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Wheely Bad Service

I took a toasted pork chop sandwich for breakfast, and a heated lunch box with some chicken, sweet potato, and broccoli for lunch today. In spite of all the frustration, I was excited to get my Onewheel back in the morning. Teisha called when it showed up, and I loaded it into the car. The entire day was spent at the office wrapping up some of my understanding of Autopilot, so now I’m ready to actually build out some stuff around that and properly manage our devices.

My heated lunch box worked perfectly, and my meal was piping hot. Afterward, we took a break for some cake for Janice’s birthday. The afternoon went by fairly quickly after that, and we made our way home through heavy traffic.

Summer was in the tub, and Eaddie was leaving to play pickleball at Old Post, so I decided to take Muad’Dib out there to ride around. We never did find the kids, but we had a good time making a big loop around the park before coming back to the house.

As for the Onewheel; Future Motion did their usual shit job. It started with insufficient packaging because they didn’t replace the top egg carton inside the retail package, which I absolutely shipped to them. The Onewheel itself was completely covered in some kind of dust or powder that just blew off, so it had clearly been sitting out somewhere for a while. They replaced my Maghandle for some reason, and gave me a super shitty torn-up one with a really bad rubber grip. The plastics on the bottom corners also had huge chunks hanging off like they had curbed it multiple times. They rode it hard for 27 miles, which I’m not surprised wasn’t enough for them to reproduce my motor disengage issue. They did give me someone else’s used TFL valve stem cap though.

When we got back to the house, Summer and I ate some more leftovers. I saw another possum on camera under the house, so I had to investigate that. I have no idea how they’re getting in, because I walked the entire perimeter of the house and couldn’t find any holes apart from the small one at the top of the house under the eave of the roof.

Summer went to bed and Eaddie got home early and disappeared into her room. That left me to my own chores for the night before an even earlier bedtime than when I actually have to work the next day.

#FFM

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Carpal Tunnel Vision

We got out a little bit earlier today after a lot of sleep, redeemed a free burrito at Burger King, and got to work to focus on HubSpot product updates. My hand hurt all day from zipping through spreadsheets and manually moving and combining data to make it fit HubSpot’s limited search capabilities.

I forgot Muad’Dib’s food at home, and ended up taking lunch about an hour late myself. I just went for a quick Big Mac, and then grabbed some cheese sticks from Sonic on the way back to share with Muad’Dib in the car.

The afternoon was short after that, but I got a break in the middle of that when my car alarm went off. I peeked at the sentry cameras and saw David’s truck nearby. It wasn’t long after that he came upstairs and said he accidentally bumped me with his trailer hitch. We went downstairs to check it out, and the hole we saw was really just the tow bolt cover that had popped off. The plastics and a lower running light were also damaged though, so he said he would get with his insurance company to take care of it.

Summer had been home cleaning all day, and was still at it when we got home. I had plans to go help Neal with a computer that was given to him, so I changed clothes, had a quick bite, and then headed over. It took a couple hours, but we got it going. The whole time I was working on the computer, he was flipping through his phone and showing me pictures of his family, friends, and things that he had collected over the years. I also learned that my old boss, Adam, had passed away. Neal has always been an interesting friend.

The kids were getting ready for their band trip while Summer was finishing up a bunch of laundry. I don’t know what I was busy doing, but I never sat down for long. The night flew by, and then it was time for bed.

Mindful Mondays

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Rodents Everywhere

Summer made us some little breakfast sandwiches this morning before going to the gym. I wasn’t as productive as I wanted to be, but I somehow still felt like I was fairly busy all day. Eaddie left for church, and then Summer and I took Muad’Dib for a walk around the neighborhood when she got back. We visited Mom briefly, but Dad was still at church.

I had a ton of security camera clips of the rats downstairs, and strangely we saw a couple dead mice on the sidewalk while we were out. I never made it downstairs to investigate, but it looked like my bait was gone on the bucket trap again, but I kept seeing more clips of rats moving around. I don’t want to kill them, but I’m at my wits’ end. I’ll probably have to put out some more poison tomorrow.

I gave Muad’Dib a really good bath, and then Summer and I stayed in the rest of the day, just eating leftovers and cleaning up a very minor bit around the house. I finally finished the split pea soup, then made her a grilled cheese to go with some leftover tomato soup, and we finished the Wonderman series before bed. We liked it.

