Tag: Reviews

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Armadillo Eggs and Other Nonsense

I ran a little behind to work after having to clean up some more puke from Stilgar. He seemed to be feeling better this morning though, so the worry was over. I still managed to get into the office before anyone else by more than 10 minutes, but apparently they were socializing outside before work. I just continued working on group policies all day.

NextStep took us out for lunch to a place called DRAFT + TABLE, which was excellent. They had an appetizer called Armadillo Eggs, which were “fresh jalapeños grilled, stuffed with cream cheese, wrapped in our sausage and cheese breading, and baked until golden and crispy, served with our signature blackberry cream sauce.” They were much larger than I expected, and absolutely delicious. Then I had their pastrami reuben, which was also much larger than I expected. Both it and the fries were amazing. Finally, their “banana pudding” was a gelatinous atrocity. It was served in a ceramic dish, similar to their crème brûlée, and it looked strange from the start. The “pudding” was a thin layer of appropriately colored gelatin that was so hard, it wanted to jump out of the dish. In fact, a square slice of Maggie’s made it down to the floor from our high table, and didn’t lose a bit of its shape. Zero out of five stars.

The rest of the afternoon was more of the same until quitting time. Traffic was awful on the drive home, but at least it was steady and fast. They need a bullet train that just runs down the Interstate. I got home and immediately took the dogs out for a run. Dad had checked on them midday and said they both seemed fine, and indeed we ran for nearly the entire loop of the neighborhood. We stopped to see Dad briefly, then went the long way around the basin trail, zig-zagging through the neighborhood to get home. Some lady saw me and felt compelled to record me on her phone while she drove slowly behind me in her car, hanging out of her window. It was super awkward, and I thought this must be what celebrity feels like.

Eaddie was out late again, and I managed to get to bed close to my planned time after catching up with Travis a bit. I don’t know what prompted him to reach out again, but it didn’t seem like much had changed. I just wish he would get over his anxiety and go outside some more.

No more nonsense.

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Too Familiar

We got up early to head to Tulsa this morning, and drove straight to the service center in one go. It wasn’t unbearable after driving so much, but I still don’t favor it. Life on the highway is boring. We got to the Tesla service center without any issues on one charge, checked in, and got a loaner to find something else to do in town.

We went to Michael’s and walked around, then walked next door to Kohl’s. We didn’t really find much, aside from a table of Mickey Mouse Farberware cookware. I sent some pictures to Julie, and then we left to find something to eat. I wanted something unique, which landed us at Oh-K Dog in the Woodland Hills Mall. They had Korean rice hotdogs with potatoes and stuff fried on the outside, and they were incredible. Summer and I each had one, and then went back for seconds. The price felt reasonable, which probably says more about my acclimation to inflation than it does about the value proposition of a hot dog fried in rice batter.

After we ate, we walked the mall in absolute awe of a functioning relic of our past. Only two or three shops were closed, and those appeared to be for renovations and not just due to a collapse in popularity. There were several stores with no customers at all, but it was also the middle of a Monday afternoon.

From there, we actually got a message that they were done fixing Summer’s Model Y, but we still wanted to find something else to do. We ended up finding a Cinemark nearby and went to see Beetlejuice Beetlejuice in D-BOX seats. Summer was surprised, but enjoyed the rumble motion seats. I thought it was a treat, but it would have been overpriced if it hadn’t also had a very large screen. Theaters in large cities astound me, but it’s not worth the people.

I didn’t think the movie was bad, but I just wasn’t interested in that world. I wasn’t nostalgic about it, so I could have easily gone without it, but at least it wasn’t boring. After the movie and a successful summoning of the car to the front door of the theater, we headed back to Tesla to get our car back. I had to drive the Model 3 Performance before we left though, and it really did seem to have a little more pickup than my old car. When we got back, I asked about a Model S Plaid, and the guy had to go ride along with us. We found an empty dead-end road and he let me do a full launch, and it was spectacular. If prices keep falling, I may have to hold out for one of those.

