Tag: television

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Normlish

We had a team meeting this morning to go over expectations for our reviews. The tool we’ve always used in my time there has always been pretty poor, but we’re using it to self evaluate, and then compare notes with Thomas. Then he’s inviting us to evaluate him using those same metrics. I spent quite a while just reformatting a digital copy of the stupid form, since it wasn’t a proper fillable form in Adobe. By the time I got around to anything else, it was nearly lunch time.

Four of the guys up front started heading for the door about 10 minutes early, but Gary remembered that I existed, and Thomas drove us all to La Chiquita. I was disappointed by the fajita portions compared to other places, but the food was still good, and it filled me up after a basket of chips.

I worked on some stuff for a little bit back at my office after lunch, but then went to Oakland to wrap up a bunch of stuff there. I left just as school was letting out, and came back to Thomas, Zach, and Kelsea on another conference call with Incident IQ. It was otherwise a very quiet afternoon until I left.

It looked like Eaddie had gone to her father’s restaurant, so I stopped there to try and pick her up. After a couple phone calls, I discovered she had actually just walked to Casey’s and then back to Zane’s house. I picked her up and we went to my house and watched two more episodes of Moon Knight. I liked the last one we watched as things got a little mental.

Summer came by after her workout and then picking Autumn up from her parents’ house. We chatted for a little bit before they left, and then I spent the better part of the night doing further investigations. I really think if we just eliminate the internet from Autumn’s life, she’ll behave much better on the whole. A young mind has to be exercised to grow. All she does is consume, and it’s thrown her into a desperate need for constant attention.

But here I am, writing about my day on a public forum for people to read.

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Just Some Old Fashioned Violence

I was still so out of my mind that I made it in to work super early, and landed on Zach’s couch just in time to break down. I’m holding onto so much anger over this weekend, and everyone is just having to act like everything is fine, while I’m going in to work wondering who’s silently judging me.

After a brief shift of covering the phones while the others were in a meeting, Zach invited me out to the graveyard where he thought I might feel a little more relaxed. It really made the morning go by a lot better and faster. Before I knew it, lunch time had arrived. He drove Gary and me to Taco John’s, where we met both Greg and Brody.

The afternoon was quiet apart from a meeting among our own people outside my office, where they discussed Incident IQ ticket categories. I kept wanting to chime in, but I was clearly not invited. I felt like that really would have been a moment that I would have helpful input.

I picked up Eaddie and Zane after school and dropped him off at his house before Eaddie and I went to Sonic for some dinner. Then we went to my house so I could have a break from reality and enjoy the second episode of Moon Knight. I thought it might jump into things a bit more violently than it did, but it went in an unexpected direction. I’m interested to see what’s next.

On the way up to Summer’s, we picked up some Zaxby’s for her. Then I helped Eaddie with someone else’s homework while Summer did some work in front of the TV. Autumn was in her room most of the night, and was mostly ignored. At least it was incident-free until everyone could sneak off to bed.

You just keep thinking that, you happy little idiot.

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Return of the Whirlpool

I got a call from the Lowe’s truck drivers shortly after I woke up this morning, saying they were about 10 minutes away. That nearly got me in a dead-run to get everything cleared out and ready to go. It occurred to me that they are making a lot of assumptions every time they come out, and as a customer, I should be more upset about my experience. They walked the fridge out without having to do any door gymnastics, and even walked it past both of my grills after I moved the deck box. I guess they were less worried about damage coming out than they were going in.

Somehow, I still managed to make it to work on time, stopping at Oakland to take care of a backup battery issue, and then making a quick run through the rest of the work orders I had from the end of the week. It didn’t take terribly long, but did help the morning go by.

Gary was a little stressed with Zach, Greg, and Brody out for the day, and me out of my office first thing. I chatted with him briefly and did my best to ease his worries. We evidently had some more unexpected, sweeping changes that we weren’t informed about, which frustrated us as I had to troubleshoot an issue that we caused. There are a lot of wheels turning, and not all of them are aware of the others, though they’re all connected and affect each other. It makes for a disjointed team.

Lunch came quickly, and I just went home to some leftover Ridgewood barbecue. I ended up eating a bit too much and didn’t have time to go to Lowe’s to see about my refund, so I just went back to Oakland to finish up some stuff. The rest of the afternoon was relatively quiet, and Kyle was the only one I ever saw back in the shop.

As I left for the day, Eaddie called for a ride. I had to drop some things off at Oakland anyway. She was hungry, so we picked up some chicken strips from Dairy Queen for her, and then went back to my house to start Moon Knight. I absolutely hate the accents and how quiet the voices are, because it makes the dialog that much harder to understand. Otherwise it seems like it’s going to be a neat show, and unlike many of the others, they didn’t waste any time getting right into the action.

