Tag: Reviews

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To Space Again!

Summer had to go in to interview someone this morning, then came home after the gym. I got up and had some of my Long John Silver’s out of the air fryer, and it was just about perfect. Then I didn’t waste much time getting ready for another movie in the afternoon. I had really been wanting to see Project Hail Mary in IMAX, but it was already off of every large screen thanks to the new Mario movie we saw yesterday. I settled for a recliner in the second row at the UEC, and Summer finally got her overpriced popcorn after we rushed past concessions yesterday.

We left Muad’Dib at home again, but he seemed to do fine. I wasn’t even sure where Eaddie went, but she was gone all day. I’m nearly ready to kick all of her crap out of her room because she can’t keep things off of the floor.

The movie was fantastic, but slightly longer than I could survive without a bathroom break. When we got back to the house, I found a bootleg stream and caught myself up on the couple minutes I lost, and the pacing was slow enough that I really hadn’t missed anything. It was still wonderful in every way though.

Summer wanted me to grill some brats when we got back to the house, so I did that, and warmed up the leftover cabbage and peas she made. Dinner was great, and then of course she was straight to bed. It had been wet all day, so I didn’t take Muad’Dib out for a late run. We all just settled in for the night.

I can’t imagine explaining “sleep” to someone who had never heard of it. Hey, I’m going to fall unconscious and hallucinate for a while. By the way, I spend a third of my time doing this. And if I can’t do it for a while, I go insane and eventually die. No need for concern.

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Side Quests

Summer had to work this morning, so I slept in a while, then got up for some leftover corned beef for brunch. Eaddie left for school and I got cleaned up for a trip to Conway with Summer to pick up some stuff for work. I had gotten tickets to see The Super Mario Galaxy Movie so it wouldn’t be a whole trip just for work. I really wanted to see Project Hail Mary, but the release of Mario knocked it out of every single larger theater.

I lost track of time and we got out the door way later than I planned, but we made it just in time to walk straight back and sit down at the end of the trailers. A family with at least one kid was sat right next to our seats in an otherwise mostly empty auditorium, but I sat down and shared an armrest on principle because I had reserved our seats ahead. It wasn’t completely unbearable.

I thought the movie was fun, but the 3D didn’t really do much for it, which was a surprise. After that, we went to Splash to pick up Summer’s stuff. I asked for the key to the manual wash and was able to give the Model 3 one of the best washes it has ever had. I had forgotten how vibrant the paint was.

By the time I finished, we were both super hungry, so we made our way downtown and ended up at the Rogue Roundabout. Summer didn’t have her ID for some reason, so our server said she would have to call over the manager. I didn’t recognize him, but he learned where we were from and said he was born and raised there, having graduated high school a year after me. I asked his name and learned he was the same Chris I had driven to the emergency room after stepping on broken glass at Cole’s bachelor party camp trip some fifteen years ago. I still had photos, and even had his number saved in my phone.

After that, we had several drinks before our food came out an hour and a half later. Everything tasted great – it was just incredibly, frustratingly slow. We caught Chris outside as we left, and I shared a couple pictures. Then we started toward home. Summer had previously said no to Long John Silver’s when we were thinking of where to eat, which put the bug in my brain that I should pick some up for later.

We went through the drive-through where I ordered a family mean, and was subsequently parked to wait for our food. I ended up going inside and had a great conversation with another customer that came in after me. We chatted intermittently with the guy who took my order, since he was busy running around behind the counter. He gave both of us free drinks for waiting so long, and then I remembered their delicious strawberry lemonade. The restaurant always looks super dated and worn down, but has never been what I would consider dirty. The staff has always been super friendly, and the food has always been fresh. I wish them success, because I miss the one in town.

I eventually got my food and we headed home, snacking on clam strips as it started to pour down rain. We made it home where Muad’Dib had apparently been left alone for several hours. He ran up to me like he thought I had gone forever. I had asked Eaddie about being home, but I guess I wasn’t specific enough because she had been gone to Tech for several hours before we made it back. Everything was intact though, so maybe he’ll be okay to be left alone a little more frequently.

First goes the body, then goes the bones. Then all that’s left is dust.

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Together We Can Take the Long Way Home

Eaddie beat us all up and into the shower this morning, which was great. We all managed to get ready and left right at checkout time. The kids actually left a little before us so they could get lunch downtown. I thought my parents had already left, so we headed toward Rogers for lunch, but then discovered they were still back at the hotel. Summer and I got to the Supercharger and walked around with Muad’Dib for 20 minutes or so, then put him back in the car and walked to Việt Buffet.

