Tag: Reviews

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Sheltered Ham

Day eight of quarantine kept us in all day long. Summer got up and made bacon and eggs for breakfast. She and I made bagel sandwiches out of it, which turned out really great. Then she spent much of the day trying to coax the kids into cleaning house. In the afternoon, we watched Yes Man while Summer had a workout on her Bowflex. Eventually it came time for me to start warming up a ham for dinner.

Walmart was mostly out of meats when we went for supplies, but they had lots of spiral cut hams. We always have weeks worth of leftovers after Christmas, so I figured a ham would be perfect for dinner, sandwiches, and eventually a nice ham bone soup. It was my first time cooking a ham, and there was even less to it than I imagined. Everyone really liked it too, which was an awesome surprise. It’s not often we get everyone to agree on dinner. Summer made mashed potatoes and broccoli with cheese, one of Eaddie’s absolute favorites.

Autumn wanted to end the night with some Monopoly, so she, Summer, and I played a game that tipped between the three of us until I eventually came out on top. Summer had to go to bed for work in the morning, so Noah, Eaddie, and I ended the night watching Cabin in the Woods. I had wanted to see it for a while, but I was glad I didn’t make Summer watch it with us. I thought it was alright, but in the end it was more of a check off of a list.

Hide ya kids and hide ya wife, cause they infectin’ err’body up in here.

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Come at Me, BrOVID-19

I tried sleeping in this morning, and though my bed felt pretty luxurious, I couldn’t get back to sleep once I was up. I called Summer and met her at the gym for about a half hour walk on the treadmill. Then I went home to clean up before meeting her, Eaddie, and Noah at the new Cicis to try and catch the novel coronavirus. It was evidently their opening weekend, so the parking lot and insides were completely packed. They managed to keep the bar loaded, but the pizza types were boring, and the bar didn’t seem as big. They put the salad stuff up front, but it didn’t appear to have as much stuff either. Overall I was pretty disappointed. I don’t like having to put in custom orders, but I guess now I have an excuse to ask for one made with every single topping they offer.

After lunch, Summer took Autumn to her play practice, and Noah and I met her back at Walmart to do a little shopping. That place was packed too, presumably from pandemic panic. We even ran into my parents while wandering around. They were out of a ton of stuff, including all paper toiletries, all hamburger meat, and tons of canned or dry goods. As we were checking out, they made an announcement over the intercom that they had a small cart of hand sanitizer located at the front of the store. We turned around to see a cart guarded by employees as they only allowed a couple per household.  You could definitely tell people had gone completely bonkers. It was all over everyone’s faces.

Noah left with some friends while we were there, so Summer and I took our groceries back home and chatted some more until Autumn finished. I went to get her, stopped by my house for a few more things, and then came back up the hill. She went to bed super early, so Summer and I watched Master of None until Eaddie got home from her birthday trip with Maleea. Noah eventually got home as well, we ate some leftovers, and then when Noah went to sleep, Eaddie joined us in the bedroom for a couple episodes of Glee. She was the best snuggle buddy tonight.

A pocket full of posies!

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That’s a Lot of Poop

Today was quite a bit cooler with heavy cloud cover. I took the Grom to work and quickly felt the chill. My morning was mostly spent talking to people that didn’t have a clue, and wanted me to figure everything out for them. I felt completely surrounded by all manner of different test sessions, and I spent over an hour just trying to understand what they all were.

I made it back to the shop just in time for lunch and convinced Allen to try IHOP with me. I had a coupon for a birthday stack of pancakes, so I tried the churro style. Both the food and service were excellent today, and I loved the renovation and design update the place had received. To top it all off, we even made it back to work with time to spare.

Holy ShitAfter lunch, I had to go back up on the lift to replace the band projector lamp again. It didn’t even last a whole day, so I stuck the pristine old one back in with the hopes that it had only failed as a fluke, along with a defective brand new bulb. I spent a little while longer running around campus until it was time to go home.

