Artsy Fartsy

I slept pretty heavily last night and woke up pretty refreshed. As soon as I got up and had my shower, I went to pick up Summer to take her to Little Rock to see her employee’s girlfriend’s art show at the food truck festival. That sounds like a lot, and it was. We stopped at Walmart in Conway for a couple flowers to take her as well, and made our way to Main Street Little Rock.

There were a ton of people there. It was too many, but it didn’t make me too anxious. I just wasn’t in the mood to walk and eat around that many people. We found their tent, Summer bought a couple things, and then we bounced right back to the parking garage.

We hit up two Targets to look for Ember mugs, but didn’t have any luck. Then we went across town to Chuy’s for a good lunch before heading back home. We stopped at the Conway Target with similar luck, and then again in Blackwell to scavenge for some boxes for moving. We made it to Summer’s with about 12% battery, so we loaded up her car and then dropped mine off at home to charge.

We took a big load of stuff to the new house and Summer filled cabinets and drawers while I cleaned the carpets some more. It’s been incredible how much fine dust I’ve pulled out of the carpet, and it makes me want to go back over again and again before I actually shampoo the living room. The closet wasn’t completely dry yet anyway, so all I did was vacuum.

Eaddie came over after some studying, and she and I went to my parents’ house for mango soup while Summer went home to do some laundry. After we ate, Eaddie took me to get my car, and we all met back up at the old house for bed.

We’re gonna need some darker crayons…

Sweatin’ to the Moldies

Today went by super fast, and I just kept feeling like I was running out of time at work. The sense of urgency around all the different tasks I have to juggle has been really annoying, and it just makes work unenjoyable. It’s difficult to get into anything fun when my attention is constantly being yanked violently in different directions. I can never complete a task.

They basically had Thanksgiving dinner for lunch, and that was alright. Then Kim and I went to the elementary to try and swap out or organize Chromebooks that had been shuffled at the start of school. Every time I go down there, I think I’m organized and have a good idea about what I’m doing, but then I get there and choke. It’s like I’m just afraid to go into classrooms because I don’t really have any rapport with anyone down there, and it’s impossible to get when I’m stuck in my office running in circles.

I left work a little late and stopped at Casey’s for a cookie on the way home. I tried charging for a while, but I tripped the breaker again. Then I went to my parents’ house to get some silicone to caulk the shower. The first tube I got was brand new, but completely dried up so I had to go back. Mom made bánh xèo again, so I quickly ate and then went back with a nearly-empty tube of caulk that was still usable.

I got Eaddie’s shower done, and then cleaned the master shower so I could caulk it. That time I used an old tube of white silicone that had bits of hard, dried pieces mixed in the middle of the tube. That made things difficult, but I think after some time I got decent results. Hopefully it worked, but I won’t be upset if we have to rip out the doors and get new ones in the future. The whole shower seems small, and seems kind of stinky, so I don’t know what’s up with the drains. It could probably use some work.

Eaddie and I finally headed up to Summer’s, where she was in bed and nearly asleep. I stayed up for a while to plan a return trip to Tulsa before bed.

No fun at all.

2,000-inch TV

I was going to be super early leaving the house today, but then Summer and Eaddie both showed up separately because Eaddie forgot a bunch of stuff at home. I squeaked out and stopped at McDonald’s for a McGriddle, and then made it to work in plenty of time. The maintenance guys came around pretty early and helped me swap a couple touch panels that were being replaced under warranty. Then I spent most of the afternoon drafting a form letter for damaged devices.

I managed to leave on time today, and went home for a bit before going to the new house. My Wall Connector threw the breaker twice today, so I’ll need to check that out sooner than later. I took an armful of stuff to the house that I had been needing, but still didn’t really accomplish much. All of my plants were looking pretty sad, so I had to take care of them first.

Mom made bánh xèo for dinner, so I left to eat and then got back to the house relatively quickly. I did get the locks changed, and figured out how to use the garage keypad. I didn’t caulk the shower like I wanted, just because it seemed dirtier than I expected it to be after Summer said she scrubbed the thing totally clean. Instead, I cleaned up Eaddie’s shower around the handle that I wanted to caulk, and then realized I didn’t actually have any clear silicone.

