Save it for the Blu-ray

I delivered one more frog at Oakland this morning, then stopped by the shop for just a little bit to see if anything was happening. It was pretty quiet, so I went to Crawford to take a look at something Allen was having trouble fixing. It didn’t take me long to realize we were on the completely wrong path, and I left there to go to the junior high and work on it.

The junior high had their Christmas lunch potluck today, and I stuffed myself. There was just so much food. I couldn’t really even eat dinner after all of that. Everyone was pretty much just wandering around aimlessly because most of the kids were gone from having finished their tests. I chatted with Dustin and Haley for a little while, but then school let out an hour early and quickly became a ghost town.

I stopped by the shop again, but everyone was just sitting there waiting to be told to go home. We never really got anything official from central office, but Ben let us go just a few minutes early. Gary was there helping Zach look at something though, so I ended up hanging out until the usual quitting time anyway.

Summer and the kids were getting ready to go to Conway, so I met them at my house right after I left. The kids were hungry when we got there, so we took them to Red Robin for some burgers. Summer and I still weren’t hungry, so we just shared a tower of onion rings. Afterward we went by Sam’s to walk it off, and then made a quick run through Academy to look for paintball canisters, and then to PetCo to see if they had anything cool.

Finally at the theater, I collected my five comped tickets at the box office, loaded up on popcorn, and made our way to the XD auditorium for Aquaman. I wish they would re-cushion that front row of seats, because they’re starting to get pretty rough, and they lean back too easily. Then the theater filled up and we had a clapper/knee-slapper on the left and some guy that thought he was at a sporting event behind us. Neither would shut the hell up. Honestly I would have listened to the whole Pitbull song if these guys would have shut up. It was so annoying. Theaters need ushers again. I’m just glad I didn’t care so much about the movie, because otherwise I would have raged at the distractions.

Seriously dude, you’re going to the special hell.

Service with a Smile

I must have fallen into some kind of customer service vortex today, where everyone was super happy to go above and beyond any expectation.

Last night, I contacted Cinemark with some frustrations I had about how late all the Spider-verse showings were for 3D XD. Out of five XD shows per day, only one was in 3D, and it was held for the very last one of the day at 10:15pm. I was pretty loud about how annoying that was. I wasn’t really looking for a response necessarily, but just wanted to be heard. I got a lengthy email back this morning from the general manager of the theater basically explaining that he wasn’t given a choice, but pulled some strings to get the matinee showings to switch to 3D for the next two days before Aquaman starts. He then offered for “any number” of my family to come to one of these shows for free. I misunderstood and thought he was inviting us to an early showing of Aquaman, but after a couple emails I think we’ve arranged to go see Aquaman on Thursday after the kids get out of school for Christmas break.

Work was even pretty decent, especially for having to hang a touch panel for Allen in London this morning. We managed to get everything we needed on the first trip, which was  big help. The teacher was pretty savvy, so the tutorial was quick and painless. Everything just kind of went perfectly. We had cookies sent to the shop from a vendor, plus cookies that Ben brought in earlier.

Allen, Brice, and I went to Taco John’s for lunch, and everyone there was super excited and friendly, but even slightly more so than usual. The girl that took my order even remembered that I normally bring my own water in and made a comment about it to ask if I wanted to order one instead. The food was great, but gave me a bit of heartburn after all those cookies I had eaten.

I got some more done in the afternoon, but had to leave right at 4:30 to pick Eaddie up from the nail salon because Summer got her appointment started late. Eaddie had to be at karate, so I dropped her off and made my way to my parents’ house for some fish soup for dinner. Afterward I went to Davis Pet Store to see if I could find brine shrimp or daphnia for the betta and some baby crickets for the frogs. One of the boys was there helping and did what he could to help while Mrs. Davis was talking with another customer. Then when she finally came around I bought a potted plant and snail, and she ended up giving me the snail for free! She didn’t have the other stuff I needed though, so I had to go to PetSmart. They were completely out of small crickets though, so I left there empty handed.

Back home, I got to work on a water change and cleaned up the bathroom a bit. The new snail took off across the tank. The betta still seems very lethargic but more violent in her splashing around when bothered. I ended up putting her into some deeper water with a full epsom salts bath. She’s still not interested in eating anything, but hopefully the epsom salts will help with the swelling and get her moving again.

I must be living right!

It’s Magic!

We all got up and ready to go to Fort Smith for the magic club’s annual holiday potluck and show. We got to my parents’ house pretty close to when we planned, but Summer didn’t feel well by the time we left and we had to swing by Walgreens on the way out of town for some meds. The rest of the trip went pretty well though. If I had realized Mom’s car had both HDMI and an AC power outlet, I would have brought a Switch dock so we could all play. Instead, we all split up and took turns, which still turned out really well. It definitely made the trip feel shorter.

