Tag: Reviews

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Instant Offers

I woke up about an hour before my alarm with some stomach pain, which was perfect for a day of travel. I got up and took a shower, but gave myself some time to settle down a bit before leaving town. Summer was working in town, so I brought her a breakfast burrito and then headed to Conway for my first stop.

I really wanted to go to Kohl’s and a couple Home Depots before my interview in North Little Rock, but somehow Kohl’s absorbed every second of my extra lead time. I ended up getting a dog toy, and as I pulled out of the parking lot I realized I needed to get straight to the interview.

The rest of the drive was pretty quiet. I got to the building and sat outside the conference room for a few minutes before they called me in, and it was Randy with four of his guys. I don’t even know what they were doing before they called me in, because nobody else left. The whole process felt like an interview speedrun. They introduced themselves, then I chatted about my time in schools, which actually answered most of their official interview questions. It was a little awkwardly quiet at first, but we eventually got to the laughs and disparaging remarks about K-12 education.

I was done in less than half an hour, and there just happened to be a Home Depot right up the road, so I stopped there to hunt down some clearance Nest thermostats. They had four – one of which was an opened box. I haggled them down from $75 to $60 to clear them out, and then headed to get Ben for lunch.

I thought we might go to Cotham’s, but he chose Three Fold, which was a noodle and dumpling place just a few blocks away. It was a relatively fancy looking place, and though staff was friendly, I found the food to be pretty lackluster. There was zero heat to the “spicy” level, so I should have read the menu and chosen “poison.” I guess the noodles were also supposed to be dry, but they had enough “broth” that I assumed it was a soup with too little of it. The dumplings were bland, and the jelly tea was watered down in an already-tiny cup. The portions were miniscule, especially for $35. I would not go again.

We chatted for a while and then I took Ben back to work. I started to look for other things to do, but then decided to drive up the road to charge a bit at Franklin’s. Unfortunately, the Tesla and the wall outlet were both out of service for some reason. I couldn’t tell if they were disabled or broken, but I couldn’t do anything. Then my plans got derailed again.

Randy texted and asked if I had some time to chat, so I ended up just going back to their office and sitting with him there. He offered the job at $67,145.64 and suggested I complete an associate degree for an 8% bump at the base, but that won’t be worth anything if I don’t stay long-term. With the added drive, I was really hoping to get closer to the $80k mark, but this is still better than nothing. I explained my scattershot applications and week full of other interviews, and he said he wouldn’t hold it against me for taking another opportunity later, so I’m a tentative “yes” until the next board meeting.

By that time, he said traffic was about to get wild, so I started heading home. I stopped in Conway for some Long John Silver’s, and then made it home with about 10% on my battery. It wasn’t a bad day, though I only accomplished about half of what I set out to do. I was relieved to have at least one offer on the table though, so my next step is to complete my Moodle skills test and see where that goes.

Am I that good, or are they just that desperate?

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Video Game Movie

I slept in pretty hard today while Summer got up and did some working from home. When I finally got around to snack on some breakfast, she suggested going to Price Break and a movie in the afternoon. Dad said Uncle Giao, Erica, and Nova were in town, so I assembled my arcade stool and we stopped by their house for some lunch first. They were dropping Nova off at Tech, so they didn’t stick around super long.

Eaddie had band stuff all day, so Summer and I made a quick and mostly boring run through Price Break. It was $10 day, and there were a ton of people there rummaging through stuff. I think it’s more fun to find really cheap stuff that hasn’t been picked up yet.

After that, we went to UEC to watch Borderlands. I liked the visual style, but a lot of the CGI was really hoaky, and the story didn’t really grab me. I never really played the games because they weren’t made for mouse and keyboard, so I wasn’t invested in it at all. I was also still pretty exhausted from general stress and the heat, so I had trouble staying awake in the recliner.

Dad gave us their Roomba, so I cleaned it up when we got home, and had it vacuum the living area. I think I’d really like to get a mopping one for the hard floors, because that’s where the dirt ultimately comes from. It did pull a bunch of crap out of the carpet though, so I need to start seriously shopping for a new vacuum cleaner.

Eaddie didn’t get home until super late, and I spent too much time dawdling before bed. The overbearing heat has me lethargic, and is possibly causing anxiety attacks again, because I’ve been having at least one a day for the past few days. I couldn’t think of anything else that could be triggering them, but I hate it.

Park it.

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Lobby Hobbies

Summer and I woke up way early today so we could get to Tulsa for her service appointment. We stopped in Ozark to charge and I got a little snack for breakfast, and I managed to squeak up to the service center just before our appointment at nine. They didn’t have a loaner for us, but instead offered to let us take test drives in two hour increments.