I made it up to Summer’s, where she was in bed with some popcorn. Eaddie eventually made it home and talked to us for a while, and then everyone was off to bed.

Driveless

Moving Right Along

I made a quick rice and egg breakfast for everyone this morning, and then headed to the new house to start on carpets. The girls came along a little while later and started moving Eaddie’s stuff over. The afternoon went by quite a bit slower than it felt, which was good on account of how much carpet there is left to clean.

Eaddie’s friend from down the block came over at some point and helped the girls bring some stuff over. Once I was at a stopping point and Eaddie was satisfied with what she had brought, the three of us went to La Huerta for dinner. The food was good, but the service and what we were served was a bit inconsistent.

When we got back to the house, Summer went home while Eaddie and I cleaned up at the new house. Once I was ready for bed, we went back to the house where Eaddie loaded up one last trip so she could stay the night. I dug a bunch of stuff out of the trash that was thrown out by accident, and then wound down pretty quickly after that. There’s not a ton of stuff left to move from Summer’s, and we’re getting close to needing a truck. Hopefully the rest won’t be too terribly difficult, because after that I’ll have all of my belongings to move.

We’re getting there.

In Longsight

I made leftover tacos for brunch for everyone before going home to shower. Summer loaded up some things to take to the house, and I dropped the clean bean pan off at Ridgewood before meeting her there. I didn’t really get into much before heading home to shower, but eventually met her back at the house with a few more things. I pretty quickly got frustrated with what cleaning she had missed and how she had unpacked things. I tried to get her to bring things over and let me help organize, but instead she just ended up putting things in my way constantly.

The afternoon flew by, and we ended up coming home late. I made some rice and fried some fresh onion to eat with the leftover brisket, and then she went to bed. Eaddie got home late after taking the Model S across town for most of the afternoon. I was pretty frustrated that she hadn’t really packed anything up from her room, but maybe I can get them properly motivated tomorrow.

Just follow orders.

Lost Forwards

I felt a little lost at work today, and struggled to keep focused. I bounced from one thing to another, and didn’t really accomplish anything of use. The one thing that I did complete was signing up for gas and water service for the new house. Everything should switch seamlessly, and I think all that’s left is to decide on an internet provider.

After work, I made it over to my parents’ house for some leftovers before getting into some more carpet cleaning. I couldn’t tell if I was psyching myself out just trying to over-scrub them, or if that was me trying to talk myself out of having to clean them some more. I experimented a bit with vacuuming, running a light spray of white vinegar, and finally scrubbing one area with the detergent’s recommended dosage in the machine. We’ll see how they feel tomorrow.

I made it to Summer’s late, so I tried to wrap things up quickly to get to bed.

If my people could stop dying, that would be greeeaat.

Crispy Carpets

I was super sore all night, so I didn’t sleep very well. Everyone else was fast asleep when I got out of bed, so I headed home to clean up before heading to the new house. Summer ended up waking up and beating me there, and started vacuuming carpets some more. When I finally got there with the kids, the room I finished last night felt really stiff and crispy.

Eaddie and Noah decided to start bringing some things over from their house while Summer and I got Subway for lunch. Then we went right back to cleaning floors. We worked on that until Summer left to do some laundry, and then I eventually went to my parents’ house for dinner.

By that time it was pretty late and I still needed to wash a load of laundry, so I ran home and did that. I didn’t get up to Summer’s too terribly late, but it’s back to work in the morning and I just hope I rest well.

We require more parking.

Fury Carpets

I stopped at Hardee’s for a biscuit this morning before going to Harbor Freight to get a pump sprayer. Then I met Summer at the new house to start cleaning. I was a little later than I was planning, so she was hungry by the time I got there. We took the Murano back to her house since we had left the Model Y at the new house, and then we went to New China for lunch. Eaddie had homework to do, so she stayed home.

