Tag: work

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unPlugins

I must have been determined to have a bad day today. I woke up groggy, but at least I didn’t keep trying to fall back asleep. I still ran behind though, and traffic over the Dardanelle bridge was down to one lane, so I was about 10 minutes late. Nobody noticed, because even the principals were there in basketball shorts. That’s just what we’re working with out there in the county.

I stumbled upon a strange issue with accessing my virtual machines, which led me to believe there was a networking issue somewhere. I spent a while in the core closet, then gave up for a while and came back to the office where I had a cup of cereal. After I cleaned my cup, I accidentally tapped the edge of my watch against the bottom of the mug, so now there’s a tiny little chip, and though it’s not terribly noticeable, I’ll know it’s there forever.

I missed lunch because it looked like only three kids were there. Surely there were more, but I just heard no noise anywhere. I ended up having a bowl of ramen with some frozen peppers. Later in the afternoon I discovered my server problem was two loose power cables in the back of the management switch. Half of the switch was just not powered on at all.

At the end of the day, I decided to call Optimum to try and cancel service. They immediately offered service for $40 per month. One hold session later, I was also offered three months free. Finally I was put on hold to be transferred to an employee that could actually cancel my plan, and the call was dropped.

I headed home and found southbound traffic backed up from the 2nd Street light in Dardanelle, over the bridge, and all the way up past Atwood’s in Russellville. Lucky for me, I commute the stupid direction and live in the more expensive area. I fed the fish and then headed home where Summer was making a meatloaf for dinner.

I called Optimum again, waited on hold for half an hour, and finally got someone to cancel my service. The meatloaf had to go back in for some additional time, but we eventually had dinner. Then we watched Everything Everywhere All at Once. Summer seemed entertained, but it was weird. I really enjoyed it, but then it was time to rush to bed.

I would have really liked just doing laundry and taxes with you.

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Boys Club Movies

Summer still had to go to Conway to pick up stuff for work, so we decided to rush there to catch a movie as well. I got tickets for IF, as well as a couple coupons for Kohl’s and Shoe Carnival, and we were off. I let her drive so I could plot the most efficient course along the way, and we ended up at Kohl’s first. They didn’t have anything that I really wanted, so I picked up another bath mat instead.

We had some time left on the Shoe Carnival coupon, but not so much time before the movie, so I got us to Splash first. Summer ran in to do her thing, and then we got to the theater with plenty of time for snacks. I got irritated by the lady that jumped ahead of us in line so she could order for her seven hundred million people, and then found them in the same auditorium as us, but fortunately their kids were quiet.

The trailers didn’t really give away any important plot details, so the first part of the movie was a bit of fresh story, and I wasn’t really sure where it was going. I found the reveals to be predictable, but otherwise it was a fun, sweet, feel-good movie. We really enjoyed it.

Dad started grilling pork chops as we were driving home, and we made it to their house just in time to set the table. Julie and Kevin came over a little later, but just visited and then took food to go. Julie misread my response to her vacation offer the other day, so we won’t be going to the beach on Labor Day, but I also didn’t get the new job I was anticipating, so it’s just as well.

Summer really wanted to get home to finish up some yard work, so we got home with a little bit of daylight left. I got some more laundry done, and before I knew it, I was two hours late to bed.

Oh, to be a star.

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The Hunt Continues

It was pouring down rain this morning, and I really struggled to wake up. I just didn’t get nearly enough sleep, and I rolled into work a bit late. Still, nobody should have cared, and I had my timecard for the week filled up. Denice showed up for a little while, and I left the office to rewire the library cart that was an absolute wreck. I left work around lunch time, and there were only a couple other cars left.

I fed the fish and then stopped by the wash to see Summer. She took her car and I took the Pathfinder home and got Eaddie so we could go to New China for lunch. I got a call from Joel at Bitec letting me know that they went with one of their other candidates, so now I have no prospects for the time being.