My parents arrived with perfect timing just shortly after we walked up, and we had a great lunch. I’m worried they won’t last long because of how many people were on staff and how empty the restaurant was, but all of the food was great. It’s a long drive even for a day trip, and there’s not much else up there to do that we can’t find closer.

Mom and Dad left a little before us, and then we still had to walk back to the car, but we got home just behind them. I took Muad’Dib on a run since we hadn’t been through the neighborhood in a couple months, and I could tell he was tired from an adventurous weekend. We visited my parents briefly, then made it home to unpack and clean up.

Eaddie had a sorority thing in the evening, so took a moment to decompress, and then I had to load up my loudspeakers to take to work for the upcoming picnic. I’m excited to actually get to use them properly, especially with all the new accessories I’ve been picking up.

Summer passed out early, and even Eaddie got home and went to bed before I finally got there. It was a fun and exhausting weekend, but man, what a year.

Better than watching Geller bending silver spoons

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Makin’ Our Way Downtown

Summer and I got out for breakfast alone this morning because the kids didn’t want to get up. We drove across town to a place called The Squatch, where we had a breakfast burrito, biscuits and gravy, and avocado toast. The toast was probably the best of them. None of it was bad, but none of it was great either. It was a cute place though.

Afterward, we made our way back to the hotel and I ran around with Muad’Dib a bit. Evidently there was some kind of a footrace going on across the street, because we saw a few runners and could hear the commotion. We eventually got everyone out to go downtown and walk around, dropping the Model 3 off to charge at the top of the hill before taking Eli’s truck to park down the hill. I mostly stayed out of the shops with Muad’Dib, but it was really nice outside. As lunchtime approached, we ended up eating at New Delhi Cafe where they had a fusion of Indian and American. Eli and I split a burger and a curry chicken wrap. Eaddie had some butter chicken, and Summer had a huge fillet of fried fish and chips. Everything was really good, but I think the fish was probably my favorite bite.

We made it back for the afternoon show, which was much better than the last. We all had a good time before going back to the room to rest a bit. I ran around with Muad’Dib some more, and the others spent some time at the clubhouse playing mini golf and pool.

Dinner time eventually came around and the four of us met my parents, Uncle Rick, and Ginny at Red’s Pizzeria. Their four-generation sourdough pizza crust was great, and then we picked up my car on the way back for the evening show.

Everyone had a great time, but even Muad’Dib was exhausted by the end of it. We made it back to the room and started settling down for bed. Of course the Harry Potter marathon was finishing up, so I had trouble as my eyes kept wandering over to the TV, but I finally got to bed after midnight.

fifteen

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Best Mex

We narrowly grabbed some Taco John’s on the way out of town today. The app seemed confused about whether the restaurant was open and accepting orders, and based on prior experience, it seemed like the staff might be confused too. We ended up being able to order there, and hit the road in a decent amount of time.

I continued with my Intune and Autopilot learning all day, only stopping to meet Summer for lunch. We had the best food we’ve ever gotten from Ortega’s, and our server knew us well enough that he basically had our orders. It was an excellent visit.

Summer took Muad’Dib home with her since she didn’t plan to go in to the stores today. I finished up my afternoon and made it home to find her in bed wrapping up her work. Eaddie got home from her trip to the northwest to have Eli’s horn serviced, and brought me some Hawaiian Bros. Summer started eating it, so I had a few bites before we put it away.

I eventually took Muad’Dib out for a little walk before it got dark. We stopped briefly to see my parents, but I was feeling exhausted. I ended up having an anxiety attack just as we were finishing up, just a couple houses up the road. I didn’t feel great after that, but I was still really tired, and it cooled off quite a bit as well.

I cleaned up minimally and laid down with Summer for a little while. Julie called to discuss a possible family vacation, and then I wrapped up for bed.

I’m ready for my air coccoon.

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More Less Better

I woke up to some weird, strange, scary dream last night, but I couldn’t remember anything about it. I didn’t think I’d be able to go back to sleep, but luckily that didn’t last long. I still had a bit of a rough start, and though I got up early for a free birthday drink from Starbucks, I didn’t end up going because they must have been out of milk somehow.

