Flat Packed

Summer had a lot of trouble sleeping last night and I found her on the couch in the middle of the night. I got up fairly early and took Muad’Dib with me to Hardee’s to pick up some breakfast since they owed me a sandwich from the day before. A little later, Summer had to take care of some stuff for work, so I took her to Lowe’s where I hung outside with Muad’Dib while she went in to pick up an order. Then we stopped by the wash and I vacuumed my car while she took care of a personnel issue.

I got a fire started again when we got back, and started putting together a piece of furniture I got from Vine. Mom made bĂșn thang, but Summer didn’t feel well and wasn’t hungry, so I went over by myself to eat. I finished up the furniture when I made it back, and then had a late shower before Summer eventually started making a seafood Alfredo dinner.

The kids got home and we ate, then played some Phase 10 Tiles before they wanted to move to the living room to watch Breaking Bad. I put together another piece of furniture that felt super cheap, and they ultimately took up more space than the boxes they came in, but it felt good to get something done and ready to be put to use, or even sold off if we decided not to keep it.

You can’t break some eggs without making an omelet.

Bummer Breakfast Biscuit

I finally got out early enough to go to Hardee’s for breakfast this morning, but they gave me the wrong item and I ended up getting a bit of a stomach ache from it. After that, it was pretty hard to focus all day long.

Joel brought Dexter today, and Muad’Dib immediately tried to go steal his toys one at a time. Then he got snippy with me when I tried to return them, and I had to make him sit in the floor next to me as punishment.

I went to Wendys for lunch a bit earlier than I’ve been going all week, and that made for a super long afternoon that I thought would never end. Charles had texted me while I was eating because they had computer trouble in the mix room, so I met him up there when I got back. I don’t know who does what with each computer up there, so all I could do was reset the password to get them in again.

When quitting time finally showed up, we headed to the house and I chopped some more wood for another fire. Summer got there and went for a bath before we ate some leftover bean soup. Then I put on Tomorrowland for about fifteen minutes before she walked away. I finished the night flipping through YouTube and finally went to bed late.

Bummer everything.

Fired up for Nothing

I tried again to get out of the house in time for a Hardee’s breakfast, but settled for Burger King instead. It wasn’t bad, but I still miss Hardee’s biscuits. We got to work and immediately started getting emails about signatures that were mostly due to not following my very simple and thorough instructions. I tinkered with that for a while, and then kept busy with a few other new things. I was so engaged that we actually took lunch nearly an hour late. I just picked up some Subway and we sat in the office to eat and work.

The afternoon was short after that, though it surprisingly didn’t go by particularly fast. I started to climb up into the ceiling and immediately encountered some huge rat poop, so without a proper ladder, I immediately gave up on relocating the hallway access point.

We eventually made it back to an empty house, and I decided to chop some wood and start a fire. As I walked outside, Neal called for some computer advise. It was a typical goofy situation with no real way to provide valuable feedback, so I just chopped wood while talking to him through my earbuds. There were a couple logs that split super easily, and a couple more that I struggled with before setting aside.

The fire caught fairly easily with my cheater log, but it was a while before Summer got home. I got the TV ambilight set back up, and when she finally had her shower, I put on Mickey 17. She was completely disinterested, so we sat and drank until she went to bed. Then I finished the movie by myself before going to bed.

Sauce is the true litmus test of civilization.

Muck Pot

Summer wanted Mulan’s all night, so she woke up wanting to be the first ones in line when they opened. I woke up feeling pretty terrible, so I did not make that timeline. She ended up going to the gym, and I finally felt well enough to go in the afternoon.

Eaddie stayed home with Muad’Dib since she had a friend coming over to get one of her keyboards. We made it to Mulan’s and they were quite busy, especially considering it was a late lunch. The food all looked horribly dry and gross though. Everything was overcooked and oversauced. Anything that wasn’t sauced was dry and chewy. For a while now, I’ve gotten less and less impressed by their food, to the point that I really only like their soup and desserts now.

By the end of it, we both felt a little off from the food. We headed back to the house, stopping first to get the carpet cleaner from my parents’ house. Eli had come over to watch more Breaking Bad, and Summer sat out there with them. I just spent the day alone and bored until I realized how late it had gotten and took Muad’Dib for a run.