Once we were done there, we headed toward home with the hope we could make it without charging. I decided to stop in Van Buren for a restroom break anyway, and then got to Ozark where I decided to stop for some Taco Bell before it got too late. Eaddie beat us home from working the concession stand again, and I did my best to wind down quickly. She was still full of energy though, and ended up taking the dogs out for a late walk while Summer and I went to bed.

Just give me some stalks, man.

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Roll With the Lunches

This morning was my roughest start, but I’d still had worse. Somehow I got out of the house with my undershirt on backwards, but I fixed that before I got into the car. I got to work a little bit late since I wasn’t sure anyone would be there to let me in, and traffic was heavier, but not really any worse or slower than when I’ve started earlier. I still got there in the same amount of time, or possibly even faster because all of the traffic was speeding.

I brought some speakers from home and got them set up for music, and then I got into the SCCM server. I have been constantly surprised by the lack of best practices, and I messaged Gary to tell him how good of a job he had done back in Russellville. I made a couple imaging drives for the techs, and it kind of astounded me how little any of them knew. At least they’re good-natured.

I was alone for most of the morning because Maggie came in way later than she told me she would be. Eventually people showed up, and then several of us met at Jacob’s Wings for lunch. The “boneless wings” were really just chopped up chicken strips with sauce, but they were tasty, and I actually liked that they had less breading. Jay showed up to lunch late with a new Kia that looked pretty slick. Then everyone headed back out and I wrapped up the afternoon in relative peace. It was basically a fraction of what I had been doing at Two Rivers, except most everything was still functional, and I had a team of people doing what Kim should have been doing so I could stay focused.

The drive home was fine with more of the Waveform podcast. Dad had offered spring rolls earlier, but Summer had to cook the food she bought for dinner on Monday for Eaddie, because she would be out late for school stuff the rest of the week. I got home and immediately headed out to return an Amazon purchase to The UPS Store, and then picked up some laundry detergent from Walgreens. Then I took the dogs for a quick walk through the neighborhood while my parents ran to the grocery store.

I dropped the dogs off back at home and then rode back to my parents’ house to eat. It got dark early, so I didn’t get to stay long. The girls were in bed when I got home, so I had to clean up the grill and put everything back in place on the deck. I spent a little more time with the dogs, and then came in to wrap up before bed.

Keys like butter.

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Food? Check.

I got up fairly early again, so my sleep schedule is slowly getting back to normal. I’ve enjoyed making coffee at home, but I’m not sure I’m ready to make it a part of my early morning routine before my drive to work. It just seems to taste better when I brew it while I’m on the clock.

Summer wanted to try Check-H, the re-skinned Western Sizzlin, so I met her there after I took a shower. It was absolutely identical, all basically run by the same people. I guess they finally paid off, or didn’t need the franchise any longer. I never really understood how that worked. Jen actually saw me and patted me on the shoulder while I was getting dessert, and we talked briefly about my sudden departure from Two Rivers, and we wished each other well. I also spotted Todd and his wife finding a table just as we were finishing up. Overall, the food was identical, and it was still one of the lesser experiences I’ve ever had there. It was fine, but I prefer days with steak and shrimp on the bar.

After we ate, Summer had to go downtown to help one of her employees with his dead car. We tried jumping it with the Murano, but the starter would just click once and never crank. They worked on it for a while, and fortunately he parked it right outside Bumper to Bumper, but the only help they could provide was to suggest the car wasn’t worth the cost of repair.

I headed on home and waited for the girls to get home. Summer was a little later than she said she would be, and once Eaddie got home, she wanted some peace and quiet to record her flute. Summer went out back to work on the porch, and I took the dogs for a ride.

We went to visit with Dad, and I talked to him about the house we viewed yesterday. I had been getting excited about it, but when I talked to Kevin, he said he really needed three bedrooms. I don’t understand the appeal of staying in a duplex when he could move somewhere even slightly better for similar money, but maybe we can talk more about it later. Alisha actually texted and said the homeowner liked us, so we traded numbers and we may try taking her out to lunch next week.