Full

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Big Catch

I felt much better today, but found it much harder to focus. I basically just tinkered all day between projects or other break/fix stuff. Summer had a meeting in Little Rock, so she met us for lunch at Ortega’s. Our server was slow, which saved me an extra plate. We ran into Teisha and her husband on the way out, and he was rocking a solid cast on his leg.

The afternoon went by just as slowly as the morning, but it could have been worse. Then we stopped by the old house on the way home so I could get a five gallon bucket to use as a rat trap. Summer was doing her cross stitch in front of the TV, and Eaddie was on her way out the door.

I set the rat trap and had some leftover split pea soup, then sat in front of the TV with Summer briefly before she went to bed. Just then, I heard some commotion downstairs and went out to find I had caught a small opossum. It wasn’t too toothy, but refused to come out, so I had to set the bucket on its side and then just wait.

I eventually re-set the trap, and then it was off to bed on time.

Old CDs

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The Cheese Stands Alone

I heard some rustling in the dining room this morning, and shook down some boxes to expose a rat, who scurried around the corner faster than I could believe. The dog has no traction, but the rat moved like it was on rails. I thought I heard another one, but could never find it, so I knew we had to excavate the corner sooner than later.

We got to work and I actually felt pretty good, but quickly turned sour as my stomach did flips. We made it to lunch, and it was nice outside, so we went to Taco Bell. Muad’Dib did great sitting at the picnic table outside while I waited forever to get our food. There were multiple employees standing, and no discernible reason for the food to have taken so long. I eventually made it back outside and we shared some fries and chicken bits.

Afterward, we stopped by Sonic for some cheese sticks and then made it back to the office. It was a long afternoon, but I finally submitted my first purchase order with Howard. I like my new reps so far, and hopefully I can execute this digital signage well enough to impress some folks.

Summer was in the shower when we got home, and I still felt gross for a little while. I thought I might go help Neil with a computer, but ended up having leftovers for dinner with Summer, and then cleaned up the stack of boxes in the dining room. Hopefully I can keep things moving enough to keep the rats from moving back in, and then I’ll have to go full-extermination mode.

Gains

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Lemme Cook

We got up this morning and I decided to make pancakes and waffles, so Summer and I went to the Neighborhood Market for some milk, and browsed for something to cook for dinner as well. We ended up with a whole bunch of New York strip steaks, sweet potatoes, and Brussels sprouts. The girls went back later for some russets though, because I really wanted a classic baked potato.

I was disappointed in my breakfast, which we ended up eating right around noon, because both the pancakes and waffles didn’t really fill in, and had holes or jagged bits after they were flipped. I did get to use up a bunch of blueberries and bananas that had been sitting around for a while though. At least everything tasted good.

The kids had to go to a recital in the evening, so we planned to have dinner early. I tried to clean up a bit, and got the kitchen taken care of, but before I knew it, we had to start on dinner. I had gotten a fire started in the fireplace that we never really got to enjoy before I had to get up and start the smoker. I wanted to smoke and then sear the steaks I got, but time dictated that they could not smoke for long before they needed to be ready.

By the end of it all, we had everything ready and it was only Eaddie that ate. Eli didn’t come over, and Summer and I weren’t really hungry enough for dinner quite yet. Eaddie had also brought some ribs and chicken wings that she just picked up from her father in Clarksville. She ate and then left, so Summer and I cleaned up a bit more before sitting down to eat a small dinner ourselves.

We cleaned up a bit more before relaxing a bit. Then as the evening came to a close, the fire roared up in the fireplace again, so we sat together to watch that for a while before bed.

Speedrun Sundays

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All or Nothing

Friday was good until it got bad enough to become good again. I stayed pretty busy at work, but struggled in the afternoon as the girls went looking for houses. I stopped by PetSmart when we got back to town, because I needed something to interrupt how I was feeling, and I got Muad’Dib a bunch of treats. Mark needed some computer help as well, so I stopped to see him for a bit too. When I got home, I managed to sit down and talk with Summer for a long while, and eventually we were able to agree that they would slow down long enough to breathe and catch back up from all the recent heaviness. We’ll give it three months without any more of that added stress, and focus on some therapy and heavy communication to see if we can maintain some momentum with our positive change. Eaddie came around and I took them to Waffle House for a late dinner, and we had a good time.

