, all behind a church. It seemed like an odd place, and just a couple blocks away there was a coliseum where Jo Koy would actually be performing on the Saturday after our departure. The house was pretty rough, and it basically looked like someone moved out and filled it with a bunch of cheap furniture to rent out. I suppose it suited our needs at a better price than multiple hotel rooms, but I think I would have preferred something with better housekeeping.

We didn’t get to spend much time settling in because we had to get back to the airport to get Bác Trân. If anyone thought it was a circus before, then I don’t know what it turned into at that point. It was a wonder he didn’t get kidnapped, but with some help from a kind stranger we found him and loaded him up. Julie wanted to look for food, but we went back to the Airbnb first to get him settled. I finally got a call from the Genesis Cancer and Blood Institute to schedule my visit, and of course that’s another two weeks out. Then we ended up going to an Ethiopian restaurant just up the road called Abugida.

We struggled to get some help with the menu at first, but after talking to who I presume was the owner, we ended up on a big platter for all of us to share. It all came with one spoon for serving, and the rest was eaten with our hands. I think it went much better than any of us expected, and the food was great. Mom ended up using the spoon to load her injera, but everyone got fed.

After we ate, we went further into the city and found a Trader Joe’s, which I think was too organic for everyone but Julie. Mom wanted some sweeter coffee creamer, and they didn’t have any eggs, so Dad and I walked to Target a couple of blocks back. Julie drove Mom and Bác Trân to meet us, and we got the rest of what we needed. Importantly, I got some Simply Spiked and mango Blue Moon for Julie and me.

Most of us were up too late once we got back to the house. I eventually had a video call with Summer to catch up. Julie and I sat in the dining area on our laptops for a while, and eventually everyone but Mom and Bác Trân went to bed. They stayed up in front of the TV until the wee hours of the night, talking too loudly and watching gameshows.

Half Asleep