We got to work and I did a pretty good job of focusing on my Autopilot task. It’s finally starting to get kind of fun to tinker with that stuff, though there’s still plenty I don’t understand. It still wasn’t rainy during lunch time, but I really wanted to try the new BIG ARCH burger at McDonald’s, so Muad’Dib just had to wait in the car.

I didn’t realize how big it was, so I also got a small Happy Meal for some McNuggets and a Changeables toy in order to bump the total up enough to qualify for a discount. I ate that first, so when I actually opened the burger and realized how big it was, I knew I was in trouble. I was actually really pleased with the burger though. It was tasty enough to drown out the noise of the obnoxiously loud group of teens that were at my usual bench seats. There must have been a bus of them somewhere, because I later saw several groups of them convene across the street at Taco Bell.

I let Muad’Dib run some more coming back to work, and a little later in the afternoon Janice had cake for me. She made me a lemon poke cake, and it was super good. It felt really nice to be in a work family that did stuff like that again, though there’s no telling whether that will continue to be a thing when she retires. Hopefully we can continue in some fashion.

I had an anxiety attack sometime in the afternoon, but I don’t remember if it was before or after cake. I felt progressively worse all afternoon like I had gas in my chest that just kept coming out as burps. I did my best to relax because my heart was racing as well. I lived to see the end of the day, and picked up my Starbucks on the way home to save for later, then found Summer in a bath.

She was really hungry, so we decided to take Muad’Dib to Point Remove for some boneless wings and a couple beers. As soon as we got there, a lady recognized Muad’Dib and asked if he was the dog that kept getting out in our neighborhood. She remembered me working at Two Rivers, and I think I remembered encountering them on a run or something. It really feels like I’m living with a celebrity sometimes.

I only finished Summer’s first stout because she wanted to try one of the wines, and then I only had a couple of the wings just to take it easy. I felt a little better by the time we left, and we swung through Tropical Smoothie for a free smoothie to save for the morning. Then Summer went straight to sleep when we got to the house. I kind of wanted to go for a walk, but also wanted to get to bed early. I started to feel a lot worse for a bit, but checked my blood pressure and took a clonidine since I was right at the cusp of being that high. I felt better as I continued to burp, and wondered if it was mostly due to the poor nutritional value of the food I’ve been eating. I think it’s time to go regular on the Soylents again.

I’ve never been this many before.

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The Browns

I managed to stay pretty busy at work today, bouncing around in Intune and HubSpot. I also got my Windows 11 Pro license key delivered, so I was glad I hadn’t tried to get an update from Janice on account of how busy she always is.

There was a slight chance of very little rain, but it felt nice outside, so we went to Taco Bell for lunch. Muad’Dib did great, so he got go run back down the street afterward. The whole day went by pretty quickly, and then we headed home for an early birthday dinner.

I stopped by the old house looking for my Brown’s Catfish birthday reward, but it wasn’t to be found. When we got back home, it was in the mailbox, evidently having never been delivered before. I must have just imagined receiving it in the first place, though I did have another points reward that was delivered.

The girls, Muad’Dib, and I loaded up in the car and met my parents, Kevin, and eventually Julie at the restaurant. I let Muad’Dib run around a bit at first, but then he had to wait in the car. I wasn’t starving, but the food was good and I overate. I was frustrated that the girl refused to scan my reward card, so we didn’t earn any new points on the nearly $200 ticket, which still would not have been enough to earn another $10 certificate. She said to scan for points would be “double-dipping.”

Eaddie had a concert to attend, so we left there and came home to bed.

AND a credit fee? Get outta here!

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Downtown Dallas

We slept in a little bit and then went downstairs for a late breakfast since they didn’t shut down until nearly lunch time. They had eggs a few ways, waffles, and the other usual suspects, and it was all pretty good. It took us a while to get around to much after that. I ended up taking a work call at one while Summer looked for things to do. Then we headed downtown.

We stopped to supercharge since the hotel charger cost more per kWh, and made a loop around the shopping area with Muad’Dib while we waited. Then we went to Mutt’s Cantina downtown to see what that was about. It was a cute little dog park with several dogs, but upon further inspection, you had to pay for a day pass on top of having other food and drinks available. We ended up leaving and just walked around looking for something to eat.

A few blocks later, we found a place called Malai Kitchen with a patio, and were seated with the most incredible server. We had a couple drinks and some really good food in the perfect weather. On the way back to the car, Summer wanted to stop at the Capital One Cafe that we saw, and ended up getting a free cappuccino for having a Capital One card.

