Tag: lessons

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I’d Rautha Not

I took Muad’Dib in this morning with his little rodeo accessory, and everyone loved it. Unfortunately it just didn’t fit right, so he didn’t wear it for most of the day. I also had him wear an e-collar since he’s gotten into the habit of running off uncontrollably. He behaved much better today for our several trips up and down the stairs.

I also buckled him up while I went in for lunch, since I didn’t want him crawling all over the car and tearing something up. The afternoon was long and tiring, but we eventually got home. Summer was there, not feeling well. We went out for an early run, but then things got a little huskier.

We got to the end of the street and encountered a white and tan husky on the loose. They charged at each other and then ran in circles around me. Muad’Dib was fairly well minding, but the stranger was really skittish around me. I got a pet or two in, but otherwise he would cower and run away. He followed us back to the house where I had Summer meet us outside. It took some work, but once she came back out with a bowl of food, he came right up to us and followed us into the back yard.

He was super friendly from that point on, but had a ton of hair coming off in big tufts as though he had never been brushed, or even petted. He also had super long toenails like he had never been outside to walk, or even roam around freely. He was really skinny under all that fur, and showed a bit of bone. We needed to get to walking though, so I decided to leash him and see if we could find anyone who recognized him.

We made it all the way around to my parents’ house, where Mom scolded me for picking up another dog. They were talking with someone about replacing their windows, so we left. We got all the way back to the house when we rounded the corner and were approached in the dark by a lime green Jeep Renegade. A skinny, shirtless, white guy smoking a cigarette eyeballed us through his window, so I asked if he knew the dog. He nodded, and reached behind himself to try and open his back door from the inside. He gestured to put the dog in, again without words. I suggested he step outside since I didn’t want to take my leash and collor off the dog without securing him in some way. As soon as he opened the door, the dog cowered and tried to get away. I asked where he lived, and he pointed down the street where we found him. Then he loaded up and drove away.

Feeling pretty awful about the entire experience, I went inside and called the police, who basically told me to call Animal Control during business hours. I wrote a long email to them before going to bed, but I doubt anything comes of it.

Feyd to Black

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Planner Fasciitis

We had a staff meeting first thing, so I tried to get out early and get a biscuit from McDonald’s before we hit the road. We were slightly behind after that, but it wasn’t too bad. I locked Muad’Dib up in the office, and the meeting ran pretty short. Only the operations guys really had anything to discuss. Joel did ask me to come up with a way to share my projects, so I dug through Brandon’s stuff again and discovered Microsoft Planner. It seemed easy and integrated, though not without its faults. I found out pretty quickly that it didn’t have an “undo” button, so I’ll have to be cautious with my clicks. It was also designed with some strange behaviors with text and click boxes. I spent all morning trying to square up there, and organize all of my thoughts.

We left really late for a quick lunch at McDonald’s. Service is back to being pretty terrible, but there was at least one little ray of sunshine behind the counter among the others. Back at the office, I had a pretty heavy anxiety attack, and then we finished up the afternoon so I could head toward home to help Mark with connecting his new “server.” That took a while, but they didn’t care that Muad’Dib was with me, so we just did what we could as quickly as we could.

It was already starting to get dark, so I ran Muad’Dib to my parents’ house. Dad was out chasing comets, but we saw Mom and then ran back home. I ate some leftover wings and realized I had been unintentionally dehydrating myself, which may have caused a dizzy spell. My blood pressure was okay, but I started to feel out of phase like I was going to pass out. I downed a couple tumblers of water, and things seemed better before bed.

You are aware of water at all times.

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Lesson Retention

I woke up surprisingly early today, but time dilated and I didn’t get the chicken onto the smoker until right at noon. I made lemon pepper wings and seasoned the thighs with an assortment of whatever spices felt right, and then when the smoking was done, I added some different sauces to some of both. We ended up having an early dinner with some steamed rice and some frozen veggies I threw into the chicken juice from yesterday.