When we finished the episode, Eaddie rushed me to take her home. In turn, I made her wait in the car while I stopped at Lowe’s to resolve my return. The kid at customer service said it would take a day for them to process the return, but I was concerned about having made part of my purchase with gift cards. He insisted that I would “probably” get a call in the morning, but rather than risk it, I walked to the back to find someone. I never could find an employee that wasn’t busy, but I did find my refrigerator that had been marked down by $450 to be sold as-is. It was almost tempting to re-buy it at that price.

While I was back there, I saw the windowed version of the LG we were looking at. I didn’t love it either. The freezer seemed really small and narrow, and the shelves had nearly no adjustability. I think one shelf in the fridge side had a choice of two levels, but the rest only had the existing molded mount points. I’m pretty sure I couldn’t even fit a frozen pizza in the freezer anywhere unless I left an entire shelf out, which would make for one super tall shelf. I may end up spending quite a bit more money for something much nicer by the time this is all over.

Back at the front, I explained that my refrigerator was already on the floor ready to sell, so he called a manager up to process the refund and I was on my way. When we got to the house, Eaddie went to her room to practice her flute, and I went outside to dig out the lawn mower. I probably spent about an hour trying to get the thing started, and eventually did with the help of some starter fluid, but it wouldn’t stay running for long. I’m inclined to think it’s the leftover fuel, but I can’t get any of the girls to run the mower often or long enough to keep that stuff flowing through it.

Summer got home super late. I thought I might stay over, especially since she arrived with some apparent energy left. Ultimately she ate and went straight to bed, so I headed back home. I took another crack at charging the Grom battery after stopping it last night when I heard it sizzling. Hopefully the lower amperage will keep things from exploding.

People actually lived for ages without refrigeration, so maybe I can just make it to Black Friday for a better deal.

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Typical Two Hour Visit

Summer and I got up this morning and decided on a whim to go have breakfast at Denny’s since Autumn was working. Eaddie didn’t want to go because she was supposed to go with her father, but after a while he showed up there without her. The restaurant was packed, but there was still no reason any of the service should have taken as long as it did. Every single time I’ve been there, it’s been painfully clear that the place is simply mismanaged. My guess is that if the owners would invest in one good store manager, they could probably turn the whole thing around. Autumn seems to enjoy working there, so I can’t see it being entirely due to staffing issues.

Ronda and Steven were there as well, and stopped by our table to chat briefly on their way out. We were in the restaurant for at least a couple hours, through the rush, and into a pretty quiet time in the early afternoon. The kitchen never got any faster, but after that long, I’d had enough eggs. It’s sad to say that I’m very rarely out of that place in less than an hour and a half, and I simply can’t imagine how they could possibly take that long to scramble eggs.

I dropped Summer off at home to clean house, and then went back to my house. Eaddie was up in bed, but said she never received a call from her father as he had said. I heated up my leftover spaghetti and meatballs, which she enjoyed while we watched the last episode of Stranger Things. We’re super excited for the next season in a few weeks.

I tried getting Eaddie to go out on the Grom for a bit, which she was up for at first, but after some television decided she’d rather be lazy and spent most of the afternoon in her room on her phone. I probably should have forced her outside, but I was still feeling heavy and sleepy from breakfast myself.

Eventually Autumn came by to get Eaddie after staying an hour late at work. She wanted to chat about her day and about some 27 year old she’s crushing on out there. Eaddie just rolled her eyes and pleaded to be taken home while I did my best to briefly explain, without being too negative, that she should probably aim higher.

The rest of the night went by quietly, and was just as dull as most of the afternoon. I made an effort to charge the R1 and Grom batteries, so hopefully they can both come out to play soon.

I can tell you all about guys that hang out with girls 10 years their junior.

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Garth eVader

I tried to sleep as much as possible last night so today wouldn’t drag on. I made it out of the house in time to get Eaddie and meet Dad at the train depot to see Summer cross the finish line for her half marathon at right around two and a half hours. Ben and Sarah were there, and snuck up behind me while we were waiting in line to take Summer’s picture in front of their big inflatable. From there, we split back up because Summer needed a shower and Eaddie wanted to go ride her bike in the nice weather.

Once Summer was cleaned up from her morning race, I got gas and picked her up for a quick bite to eat at Zaxby’s before heading to Fayetteville. That was when I learned that she didn’t actually have any tickets because every purchase she tried to make had fallen through. She was on her phone the whole time trying to arrange for new tickets.