We ended up hanging out in the lobby until lunch. There were a bunch of people there, but we were there the longest by far. They had a Cybertruck that we could climb around in, but nobody could drive it. We watched as several people stopped to look at it. I kind of liked it, but Summer made a face.

I found an Indian buffet for lunch, so we borrowed a brand new Model 3 that had ten miles on the odometer, and drove across town to eat. The food was really good, but I wished there was more meat. They love their bones, which was annoying but flavorful. We headed straight back to the service center after that.

They got the windshield replaced, but it wasn’t until about 4:00 that they asked for details about the air conditioner, which was the original reason for the warranty claim. They couldn’t find anything wrong, and of course the car had been inside all day, so it wasn’t hot enough to reproduce the failure. They did recharge the refrigerant, and said it was something like 38 grams low, so maybe that will make some difference.

We finally headed home, charged in Ozark, and then Summer finished the last leg of the trip. Eaddie and Eli were at the house and rearranging her room. Summer went to bed, and I responded to a couple requests for interviews, which felt very reassuring. We’ll get this ball rolling eventually.

1.9% is tempting, but let’s find work first!

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Other Directions

I thought today might be an okay day. I got to work and made myself a coffee, and was able to assemble my knowledge and choose a direction for my big networking project. Then things started to get gross. Around lunchtime, Blake found me in my office and told me they were going to go in another direction with the Technology Coordinator position. He didn’t have any real answers or even useful adages. He just said they weren’t going to keep me. At that point, he didn’t even know whether I was supposed to pack my things right then and there, or if I was supposed to keep working until the next Coordinator of the Week showed up. He did know that they already had someone picked for the job, by way of Western Yell County School District, but he didn’t know when he was slated to start.

We talked briefly to no end, and then I spent the rest of the day applying for every job I was even remotely qualified to take, almost all of which were more than twice the salary. I’d already missed my best opportunity for the moment in Morrilton, so all I could do is hunt through what was left. Nothing local, for certain.

I talked to Summer, Johnny, Brody, Kim, and Ben on the phone throughout the afternoon. Ben, as usual, probably had the best advice. Brody, on the other hand, was the only one with an actual job to fill. It would be a slight pay cut, but only if I’m still working by that time.

I eventually headed home without packing too much stuff out of the office. I fed the fish and then went to get Summer for dinner. Eaddie had already eaten, and Noah needed her to pick him up across town. I’m so sick of hearing from that kid, sweating on my couch all night, burning in my television, holding a savings of three hundred dollars toward buying a working vehicle since he burned up his truck.

Summer and I went to Peg Leg for some burgers. Based on our first impression from walking in the door, it was not going to be a good experience. It was a dingy establishment with an oscillating fan in the dining room, a television playing Christian music on Sirius XM, and literally zero other customers. That was when things took a sudden turn. Our server accurately guessed both of our burger choices, and forty bucks later, we were really impressed. Takeout would probably be a better deal so we wouldn’t have to tip, but the burgers were fantastic. Way more gourmet than the Gunslingin Burger across town, and with fewer creepy people inside.

After we ate, we headed home and I took the dogs for a run to my parents’ house. When we got back to the house from our extended route, Muad’Dib still wanted some more. I ended up taking him out on a solo run, and we finished the day with nearly three miles on the board. Hopefully that will keep them quiet tonight.

Summer was in bed long before I got settled in, because I had to wait for Noah to finish his laundry before I could get to mine. Eaddie chatted with me a little bit about a band opportunity, and I applied for Brody’s open position in Clarksville. I may not like it now, but I drew my line in the sand. The lesson is that integrity shown is seldom reciprocated.

Blame is better to give than receive.

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I’m Free!

I was a little late this morning after having trouble sleeping all night and getting a slow start in the morning. I went ahead and stopped for a biscuit anyway, since I got hungry on the drive. I was out of the office more than usual after I got a call that Dean was printing to the check printer in the business office, so I had to go visit Nicky and then him to see what had happened.

I brought lunch, but didn’t touch it because I never got very hungry in the middle of the day. I snacked a little bit, but I just never wanted a meal. I actually tried to focus on my RADIUS project in the afternoon, but was discouraged by dynamic IPs everywhere.

After work, I went to feed the fish and found the anti-dog spray at the old house, so I took it home and sprayed all of my grill stuff on the porch. I wished I had it earlier, but the damage is done to my cardboard box. Summer was home early and had already walked the dogs, but we played with them a little more since I got some new stuff from Amazon Vine for them.

Eaddie had gone out of town with Eli’s family, so Summer and I decided to go out to Stoby’s for dinner. We encountered Noah walking toward the house as we drove off, so we stopped to check on him. Then we ate in a pretty quiet restaurant with questionable quality. It wasn’t the worst I’d had, but I wasn’t impressed by the chicken fried steak.

