Crud

I ran pretty late today after my sinus cavity decided to let loose of all the gunk that had built up over the week. I forgot my Soylent though, so I decided to swing through Wendy’s when I got into Morrilton. Things took a turn when I walked in to find a girls basketball team waiting for their orders, and I had to sit and wait for my food. I might have gotten in close to time, but then Muad’Dib had to take care of his business before we could go inside.

My elbow had been bothering me, so I put it on ice last night, and kept it on ice all morning. I don’t know if it was the awkward positioning of my arm, or the pain, or something else, but I started to feel weak in the arms and shoulders like I was getting sick. I took a late lunch and decided to go to Chopsticks for some soup. That helped a bit, because I started to feel a little better in the afternoon. Unfortunately it didn’t help with the mind numbing task of drilling through Brandon’s old emails looking for anything documented. Every day I follow bread crumbs to an email that terminates in a phone call, and I have nothing to show for it.

I had a decent amount of stuff to unbox when we got to the house, and the girls weren’t home for a while. When Summer did get home, I tried to spend a little time with her, but she had work to do. I needed to vacuum, but also still felt pretty worn out, so I didn’t do that or take Muad’Dib on a walk. I just sat inside and went to bed late after fighting with Android 16 for too long.

Make User Interfaces Small Again

Doing Things Other Than the Things That I’m Meant to Do: Part 3

We’re way off track, here.

The train is off the tracks, but we’re not even on the train.

I felt awful all night because of the meds, so I was back to a normal amount of shitty this morning.

We went to Taco Bell for lunch, and it was a nice day outside for a picnic, but I felt shitty again in the afternoon.

I did what I could to avoid road rage on the drive back, and made an impromptu stop at the wash to see Summer, just long enough to hear her say she would be off at six.

We got to the house and unboxed Vine. UPS driver gave Muad’Dib a bone, which was awesome. I went out back and had to run the sump pump, but the whole back yard was soggy even beforehand.

Eaddie got home, and followed by Summer after picking up some Popeye’s that I ordered. I got stuck cleaning out the entire fridge from a drink spill that dripped all the way down from the second shelf to the bottom.

The one thing I accomplished was to box up the Onewheel for its third trip back to Future Motion for warranty repair.

TCW will be back a third time tomorrow to fix the internet, since they didn’t get here before Summer had to go to work today. At least the people seem nice.

Towing the Line

Family Day 2025

Summer woke us up with a classic bacon and eggs breakfast this morning. Eaddie had a football game in the evening, preceeded by a big family day tailgate party with free tickets to the game, t-shirts, and apparently a “barbecue” lunch. I figured I would go along, since there’s not much I like more in this world than a free shirt.

The girls left, for early rehearsal and the gym, and I got ready to meet Summer outside the football stadium for the event. I think she actually got to see the band practice early while I rode the Onewheel around outside the stadium with Muad’Dib. I was concerned that somebody might say something about him being off-leash, so I tried to avoid anyone that looked like they had any authority. Muad’Dib did great, and the only people that said anything had kind things to say about his behavior.

Summer eventually made it out and we waited for a line to form for shirts and tickets. It wasn’t much after that when we had to line up for food. They had Fat Daddy’s pulled pork, potatoes, beans, and slaw – all served to barely cover the plate. If I had known they were going to be that stingy with the pork, I wouldn’t have stayed. We ate that and then headed home so Summer could shower. I actually stopped by Ridgewood to see if anyone was there, but the guys were inside and the restaurant was still closed.

We got home and hung out there for quite a while before Summer wanted to be back for the game. We rode together and watched the band perform outside the stadium before the game, but I forgot Muad’Dib’s e-collar remote and he had to stay on his leash. Once that was over, Summer went inside and I went home because I had no interest in football.

We stopped by Ridgewood again, this time to pick up some of their specialty ribs. I got a rack of each since I hadn’t had the opportunity to try them before. Grant was there long enough to wave at me before he had to leave, but I talked to the rest of the crew for a little bit since they were so slow. The bag came out pretty greasy, so we headed straight home to eat. Muad’Dib even got a bunch of scraps.

I had the game streaming in the background so I could have some idea of when halftime would be. The stands were packed though, so I opted not to go at all, and just picked Summer up afterward. We made it back home and she tried the ribs before going to bed. I vacuumed a strip of the living room and came up with a shocking amount of dirt, so I sent an email to Kyle at Hydro Carpet Solutions. I don’t guess he has to do anything for us, but I couldn’t be more disappointed in the result.

I walked through the bedroom a few times to see Muad’Dib watching Summer’s baking shows after she had fallen asleep. I couldn’t bear the thought of both of them watching the crap and still not being able to actually bake, so I tried to find a dog show. I finally just went to Disney+ and put on Homeward Bound. Eaddie was out late, and I actually got an email from Kyle that basically said, “sorry, just vacuum it with something that has a beater bar.”

All a waste of time.

Lessons in Sevens

Every bit of today droned on. I started out running up and down to help the ladies downstairs, and then took a couple phone calls with Traverse support to fix the issues. I learned a bit, but it was probably something that those folks should know about the system they use. I don’t know how helpful it will be for me to know it.

