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!

May the Fifth Be With You

I had an anxiety attack just as I was getting my backpack out of the car this morning, which makes two days in a row. I haven’t been tracking them for very long, but hopefully it helps the next time I go to the doctor. We got upstairs and things were pretty quiet. I spent all day fighting Microsoft documentation and trying to figure out a good way to create a collaborative address book for certain staff members. Outside of that, Charles had trouble with the network in the maintenance shop, so I had to cycle power to those switches in order so they would come back up without trying to mesh with one another.

We met Summer at Ortega’s, and the board didn’t list their usual all-you-can-eat. Instead, they had a double order of fajitas with a free T-shirt for not much more than we would have spent anyway. We shared that and had leftovers to go. Service was pretty good today too, but I also wasn’t depending on refills either.

The afternoon was more frustration with Microsoft until quitting time. Evidently Microsoft just doesn’t have a good method to collaborate on contacts without a bunch of extra effort, depending on which of the six versions of Outlook you’re using. Summer took Muad’Dib home with her at lunch, so it was quiet and lonely for the last part of the day since Janice left early.

Summer was working and watching TV when I got home. I cleaned up and eventually took Muad’Dib for a run. He did really great for part of it, but got slow about halfway through. I ended up eating spring rolls when we got to my parents’ house, and then tried to wind down quickly back at the house.

~mocha chocolata ya ya~

Feeling Fishy

I took a frozen pancake sandwich for breakfast this morning, and that worked out pretty well on a budget, but Muad’Dib didn’t get as much. I cued myself up to buy a Steam Controller at launch, but realized a little later that I had inverted my time zone calculation. I had a quick anxiety attack shortly after that. The controller would actually be launching at noon, when I happened to have a call scheduled.

I made it work though, between the call and a couple other little fires I had to put out. I was pretty busy all day. We did get a break to go to Sonic for lunch though. There was a strong, steady wind the whole time, which would have been great for a kite. I didn’t have a kite, but I did have my Onewheel, so I took Muad’Dib for quick run around the plant when we got back to the office.

The afternoon was just as busy until we left. Summer would get home a little after us, so we had some time to clean up before we decided to meet at Sam’s Southern Eatery for dinner. We hadn’t eaten there in quite some time, and just happened to remember that they had a dog-friendly patio, so we decided to give it a shot.

I decided to take the Onewheel at the last minute so Muad’Dib could get more run time in. We nearly made it downtown when I texted Summer, who said she was ready to leave, so we met her just outside Point Remove and she drove us the rest of the way.

Sam’s was pretty dead, with only a couple other tables of patrons. The patio was empty, but they welcomed us to eat out there. It looked like it hadn’t been swept in quite some time, with trash blown in everywhere on the ground. The tables and chairs were clean though, and the food was great in spite of having slightly smaller portions than when they had just opened.

Afterward, we came home and I let Summer bathe while I took Muad’Dib to my parents’ house and back again. He was full of energy, so I didn’t want to keep him cooped up inside any more than I had to. We had a good run, then came in to calm down, clean up, and get to bed.

No, seriously, DON’T PANIC.

Trimming the Bushes

We slept in a little bit today because Muad’Dib was snuggled up in my arms. The girls got up and hung out for a while without me while I cleaned up a bit. I didn’t feel terrible from the ice cream last night, but I didn’t feel great either. Summer eventually went out to mow while I got showered, and then I made egg and summer sausage croissants for brunch. After we ate, I went out afterward to help trim a bunch of growth around the property. We got rid of most of a tree that had been growing at the corner of the shed, and spent a bunch of time trimming the rose bushes.

While we were out there, I must have gotten overheated in the sun or something, because I felt terrible when we came inside. I just had to sit down for a while to recover while Summer showered. It wasn’t even terribly hot out, but I felt sick.

Summer got some laundry going, and Eaddie went with us to my parents’ house for spring rolls for dinner. Summer had to go to work to let the guys at the wash know that they would have a new manager starting with them this week because she was being assigned solely to the lube. Eaddie and I finished eating, then let Muad’Dib run home next to us. He didn’t really want to come inside, so I took him for a quick run around the block on the Onewheel.

