Tag: work

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Plan It

I picked up a free breakfast burrito from Taco John’s on the way to work this morning, and they loaded me up with Potato Olés. I didn’t even finish either of them, so I’ll have breakfast ready for me tomorrow.

I spent almost all day working on an engineering deployment package because I couldn’t get the detection method to work. Summer wanted to go out to Stoby’s for lunch, so when Noah got out of class, we met her there. Later in the afternoon, I finally figured out why my deployment wasn’t working, and got it pushed out.

Summer took Split some different dry food to see if he would take to it, and we thought he was. When I got home, I realized he had just pushed the bowl around and spilled a bunch of it all over the ground. It really seemed like he was eating for a bit though.

I started cleaning the carpet again when Summer came over for the evening. Then Julie called and wanted to talk about our Disney trip, which aggravated me because I prefer to communicate in writing. The kids eventually showed up with some leftover fajitas, but they had spilled them all over Eaddie’s clothes, so I had to start a load of laundry for them.

My body feels relatively ragged, and I’m a different kind of exhausted than I’ve ever felt before. I need a break before I break.

We’ll be in touch.

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My Cat is on Antidepressants

I got up this morning to some more lovely work to do on the carpet. I put the cat out and continued to get ready for work. I went to the shop to sign some paperwork before going to the high school. I stopped for an expiring free slice of pizza, then stuck my nose in some deployment packages, only coming up for air for a late lunch.

Summer met me at Foodie’s, and we had a couple giros. I didn’t find my lamb to be very filling at all, but the waitress warned us about “chewy” steak. Summer really liked hers, but didn’t finish. When I got back from lunch, I continued doing more of the same.

At the end of the day, I called the vet to see what else I could do for Split. Finally, she said it may just be his time to go, as though it was her idea in the first place. I was aggravated, but decided to give some appetite stimulants a try. She prescribed him some Mirtazapine, which evidently is an antidepressant, and said it should take effect within about half an hour to hopefully make him eat something.

I had trouble giving him both medications today, but we made it work. It did seem to bring him around the food more, but he still didn’t seem very interested. He licked a little bit of gravy, and ate one treat. He kept digging in the dry food silo as well, as though he wanted something fresh from up top. I guess I should try a small bag of some other dry food to see if he takes to it.

When the girls got out of karate, I met them and Noah at my parents’ house for dinner. Nova was there again, and it was just a night of leftovers after the Great Labor Day Cook-off of 2020. I made it home a bit later than I wanted, and spent the rest of the night cleaning carpet. Split did seem a little more lively late at night, but I don’t know if that’s a good thing.

Fear is the mind-killer.

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Over the Week

Split Lip didn’t want to eat again this morning, so I put him outside with some food for the day. I went straight to the high school and tried to find focus there, but I think ultimately I was just too frustrated and mentally exhausted to do much good.

Zach came by the office for a little while and mentioned something about lunch. Then when lunch time finally came around, he said Dale was eating with us at Brangus. I met them there, and got a big table for all of us but Allen, Heather, and Melinda. Then after lunch, Dale came by the high school to scavenge a power supply from my shelf. I walked around the building a little bit with him so he could spook the library and chat with the conservative cop-folk.

The afternoon went by relatively quickly, but it helped that Zach told us to leave at three. I still ended up staying until about four, but at least I wasn’t motivated to stay any later than that. I went home and finally got the cat to eat a little bit while I played some Overwtach.

When Summer finally came over, we went to get some gas, then to Walmart to browse around and pick out some stuff for Travis’s pirate-themed birthday party tomorrow. We got home late and hungry, so we just ate some leftovers out of the fridge, then watched a couple episodes of Cobra Kai before bed.

I wish the cat would stop democrating all over the carpet.

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An Act of Piracy

I took Split into the vet this morning, tears in my eyes, expecting never to see him again. They met me in the parking lot and shuttled him away with the hopeful demeanor that veterinarians have, and I sobbed off toward the shop for work.

They were still mopping up water from the flooding, but for the most part everyone was back to work. I chatted for a little while, then went on to the high school to see what I could accomplish.

I worked a little into lunch, then left in a hurry to make my interview in Dover. I ran home first to change into some nicer pants and shoes, then made the 15 minute drive out of town to try and find their technology office. Excitedly, it’s on a bit of a hill in the old middle school building, so flooding shouldn’t be such a regular occurance.