When we finished eating, we picked Eaddie up from her friend’s house and came back to my place. I tried to help Summer pay for some tickets, but it just didn’t work out. I started feeling sketchy about all of the different failed payment attempts, and it was getting late fast. We ultimately decided to just stay home. We let Eaddie go back out on her bike while we watched some TV to relax a while.

Eventually we were hungry enough to have a nice meal. Eaddie still wasn’t hungry, so Summer and I drove across town to see if the boys at Ridgewood Brothers had any scraps left. Grant gave us their last half pound of beef and some banana pudding, and we caught up really briefly as they finished cleaning up. I’m super excited for them to build their new place and get out of the trailer.

After running around town dodging prom-goers, we ultimately ended up at La Villa for some reward pasta for Summer. Then we picked up Eaddie’s bike from her father’s restaurant so they could go out to eat together. Summer and I watched an episode of Middleditch and Schwartz improv, which had me absolutely rolling. Then when Eaddie got home, Summer went to bed and we stayed up late watching Stranger Things.

We nearly finished the season, but Eaddie gave up just before we started the last episode. It’s just as well though, because I’d rather not have to wait for the next season to start. I’ll be curious to see if they really try to make it scary.

Flayed

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Circus Town

I had one of the worst times I’ve ever had getting out of bed this morning. I snoozed for 45 minutes and then crawled straight into a shower, and just barely made it in to Oakland. Mollie was back, certified cancer-free with just some maintenance going forward, so everyone had treats for her in the lounge. I took care of the tickets I had gotten on my day out, and made it to my office.

Gary came back and had some coffee with me since I made some “fancy” stuff that Greg wouldn’t have liked if he were there. I kept relatively busy all morning until Zach showed up and took Thomas and me to Old South for lunch. They were packed, but the food was fair. The service was middling, but I got out cheap too.

The afternoon was super quiet, and I never heard from Lowe’s about the pickup of the refrigerator. Autumn didn’t want to wait for Eaddie to get out of tennis, so she asked me to pick her up. I stopped by my parents’ just briefly to drop off a printout for Dad, and then got Eaddie and her boyfriend. We dropped him off at home and then went to my house to wait for Lowe’s.

It wasn’t until after we moved all of the crap out of the way of the front door that I got a call saying their truck had been broken down for hours and that I would have to go to the store to reschedule for another day. Eaddie and I finished one episode of Stranger Things, I watched one super short episode of Old Enough, and then Summer picked her up.

I should have gone to get some dinner first, but I thought Lowe’s would be quick. I ended up hanging out for nearly an hour waiting for Sergio, who appeared to be the only one in the store that could actually reschedule me. I think I finally got a little bit of sympathy after being exceedingly friendly to everyone that I’ve interacted with at the store. Not like a lot, but I made a joke about us being best friends by the time this is all over, and he smiled and said we were best friends.

On the way home, I stopped at Sonic for a chili cheese coney, all the while laughing at the blue screen of death on their drive-through speaker. Then I grabbed some very mediocre fries from McDonald’s and went home to eat. I was so excited to finish my food that I didn’t even take my backpack off once I got in the house.

After I ate, I excavated the Shadow and took it for a spin around the block just to warm it back up after the winter. It took a little bit of time to get the tires aired up, but tomorrow looks like a good day to ride in to work. There wasn’t much left of the night by then, so I wrapped up as quickly as I could and went to bed.

Everything has been a joke today. Why is life awful?

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Strange Design

I went to Oakland first thing again this morning to take care of a couple things. Luckily it didn’t really start raining until after I got to the shop, so I missed the torrential downpour until lunch time. It was quiet downstairs because Gary was locked away doing some training in his office.

Greg, Gary, and I met Zach at La Chiquita for lunch, and witnessed some pretty spectacular lightning strikes along the ride. The rain calmed down a bit by the time we got there, and fortunately the storm never got super bad right over us. We made it back to work without incident, but the rest of the afternoon was a challenge in staying awake.

When I finally left for home, Eaddie texted and wanted a ride, so I picked her up at Oakland. We went to my house and started the third season of Stranger Things. After one episode, we went to Burger King so she could get a chicken sandwich, because when I think of chicken, I think of Burger King. My Big Bacon King was too much. We watched one more episode before Summer got back home and picked Eaddie up.

I spent the rest of the night cleaning up my old refrigerator. The right half of it looks pretty nice now, but my arm was too tired to continue with the other half. I also did a little exploring on the new fridge, and discovered the reason for the warm water out of the dispenser. For some reason, the water line travels outside of the refrigerator nearly the entire way. It goes up and into the fridge for the water filter, then comes back out and down to another hole where it goes back into the refrigerator for a cold water reservoir line. After that, it comes back out of the fridge again so it can be routed under and around to the door. This must have made perfect sense to someone who didn’t have to deal with a refrigerator that was powered on, otherwise they would have noticed the heat from the compressor warming the water back up before it gets to your cup.