The restaurant was packed from the church crowd, and we barely found parking. We ran into Allen and Charlotte in the restaurant and I talked to them briefly. After we ate, we headed straight back to the house so I could work on carpets.

Eaddie eventually came over, and the girls cleaned cabinets, bathrooms, and basically any other hard surfaces while I focused on carpets. At one point, I had to run home briefly, but then I came back and continued shampooing carpets late into the evening.

Noah was going to come over, but went to Summer’s house instead since Eaddie had gone home earlier. They watched scary movies until late. Summer went to sleep as soon as she got home, and I followed as soon as I finished my other chores.

It’ll be a miracle if we make it.

Home Sweat Home

The girls went to Tulsa for a Conquer the Gauntlet run today, so I was on my own to start cleaning the new house. I loaded up some supplies and stopped at Wendy’s for breakfast. Then I went home to get a few more things before heading to the new house. I started going through cabinets and drawers and found quite a bit of stuff that had been left. Jeremy had mentioned a few things, but some of the things that were left seemed like things they would have wanted to keep.

Dad came over to help vacuum the house, and then we went back to their house for some lunch. Afterward, I went straight back to work on the carpets, and started shampooing Eaddie’s room. Shasta came by to pick up a bunch of stuff, but there’s still more that I’m not sure they intended to leave.

The girls eventually made it home, and we learned that Summer’s car scrapes the ground pretty badly on her side of the garage. I never would have made it, but we kind of assumed she would. We’ll definitely have hire someone to run a drainage channel with a grate that we can drive over.

I wore myself completely out trying to clean carpets. I didn’t even really finish Eaddie’s room, because I needed a better sprayer for the cleaner. We’ll do more tomorrow, and I’ll make sure I have a better plan.

Late in the evening, we went to my parents’ house for some spaghetti for dinner. I took a quick dip in the pool to rinse off the day, and then we lumbered back to Summer’s for the night.

This is going to be expensive.

Hot Diggity Dog

I had a room full of kids waiting on me in the office this morning, but we got them some Chromebooks and sent them along their way. I had been crawling out of bed more and more begrudgingly over the course of the week, and Kim didn’t make any coffee this morning, so I tried out my Aeropress Go. It really only made about half of a cup, but I felt like the scoop was bigger and it probably used more coffee grounds than the regular one. The coffee was good, though.

I continued picking through work orders to close out some older ones, and finally moved some things off of the backburner. One of those things was a door controller with an undocumented password. I mentioned something to Todd about it, and the next thing I know, he called Samuel down to have a look. They showed up while I was on a call with a guy from DIS, but came back around a little later.

Sam sidled up to my computer and hammered away rather belligerently at my keyboard as he discovered my troubles, one-by-one. We eventually took a walk down to the core closet, and I got a little more history and some guidance for what equipment I had. I felt a little better about digging into some new stuff, but then he left after having broken my phone.

The rest of the day was pretty slow. We had hot dogs for lunch, along with some other leftovers that made for a pretty big meal. I left work early, but then got caught in traffic with some busses after a pep rally, so my call with DIS from home didn’t happen. I was only a few minutes late, but I think he misunderstood what time I would be available to troubleshoot his VPN issue.

After a little while, I took my car to the wash, and then to my parents’ house to visit for a moment. I tried to convince Mom to come with me to the Model Y service appointment to test drive an S or X, but for some reason she kept fighting it. The prices just dropped substantially too, so now would be a great time to buy.

When I left there, I drove by the Sherwood house just to check things out again, and Jeremy saw me and waved me down. I stopped and we chatted for a little while, and he seemed super nice. One of the kids peeked out the window at us, but I never saw anyone else. He said they would be out of the house later in the evening, so we would be free to move on in.

I finally made it up to Summer’s, but mostly dawdled the rest of the night. I wanted to go to the house after Jeremy texted me, but it was a bit late. I guess I would have been more productive to go early in the morning anyway. Summer went to bed, and Eaddie didn’t get home until really late from an away game. They also had a Conquer the Gauntlet race in the morning in Tulsa, so I figured I’d have a day to myself to get things done.

How do utilities work again?