We went to Taco Bell for a small lunch, and then made it back early just for the afternoon to creep by so slowly. Summer was home early, but I took Muad’Dib for a run as soon as we got there. I needed to help Dad cover the pool, but wanted to try and get any video I could of the skimmer robot before doing so. Fortunately he was able to get some video during the day.

Once the pool was covered, we finished our run. Muad’Dib had decided to dive right into the creek when we had passed by earlier, so he had to go outside until he could get a bath. I took Summer to La Huerta for dinner, and it was just tense and awkward all night. We ate, then went to Walmart so she could pick up a few things. We saw Amanda and talked to her for a minute when Summer was looking for Tech clothes. Then we finished up and went back to the house.

I gave Muad’Dib a bath while Summer went to bed. Eaddie came home as I was running the new vacuum, and after just a short run, I had an unexpected amount of dust. I didn’t expect good suction, so that meant the professional carpet cleaning we had done was basically worthless.

I’m ready to get gone. I don’t belong here.

I’m not sure I belong anywhere.

Maybe the sea.

It’s Like Draaaeeeaaaiiiinnn!

We got out surprisingly early today since Summer was out of the house before I got up. I was going to stick with a Soylent, but by the time we got to Morrilton, I had talked myself into stopping at Wendy’s. I had a couple calls in the morning, which got me through to lunch. Sonic had cheesesticks on sale, and I wasn’t super hungry, so we went and split an order of those and a couple cheap wraps.

The afternoon was fine, but I didn’t have much luck working on the little desktop I brought from the breakroom. Muad’Dib kept begging for food while we were down there, and I think one of the guys spilled some liquid from his food on him, so I had to wipe him down when we got back to the office.

I thought Summer was going to be at the house when we got there, but she had to go back to work to retrieve some security footage of a drunk driver. By the time she got back and I was ready to take Muad’Dib on a run, things were looking pretty stormy. We made it a couple blocks before I realized I forgot his treat bag again, and when we got back to the house I just left him and drove to my parents’ house for dinner.

They planned to have spaghetti, but didn’t have noodles, so the three of us ate leftover spring rolls through the torrential downpour. When I got back to the house, I had to try and unclog the driveway drain pipe to keep it from flooding into the garage. I got the leaf blower at it from both sides, and finally got a little bit of flow out of it after digging a little trench to the bottom end. I need to figure out a good way to keep that from clogging up.

It was a quick evening to bed since Summer fell asleep really early and Eaddie was out really late. There’s no room for anything any more, and we still haven’t reset the living room.

I need a beat.

So Much for

Today was kind of rough. I got up and made some rice to go with some of the leftovers we had. Summer came in from her porch coffee and just had a look about her. I broke down a ton of old boxes I had been keeping to help with moving from the other house since I seem to be out of control of everything now.

I did some more reviews, cleaned up some stuff, and hoped to maybe take the girls out for a nice dinner. The day went by pretty quickly and we never got our heads together to rearrange the living room. Summer helped Eaddie with some homework and I had an anxiety attack before I eventually convinced them to go for dinner. Of course I wouldn’t learn until after we got our food at Sam’s that neither of them were very hungry.

I decided to try their surf and turf at the recommendation of our waitress, and it came out quite a bit later than the girls’ food. It looked really good, but the aside from the color of the inside, the steak itself was bland and tough. It was served on a massive pile of soggy, grilled onions. My hushpuppies were practically burned, and were like chewing a mouthful of dry cornmeal. All the while, the girls spent the entire time complaining about Eaddie’s friend and how she shares more than a name with her sister.

We got back to the house and I took Muad’Dib for a run. I forgot his treat pouch, so we had to run back for that. We passed by a house where a couple were working outside, and the girl asked if I was a professional dog trainer. I shared our story, because apparently I love to do that. Then we made it over to see Dad before rushing home as it got dark.

Summer had to go in for a work meeting and didn’t get back until a little bit later. I gave Muad’Dib a bath since he splashed in some water in the street gutter. Then I discovered our garbage disposal had a small leak under the sink, so that will be a problem for another day. Eli came over to visit with Eaddie for quite a while, and I went to bed.

anything

SoundCloud

I didn’t sleep long. Muad’Dib was on my arm most of the night, so I awoke in some discomfort, but it was imperative that my boy be comfortable. We eventually got around and I cooked bacon, sausage, eggs, and RO*TEL for the girls. Summer had to get more RO*TEL from the store, but we had a good, late breakfast.

Summer took Eaddie to the bank and then went to the gym. I wrote a bunch more reviews. Before we knew it, it was time to get ready for Brass in the Clouds on Nebo. Eaddie brought Jenny over and I went with Muad’Dib to pick up Dad. The three of us met the girls at Bocadillos where we were met by another one of Eaddie’s friends.

We had some ice cream, and then Dad and I stopped to pick up some Taco Bell for the girls and met them on the mountain. There were cars everywhere up there, but Muad’Dib and I had a chance to ride the Onewheel down the road a bit before we settled in with everyone else.