From that moment on, I went to bed dreaming of trying to perform a return outside the measly 48-hour window at Lowe’s. Maybe someone will pity us for being put out for two additional weeks and scheduling our spring break vacation and one additional weekend around what we thought were going to be deliveries.

Everyone knows backlights are superior. Idiots.

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Winter 4.0

I made it in to work early again today, and it was COLD! The wind never really let up, so it felt like winter was coming again. We had a longish, quiet meeting over donuts before people wandered off. I had to do some rearranging with my CPPC minutes because Janie waited until after I sent the final draft to remind me about the update we got for employees that were hired in with a step cap.

Otherwise it was pretty quiet until lunch time. Kyle went with us for the first time in a little while. Thomas left before lunch and said he had a doctor’s appointment, but then we ran into him with two of his sons at Brangus. He ended up paying for all of our meals on their way out, which was a big surprise. It is nice that he’s so generous so often, but I hope he doesn’t feel obligated.

The afternoon was quiet too. I went to Oakland at the end of the day to take care of a pesky vacation auto responder. Mollie was actually there in person to work, so everyone in the office was super excited. I didn’t stick around too long to chat because school was about to let out and I needed to disappear for that.

Everyone eventually filtered out at the end of the day, but Tammy was left behind waiting for time to meet up with some friends. I stayed to keep her company for a bit, and then went to my parents’ house to visit with them. Eaddie had an all-region band event that kept her late, so I had some spaghetti with my parents until time to pick her up.

On the way home, we stopped at Sonic for a couple shakes. Then we finished the second season of Stranger Things. Summer stopped in at the end of her day, but Eaddie said she wanted to stay the night with me. After the last episode, she changed her mind though, and we went up to their house for the night.

What else?

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The Begrudging Return

It rained most of the day today, but I spent almost all of it inside. I still don’t feel properly rested after all of that vacationing, but what else could I do? I caught up on a bunch of email and dabbled with a few things that were still left over. Jacob called me a couple times, concerned about the Windows upgrade process at the junior high. It went predictably poorly, but progress was still made.

There wasn’t a group for lunch today, so I took the opportunity to go home and clean up some leftovers. The steak, potato, and vegetables from Porterhouse actually reheated pretty well. I felt pretty bougie, apart from sitting in a computer chair and using a ceiling fan box as a dining table. All of the rearranging has left me without any usable space, and it feels like the opposite of progress most days.

I went to Oakland for a little while after lunch, and took care of several things there. Then I finished the day at the shop before making it back to Oakland to drop off a couple laptops and pick up Eaddie. We came home and watched a couple episodes of Stranger Things until Summer got home from Conway. I fed them some leftovers, then cleaned up a few more myself after they left.

It’s nearly tax time, and I’ve done nothing. I also have a lot I’d like to do around the house before it gets hot. Time just keeps on flying by. I feel like crap most of the day because of all the coughing, so all I want to do is sleep.

I just need less stuff everywhere.

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Half the Gurgle

Last night was really rough at Summer’s with my head cold, so I ended up taking the morning off from work so I could try and sleep in at home. I couldn’t really fall asleep for a few hours, but I got up much more rested after a while, had some leftovers, then went in to work.

Brody got back from lunch just as I was coming in, and came right into my office so I could help with his Visual Studio issue. I don’t know how we’re expected to maintain the “babysitting” functionality of our student devices if we’re also forced to allow them to execute whatever files they want.

Eaddie forgot her phone at home this morning and also needed a ride home from Oakland, so I ended the day there to replace a video cable. Then we went to my house to watch an episode of Stranger Things. When Brody finished at the gym, he met me at Lowe’s to try and buy a fridge, but we were told they no longer did a military discount on large appliances. He went along his way while I redeemed over $1000 in gift cards toward the purchase. At least I got a price match to a cheaper store.

When I got back to the house, Eaddie had fallen asleep on the couch and had her hoodie completely covering her head. I poked her a little bit, then let her nap while I went to my room. When she finally got up, I convinced her to finish the episode with me, and then I tried to get Autumn to take her home. Autumn ended up working an hour later at work though, so I took Eaddie home and took the opportunity to lie down with Summer for a bit.

I took some medicine and decided to go back home to avoid another night of gurgling condensation in my CPAP. At least the sore throat is gone now.

Fuck that, get money.