Summer got home, then Eaddie left to shop for some yarn. I cleaned up a little more, and then it was time for bed.

I’m pretty sure I need that to live.

Orange is the Now Back

We grabbed a biscuit from Burger King on the way out of town, and ran a slalom of cops on the way to work. I was hoping to hear some news on our Traverse trouble ticket, but that wasn’t resolved all day long. I even tried scrubbing through our data, but was never quite sure what I was looking for. I took a little break and finally figured out the style color for hyperlinks on my own website, so I was happy to get that back.

I was going to take a late lunch until I realized we had a call in the afternoon. I was the only one on that since Joel was out and Tammy said she was busy, so I sat there for fifteen minutes to watch what could have been an email with a slide deck.

The afternoon was sort of short after that. I had an anxiety attack, and finished the day out trying to get a remote desktop solution working for some computers I’ll have in the plant.

Summer was in Conway for an employee’s graduation, so I met her there for lunch. She picked a place called Kyojin Phở, so wee made our way through half a dozen roundabouts and finally found her. Ben called me on the drive to see if we were coming to Toadsuck, so I talked to him for the last bit of the drive. Kyojin Phở just happened to have a patio, so Muad’Dib got to come sit with us. I got a combination phở, and Summer got a combination dry noodle dish, so he got most of our tripe and tendon. The food tasted good, but my soup was surprisingly cold.

I let the car drive 100% of the way home, and only pressed the accelerator a couple times to push the speed. Otherwise it took me from parked to parked, and it did a pretty great job. Summer actually beat us home though, because it took us around a block of Tech for some reason. I might have stopped it if I had noticed, but I didn’t catch it in time.

Summer went in to get ready for her run in the morning, and I took Muad’Dib for a run. He did pretty great most of the way to my parents’ house, but then slowed down a bit. It was quite a bit cooler though. When we got back, I fixed Summer’s gross earbud that got clogged, then got ready for bed.

It’s like work, but less rewarding!

Hey Mister Deejay

I took my S21 to work today so I could continue updates and eventually load it up with some tunes for Saturday. I couldn’t believe there wasn’t a rollup update, and continued doing monthly updates for what felt like forever. I spent the entire day tinkering with that and trying to figure out why an Autopilot laptop wasn’t getting the proper deployment profile.

I had a relatively short anxiety attack right around noon, and then Subway actually had a fair deal for lunch. I picked up some fries from McDonald’s for Muad’Dib first, then grabbed the sandwich and went back to the breakroom to eat with Amanda, Elizabeth, and eventually Janice just as I was finishing up. It was a short break, and then I got back to the music.

I learned that Spotify had some new features that would improve our experience, and I spent a while trying to prompt their AI playlist builder. I think I finally came up with something I liked, and at least now I’ll have enough backup songs saved that I can mix things up if necessary.

We made it home a while before Summer. The kids were watching TV, but then Eli had to leave for a concert. I cleaned up and then took Muad’Dib for a run so we could try and get back when Summer got home. He did pretty well as we encountered several other dogs. We visited my parents, and then it was a slow trot the rest of the way home.

Eaddie left to watch Eli, so I made Summer come out and eat some leftovers with me. Then she went to bed while I cleaned up. Everything wrapped up pretty quickly, so I took the opportunity to get to bed really early.

CATCH PHRASE!

21 and Lost

I went to bed super late last night and had trouble feeling some sort of anxiety or nervousness or dread that I didn’t understand. I eventually fell asleep, but didn’t stay in bed very late. I got up and warmed breakfast for Summer and myself, and Eaddie left for church. We didn’t see her again.

I got into cleaning and reviews some more, but never had any luck with much of anything. My S21 Ultra was lost, and I felt a bit lost myself. I should have known exactly where it was, and the fact that I haven’t been able to find it at all has been nerve-wracking.

Summer went to the gym and I went to KFC to get a pot pie for $4.20, because apparently those are the kinds of jokes they’re making now. That was a surreal experience, because I walked into a seemingly abandoned restaurant that had a few people in the corner that didn’t look like they were there to eat. It took a while to get noticed, but the staff was otherwise friendly. I thought my glasses were smudged, but the air was just hazy. It didn’t smell like anything though. The cash register flashed garbled text, and it felt a little bit like I was in the Matrix. I got my food and headed back to the house to eat, and luckily the pot pie was amazing.