The food was pretty good, but I always forget the little things I learn between cooks, and the barbecue sauce burned a bit. Dad stopped in to pick up some aging bananas, and I rested for a little while before finally starting to vacuum again. The vacuum cleaner was completely full after Eaddie used it, and then I also noticed the brush was completely covered in hair, so that was a chore to clean up as well. Cleaning that really helped extract more dirt from the carpet.

Too short.

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Pick Me Up

Summer took Muad’Dib out back for coffee this morning and he got dirty chasing squirrels, so he had to stay outside until I was ready to give him a bath. I got up and finished some old eggs and RO*TEL out of the fridge before starting on my projects. Summer went to the gym, and I started digging under the sink to find where the garbage disposal was leaking.

I got everything cleaned up, but never could find a leak, so I just kept cleaning up the kitchen. Summer came home and mowed the lawn. I took a shower and kept at the cleaning. I misunderstood and thought the girls were planning to go out without me, so I ate some of the ribs I warmed up for them. When they finally explained that they wanted to cook something for dinner, they ate some of the ribs to tide them over.

I really wanted to make a few passes with the vacuum cleaner, but I just never had the time. I eventually took Muad’Dib out for a run and let him splash around in the creek. We visited my parents, and then my Onewheel died at the end of the street again. I turned it on and tried to power through, but it shut off on me without warning as we were climbing the big hill. I hit the ground hard and got some road rash on my left ankle and knee, but my elbow was by far the worst.

Summer came to get me just as dinner was done. Muad’Dib had to ride in the trunk, but he did great. We got home and I went straight to give Muad’Dib a bath and spray myself down in the process. The blood was only dripping a little bit, so we got through the bath and then I ate before bandaging up. Eaddie and Eli made Oreo balls and then disappeared, and Summer and I went to bed early.

My, what big teeth you have.

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Family Day 2025

Summer woke us up with a classic bacon and eggs breakfast this morning. Eaddie had a football game in the evening, preceeded by a big family day tailgate party with free tickets to the game, t-shirts, and apparently a “barbecue” lunch. I figured I would go along, since there’s not much I like more in this world than a free shirt.

The girls left, for early rehearsal and the gym, and I got ready to meet Summer outside the football stadium for the event. I think she actually got to see the band practice early while I rode the Onewheel around outside the stadium with Muad’Dib. I was concerned that somebody might say something about him being off-leash, so I tried to avoid anyone that looked like they had any authority. Muad’Dib did great, and the only people that said anything had kind things to say about his behavior.

Summer eventually made it out and we waited for a line to form for shirts and tickets. It wasn’t much after that when we had to line up for food. They had Fat Daddy’s pulled pork, potatoes, beans, and slaw – all served to barely cover the plate. If I had known they were going to be that stingy with the pork, I wouldn’t have stayed. We ate that and then headed home so Summer could shower. I actually stopped by Ridgewood to see if anyone was there, but the guys were inside and the restaurant was still closed.

We got home and hung out there for quite a while before Summer wanted to be back for the game. We rode together and watched the band perform outside the stadium before the game, but I forgot Muad’Dib’s e-collar remote and he had to stay on his leash. Once that was over, Summer went inside and I went home because I had no interest in football.

We stopped by Ridgewood again, this time to pick up some of their specialty ribs. I got a rack of each since I hadn’t had the opportunity to try them before. Grant was there long enough to wave at me before he had to leave, but I talked to the rest of the crew for a little bit since they were so slow. The bag came out pretty greasy, so we headed straight home to eat. Muad’Dib even got a bunch of scraps.

I had the game streaming in the background so I could have some idea of when halftime would be. The stands were packed though, so I opted not to go at all, and just picked Summer up afterward. We made it back home and she tried the ribs before going to bed. I vacuumed a strip of the living room and came up with a shocking amount of dirt, so I sent an email to Kyle at Hydro Carpet Solutions. I don’t guess he has to do anything for us, but I couldn’t be more disappointed in the result.