After we ate, we headed back home and I took the dogs for another quick run on the Onewheel. I couldn’t get Muad’Dib to wear the harness I got him, but Stilgar wore it without too much fuss. Then he enjoyed eating out of the slow feeder enough that he took off with it and left it out in the yard.

I tried to wind down quickly on account of a headache that had been growing since the late afternoon. I don’t know what’s been causing them, but they’re just relentless.

Pump up the jam!

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Mr. Pool

I had a headache last night that was bad enough that I woke up feeling sick in the middle of the night. I took some Tylenol, and then had to take some more when I woke up this morning. Summer got up and made eggs and corned beef hash for breakfast, and the hash just smelled like dog food to me. I made a sandwich with the egg she scrambled for me, and then applied for a bunch more jobs online.

We spent a good amount of time out with the dogs on the porch since it rained in the morning and Summer couldn’t do any yard work. I took a shower, but it didn’t really help my head at all. Summer and I eventually went to the Neighborhood Market to find some dinner, and we picked up some stuff for salads with a couple rotisserie chickens. On the way out, we ran into Zach and his family, but we didn’t chat long.

Back at the house, I pulled the bones out of the chicken while Summer took a bath. Eventually everyone sat down to eat, and then Summer and I continued our X-Men movies with the first Deadpool. Noah came over late and ate before bed. My Männkitchen Pepper Cannon was delivered, along with my very first Amazon Vine product. It was a pretty slick looking storage bin that attached under the Model Y screen. It went together much better than I expected, so I’ll be excited to see if it rattles or anything on the drive to work tomorrow.

Time to volunteer some more time, I suppose.

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Dusted and Busted

It was super hard to wake up for a second day in a row with only a couple hours of sub-optimal sleep. We didn’t make it out of the room quite as quickly as yesterday, but we still got there for park open. Summer scored us really early virtual queue tickets to the new Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind coaster, so we ended up cancelling our breakfast reservation at Akershus and tried to be first in line. They didn’t actually open that ride until 8:40 though, and recommended we try something else for our early hours. We didn’t want to walk far, so we just stopped next door for some Starbucks and then came back.

The whole ride seemed pretty out of place for EPCOT, but it was super cool nonetheless. We were so early that there wasn’t a queue at all yet, and in fact we were the only three people on our train. The ride was incredible, and I only partially jokingly asked if we could stay on for another ride. The first guy said we didn’t want to know what was behind the door that led back to the start of the ride, but then another woman asked if we wanted to ride again, and took us through a staff door and loaded us on the back of the next train, which only two other people were on. After riding both first and last cars, I think the rear was my preferred. It really was an excellent experience, and getting to ride twice, back-to-back, was super special.

The rest of the day was some tough bouncing back and forth, partially to hit rides, and partially to make our lunch reservation at Space 220. Overall the food was great, but the experience was fairly middling. The screen for the “space window” could have been way better, and we were seated too close and too far to one side for it to be even noticeable at all.

By the time we got back to Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, the reported wait time was like 160 minutes. I think we actually got through in just under an hour though. The ride was super cute, but we kind of thought it was more kiddy-cute than something we really cared to ride repeatedly.

We squabbled a bit in pain as we decided how to attack the rest of the afternoon and evening. I really wanted to at least experience the new Frozen ride, and we eventually made it. Eaddie and I both came away with the exact same thought, that Disney has started relying too heavily on projections for their rides. We preferred actual animatronics, and felt the projections just took away from the experience.

Overall, I think most of the things we’ve experienced this trip have been disappointments, and I’m definitely falling out of love with Disney. There are just an intolerable number of people here, and everything feels like a blatant money grab. The only other highlight for the day was really the special fireworks display over the United States pavilion. Julie and Kevin missed it because they went to the front of the park, but we watched from right next to the pavilion and it was intense.

We all made it back to the resort without too much trouble, but a little worse for wear. Everyone’s feet were hurting pretty badly. I have a pinky-toe that’s more blister than toe. The girls crashed pretty quickly, but I didn’t get to sleep until late because I kept trying to wake Noah up off of our couch at home by playing music over my speakers remotely. Then I had trouble stopping them when he finally woke up. I just wish he’d leave, because I’m tired of him blatantly disrespecting us.

Wake me up before you verti-gogo!

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The Stumble Guy

Summer decided she needed to go terminate some folks in Greenbrier today, so we thought we’d make a day of it. I got cleaned up and left Eaddie home since she had some work to do. I got us to the wash, and we only barely escaped being sideswiped once. Summer would be a while, so I had to kill some time. My first stop was McDonald’s, but I couldn’t get anything there because they said they were struck by lightning and had a couple fires in the kitchen. I offered to help if the problem taking orders was with their computer system, but the “owner wouldn’t let them use the fire extinguisher,” so they wouldn’t let me help either.