The party was at a new place, with plenty of room for eating and a large raised platform for a stage. There didn’t seem to be quite the variety of food we usually see, but at least we had plenty to eat. The girls seemed to really enjoy the show, but I really think Summer was the most excited of the three of them. Most of the performances seemed shorter than usual as well, but it was a good time.

We stopped by a couple Oriental food stores on the way home, and the girls actually really enjoyed looking at all the snacks and different things they aren’t used to seeing. Dad bought them each some snacks, and we headed home. Edna and I played some more INVERSUS to unlock some more maps. She got pretty good after a few games, so it was really fun to play a little competitively until it degraded to us trolling each other.

Once we got home, the girls went back to their house and I started cleaning up a bit. I had to fish three frogs out of the tadpole tank, which meant I had to find and clean another tank for them. The betta seems to be getting worse, and I don’t know what else I can do to help her. In cases like this, it seems way easier to care for them when you have a whole school of them rather than just one solo sick species. I gave her some more meds, but I think I need to find my aquarium salt as well. I really thought I used to have some somewhere.

T-Give

Dad’s new cat is weird.

Summer had her 5K this morning while the rest of us slept in. I got up earlier than I thought I would, considering how late I was up. I ate most of the questionably cooked bánh bao for breakfast before anyone else was around, and then started soaking the potatoes before washing them.

I ended up fiddling around in Oxygen Not Included for a while until I had to get cleaned up to go to my parents’ house for an early Thanksgiving dinner. Eaddie started feeling sick and was down on the couch for a while, and then threw up on the way there. Luckily she had me pull over just in time to throw the door open and spew in the middle of the street. We ran through McDonald’s to get her a Sprite, then made it to my parents’ house where she started to feel a little better for a while before coming down with a fever again.

The rest of us ate a pretty awesome meal while Eaddie got some rest in my old bedroom. Then we played some Jackbox games for a while. We had a few really great laughs with some of them, but overall I’d only recommend picking any of them up on a sale. Eaddie eventually felt well enough to have some dinner, then joined us for a few more games before we left.

I had to run by my house on the way back to Summer’s to pick up a few things, and then we settled in for the night. Eaddie’s fever came back, so she went straight to bed. Autumn wanted to stay up late and watch Supernatural, and I got Summer started on Torchlight II again. I got stuck catching up on deals, but we’ll be able to play together again soon.

It’s okay to admit you’re grouchy as long as you’re actively trying not to be a complete asshole.

Minigiving

Summer hit the gym first thing this morning while I got up and ready. I picked up some La Huerta to go for lunch and we ate that before making mashed potatoes for my Thanksgiving with friends in the evening. Summer did most of the work but didn’t even get to come enjoy it with us.

The day went by super fast until I had dropped everyone off. First it was Summer at the high school where she and Hannah would head to Rogers for their PD. Then I dropped the squabbling girls off with their grandparents. John and Melissa lived just a few blocks away from there, so I joined them super early. John and I made a quick run to Kroger for some extra things, and then Veronica and her crew showed up. Travis didn’t show up, mostly expectedly. We had high hopes though.

It was really nice to catch up with everyone. After the fact, I wished I had made more of an effort to offer my phone up for pictures, but we all look younger in blurry photographs anyway. It’s crazy how time flies.

I stuck around to chat for a little while after Veronica’s family left, and was ultimately sent home with a ton of leftovers for the rest of the week. It was a really good time.

*Decade-running gags*

Pumpkins scream in the dead of night!

I tried to keep a steady pace today, picking up work orders here and there. It was still difficult to find motivation, but I got enough done. I’m still plenty ahead of everyone else in work order count.

Ronda reminded me that Sonic had 50 cent corn dogs today, so I picked up a sackful and brought them back to the library where she, Summer, and I ate them in front of Jessica and her ramen noodles on a plate.

Right as school was about to let out, the house across the street from Oakland started blaring This is Halloween on repeat loud enough that you could hear it from inside the school building. After work, I came home for some light drinking and loaded up The Nightmare Before Christmas. I really just wanted to finish the movie to say that I’d seen it. Now that I have, it mostly reminds me of when I watched The Rocky Horror Picture Show last year and just felt “meh” about it in spite of all the hullabaloo.

And if you aren’t shakin’, there’s something very wrong.

The Curious Case of Bingeman Button

We didn’t sleep in super late today in spite of how late we got to bed. We didn’t get much of anything accomplished either. I made a little breakfast out of what was left in the fridge, and then we basically binge-watched The Office all day. Summer left after a while to take care of some things at home and get dinner started.