I walked through the bedroom a few times to see Muad’Dib watching Summer’s baking shows after she had fallen asleep. I couldn’t bear the thought of both of them watching the crap and still not being able to actually bake, so I tried to find a dog show. I finally just went to Disney+ and put on Homeward Bound. Eaddie was out late, and I actually got an email from Kyle that basically said, “sorry, just vacuum it with something that has a beater bar.”

All a waste of time.

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Lessons in Sevens

Every bit of today droned on. I started out running up and down to help the ladies downstairs, and then took a couple phone calls with Traverse support to fix the issues. I learned a bit, but it was probably something that those folks should know about the system they use. I don’t know how helpful it will be for me to know it.

We went to Taco Bell for a small lunch, and then made it back early just for the afternoon to creep by so slowly. Summer was home early, but I took Muad’Dib for a run as soon as we got there. I needed to help Dad cover the pool, but wanted to try and get any video I could of the skimmer robot before doing so. Fortunately he was able to get some video during the day.

Once the pool was covered, we finished our run. Muad’Dib had decided to dive right into the creek when we had passed by earlier, so he had to go outside until he could get a bath. I took Summer to La Huerta for dinner, and it was just tense and awkward all night. We ate, then went to Walmart so she could pick up a few things. We saw Amanda and talked to her for a minute when Summer was looking for Tech clothes. Then we finished up and went back to the house.

I gave Muad’Dib a bath while Summer went to bed. Eaddie came home as I was running the new vacuum, and after just a short run, I had an unexpected amount of dust. I didn’t expect good suction, so that meant the professional carpet cleaning we had done was basically worthless.

I’m ready to get gone. I don’t belong here.

I’m not sure I belong anywhere.

Maybe the sea.

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It’s Like Draaaeeeaaaiiiinnn!

We got out surprisingly early today since Summer was out of the house before I got up. I was going to stick with a Soylent, but by the time we got to Morrilton, I had talked myself into stopping at Wendy’s. I had a couple calls in the morning, which got me through to lunch. Sonic had cheesesticks on sale, and I wasn’t super hungry, so we went and split an order of those and a couple cheap wraps.

The afternoon was fine, but I didn’t have much luck working on the little desktop I brought from the breakroom. Muad’Dib kept begging for food while we were down there, and I think one of the guys spilled some liquid from his food on him, so I had to wipe him down when we got back to the office.

I thought Summer was going to be at the house when we got there, but she had to go back to work to retrieve some security footage of a drunk driver. By the time she got back and I was ready to take Muad’Dib on a run, things were looking pretty stormy. We made it a couple blocks before I realized I forgot his treat bag again, and when we got back to the house I just left him and drove to my parents’ house for dinner.

They planned to have spaghetti, but didn’t have noodles, so the three of us ate leftover spring rolls through the torrential downpour. When I got back to the house, I had to try and unclog the driveway drain pipe to keep it from flooding into the garage. I got the leaf blower at it from both sides, and finally got a little bit of flow out of it after digging a little trench to the bottom end. I need to figure out a good way to keep that from clogging up.

It was a quick evening to bed since Summer fell asleep really early and Eaddie was out really late. There’s no room for anything any more, and we still haven’t reset the living room.

I need a beat.

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2 roll or not 2 roll

The clock ticked slowly today, but for no benefit. Summer had to go to work to troubleshoot an equipment outage, which took way longer than she expected. She was going to make breakfast, so I took over and made eggs with RO-TEL. She got home just in time to eat it hot, and Eaddie actually came out to join us after not enjoying her overnight oats.

We were all in limbo for much of the day. We thought we might visit with Diana, but that fell through because she didn’t feel well. Mom mentioned spring rolls yesterday, but we never heard from her. Eaddie had, for the third day, said she had Ceci’s birthday to attend. Eli came over for a while and they eventually left. Summer went to the gym for a while, and I ended up taking a bath because I didn’t feel great myself.

I reached out to my parents to figure out the plan, and discovered that Mom had broken out really badly, so she wanted to avoid us and the dog to see if that was the problem. After some back and forth with poor communication, Summer and I went over and ate on the porch outside with Dad.