We saw my parents again, then continued back to the house in the dark. I got Eaddie’s other keyboard stand assembled and set up in her room for the Casio CT-6000 she rescued from rotting in her grandparents’ house. Otherwise it was more bored alone time until bed.

August we’ll see.

Tracking Dog

I watched Muad’Dib’s Fi collar pretty closely this morning while Eaddie and friends took him along to Sam’s Throne for a hike. I went to work mostly excited for lunch at Ortega’s even if it would be by myself, since Summer wouldn’t have time to stop on her way back from Little Rock. I stayed fairly busy again, but still didn’t have anything material to show for it. I did learn a bit about the applications and services we use, which will help.

When lunch finally came around, I found a new starter combo that I really liked. Getting a chalupa and a tostada first gave me a crispy meat and bean “hamburger” with lots of guacamole and sour cream that could be eaten with whatever else I got. The chicken was great today too.

The afternoon came and went, and I walked out just a couple minutes late. Muad’Dib was outside when I got to the house, so I let him in and we went out front to check the mail. He got a wild look in his eyes and took off in circles, barely able to keep enough traction to keep from running into the car. I changed clothes and we walked out just as Summer got there, and ran to Walgreens for a prescription.

I had an anxiety attack on the way back home that made me feel super tired for the next couple hours, but we managed to go back through our entire usual route, saw my parents, and then got back to the house so I could give him a bath. It was probably the longest bath I’ve ever given him, and I pulled out a ton of fur. He still smelled like corn chips though, so I may call the vet later just to see what they say about it. He did great for the bath though, even though he didn’t love it. He just sat there and let me run back and forth for supplies, timers, and even blow drying.

Summer was asleep by the time we finished. I wrapped up quickly and went to sleep.

Fizzle

Worst Best Case Scenario

I felt pretty awful all day. It was rainy, and I thought food might help, so we picked up some Burger King and shared the hash rounds on the drive in. I didn’t eat the biscuit until nearly lunch time, so then I took a really late lunch. I felt overwhelmed with new projects most of the day, and I just couldn’t finish any one of them.

Things were quiet by quitting time, and it was a relaxing drive home. We walked in and found a bunch of standing water in the laundry room, and I feared the worst. There was no time to waste though, so I turned off the water lines to the washing machine, changed clothes, and took Muad’Dib on a run.

When we got back to the house, I had to take a little break until Summer got home. Then I started excavating the laundry room. It kept looking dry under the washer, so I went the other direction and finally found the source. We had kept some spring water from Hot Springs, and rats chewed into the bags, causing them to leak all over everything. Now I’ve got to find where they’re getting in and patch that, plus I still have to replace the garbage disposal.

I took a break and played some Don’t Starve on my phone in the dark living room by myself. I died, and finally decided to try it on the Steam Deck again for the next round. It was getting late, so I laid with Muad’Dib and Summer in bed for a little while before getting up and getting ready for bed myself.

488

Switch It Up

We slept in a little bit today, but Summer had to work when they opened late. They were slow though, so she came home early. I got up and made ham, egg, and cheese croissants for the three of us. Then I just kind of piddled and cleaned up a little, reorganizing and making room in the kitchen.

I took apart the garbage disposal switch to see if that was why it wasn’t running, and ended up taking apart a hall switch as well. I thought I would replace some switches with my aging Belkin Wemo switches, but they wouldn’t support the two-way switches.

Summer had to go back in for a team meating after the lube closed, so I showered and then took her and Muad’Dib along for the ride. We dropped her off and then I went to wash my car. I didn’t realize how much time had passed before I finished, and rushed back to get her. They still weren’t done though, so we waited in the car until she finished, then went to PetSmart only to find they were closed too.

I knew I had an old light swith at the old house, and went to retrieve it. Unfortunately that didn’t fix the issue at the new house, so I’ll just have to replace the garbage disposal after all. Summer went to bed, and I loaded up on some Fireball before bed.

pOISENDED

No Resolutions

I had a tough time getting up for work this morning and got out of the house late, but still made it in without any trouble. The old server must have died from a power issue or something, because Heaven caught me right off the bat with an internet issue. I just need to get them off of the old domain controller.