Mom got home from work and we walked the dogs around the back yard for a while before I got them home. Then Summer and I picked up Nova and came back to my parents’ house for phở. Mom used the oxtail I got from Kim, and she and I each bit into a little lead pellet in the meat. Someone must have shot the cow in the rear with birdshot for some reason. It wasn’t a surprise for those Yell County folk.

Summer wanted me to drop her off first so she could pack for her Conquer the Gauntlet race in the morning. I took Nova back to her dorm and then came home to a quiet house. I got things wrapped up super early, so hopefully I’ll be able to pass out quickly.

water water water

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It Ain’t Too Early

I set an alarm today so I could get up and ready to go to Conway with Summer. She needed to shuffle some chemicals around between some of her washes, so we went to Morrilton to pick up a bunch. Then we made it to Conway in time to watch Twisters. I found the first half of the movie to be pretty dull, but eventually they got some character discovery going and it made the last half palatable. It was just too much dumb cowboy storm chasing stuff, throwing caution to the vortex-shaped wind.

After the movie, we headed up to Greenbrier to drop off and get some different chemicals for Russellville. Fortunately we didn’t actually have to deliver those right away, so we went back to Conway and did some shopping.

Our first stop was Bargain Hunt where we picked up just a few small things. Then we went to Kohl’s and shopped for a while until Summer got hungry. I did a quick search and found a well-rated cajun and steak place on the east end of town called Almost Famous Smokehouse & Grill. They had a good variety and good flavors, but they appeared to have some trouble in the kitchen. Service was a bit slow, and the small dining room filled up quickly. Both of our meals were served with incorrect choices. I asked for beer-boiled shrimp, but got fried. I think Summer was supposed to have a potato with her steak, but got rice. She liked how her food was cooked, but I thought the steak was a little under. My catfish was overcooked and dry. Otherwise, everyone was super friendly, and I’d definitely give them another try.

After we ate, I made Summer follow me through Target and Home Depot before we headed toward home. I made a quick stop in Morrilton for a keg of Fireball in case Aunt Diane comes down to visit for the holiday. Once we got back home, I reflected on the small taste of the drive I’ll have to make five days a week if I don’t get an offer from Moodle. It really got me considering another Model 3, but I just think it’s a bad time to buy.

Eaddie and Eli were at the house when we got home. Summer and I took the dogs out for a quick walk around the block before it got dark, and we sent Eaddie to pick up her car after she left it at school from the football game last night. When she finally got back home, Summer went to bed and Eaddie and I chatted for a little while, and we eventually went to bed.

And It Ain’t Too Late

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DeepNot

Johnny called and woke me up this morning to chat about finding a decommissioned server that he wanted to use for SCCM. He interrupted a strange dream in which I was about to take a ski-lift from California to Washington D.C. I wondered if I would dream that in real time.

We chatted for a while and then I went outside to find the dog bowls. Then I started cleaning up around the coffee bar so I could place the new silicone drying mat that would be delivered later in the day. I tried to stay fairly busy, but then I got a rejection email from DeepNet that got me kind of sad. After hearing how excited the girl was about the company, I got excited myself, but I didn’t even make it to the second round of interviews. Maybe I was a little too honest about my worst boss story.

I finished up a bunch more leftovers and got the coffee bar put back together just before Eaddie got home, but she and Eli changed for a football game and then immediately left again. I waited around for Summer to get home, and she really wanted spaghetti, so I told her we could go out.

We ended up at Pasta Grill, and she didn’t even get spaghetti. We had to wait about half an hour to be seated, and then service was incredibly slow. The food was good though, and we left with a ton of leftovers. I thought we’d walk the dogs together when we got home, but dinner didn’t sit well with her and I ended up taking them on a quick walk around the block by myself.

We ended the night with the old movie Twister, which had me completely bored out of my mind. I thought it would be better after hearing so much about it years ago, but I just didn’t find myself caring about any of the characters at all. It all seemed really far-fetched and unrelatable. Dull.

Eaddie made it home late after a losing game against Morrilton, and then they were off to bed. I spent a couple more hours researching mopping robots before I got there.

Twister Cafe

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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.