The band seemed not well rehearsed for all their mistakes, but it was a beautiful evening out. Muad’Dib made lots of friends as he paced around my chair. Then when it was all over, I dropped Dad off at his house and then took Summer to Stoby’s for dinner.

I wasn’t thrilled with the choice. The food was fine, but I rarely crave Stoby’s. Their prices are just too high for what you get. Eaddie left with Eli when we got back to the house, and Summer went to bed. I followed shortly after.

I don’t.

Dust Busters

I got up pretty early despite going to bed so late, and tried up some leftover hibachi rice with some other leftover steamed rice and some eggs for Summer and myself. She wanted to really dig in and clean some stuff today in preparation for some carpet cleaners, so she got into the floor, baseboards, and vacuumed dust off of everything imaginable. I spent my time sorting and unboxing some old stuff to get it out of the way. Eaddie was gone for most of the day, came back for a while, and then left again in the evening.

It was a tough time for a lot of reasons, but I appreciated the work she wanted to get done. We cleaned up the last of the spaghetti for dinner, and I took Muad’Dib for a slightly abridged walk. I let him dip in the creek before his bath, and we visited Dad briefly. Then at the end of the road, I was pretty sure I spotted Grant’s dad’s dog, Lucy. We tried to chase her down, but she took off like a lightning bolt and disappeared between some houses. I called Grant, but it wasn’t until much later that he received the message to pass along to his parents.

When we got back to the house, Muad’Dib got a flea bath, shampooed, and then some nice conditioner that all had a chance to sit for a while. He did great in the bath this time, and then we all headed to bed.

Searching…

I’ve Been Crawling on My Belly

I woke up to go with the girls and Eli to Bixby for their Conquer the Gauntlet, but I could tell that Summer just didn’t want me to go, so I sat down in bed and laid down until they left. Then I went to sleep again for a few more hours with Muad’Dib. He laid in bed for nearly the whole day, but I eventually got up to a couple frozen burritos. They seemed like a good idea at the time, but they were pretty terrible.

I chipped away at reviews and tried to process some stuff from Vine, but I didn’t actually get the house cleaned up at all the way I had hoped. I spent more time writing than anything. I eventually took a shower and then took Muad’Dib out for an evening run.

It was really cool outside, so I left my hair down in the wind. We had a good run, but encountered an escaped pooch at Grant’s parents’ house. We went up to ring the doorbell and she ran right inside, but then got out the back somehow. We chased her around a bit, and Grant’s mom gave Muad’Dib a piece of barbecue. We continued around through the basin and the Promenade, and played with some Hispanic kids that live around the corner from my parents. Then we stopped in and I finished up some spring rolls. The girls got home a little while after we had left the house, but we didn’t get back until after dark.

Summer was in bed, but Eaddie left to hang out with friends for a while. I laid down with Summer for a little bit, but she fell asleep quickly. I did a few more reviews, and then went to bed after Eaddie got home.

Clearing out what could’ve been.

I’ve Got the Sheets

I grabbed my leftover breakfast burrito and hit the road surprisingly early this morning, so I stopped at Burger King for a coffee and some free hash browns to share with Muad’Dib. I called Dad once I got to work, while he was at the house with Adam. Dad agreed that the joint in the ceiling looked worse than before, but Adam said the best he could do was float the mud joint out more. I just wanted to get over it, so Dad paid him off.

I got pulled away from more IT-centric tasks when Shane called and asked me to update some products in HubSpot. I worked on it a bit, but had to take a break for lunch because Muad’Dib kept pawing at me more and more. We went to Taco Bell again so we could sit outside while it was nice. It got surprisingly windy while we were out there, but we made it work. I may eventually start taking food back to work and eating at the picnic tables in the smoking area, because it’s at least sheltered by a field that Muad’Dib can use to burn off some energy.

The afternoon was for importing products and trying to combine the multiple cost sheets into something I could try and automate for importing in the future. Near the end of the day, Muad’Dib started throwing up in Janice’s office. It was just liquid, but he didn’t act sick otherwise. Even afterward, he ran around the office a bit.

I had an anxiety attack just before we walked out, and then we grabbed a couple slushies on the way home. Summer had beat us by a couple hours and was having a bath. The kids were in and out. I had my board charged up to 100%, so we went for a ride to try and repeat the failure.

I was going to let Muad’Dib take a dip in the creek, but he got down to eat some grass and then threw up some more. I couldn’t tell for sure, but it looked like maybe he got some rawhide out, which would explain his lack of appetite for the last day and a half. When we got to my parents’ house, Mom said they still had meat for spring rolls that needed to be eaten, so I cooked some of that and ate at the counter. It was dark by the time we left, and we made laps near the house to see if I could get the board to fail, but it never did. Muad’Dib ran his little heart out and had a great time in the dark.

As soon as we got inside, I gave him a really good fleabath, followed by a good scrubbing. He lost a ton of hair and came out super fluffy and happy. The girls went to bed early for Conquer the Gauntlet. I mentioned going with them, and Summer didn’t seem excited by that at all.

Pick your poisons.