The rest of the day was fairly focused on cleaning up the user directory for the menial task of unified email signatures. Organization on the front end would have made this a two click fix, but that is not the way of things. I had an anxiety attack somewhere along the way and contemplated tracking dates and times for those.

I had sort of been planning to go to Arby’s sometime this week, and today seemed as good a day as any. They were packed, but I found a table to eat. Joel came by in the afternoon to tell me they were cutting everyone loose at 2:30.

Eaddie was making Oreo balls with Eli when we got back to the house. Summer came home and took a bath while I took Muad’Dib on a run. I wanted to take him to PetSmart, but by the time Summer got ready and we made it to the store, they were closing up for the night. We went to Point Remove instead, and played cards over some pizza.

The kids were gone to a party when we got back to the house. I gave Muad’Dib a good bath before we went to see my parents. Mom was asleep the whole time, but we had some sparkling wine with Dad. We visited for a short while before going back to the house where the kids finished the series finale of Stranger Things. Summer went to bed and I finished the essentials.

Perpetuity

Not Quite Quiet

I expected fewer people at work today as the holiday approached, but after a particularly quiet morning, I began to see a few more people. It was a big day for emails as I communicated back and forth with Aptean about an open ticket, and Chris about some email filtering shenanigans, several times throughout the day.

Nothing sounded good for lunch, so I had a McRib and then rode out the afternoon. Summer had to close the lube, so I took Muad’Dib for a run as soon as we got back to town. We visited my parents just before they left to go shopping. Then I cleaned up some leftovers before Summer got home. She showered and I warmed up some pizza for her.

I wanted to talk to her and Eaddie together about their desire to have Autumn over to decorate cookies, but Summer pressed and we had it out. I didn’t feel good about the outcome, but I don’t think there was a way to. We both vented until we were exhausted, and then she went to bed. Eaddie was out with Eli and Ceci and wanted to come over to watch Stranger Things, but ended up not coming. Then Eaddie texted me and asked if Muad’Dib could stay home from work tomorrow. We had a good laugh as Summer suggested he call in sick.

Someone’s gotta put kibble in the bowl.

Gumball

We finally had our staff meeting this morning, and I did my best to represent well. Afterward, we had a pretty boring call with more of the same from Aptean. It always feels like a sales call, promising more from their future plans. I bounced around a lot after that.

We took a really late lunch and I had my McRib. Then the afternoon was a bit slow and quiet. Summer had her company Christmas party, so we got back into town and I picked up some Taco John’s to eat before going.

I dressed Muad’Dib up in his ugly sweater and antler headpiece, and we went to attend at the lube. Summer was like a nervouos teen, hoping all of her friends would show up, and I just felt bad. Muad’Dib got a decent amount of attention, and then Summer made me play Dirty Santa with them, so I stole a gag gift to give out at my own Christmas party.

I was feeling pretty melancholy afterward, so I decided to take Muad’Dib to PetSmart again. They would be closing within minutes, so instead we stopped in the parking lot so he could go to the bathroom. Then we kind of cruised aimlessly toward home. I set the car to “chill” and let it go, without a destination. As we approached our side of town, a cop pulled behind me and lit me up. We pulled into the hospital parking lot where he informed me that my tags had expired. That didn’t make a lot of sense to me, but sure enough, they were. He let me go with a verbal warning, and I headed toward the house.

I didn’t notice, but after I walked in, Summer stopped to warn me that Autumn was there with Eaddie. It wasn’t until afterward that I noticed her text asking what I was doing and why I was avoiding coming home. It was completely loaded, because she could have sent a warning first. I immediately put my shoes back on and walked out with Muad’Dib, but she stopped me in the garage to express her own frustration at me as I trembled.

I let Muad’Dib take me for a walk through almost our entire route in reverse. We stopped at the basin and sat on a bench for a while to knock on the sky and listen to the sound. A stiff breeze came in as we eventually made our way back to the house and found our way to bed.

Unexpected, in the middle of a walking path.