Summer was going to work late, so I poked at the shrimp a bit before starting some laundry. Then I played some Overwatch until it was done, and headed up to Summer’s for the evening.

I’ve overeaten a lot in my lifetime, but never by enough to have a me-sized turd.

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Bye Forever!

It was nice enough, and I got out of the house early enough that I got to ride the bike to work this morning. The first thing on the agenda was to get some plants planted in the new office goldfish aquarium. It’s way overstocked and way underfiltered, so I figure some plants would help as much as anything else. The rest of the day was mostly spent working on laptops while the rest of the building started on testing.

I made it back to the shop for lunch just in time to hear we were all taking Jason to Taco Tuesday for his last day. For some reason, eight of us didn’t want to squeeze into the two appropriately-sized tables, but I guess there were still open tables for others. It wasn’t a particularly sentimental moment the way that others might have been, but we enjoyed our time together. Then I rode back to the high school to chug away at more laptops.

Classes let out early for the students to watch the basketball tournament in the arena, so it was really quiet. My office got super cold super fast, and it finally got to the point that I just had to get up and leave. I went back to the shop for the last 30 minutes or so, and chatted with Ben about his plans for the department moving forward. I would have liked to just take over the position, but I also know some of who I would be up against. Instead, I think he’s really leaning into adding a second tier for us so that multiple employees can benefit from an overdue wage increase.

I rode home for just long enough to get cleaned up, and then I met Summer at Ruby Tuesday for $5 salads. John served us, and I shared stories of his greatness. As we left, I finally asked the best way to pay our compliments, and proceeded to submit my entry through the company’s corporate website. Summer was exhausted from work, so I got Eaddie from karate and Autumn from hanging out at the basketball tournament. We headed home and everyone settled in to bed pretty quickly. Even I was feeling pretty exhausted.

Whatever you do, do it well.

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Mama Don’t Take My Photochrome

I made it out of the house a bit earlier today, so I decided to try Wendy’s Breakfast Baconator. It took me longer to get across town than I really expected, so I ended up getting to work late, but it was worth it. It didn’t look like much, and for something called a Baconator I would have expected the bacon flavor to stand out more than the spicy, squared sausage patty, but it was delicious. The seasoned potato wedges were just as much of a star in this breakfast trio, especially with how hot, fresh, and perfectly crispy they were. The Frosty-ccino was okay, but nothing special.

My morning was busy with a fair amount of running around. I had to go to the arena again for a little while, and along the way I ran into Ben and Jason in the cafeteria with River Valley Home Theater. They thought it was going to be a training issue, but there ended up being a component failure in the AV cabinet. Then on the way back inside from the cafeteria, Kayla made a comment about my glasses and I had to look up my order and confirm I had actually gotten the photochromic lenses. I’m just never out in the sun with them long enough for it to have much effect.

I was going to go to IHOP with Allen for lunch, but just as I was walking out, I got a call that one of the lunch lines had malfunctioned. I ran over there to take a look and ended up staying late, so I just skipped lunch and finished my Soylent from a couple days ago. I continued working on laptops all afternoon until it was time to go.

When I got home, I started a load of laundry and played a couple ranked matches of Overwatch. One of the games was really close, with three really close matches. The other two were absolutely garbage, and made me remember why I only play the arcade mode. Once my laundry was done, I headed up to Summer’s to make burritos, and we sat down and watched Hancock as Summer reeled in pain from her day-long headache.

The only thing spicier than Wendy’s breakfast sausage is their Twitter feed!

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Too Livery

Summer left this morning while I started on some laundry. I ended up having to dry my pants twice because I forgot to clean the lint trap after washing my new set of towels, but at least my house didn’t burn down. We both finished chores in time to get some lunch before the girls got home, so we decided to try a new place in town called Sam’s Southern Eatery. Evidently it’s a pretty good sized chain, so maybe they’ll last a little while in that location.