I felt like the interview went really well. Josh, the superintendent, was there, along with Toby, one of the techs, and of course Sandy, the technology coordinator. They all seemed pretty friendly, and I was probably a little too relaxed, but it was nice to do an interview and not be so uptight. Not needing a job really does wonders for the nerves.

Afterward, I went back to the shop to update everyone. Then ran home to change again before going back to the high school. The vet called in the middle of all of that, and let me know that Split’s bloodwork came back showing signs of normal kidney function and blood sugar, so all we were really looking at was an enlarged thyroid. The stupid cat’s got too many hormones. Or a tumor. Who’s to say? The point was, I would get to continue shampooing carpet until he either quits making messes, or I give up and kill him myself.

After work, I stopped by the vet to get him, along with some meds and a can of special, bland food, to help him “reset” his tastes. I really don’t understand how that’s going to work, but he did at least eat about a quarter of the can of food when we got home. I watched him for a little while, then went to get Eaddie from karate.

When we got up to their house, I snacked a bit until Summer got home, and then she grilled some brats for the girls while I ate some leftover pork chop. I dare say it was better leftover and reheated. It didn’t even really taste freezer burned any more.

I didn’t stick around too long before leaving for Walmart to pick up some plain yogurt to give Split some gut bacteria. It was awful. It’s no wonder he didn’t want to eat it. Of course I also had to clean the carpet again, because that’s still my life. It’s inescapable. This damned cat is going to live forever.

I would say that my biggest weakness is that I never have a good answer for this question during interviews.

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Waiting…

It’s been raining all week, and it’s made me really sluggish in the mornings. It doesn’t help that I’ve been working nonstop for what feels like forever. I miss the early days of COVID when the days were shorter, and we spent most of them at home.

I went by the shop this morning to turn in Autumn’s time sheets. I brought my life jacket, because they said the basement and the server room both flooded yesterday, and that it was way worse than ever before. Evidently we lost about $15,000 worth of equipment. There was still (again?) about an inch of water in the shop today, and both custodians and maintenance were there helping to clean it up.

Eventually I made it to the high school and just churned out work orders as quickly as I could. I think I actually got down below 40 by the end of the day. I did take a lunch break to run home and check on Split, because I left him outside all day while I was at work. I felt pretty bad about it near the end of the day, especially when it just kept raining late in the afternoon. I brought him inside all soggy and boney, and I just knew how close to the end we were.

Summer came over after a while with some salad, and we ate that with some cold chicken I got the other day. Then she went to get the girls and I stayed with the cat. We watched Waiting, mostly because I remembered watching it when it came out, and that was the year he was born. It wasn’t really as sentimental as I thought it would be. I guess cats don’t really care about movies. At least, not when they’re starving to death and it’s a movie about servers at a restaurant.

Well, we are under a flood watch...

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Triple Chicken

I slept in just a little bit today so I could stay up with the cat and try to get him in to the vet. When I did finally call, they couldn’t get him in until Thursday for a morning drop-off, so I spent the rest of my morning running around town looking for something he might eat.

I stopped by Casey’s first, to redeem a free slice of breakfast pizza before it expired. I didn’t want to sit in my car in front of the gas station and eat, so I just stopped at the park on the way to Walmart. It rained pretty much the whole time I was out, but I got an arm full of stuff, including three kinds of chicken.

When I got back to the house, I started boiling a chicken breast while I tried to feed Split some fried chicken. He ate a nibble of breading, but refused anything else I put in front of him. I waited around for a bit longer, then left for work in the afternoon.

It was a quick and fairly productive day, but I still feel like I’m drowning. I just need to choose a project and finish it so I can move on to the next thing. Everyone’s begging for attention though, and I hate having to put people off until later.

After work, I got the girls to karate. Then I went to my parents’ house and waited for Summer and Eaddie to get there for some mango soup. Julie showed up to eat too, and started looking at timeshare stuff.

The girls stayed with their grandparents, so Summer came back home with me. She showered and went to bed while I cleaned more carpet. Even a fresh can of tuna didn’t do anything for the cat, but he’s still walking.

Imagine vacationing, but like…forever. That’s how sailboats be.

