Plan Bi-tec

Summer’s oncologist appointment was pushed back, but I kept today off for a tele-interview with the guys at Bitec. It was pretty quiet, because Eaddie left in the morning to go shopping with Eli. I had slept fairly late, so I didn’t have a whole ton of time to kill. I ate some chicken tacos for brunch and neither of the girls wanted to eat anything during the day.

I eventually had a shower and got dressed up for an interview in the dining room. They acted like they remembered me, and said they would probably have me for another in-person interview later on. It sounded like business was booming over the past year, so they had slightly different needs, but it didn’t sound like anything I couldn’t handle.

Eaddie and Eli came over as soon as I finished the interview, and wanted to hook up Guitar Hero. I got the PlayStation hooked up in the sunroom, but we couldn’t get any of the guitars to pair. I finally got one Rock Band guitar working, so Eli tried to calibrate the audio and video for the next couple hours. Eaddie got bored and left us to lay in bed for a while.

I took out a ton of recycling and eventually took Muad’Dib out for a run just as Summer got home. Then we finished up the chicken taco stuff by turning it into pulled barbecue sandwiches. I made actual slaw out of the mix we had, and they turned out pretty good. I was just happy to get it out of the fridge.

The girls ended the night watching gymnastics, and I just quietly went back to my office. Randy and I will be going to visit the Vilonia School District in the morning, so we made plans for breakfast in Conway first.

Good dog.

Put the Past Away

DNS didn’t actually scavenge anything because it only triggered the aging, so we won’t know for a couple weeks if it actually worked. I guess that’s fine, since graduation was tonight and we won’t have people on site for it to matter. I got back into SCCM to try and clean up the stuck update, and found the right combination and order of commands to fix it, so I was able to re-run the newest update.

Summer was in Little Rock for her own meeting, so we met at Red Lobster for unlimited soup and salad. Just as I parked, I got a call from Bitec to schedule a Teams interview. We ate, and then she came back to the office with me to do some work until her surgery consultation. I guess Randy was in a bad mood, because he kind of flipped out at me when I said I invited her in, but he mellowed out pretty quickly.

Just before the appointment, Summer headed out to find her appointment, but she didn’t actually know where she was going. She got to the address she had in the calendar entry and discovered for the first time that it was just a residential home, and called me crying that she didn’t know where to go. I had already left too, but pulled over at Franklin’s to talk to her. I just told her to call the doctor and see if she could find who they referred her to, since she didn’t even have the business name.

After some Googling and a bit of guesswork, she ended up getting a call from the CARTI Cancer Center, asking if she was going to make her appointment. They guided her in and I met her there after I went to the Baptist Health Breast Center by mistake. We went in for the consult and scheduled an appointment to remove the atypical cellular mass, so that was pretty good news. It didn’t feel like either of us were hugely relieved, but that was probably due to the continued confusion and frustration over the process up to this point.

We finally headed to Conway to Supercharge, and went in to Five Guys to share some fries. She wasn’t hungry, but I decided to try a hot dog that was pretty okay. I still think they’re hugely overpriced, but the location was right. Then we headed home.

As I got to the Pottsville offramp, there was an overturned semi blocking the entire right lane from the westbound onramp. The car in front of me made a full stop before finally pulling over, and it looked to have just happened because someone else had pulled over and was running up to the windshield to check on the driver. There were enough people pulled over that I knew I couldn’t provide any additional help, so I got out of the way.

When I got home, the kids were assembling the headboard I got for Eaddie. I took Muad’Dib out for his first run in a few days, which he enjoyed. We visited Dad, and then I left him outside when we got home, since he took a bath in the creek. I took care of a few Vine things, had an anxiety attack, and then laid down with Summer for a bit before I had to get up and complete my tasks before bed.

You don’t have to say it again. I heard it the first time.

Double Dog Dare

Summer texted when I got to work that Muad’Dib walked over the fallen fence to play with Nova nextdoor. The neighbor called someone to come quote a repair, but he was cool with the dogs playing together, and Summer said they were having a great time, so I didn’t sweat it. Then Johnny called and said Bitec had an “urgent” listing for the job I had previously interviewed for, so I replied back to an old email and then did a quick refresh on my résumé before applying through Indeed.

The rest of the morning was spent going through DNS again in preparation for turning on scavenging in the afternoon. Otherwise it was pretty quiet. Howard bought us pizza for a vendor call, and we sat through a presentation by Decept10 before the U.S. Pizza Co. arrived. I had another anxiety attack at some point, and then the rest of the afternoon was relatively lazy and short.

Randy said we could leave just a hair early for our three-day weekend, so I headed out and grabbed a bottle of rum in Morrilton. I opened a bunch of packages from Vine when I got home before Summer. She didn’t feel well when she got there, so she took a bath while I ran Muad’Dib. We took an extended run to Ridgewood where we met a new girl named Cindy who talked to me for a bit about riding her Onewheel on trails. Then we continued to Casey’s to try for a slush, but the machine was out. On the way out, a kid that had asked to pet Muad’Dib asked if he could try the board, so I helped him out. Then we rode back across town.