The food was really good and consistent, so it made sense learning that it wasn’t just some new local startup. The prices were high, but they weren’t too shy with the portions today. I had a feeling that wasn’t normal for the menu items we ordered, but it made it a worthwhile visit for us today. Summer had plenty of fried liver left over, and even I didn’t finish my fish and crab cakes.

It was drizzly all afternoon, so we headed back to her house for the evening and waited for the girls. They started chores when they got home, and I put on The Matrix Reloaded, which took us the rest of the evening to finish.

Nom de dieu de putain de bordel de merde de saloperie de connard d’enculé de ta mère. It’s like wiping your ass with silk. I love it.

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Just a Little Trim

I woke up to my alarm this morning and rolled over, fully knowing that I was about to fall back asleep. I woke up again right around the time I normally get up if I’m at home, so I was in a rush the rest of the morning. Work was pretty quiet again, and parent-teacher conferences had class out an hour early, though we didn’t get to participate in that. I just kept busy until lunch.

Allen agreed to Steak ‘n Shake since neither of us had been there in a really long time. I had seriously never had even decent service at this restaurant, and they’ve always been extremely slow in every single aspect, so I new it was a risk. The service wasn’t any friendlier today, but our food was hot, fresh, relatively cheap, and came out in record time. Overall we were very happy with our decision.

After lunch, I spent a while messing with the sound system in the crimson room again. I didn’t have the cable I needed to test, but after remembering I had an XLR-accepting amplifier in my office, I tested the equipment and traced the problem back to their amplifier. Fortunately it was just loose or completely disconnected cables from the back where someone had shuffled things around haphazardly.

When I got home, I had several deliveries to bring inside. I didn’t get to play much though, because I had to trim some plants for trading with the local girl I found on Reddit. In the end it turned out for naught, and she put off the trade until Wednesday, but at least I’m prepared now. I spent a little while setting up a Chromecast Audio in the bedroom with my new optical cable, then jammed while I cleaned up a little before bed.

Put it outta yo mind!

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Plant Proteins

Today was warm enough to take the bike in to work, but it was supposed to rain in the afternoon. I never heard from anyone all day, so I just stuck to myself and worked on things in my office. My morning was fueled by Soylent, but I wasn’t going to miss out on a free Beyond Burger from Hardee’s, so I left for a super late lunch at the end of the school day.

I hate to be at all disparaging toward the employees at our only remaining Hardee’s, because they’ve never been anything but kind. I just can’t shake the feeling that they all arrived for their shifts on the same bus from their community care center. They do manage to get the food out, and my burger was actually put together quite nicely today. The fries were cold though, and every interaction I observed felt really…unpolished? I’m absolutely for the employment of people with special needs; work just wouldn’t be the same without Allen. I’m just suggesting that maybe one of the staff on duty at any given time should be a better trained and better compensated employee. I really think that would raise the bar and maybe help fill some seats. I’d hate to lose the restaurant due to poor ownership.

The afternoon went by super quickly after having such a late lunch. I tried stopping at Walgreens for my blood pressure medication on the way back, but the line was both long and immotile and I had to get back to work. When I left work, I went by my parents’ house to visit while I waited for the girls to be ready to go home. They ate with their grandparents while Summer was away for a work meeting in Little Rock, so I picked at some of what my parents had out. Once the girls were ready, I fetched them, made another stop at Walgreens, then went by my house to change before taking them home.

The evening flew by as the girls begrudgingly took care of their chores. Summer eventually made it home, and it was off to bed with everyone.

If you close your eyes, it’s like you’re eating a real, overcooked hamburger.

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Meeting the New Doctor

I had to go in for my 6-month checkup today, and my old nurse Stephanie had left some time ago. They actually scheduled me with Doctor Carter, whom I’d never once met. I got to sleep in a little, then went straight to the clinic where they got me back behind the door in record time. I still had to wait a while for the doctor to see me, and once he got there he basically went on a 20-minute rant about how I can’t eat starchy, fried foods. Both times in my life that I’ve had to meet a new primary care physician, that’s all I get. This time was probably the worst with assumptions about the kind of diet I have. Just tell me to exercise and move on with it.

