Bitumen and Bitumen Accessories

I slept in a little bit since I was working from home. The girls left, and the guys showed up to start working on the ceiling. For most of the day, it was just one guy mudding the whole thing. I bounced between my nested remote sessions and virtual machines, and spent a bunch of time trying to make sense of our catalog of products so I could rebuild the entire thing in HubSpot.

Just before lunch time, I hit up Gary and then picked him up for Taco Tuesday. Tacos had gone up to something like $1.39, so I spent over $10 when I used to eat for half of that. Dad had come to babysit the house while we ate, so I let him go as soon as I got back to the house. Summer had called while we were out eating and said she terminated someone and wouldn’t be able to be at the house the next day. This was upsetting for a number of reasons.

The afternoon went by kind of slowly after that. Eaddie came home for a little bit, but then left. I took Muad’Dib out for an extended run around a modified, reverse path. Then I scavenged for whatever crappy food I could find before bed.

6215+0

I See Blue All Around

I was up pretty late last night, but woke up just before Summer. I was pretty hungry, so I had a chicken salad sandwich, which by this time was pretty bad. Summer wanted to go to the gym and then mow the lawn, so I worked on some reviews in the quiet. Dad came over a little later and we tried to trace back the doorbell wires. I thought I had seen a wire going back from the garage, so we started there. We gave up after just a short period though, because I didn’t want to make another huge mess before the guys got back to work on the ceiling in the morning.

After Summer finished the lawn, she said that Eaddie and Autumn wanted to go out to dinner with her. That meant I was on my own, so I hung out with Muad’Dib and took a long, late shower. Summer picked up some Hardee’s for me on her way back, I repaired the end of the water hose the dogs chewed up months ago, and I eventually took Muad’Dib out for a run as it got dark.

It looked like the family at the end of the street was getting rid of a big dog crate, so we continued on our route and visited my parents, and then I made a few trips back and forth to bring it home. Then I wrapped up for bed.

I want easy, easy living.

Weightlessness, No Gravity

I thought I had a call this morning, and sat waiting for far too long before I realized it was actually Monday. Matt came in to install the data loggers, so that project is at least started with minimal actual effort. I spent the rest of the day playing around with IDRAC and deciding whether to just nuke the Dell server they bought late last year.

We went to Casey’s for a slush before making it to Taco Bell for some lunch. Rather than fight the dog who follows, I left Muad’Dib in the car, picked up our food, and left it at the picnic table outside before letting him out. As soon as I did, he ran to the table and laid down next to it like the best boy. We had a good time in the cooler weather.

We had pineapple upside-down cake for Rhonda’s birthday as soon as we got back, and then I texted Brandon for a little more insight into the server issue. That gave me the confidence to go all-in on wiping it to start fresh. I backed up what I could, and got through updating a bunch of firmware before leaving for the day.

We got another slush and made it to the house where Summer was working on some sort of cold chicken salad she had made before. I ended up eating a leftover Crunchwrap since the kids weren’t there anyway. She went to clean up and immediately made it to bed, so I took Muad’Dib out for a good run.

Summer noticed we had caught another rat, so after the run, I took it to Washburn park for release. It was small and cute and afraid, so much so that it didn’t immediately jump away when I opened the trap. Its lilttle head was down in the corner and didn’t realize it was free, so I had to shake it out.

After that, I went by both Casey’s in search of more slushies, but they both had their machines turned off. I had the car take the long way home while I relaxed to some music and enjoyed the view.

A bird’s-eye view of San Luis

Gramblin Man

I left Muad’Dib at home today to babysit Dad while he babysat the guys working on the ceiling. It worked out well since we had a staff meeting first thing in the morning anyway. I didn’t really come prepared to say anything, but took up enough time with what updates I had anyway. After that, I spent all day messing with the newer Dell server they picked up last year, but hadn’t actually been doing anything since then.

I went out for a really late lunch, and decided to go to Blue Diamond Cafe for some table service since I didn’t have to worry about time with the dog. I made the mistake of asking my young server for a suggestion, and ended up getting a super basic hamburger because of it. It was good, but lacked dimension. Next time I’ll just have to go in and know what I want.

The afternoon was short after that, and I stopped by the wash to see Summer just as she was about to leave. My car has been filthy for quite a while, so I stopped for a quarter wash on the way to the house, and then washed the inside and outside of my windows once I got there.

Our ceiling had been completely removed, and they hung plastic up to cover the hole, and tarped the whole area, though air could still freely pass through. Luckily it’s been slightly cooler, so the air wasn’t struggling quite as much to keep up. It wasn’t long before I took Muad’Dib out for a run.