Dad met us in the road, and then I went in to eat some roast beef while he played with Muad’Dib. Then we got home just after dark. The kids had left for something, and Summer was laying on the couch half dead. I put her to bed, and quickly wound down.

I hate this so much.

Nothing’s Permanent

I had a pretty lucid morning. I dug into DNS records and made note of anything that looked important that wasn’t set statically. It sounded like some of the others were helping Jim at the high school, but nobody said anything to me about it, so I just sat in the office with Jimmy all day, except for a trip to Taco Bell for a quick and cheap lunch.

The afternoon twitches showed up right on time, I had an anxiety attack, and I just got more and more tense as I made it home through slow traffic. I felt like every muscle in my body was just slowly bound.

Noah and Eli were over and Summer was making dinner. Chicken bits pan fried in some random bottle of sauce she bought, Brussels sprouts that were overspiced enough that Eli nearly choked out, and mashed sweet potato. Exactly what I envisioned.

After dinner, I took Muad’Dib out for a run and we did our best to dodge other dog walkers. The couple of dogs we couldn’t avoid weren’t too much trouble, so it was a good run. We visited Dad for some brushing, then got home and wound down.

That goes doubly for DNS records.

No, I Know

Today was another day mostly on my own. I ended up going to Chipotle to pick up a burrito for lunch.

I got stuck in traffic on the way home because they had one lane closed around Menifee.

Dad took Muad’Dib out for a walk during the day, so I waited until the sun went down to take him for our run. I put together a laundry cart I got from Vine so I could give a larger one to Eaddie since she’s had trouble with hers spilling out all over the floor.

Eaddie had Maristella over later in the evening, so Summer was in bed by the time we got home. I wrapped up and went to sleep.

Ooh, bеt you’re thinking, “She’s so cool”

Block Game

I was spinning pretty hard after last night, but I got out of the house and made it to work. I thought I might grab some McDonald’s for breakfast, but ended up munching on a bag of regular Cheerios instead. It was a quiet day, but I managed to fix audio drivers for Jim between getting pulled back and forth to a few other tasks. I went to McDonald’s and had lunch by myself, then fought some anxiety the rest of the afternoon. I had an attack as well, sometime in the afternoon I think.

It barely sprinkled on the way home, but it was clear enough that I could wait until later in the evening to run Muad’Dib. It was nice and cool out, so he ran pretty well. I missed a good photo opportunity when he chased some geese into the flooded pond. We visited Dad for a brush, then got home just after Summer. It was a short night after that.

An ominous landscape of never-ending calamity.

The Offspring

We had Eaddie and Eli’s graduation party this afternoon. Summer went out to gather some additional supplies while I got ready, and we eventually made it to the pavilion at Old Post Park around one. I brought my PA speakers and amp, but forgot the hotspot at home, and my phone on Google Fi didn’t have good enough service to work. My parents made noise about picking up some ice, so I went home to get the hotspot, then ran to the Neighborhood Market for a bag of ice, and made it back to the party just as everyone was eating.

I got the music going and made a plate, and then just sat at the table for the rest of the afternoon. Eli’s father came and sat across from me after things slowed down, and talked at length about being happy and trusting God to take care of everything.

We eventually got everything loaded back up and went home. I took Muad’Dib out for a run and the basin was flooded, so we piddled around for a while. We saw Dad, and made it home after avoiding another old lady and her dog that were in our way. Summer had to go to work for a team meeting, so I was on my own for the entire evening. Eaddie brought Eli over at some point, but they kept themselves occupied while I did some laundry. Then it was off to bed.

Celebrate good times. Come on.

Congraduations

We had two graduation ceremonies to attend today, so not much else to do. Summer had to go to work for a bit, and I ate some of the terrible chicken tacos she made yesterday. Then Eaddie left to meet her at Walmart to find some pantyhose, and I started getting ready for the day.

Eli’s graduation was at one, and we got there a little later than we wanted, but still plenty early to get seats by his family. Eaddie freaked out and kept rudely calling Summer on the phone when she couldn’t find her shoes or her ticket to the graduation. It ended up being a non-issue, because she just walked in and nobody said anything to her, even though Ceci and I walked back around to give her an extra ticket they had.

The ceremony was actually fairly short at about an hour, since they split the class in half. It was neat that two of Eaddie’s friends were speakers, and then the kids walked and we dismissed to find them outside. Summer kept saying she didn’t want to stick around, so I started walking back to the car, which seemed to upset her. She never came up with a plan or vocalized a desire to do anything, so it was frustrating to just hover around that many other people in the sun.