When I finished up with that mandatory meeting, I went to Superfast for an oil change and to convince Summer to go to lunch with me before I had to go to work. I wasn’t sure if it was because I had left my car idling in line for a while, but after the oil change I had to get a jump start to get moving again. We stowed my car in the back bay for a charge, then took hers to Denny’s for a couple free Beyond Burgers.

Steven and his coworker were there for lunch as well, and they seemed to be having a better time. Summer seemed genuinely surprised that our service was horrible, but I’ve only very rarely had a good experience there. The food is always fine, but it’s always incredibly slow. It took us half an hour to get our drinks, and mine wasn’t even what I ordered. Our waitress actually brought them out with our food, so we just scarfed everything down at once. The burger was decent, but they were definitely disguising it with a fancy bun. The bun was great, but it was about three times the size of the burger patty. The patty itself tasted okay, but was a bit too tender.

With lunch out of the way, we headed back to the shop so I could go to work. Alex evidently tightened my battery terminal, so I didn’t have any trouble the rest of the day. I went by a nearly empty shop for a little while, then went to the high school and spent a good hour walking back and forth, getting in my steps, to work on the sign. I still couldn’t get the radio to talk, so I gave up again. The rest of the afternoon went by super fast as I did mostly things for which I did not have a proper work order.

After work, I went home to change and then ran by Superfast again for a tire rotation. Then I went to AutoZone to have them check my battery. I thought Alex had just adjusted the charger earlier in the day, but Summer said he actually moved the connector down the terminal, so the tester at AutoZone read my battery as low, but healthy.

By the time I finished there, Summer was on her way home with the girls. I stopped by Dollar General to kill a little time and ended up buying a rake. I joked with the cashier that this is why I’m normally not allowed out of the house. Then we had huge salads for dinner and watched The Matrix Revolutions.

Illusions, Mr. Anderson. Vagaries of perception. The temporary constructs of a feeble human intellect trying desperately to justify an existence that is without meaning or purpose.

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I’m not kidding! Why do they always think I’m kidding???

The middle school started ACT Aspire testing this morning, and I drew the short stick. I burned the entire morning sitting in Sara’s office, and only got called out twice – both times to unlock a door in the counselors’ room because someone forgot their key. At one point, Robin brought the counselors to talk to me about trying to get their campus to a 1:1 device ratio so they could test all the kids at once. I vehemently replied that we should instead be reducing the device count, and that testing everyone at once is a very bad idea. I’m still surprised when people are shocked to hear me say as much.

Nobody wanted to join me at Ruby Tuesday for another $5 salad bar, so I went by myself and just sat at the bar. It was a quick and quiet lunch, but not inside my head. A group of employees were mingling at the other end of the bar talking mad trash about how people had been coming in all day asking for John. John’s served my tables many times in the past. He is far and away one of the best servers I’ve ever had at any restaurant. He’s always courteous, professional, prompt, and most importantly conscious of what’s happening at the table. Even today, he stopped by to say hello, commenting that I wasn’t with my usual posse. Never once has he even suggested that we should ask for him by name, and I honestly don’t feel like that has anything to do with why people do so. If any of those employees spent half as much time hustling as leaning, maybe they’d have eager repeat customers.

After lunch, Allen drove me out to London so I could show him that he didn’t properly re-enroll a Chromebox after powerwashing it. I figured I had already burned half a day, so I might as well get a trip out of it. When we got back, I spent a little time at the shop before heading to the high school. I got a very little bit done. My Adobe form was printing unpredictably.

My evening flew by as usual. I went home for a little while before going to Walmart for some things. I needed cat food, and wanted to peruse for a while without someone nagging about it. It’s funny, because I used to always want someone to go with me, but oftentimes now it’s more peaceful just to go alone at my own pace. I picked up some cold fried chicken on a whim in case anyone was hungry, and headed up to Summer’s.

We ended the evening with some more Glee. There’s just something about that show that completely sucks me in emotionally.

So blame it on my ADD, baby.