There was a threat of some heavier rain, but we just saw sprinkles for a bit. Muad’Dib and I finished our run after dinner, and then settled in early. I did a bit of cleaning, so the girls beat me to bed.

Object Impermanence

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VLAN PLAN

I caught a rat last night in our small trap. It was a small rat, but I was glad to finally have it. I planned to drop it off on the way out of town, but just as I was driving through the fields at Tech, a huge mob of college girls ran by and were in my way to turn. I ended up driving the rat all the way to Morrilton, and let him go in the wooded area just up the road from work.

I jumped right in after that, onto a call with Bret from Ashton, to try and figure out what the heck is going on with my network configurations. That led to more camera nonsense, and eventually to restarting a switch downstream from a point-to-point to get maintenance online again. I was supposed to call Bret back after all of that, but I ended up just continuing to document everything I found, and tried to trace back all of the camera lines to their endpoints.

We took a break to pick up some McDonald’s fries, and then sat outside Taco Bell where I fed them to Muad’Dib while I ate my burritos. He kept refusing to stay put, but mostly stood outside the door waiting for me. On my last trip in, he got brave and completely disappeared. That sent me into a bit of a panic and I started screaming for him. I just knew I had lost him or somebody saw and grabbed him, just because we were away from home. He eventually came around the corner of the building and got into the car, so at least the panic was short-lived.

The afternoon was more documentation until quitting time. Dad said they would have pork chops and ribs, so once Summer got home, she followed me over while I ran with Muad’Dib. I had to run to Walgreens just before dinner, because my prescription was ready and my blood pressure has been really high again. We ate, and then Muad’Dib and I finished his run. A couple little girls in the new neighborhood asked to pet him, so we stopped on the corner for a bit before making our way through the basin.

It was a pretty slow walk after that, because a ton of people were out walking dogs, and Muad’Dib wanted to smell where every single one of them had peed. Once we got back to the house, I gave him a bath with some new conditioner, and then tried to quickly wind down for bed.

Just get on the level.

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Stretching the Upper Limit

Johnny called just as I got to work this morning, so I talked to him for a while. He actually knew quite a bit about Microsoft 365, so he can probably help me for a change. I had a fair bit of trouble focusing after that.

I went to Wendy’s for a late lunch, and grabbed some McDonald’s fries on the way back to eat in my office. It wasn’t very long after that when Eaddie texted that, “Hey so part of the ceiling may or may not have just fallen.” I don’t know why she would lead like that, but I eventually got some photos from her that showed the drywall leaning up against my irreplaceable 3D OLED TV.

Teisha told me to just go home since Joel was on a call, but I wanted to at least message him about it. He said the same, and I headed to the house. Eaddie and Eli were both there to see when it happened. The entire living room was coated in a thick layer of dust. Our fuzzy couch was completely covered. Everything was covered. My first priority was to get the drywall off of the TV. It was heavy, and I was completely astounded when the TV turned on without a shattered corner. It actually broke the drywall. I got some of that out, and then Dad came over to help the kids and me clean out as much of the insulation as we could.

We moved the most expensive stuff into the sunroom in case of further collapse, and then Dad and I went to his house to find some wood and a floor jack to get the rest of the drywall screwed up to the joists. It went better than I expected, but we still have a lot of work to do.

Summer got home after her doctor appointment for her knee. I was already irritated that I beat her home from my job in Morrilton, and that she couldn’t make our home a priority. Then she had the nerve to ask if I would support her quitting her job before finding new employment because she had a really bad day. I’d been telling her for YEARS to find something else and quit, and she always pushed back. So no. Hard, “NO.”

I was able to move the thermostat sensing to the bedroom so it wouldn’t just keep pumping air into the gaping living room. Then Muad’Dib and I left to run, and I went to my parents’ house to swim. Mom thought this all happened at the old house, but I told her it was at our new house.

We left once I was sufficiently cooled down, and got to the house before dark. Summer was in bed, and Eaddie had gone to Eli’s for dinner.

Shocking. Make lemonade.