I drove around the parking lot and found Dollar Tree, and I managed to spend enough time there that Summer was ready to go just as I checked out. I picked her up and we headed to Conway where we tried to eat at Los 3 Potrillos. They had a 20 minute wait to be seated, so we left there and headed downtown where by complete luck we stumbled into Toad Suck Daze. We ate at a place called Salsa’s that was super good.

After we ate, we walked around downtown to see what was there. It seemed like it was mostly vendors, but then we found a bunch of carnival rides. Just as we decided we were finished, we ran into Ernie while he was taking a smoke break from hanging out at the renaissance festival tent.

We eventually made it out of downtown and headed to Kohl’s for some shopping. Summer wanted to look for some shoes, but was misguided by the purposefully difficult pricing there, so we stopped into Shoe Carnival and got her a couple pairs. By then it was time to make it across town for our movie. As we pulled into the parking lot, I thought we’d have a moment to stop at Bargain Hunt again, but we ran out of time quickly and the checkout line was long, so we ran out of there and made it to the movie.

Without a doubt, we thought The Fall Guy was an awesome flick. It was paced well, and we had a good time the entire time. Afterward, we headed straight home and settled in pretty quickly.

What is a Toad Suck, anyway?

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Ci’s

There was a threat of rain again today, but I don’t think I ever saw a sprinkle on my drive in. It took me the entire trip to finish my bagel, but I guess I was glad to have something occupy the drive. I made it in a few minutes early, but wasn’t any more productive for it. Kim was back, and she’s always particularly chatty after having a day off. I didn’t break anything, but I didn’t fix anything either.

After work, it was a relative breeze home to feed the fish and grab a box to take to the new house. I stopped by the high school to try and catch Eaddie so she could return the robotics toolboxes that have been rattling around in the trunk for the past few weeks, but she was just leaving as I was pulling in.

I got home and took a beat to relax before trying to take a bicycle over to Dad on my Onewheel. I got to the end of the street and had to bail due to uneven ground, and the rear tire of the bike just fell off! I struggled to get it back on, but eventually had it in place on the wrong side of the chain. That was enough that I could at least pick it up and carry it while riding the Onewheel.

After I dropped off the bike, I continued a long ride around the neighborhood before Eaddie and I went out to try and find some food. We weren’t super hungry, and couldn’t decide what to eat. We thought we’d just swing by the wash to see Summer, and then find something to eat on the way back. Eaddie decided on New China, so we drove all the way across town to find they were closed. I drove us back to town to get gas at Casey’s, which took forever because the pump was super slow.

We ultimately ended up going to Cici’s, which was a miserable experience. It was a little bit late, but not alarmingly so. There were no store hours posted on the door, but there were people inside. It wasn’t until after I had a salad that I went back up to the bar to find they had combined everything under one heat lamp. There was no variety, so I ended up with a plate full of pepperoni pizza. They’ll get a review for that move, because a relatively large family came in as we were leaving, and they weren’t opening the bar back up. There was no telling what that family ate.

We got home just as Summer did, and we settled in quickly. The week is flying by, but the work hours are crawling. I could really use a win.

Stupid bubbles.

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You Don’t Know Jack

I successfully took the Murano to work this morning. I did not successfully place an order for breakfast at the correct restaurant. The McDonald’s app switched locations on me while I was nearing the bridge to Dardanelle, and I refused to turn around and drive across town to retrieve my order. Fortunately it was refunded later in the afternoon, but it was infuriating that I was completely powerless to do absolutely anything until then. I just went to Burger King instead.

Work was relatively quiet, and some of my deployment issues were resolved. Others I had to keep opening new tabs to research. By the end of the day, I could barely see the icons of each site I had open. Johnny called while I was eating and asked for my reference as he applied for a Dover tech position. It was a little tempting to apply for it myself, but I just don’t think that’s the right move yet. Hopefully something else will present itself, but until then, I’m left daydreaming about what it would be like at the paper mill.

I stopped by Walmart in Dardanelle on the way home, because it was the only store that would offer free online pickup. Then I picked up the coffee table from the old house and headed home. Along the way, I called Jack out of the blue to try and catch up with him. All I could do was leave a voicemail. Summer was already home when I got there, but taking work calls and then heading to the bath after helping me unload the car. I went to my parents’ house briefly, came back to get my backpack and chargers before going back for dinner.

It was nice out, so after dinner I rode all around the neighborhood and the west side of town. Then I came home through the Waco Detention Basin Trail, which was actually dry. With both the Onewheel and the Murano depleated, I plugged in and drove across town to fill up the car. I didn’t realize how much I hated pumping gas until I didn’t have to any more. I still miss my car.

I chatted with Jack for quite a while. Eaddie got home super late, and Summer was in bed early.

Calm