I took a shower and discovered an entire colony of ants in my orchid pot. I decided not to spray them, and instead hoped that they would just move themselves in a much cleaner way. If they’re still around tomorrow, I may stick a bunch of them in an old ant farm I never used from years ago.

Eventually I made my way up to Summer’s where I made some rice to go with her garlic herb chicken and mashed broccoli, cauliflower, and cheese. The girls left to go to a trunk or treat event with their father while Summer and I continued our binge until bed.

Uyimbube, uyimbube, uyimbube, uyimbube.

What Are Traditions: Independence Day 2018

Even I slept in too late today. Everyone has been more and more tired every day, so we decided to try and cut the trip a day short. It’s our last day here, so we decided to spend it all at Fair St. Louis by the Gateway Arch.

We got there around 1:30 in the afternoon and made the walk to the arch. I made a big enough deal out of nobody touching the bean in Chicago that we all went up and leaned on the arch for a while. It was really hot out, but even with a relatively good amount of shade from the sun, we decided it best to spend most of the afternoon in the underground museum and visitor center. We ended up taking the tram to the top of the arch and spent a bit of time looking down over the city. They cart people up and down regularly, and you can just leave whenever you want, which I thought was interesting. It was super crowded, and the windows were way smaller than I expected.

After some pretty decent burgers in the underground restaurant and killing a couple extra hours in the museum, we went back up to the lawn to pick a place to watch the air show and fireworks. Summer and Eaddie went back to the car to pick up some snacks we brought, but ultimately had to give them away to someone outside the gates because they didn’t allow outside food to be brought in.

The air show was pretty good, and I was surprised to hear that one of the powered paragliders I follow on YouTube was actually a part of the act. After that, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra got Summer all riled up, and then the fireworks filled all the viewing space under the arch, which was pretty neat to experience. But I think the most impressive part of the evening was how quickly we got back out of the city after the show. There were so many people, and we just hopped on the freeway and made it back to the hotel without too much trouble.

Seriously, why the hell wasn’t it a McDonald’s under the arch?

What are Traditions: Father’s Day 2018

We got up early this morning to go to Conway for Father’s Day. Before that, we went to Harbor Freight to pick up a trailer hitch cargo carrier. Julie was running behind, so we left about 45 minutes than we planned. Mom and Dad wanted me to drive, so I got us to Red Robin for some burgers. We managed to squeak in with a relatively short wait time, and made it out just in time to get to the other side of town for the movie.

With just a few minutes to kill, we ran to Harbor Freight across the parking lot so I could get a moving blanket to wrap stuff on the cargo carrier, and then we went in to watch Incredibles 2. I don’t know if it was because I was so hot and tired, or if the movie just had a way slower pace than I expected, but I had trouble staying awake during the first half. I wasn’t the only one though, because Mom fell asleep and then woke up screaming about how she couldn’t see anything.

After the movie, we came straight home and I started putting together my cargo carrier while Summer went to the gym. As I was finishing up, Lelan texted and wanted to know if I could help Stephen with a Mavic Pro drone they were having trouble flying, so I met him at his office to see what I could do. We managed to get it airborne, and he flew it around in their big lobby area because it was a bit too windy outside to be flying near an airport. Once he was satisfied with that, I came back home to meet up with Summer for dinner and The Office.

Don’t be koi.

What are Traditions: Mother’s Day 2018

I’m absolutely exhausted after today. We got up this morning and checked out the yard to get an idea of how to tackle it in the afternoon. Summer helped me get my 55-gallon tank outside for cleaning, and then went home to receive the girls. Once they got cleaned up, they came over with some Taco Bell before we started on the back yard.

It was pretty tough getting the girls to do anything. Autumn was particularly whiney about the whole ordeal. Eaddie was a little more willing to receive direction. Summer did the lion’s share of the work with the power tools while the girls did a bit of raking and picking up after Summer clipped the larger plants with the cutters. I managed the fire and did a little bit of trimming, and spent a bit of time cleaning fish tanks when we found some baby box turtles.

The yard looks better than it ever has, and I’ve got the wood piles mostly down to what I can manage to burn in a few bonfire events. I think I have some better ideas on how to tackle projects for the kids now too, but time will tell.

When we finished, the girls went home to clean up while I picked up outside. I filled the fish tank that will be used for the tadpoles, but didn’t have a chance to mess with the canister filter. The box turtles are in a box with some damp leaves and a tray of water until I have a suitable terrarium for them. I’m still not sure where to put them, though.

I went to their house as soon as I got out of the shower, and we met my parents at La Huerta for a mother’s day dinner. It went pretty well, probably in part to how tired the girls were. They wanted to pay for their mother and I was going to pay for my parents, but Mom ended up making Dad pay for everyone. I guess I’ll have to work on that, too.

Yard work sucks, but so does life, and then you die.