Summer got home and mowed the lawn while I continued working inside. We had set out steaks to defrost for dinner, but they were still frozen solid. Dad texted that Mom made eggplant soup, so Summer said I could go eat over there and then come back to grill her some brats. I ran over with Muad’Dib, we ate, and then I went to the Neighborhood Market to get her food.

By the time I got things cooking, she reminded me that she had to go to work for a meeting, so she didn’t even get to eat first. Luckily she didn’t mind eating late when she got back, and then I cleaned up a bit before bed.

Oh, to be.

Down to Glass

I woke up with a stomach ache this morning, but luckily it was nothing long lasting. Summer kept saying she didn’t feel well though, and wasn’t sure if she was getting sick. Eaddie left the house super early, but neither of us knew what she had going on. Summer was going to make breakfast, but I stepped in for her to make sausage, egg, and cheese biscuits since she didn’t feel well.

After breakfast, Summer went to the gym and I jumped right into cleaning up and looking for my old S21 Ultra. I’ve been wanting to use it to play music at our company picnic, but I haven’t been able to find it anywhere. I dug down on my desk to the point that I could see through glass, and I even found my old Pixel 2 XL, but the Samsung is nowhere to be found.

I continued cleaning, stopping for a late lunch, and then to run Muad’Dib to see my parents as it got dark. Summer went to bed super early, still not feeling well. Eaddie was in and out and back in again, so we didn’t see much of her. I had an anxiety attack later in the evening, wrote some reviews, and then took a shower before winding down for bed. My feet and legs have been swelling up again, so I’ve been trying to keep an eye on my vitals. That just means more spreadsheets.

Dig dug!

Iron it Out

I had a really rough start this morning after a painful night of sleeping around a bum knee. I ended up popping an iron pill with my shower orange, and then grabbed some Burger King on the way out of town. I actually felt pretty okay all day, which was a little surprising after yesterday. I had a couple calls and got to practice some rare account creation tasks, so it was more fun than usual.

We ended up going to Sonic for lunch, but I was super disappointed in my serving of onion rings and chicken strips. They only half-filled my bag of onion rings, and one of the strips was smaller than my thumb. Everything tasted great too, which made it all the more disappointing. We ended up going to Harp’s afterward where I picked up some beer and a couple taquitos from the deli.

Most of the afternoon dragged on until the last little bit that went by quickly. We got home and the girls were chatting on the couch. I was going to sit down with Summer for some leftovers, but had developed a stomach ache that took me away from that. I ended up eating the rest of my pot pie, which I think made me feel a little bad in the evening. My blood pressure was high, but I think I was also a bit dehydrated.

My knee felt much better, but I still didn’t feel well enough to take Muad’Dib for a ride, so I just wound down an hour earlier in the hopes that better sleep would help the overall wellness.

balance

Down and Dizzy

Summer made us some sausage, egg, and cheese biscuits for breakfast this morning, and I sat down to finalize my taxes. With passionate people on either side of the aisle, I went with an itemized deduction that felt fair in the spirit of the law and ended up paying a couple thousand more than what I had already started to withhold from my day job.

Eaddie was gone all day for “church” and then just living her life. Summer sat on the couch the entire day feeling pretty sorry for herself. I tried to get her to go out and walk Muad’Dib with me, but she just refused. We did warm up a chicken pot pie we picked up yesterday and ate that for a late lunch, and then I watered my plants and finally split and repotted the pink quill before taking a shower.

It looked a bit dark and stormy outside, so I took Muad’Dib for his best run all week. He must have really enjoyed the cool air. We visited my parents, and then just a block from home, I swerved back to make sure Muad’Dib didn’t run out into traffic, and the board got away from me. It wasn’t a terrible fall, but I messed up my knee and it felt progressively worse all night.

I made Summer get out of bed and watch me eat some meatloaf for a late dinner, and then wrapped up pretty quickly for bed. I had an anxiety attack in the afternoon while I was doing my taxes, and also felt waves of generalized anxiety for much of the day and beyond, so hopefully finishing my taxes and getting plenty of sleep will help get me out of that funk.

My meats are failing!