We picked up a small dog along the way, who has been roaming farther and farther every day, looking for things to hump. I ended up picking up my pellet pistol from my parents’ house to take along with us, in case he follows us again.

We got back to the house just as it got really dark, and I gave Muad’Dib a bath. Then it was a relatively early night to bed.

Drive

Downed

I was up late moving some more stuff, and I finally got a call early this morning from Adam, who asked for our address because he had put my parents’ address on our quote. He and two younger guys showed up, I handed over $3,500, and then Adam left the other two to it. They had to drop off a trailer and then go get supplies, so I took Muad’Dib for a quick run around the block. Then they came back to move some furniture and hang plastic around the room.

I tried to get some work done, but I still had so much other stuff to clean and move around that I actually couldn’t concentrate on anything. Coupled with a stomach ache for much of the morning, I just wasn’t productive. Eaddie came home from her first day of college, I scolded her for the state of her bathroom and had her clean it up so the guys could use it, and they eventually finished up pretty early in the afternoon.

The whole house was hot and dusty – moreso after more of the ceiling was missing. The plastic sheet slowly fell throughout the evening. I felt gross, and a shower didn’t help a great deal. Summer had to work late, so when I asked what she wanted for dinner, she immediately responded with Brangus. I mistook the message and drove to Check-H, then realized my mistake and drove the extra few blocks.

Summer enjoyed her meal, but just about ever aspect of our visit was middling-to-poor for me. It started with stale peanuts and a burned tumbleweed, then followed through with an old, dried up baked potato, and rounded out with a cold steak.

We got back to the house and I took Muad’Dib out for a run because the quick spurt of rain we had just before dinner had dried up on the ground. It felt quite a bit nicer, but got dark quick. I had more cleaning to do before bed.

out

You’re All Inhale and No Exhale

We shared some Burger King hash browns on the way to work, but then I had to leave Muad’Dib in my office while I went to meet with a vendor and the operations guys about the sensors they want to install. I thought he’d never forgive me after how long it took us to walk to the two PLC cabinets. I started to get a little bit pushy because it seemed like Matt was talking in circles a bit, but hopefully we’ll have something in place by Friday.

We picked up a Subway sandwich for lunch and ate in the office because I thought it was supposed to be super hot outside, but it actually didn’t feel too bad for the couple minutes we were outside. The afternoon dragged on a bit, and then we ran to the house to start moving smaller things out of the living room, hoping that R&R Unlimited would actually show up to start repairs on the ceiling.

Summer got to the house shortly after we did, but wasn’t expecting the work. She took a long bath, then came out and helped to move and vacuum things as I pulled them out of the living room. It was hot and dirty, and no kind of fun. It got dark, but I took Muad’Dib out for a run, hoping that it had cooled down a bit. It actually felt worse without any wind.

We visited my parents, then made it back to put the dog to bed whiel I spiraled down myself.

False Hope 🌎☄️

Ninja-Kick the Damn Rabbit!

Summer had to work this morning, and I got up around the same time because our power blipped and I woke up gasping for air. Clint messaged me about meeting for lunch, but that slowly turned into a trip to Action Jack’s, and we decided to wait and go with Johnny, possibly next weekend. Eaddie got up because she had auditions at Tech.

I noticed the other day that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was playing at the Cinemark in Conway, and it would only be there through Thursday. We thought we’d try to make it during the week, but Summer said she’d be able to go as soon as she got off of work.

I had been messing with a laptop for Eaddie to take to school, but put that down when Summer got back, and we took Muad’Dib to stay with Dad while we went to Conway. He could have stayed outside our house, but it was just so hot outside, I thought he might prefer some company.

We got to Conway and had a late lunch or early dinner at China Town, which we’ve always really liked. Then we got into the theater just in time to find our seats as the intro started. There weren’t any previews, but they played a short clip advertising some new behind the scenes footage that would be available through some project they had going on.

It was fun to see the turtles on the big screen again, and Summer really enjoyed it. The group next to us were a bit obnoxious at times, but I was less angry about it since we were watching an old movie. Afterward we headed back home and I rode the Onewheel over to my parents’ house to get Muad’Dib.

Dad was out watering plants, and Muad’Dib had a friend over from down the street. He had gotten out and roamed the neighborhood a couple of times, and had tons of energy. I had trouble shaking the other ratty dog, who kept trying to hump Muad’Dib, but we eventually made it back to the house. I cleaned up a bit, and made it to bed a bit late.

I have always liked “cowabunga.”