We finally made it back home and I snacked a little before we left again for Eaddie’s graduation. We had to pick up Maristella on the way, and I took them to the band room to help Eaddie get dressed. Then Summer and I went back over to the arena and saved seats for my parents, Eli, his mom, and eventually Nick just as the ceremony started. The speeches went a little better than the first time after some live practice, and the kids made it through.

We found Eaddie outside and took a bunch of pictures, and then Summer and I headed home for the night. She went to the Neighborhood Market for some soda water, and I took Muad’Dib out for a run as the sun went down. At one point he disappeared into a wooded area after something, and the shock collar seemed ineffective. He did eventually return without much fuss, and we continued through the basin for a dip, then went through the roundabout before making it to my parents’ house. He ran reasonably well the whole way. My parents weren’t home, but I stopped to brush him out before we made it home.

I put on the second episode of Resident Alien after failing to come up with anything else to do, and then Eaddie got home from her senior night just as we were wrapping up for bed.

It really just isn’t.

Passenger

I got out a little late this morning and was pretty jittery right out of the gate, so I just let the car do its thing. I got into the parking lot and only Gary was there, so I turned around and went to McDonald’s for a steak, egg, and cheese bagel before going in. It was a pretty slow start from there, and I spent all day trying to get back into whatever I was doing on Tuesday, but mostly accomplished imaging two different laptops for Randy to take to the girls in public relations.

Charles and I rode with Randy to Larry’s for lunch. I wasn’t very hungry, and actually felt a little sick to the stomach, but I figured it would be good to get out. Jay met us there, but only ate a tiny salad for the same price. Charles was yapping all day long, so I just sat back and tried to ignore the shakes.

The afternoon was really quiet with the lights out and not a lot of traffic. I thought I’d be staying late to hang out with Mitch since he was back in town, but he texted a little after quitting time that he had too much to do tonight, so I headed home.

I got home through a couple short blips of rain. Summer put off making tacos, which I thought was an odd choice after I had Mexican twice yesterday – once with her. I ran the dog, then came home to finish my Taco Bueno leftovers, not because I was terribly hungry, but because I figured I needed to finish it before she made more tacos.

We wrapped up the evening pretty early, so I took the opportunity to try for some extra sleep.

You love how I suffocate.

Surreality

Summer had her biopsy at Conway Regional this morning, so I actually got to sleep in for about an hour before we got up to go. We drove separately because we assumed I would be going to work afterward, but the whole procedure ended up taking a lot longer than we expected. We didn’t have to wait terribly long, but the ultrasound found something other than what the previous mammogram found, so the nurse used the ultrasound twice, then ended up doing another mammogram before they finally did a stereographic biopsy. I got to sit through the ultrasounds, but then waited in the tiny dressing room while they did the rest.

By the time we were done, I decided to take the whole day off. Summer headed home for her therapy, and I looked around Conway for some brunch before we’d eventually meet up again for lunch. I headed towards Hardee’s, but then stopped at Taco Bueno when I realized they were open at 10. I thought maybe they had breakfast, but they didn’t, so I got a platter and ate the crunchy bits that wouldn’t get gross over time. It was nostalgic, and exactly how I remembered it, and I think I decided that I missed it. If nothing else, it was cheaper than some other similar options.

I headed home and stopped at AT&T to kill some time while Summer finished up at therapy. I talked to Kevin and Nicole for a bit before they sent me to the back office to find Kevin and David. We chatted for a while since he was having lunch, and then I met Summer at La Huerta for our own lunch. Eaddie and Eli were there, so we chatted with them on their way out. My taco salad was pretty small, but I didn’t need much after brunch, and she liked her lunch fajitas. Food in Russellville is so much cheaper than it is in Little Rock, and it’s not okay.

After lunch, we went to Lowe’s to pick up an order Summer had for work, and then we went straight home. We laid on the couch for a bit, but then both ended up taking a nap for a couple hours. I had been highly anxious and jittery pretty much all morning, and the day felt very surreal to me since we had a busy morning and then nothing in the afternoon. The summer heat was coming, and we were both just tired. The nap kind of made me feel worse overall, but I think we both needed the rest.

I eventually got up to run Muad’Dib when it cooled down a little bit. He was expectedly slow for an evening in the upper 80s, and we had to skip a block to avoid some other people walking a couple of dogs. We made it home about half a mile short, but he was happy to get a semi-grilled hot dog when we got home.

I took out the trash and recycling, and then Summer and I laid on the couch for a while. I started something on Netflix, but ended up stopping it to try and talk to her for a bit because she was feeling off emotionally, and not just physically from the biopsy. We didn’t get much out, other than the same old stuff she’s feeling from work, but she did consider that her antidepressants may be suppressing some other things.

I put her to bed to finish up my own evening, but then Dad called and asked to borrow a carpet cleaner. He spilled his dinner and needed a way to clean it up, so he stopped by to borrow our handheld carpet cleaner. I finished up just as Eaddie got home from a long day out and visiting her father, and then it was off to bed a little early.

Indispuesta