From there, we headed straight back to the hotel. We thought we’d have a swim in the pool, but it was cold in spite of being indoors. We went back to the room and watched the Marvel marathon on FX until bed.

Eggs for days.

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Make Italian Grate Again

Summer opened this morning and would have to go back to replace the wash belt in the evening, so we had a dinner date planned. My day didn’t go exactly as I planned, and it was still no more productive. I was called to a few issues that I was at least able to mostly resolve.

It was cold out, so we went to McDonald’s for lunch where the manager had come to know me by name. Service was good, but my Big Mac was stale and dry. My first round of fries was good, but when I went back to redeem a free Happy meal out of nostalgia for the Changeables toy, those fries were somehow terrible. The hot honey sauce for the nuggets was divine, but Muad’Dib got the fries. An older gentleman in a suit came and sat by me at the bar just as I was packing up to leave.

The afternoon was full of trips up and down the stairs to troubleshoot a cabling issue, and so far I’ve been pretty annoyed by the quality of the install from Blue Sky. It seems like this is the second instance of some bad termination, but I want to be sure before I start screaming.

Summer wanted Olive Garden for dinner, but on the way home she said Eaddie wanted to go with us, but to Pasta Grill instead. I was truthfully dreading Olive Garden on account of their overpriced and mostly terrible menu, so this was a wonderful change of plans. We drove separately since Summer would have to go back to work, and then Eaddie rode around with me while Summer went in.

We had to get her boots from the house first, and then I took Eaddie to Dairy Queen. It was too cold to sit outside with Muad’Dib, so we headed back to the house where she finished up her school stuff and I cleaned up a bit before bed.

Second best dressed at the Morrilton McDonald’s

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Lessons Fought

Eaddie called me a little after midnight, which of course startled us both. I tried to answer, but then she walked around the corner toward the bedroom and said she needed help. Summer jumped up too, but I dressed and followed her outside to investigate. Eli was sitting in the Pathfinder in the driveway right behind my car, and had gotten stuck on the ice slope.

We couldn’t even walk on the ice because it was so slick, so I got a couple containers for the kids to shuttle water back and forth. Eaddie was minimally helpful, and sassed me any time I told her to do anything. Summer eventually came out with my axe and started whaling on the ice to break it up. After a couple hours, we finally got free and climbed out of the driveway. I mentioned Eaddie’s attitude to Summer, and she decided to address it right away before the kids left. Of course Eaddie started crying in frustration, which broke Summer down. I meant for it to be discussed later, but apparently Eaddie had previously expressed wanting to be called out on the spot. They left and Summer and I struggled to go back to sleep.

As tired as I was in the morning, we made it to work for a long day. Rhonda said Muad’Dib had peed on Teddy’s bed in their office, which surprised me since he’s usually right around me. I tried to stay focused, but had a pretty bad anxiety attack in the morning. We got mozzarella sticks from Sonic, then a box from Taco Bell since it actually felt reasonably nice outside. Some old jackass parked crooked next to me, but luckily I could Summon my car out of the spot and load Muad’Dib back in when we left.

The afternoon dragged on a bit, and then we headed home. Janice gave me some money for gift cards from Old South and Brown’s, but the latter would be closed until the next day. The girls were at the house when we got there, but things seemed quiet. Summer bathed and I left to pick up some food. Eaddie denied hunger, but I knew she would eat, so I picked up a bunch of wings from Buffalo Wild Wings, and then a plate from Panda Express. Buffalo Wild Wings was terribly slow, and the boneless wings were terribly small, and of course Panda Express had boxed up my order half an hour before I finally got there.

We all sat down to eat, which was nice, but then Summer quietly summoned me to the bedroom for a talk. I think we both knew Eaddie was really upset that Summer had reversed her decision to get out by the end of the week, but I guess they talked about it and it had them both very bothered. I went to talk to Eaddie about it myself, and I felt like we had a pretty good conversation. Of course I won’t know how she really feels, but hopefully she and Summer can revisit later, and I’m sure we’ll be fine if we can all agree to focus our energy in a positive way.

Eaddie left to practice at Witherspoon, and I rushed to bed without much of a catch-up session with Summer. The less energy we have to spend on catching up for things like this, the better.

Beat the keys out of it.