Eaddie was gone all Saturday, so I took Summer to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. They were depressingly slow compared to Old South, and after eating our food, we figured out why. We went back to PetSmart to use another coupon for some food, and then briefly stepped into T.J. Maxx before making it back to the house. We cleaned up a bit and stayed busy most of the afternoon until we decided to go to New China for dinner. I wanted to stop to see my parents on the way back, and Summer nervously went along. Mom had a surprising amount to say, and Summer came home upset for a while, but we talked a little more before bed and then woke up with clearer thoughts.

Summer got some Spam and I made breakfast sandwiches for the three of us. Eaddie left and Summer went to the gym, and I cleaned up the kitchen. Later on, we walked to Walgreens with Muad’Dib to try and get Summer’s prescription, but they were closed. I eventually warmed up some spaghetti for dinner, and at some point the day before we had started watching Wonderman, so we continued that in the evening until bed.

Document the process and build a roadmap to success.

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Fire and Ice

It was a little harder to get up this morning, and I just wanted to stay in bed a little longer. Summer took Muad’Dib out into the snow again, and I made some breakfast for us, which ended up being our only meal for the day. I fried some potatoes, shallots, and garlic with any spices that spoke to me from the cabinet. I fried the eggs before I remembered there was bacon, so that was a little late. everything was really good though.

Summer sat cross stitching again for nearly the entire day. I had trouble keeping a roaring fire going for her, and bounced around trying to clean up some more. I had an anxiety attack sometime in the afternoon, but otherwise I just tried to keep things a little lighter than they have been.

Eaddie never came home again, so Summer didn’t make her tomato soup. I went outside and tried to use my show thrower, but the ice was a bit too hard for it to work super well. It wasn’t bad, but I also wasn’t dressed for the work.

We ended the evening with a big bowl of popcorn and Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3. Things seemed better by the end of it, but all I can do is continue to put in the work to clean up what we have.

Fire Poker

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On Top of Spaghetti

We got up fairly early today. Eaddie spent the night with Maristella, so Summer and I ate some leftovers for an early lunch. I got a fire going for Summer while she cross stitched all day, and got a load of laundry done. We walked up the cul-de-sac with Muad’Dib to let him get out a little bit, but Summer didn’t want to go any further than that. We could tell the streets were going to be sheets of ice after a day or two of refreezing, because they were already packed down hard.

Later in the afternoon, we started making the spaghetti to let it simmer a while. I thought it was going to be really liquidy, so I left the lid cocked just a little bit. That ended up being a bad idea, because it dried out and burned on the bottom. Fortunately, even as blackened as it was, it didn’t ruin the whole pot. We added some more pasta sauce we found in the pantry, and I added some water, and later some pasta water to help it out.

Summer had been struggling all day, and wanted to eat on the couch. I didn’t want to make a mess, and had cleaned the dining table for us to eat, so I ate out there by myself. The food was great though, in spite of me trying to burn the place down.

Eaddie never made it back home, even by foot as they had discussed yesterday. The ice continued, so we’ll see how it looks tomorrow.

Connect, dammit!

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The Beginning of the End

I woke up surprisingly sober and full of positive energy after a painfully unrested night. I tried to rub some of that positivity off on Summer, but she hardly said a word to me until our kiss goodbye. We got to work and I felt pretty good all morning. I sat down with Teisha and talked to her for a long time about our history and what was going on. She was as supportive as possible, and then we went upstairs to as much productivity as we could muster.

Grant met me at Ortega’s for the all-you-can-eat lunch, and he was super hyped as always. I hate that we’re bonding over trauma, but he’s been an incredible pillar of support. We ate, and then I gave him a super quick walk-through of our office before he headed back to the restaurant.

The afternoon dragged on much more after Summer ignored my messages all day. I was spent by the end of it, and we walked out a few minutes early just to get to the house and try to keep the momentum up. It looked like Summer was still out looking for places to live, but they both showed up at the house right after we got there.

I got them to sit down with me in the living room to discuss the urgency of the whole situation. Summer is just over it, and is ready to explore solo life to find out who she is without anyone else there, and she wants no safety net. Eaddie repeated her concern that we’re just incompatible, and feels like we’d be better off apart. There’s still a lot of love, but too much negativity to continue moving forward, and they want a fresh start. They did agree to slow their hastiness so we could go over financials and find them a nice place to live so they don’t just settle out of a desire to leave.

I continued cleaning the kitchen, but it was a struggle after that. I’ve just never been big on waste. I did some laundry and cleaned the guest room so I could sleep there. It looks like I have nowhere to go, so the hunt begins.

Always at the whim.