All Symptoms Nominal

I decided to fast before my afternoon appointment, just in case they failed to ask me to do so. I made it with a single cup of black coffee, barely over half full. As the afternoon approached, we had a conference call with the folks working on the new website, so I got in the car and hopped on the Google Meet. It lasted for almost exactly the entire length of my commute home, where I changed clothes and left Muad’Dib at the house for Summer, who had left work and made it through the gym early.

The clinic must have been overbooked, because my total visit was about two hours. I waited several minutes to get called back, had my blood pressure taken, waited forever and had it taken again because it was so high the first time, and then waited some more until Crystal came back to chat with me. I got renewed on my meds, which was the primary goal, and then she had the nurse come back in to do an EKG as a part of troubleshooting the ongoing anxiety/panic/spaceout attacks.

Summer hadn’t really eaten either, so I picked them up and we went to Ridgewood Brothers to see Grant for his birthday and to get some dinner. We got a full order of nachos, which were a full tray of chips, some grainy cheese dip, and an ultimately disappointing amount of brisket. They tasted great, but the ratios just seemed way off and I couldn’t tell if they were made incorrectly, or if the recipe just needed some work. For the size of the gray we got, I wouldn’t mind paying more to get more meat on them. They were just so chip-heavy. Muad’Dib got a bone out of a pork butt, but we had to take it away from him as he started to tear it up.

We started watching Bee Movie to cool down when we got back to the house, but I got up in the middle of it to take Muad’Dib on a run to Walgreens to pick up my prescription. I should have brought his water, because the heat was unrelenting, and it got him just barely walking. I thought he might have to stop to cool down for a while, but he powered through. We got to the house and cooled down, and finished our movie before bed.

We are go for lunch.

Kid Napping

We stopped for a surprisingly good Burger King breakfast as we left town, and then spent the morning confirming known static IP addresses. Muad’Dib and I went to Wendy’s for a quick lunch, but he had to wait in the car. I thought I had discovered PLCs and had Charles walk me through the plant to look at the logic controllers again. When we got back to the office, Janice said Muad’Dib had been crying for me and waiting by the door the whole time. By the end of the day, David advised me that what I had found were actually wireless camera bridges, so it wasn’t a total loss, but it wasn’t quite as helpful as I had hoped.

We stopped to get my axe from the old house, then went by Superfast Splash to see Summer before making it to the house. Eaddie was there, but only briefly before leaving for more marching practice. I had an anxiety attack that came and went, and then once Summer got there, we went to Tacos 4 Ever. I gave in to the excitement of our server’s eyes as he described an off-menu offering of enchiladas covered in shredded beef and red sauce. It was good, but a bit cheesy for my taste, especially after I had also given in to Summer’s desire for cheese dip.

I took Muad’Dib for a run once we got back to the house, and he started out super slow. When we got to the Promenade, we encountered three white adults walking with a very small Hispanic girl. They asked if I knew her, and thus began my part of the quest to find her home. The older lady said the girl was lost and came knocking on her door, and I guess the other two came along to help. We circled the Promenade and I stopped by James’s house to see if maybe he or his kids knew her. He didn’t immediately answer the door, but he came out after I sent him a text explaining why I was ringing his doorbell in the middle of the night. Fortunately he could point us to her house, and she was reunited with a mother and older sister who didn’t even realize she was gone from her nap. The sister said this wasn’t even the first time it had happened.

Muad’Dib and I continued around to see my parents, and finally back to the house where we quickly wound down for bed.

help is on the way

F2025

Johnny called me while I was getting ready for work, so I called him back on the drive in. He said after his mother’s seizure, they finally discovered a tumor and gave her six months to live. We talked for the whole drive, and then I called Clint to check on him once I got to my office. The rest of the morning was more IP scanning and hunting for rogue statically-set devices. Summer was in Little Rock, so she stopped to see Kevin and Julie at the hospital while she was up there.

Muad’Dib and I went to Arby’s and sat on the curb again, and he ate a bunch of my fries and Beef ‘N Cheddar. I put him in the car when I wasn’t outside with him, so he never had the chance to run away. Later in the afternoon, we had a break for some cake for Tammy’s birthday. The drive home was entirely autonomous, and we actually got to see Eaddie for a moment between school events.

Summer and I eventually made it over to my parents’ house for spring rolls. Muad’Dib and I did our Onewheel run and met her there, and then we finished our shortened run after dinner. It was a quiet night because I’m pretty sure I’ve had a blood pressure related headache for the past couple days. Then I had an anxiety attack just as I went to put on my blood pressure cuff. It was off to bed after that.

Efitol Rx