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That Which Does Not Kill You Only Postpones the Inevitable

I slept so well last night and just wanted to stay in bed. I’ve grown so weary over the past month, and things aren’t looking up yet. I hid in my office for most of the day and got some things done. Some of those things would have been more satisfying if I hadn’t been so exhausted and hungry. I skipped lunch just to cut down a bit while chipping away at the Great Wall of Work Orders.

At the end of the day, I came home to a huge mess of cat and had to start cleaning that up. He refused to eat anything, so I’m calling it. I’m taking off tomorrow morning to take him to the vet. It’s tragic that his mind is all there, but I can’t get him to consume calories.

I met the girls at my parents’ house for pork spaghetti, then came home to finish cleaning. Tomorrow is going to be rough.

Back from whence we came.

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Resume Work

I got up this morning and made some banana nut muffins for breakfast. I only set off the fire alarm once, because I left a drip pan full of oil in the oven at a higher than normal temperature. The muffins came out alright, though probably a bit dry for as large as they were.

Summer left to get the girls home, and I worked on my résumé and cleaned up after the cat some more. I really need to get him to the vet early this week, so I may take off early tomorrow. It feels premature to just put him down, but I doubt they’ll have any magic cure to make him eat something.

I eventually made it up to Summer’s for dinner, where I grilled some old pork chops I had in the freezer along with some fresh asparagus. Summer fried some potatoes and onions, which were the star of the show. The pork chops were too freezer burned, dry, and tough to be any good.

The girls wanted to finish our game of Phase 10 after dinner. Then Eaddie wanted to watch an episode of Glee before I left for the evening. Back home, I filled out an application for an IT job at the Dover school district. They pay more than we do, and if I were to get a step bump to where I think I should be, it would be a pretty significant pay raise. All I have to do is click the submit button.

Objective: Employment
Qualifications: Modest
Experience: Varied

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Welcome to Back to School

I went by the shop first thing this morning so Ben could help me move a whole truck bed full of parts for the old leased Lenovos to the junior high. We didn’t actually get out of the shop until a while after 9, but the loading of the truck was pretty straightforward. We did get stopped in the hallway by a chatty Karen, but I think we still made good time.

We met up with Jessica and Ronda at the junior high to deliver all the stuff. Then we spent a little time reassuring Jessica again that everything is just awful, and that’s normal. It was okay though, because it was lunch time.

I left Ben at the shop and took a late lunch to get some Burger King for the girls. I dropped Summer’s off at the shop, then went to eat at home where the girls were up in the living room. Autumn was fully into TikTok while Eaddie was very focused on schoolwork. I told Autumn in no uncertain terms that she needed to put more energy into something productive, and that if her grades weren’t good, she would have absolutely nothing to defend herself.

I went back to work and pondered a few things but didn’t get a whole lot closed out. I really wanted to get Autumn’s timesheets done so she could get paid, so that rounded out my day.

I played a little Overwatch at home until Summer got there, then we went to my parents’ house for some leftovers. Eventually we made it back home for a quite night without the girls. Summer spent most of it on the phone, so I read the first chapter of Winnie-the-Pooh. I couldn’t remember the last time I picked up a book. I probably won’t finish this one either.

Tut-tut, it looks like rain!

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The Boys Are Back in Town

For the first time in over a week, I went straight to the high school this morning. My first job was to deliver a box of hotspots they had been screaming about for days. Al said some parent was blowing them up on Facebook about not getting her free internet from the school. I told him to snap back at her that she must have internet if she’s on Facebook. I think he appreciated the irony.

It was overall a pretty relaxing day. I caught up on a few things, but didn’t wear myself out trying to get to everything. I still have plenty of rooms to visit in the near future. Lenovo shipped me three huge boxes of parts, so I ended up taking a late lunch. I just picked up some Burger King to eat at home so I could check on the cat. Autumn was still there, but Summer picked her up before I left for work again.

I went back to the shop in the afternoon just to see some people again. That ended up being an adventure in charging cart deliveries with Ben. Then I wrapped up the day back at the high school.

After work, I went by the house for a little while until Summer got home from work. Then I went up the hill for a dynamite spaghetti dinner that Autumn threw together. Then we played most of a game of Phase 10 before I headed back home.

The cat still seems to be eating pretty steadily, but he’s still really loose. At least he’s enjoying getting outside more, and I’m not going quite as crazy cleaning up after him.

Should I stay or should I go now?