After we ate, we came back home and Summer and I both got super sleepy. She napped for a while, and I dozed off watching some YouTube, so I gave up and snoozed a bit on the couch. I slowly felt more and more sick in the throat from either sinus drainage or possibly from snoring, though I don’t remember falling asleep that hard.

Eventually Eaddie got to a point where she wanted to watch Better Call Saul, so we watched one episode before she had to finish packing for her band trip. Summer helped her with that, and then we all went to get Eli and drop them off at the high school.

Once we got home for the night, Summer went to bed. I applied for a remote job that looked pretty good, and was ready to pass out myself.

A sense of humor, you say?

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I Found the Problem

I took the Onewheel to work again today so I could ride down the hallway to scan Chromebooks into inventory and lock up carts. We only had one room that was still missing a device, so I emailed Josh as the principal and Blake as my own direct report to find out whether he actually received an end-of-year checklist from the teacher. His response was a shocking and curt “it doesn’t matter,” which I think was his way of saying that it wasn’t any of my business. I shot back my own reply as professionally as I could, and we went back and forth for a bit before I ultimately walked into Blake’s office, who hadn’t actually read any of it by then. Possibly even more shocking was his reaction that it was just “his personality” and that I should see some of the emails he gets from him. In the end, there probably won’t really be a resolution, but at least I have my paperwork in order. It becomes more clear every day that their problems are absolutely systemic.

Becky invited me to the FACS kitchen for lunch where they had some slow cooker chili and some boiled hot dogs. It was an awesome lunch in its own right, but doubly so when compared to the old ramen I had stowed in my desk drawer.

I worked until my laptop died, and then decided not to work too late since I should probably be on-site the next day anyway. I don’t know if anyone else will be there for very long, but I figure I’ll be able to slip out pretty early. I chatted with Gary for a bit just before then, and we decided we’d meet up at Ridgewood Brothers for dinner.

I ran home to feed the fish first, and then I was going to see Summer at work, but in that moment she texted to say that she was already home. I spotted a plate-sized turtle walking along the road, seemingly unable to hop the curb, so I turned around to give him a lift into the grass before finally making it to the house where Eli and the girls were sitting in the living room watching gymnastics.

I changed clothes and met Gary at the restaurant where he was already chatting with Robert. He had a whole lot to say, and it was clear those guys just needed a break. I wish they’d just accept the free conversation with Summer about how to grow some positivity in their staff. She struggles too, but I think she could bring them some wisdom and experience. We eventually got in to eat, and then Grant showed up to close shop as Robert was leaving. He seemed to be doing a bit better, but they’re both just so tired.

We chatted for quite a while and then I headed back home to find them in the same spots watching the same gymnastics. I went outside to clean up a server I brought over from the old house, and then came in to hang out for a while. I forgot that I had to do some laundry, so I didn’t get it started until late, but I eventually made it to bed.

He’s right there.

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Biscuit Bitec Boat Check Boot

I considered working a partial day today, but my headache from last night carried over and I figured I had days to burn. I got Summer up so we could grab some Hardee’s for breakfast, but by the time we both got there and got the food, I was worried about making it to Morrilton in time. Summer took her chicken biscuit and I ate mine on the drive.

The interstate was more boring than a drive through the county, but speed and distance work out to about the same commute, minus stupid Dardanelle and school traffic. I arrived with enough time to spend a few minutes in the holding area before I met with Joel and David.

The interview itself was much more conversational than I expected. I anticipated at least some questions, but I think it really was just getting to know each other and getting a feel for culture fit. Everyone there seemed pretty relaxed, and the few interactions I saw seemed really pleasant. It’s almost odd to me coming into a place with people that know some of the stuff that I do, especially when it’s not really their primary job function. We talked a bit more about future plans, and then I got to take a short tour of the plant. Overall I thought it went pretty well.

When I got back to town, I stopped to see Summer at the wash, and she still looked pretty sick. I headed home and she left work a little later. When Eaddie was done with school stuff, we checked her out early so we could go to the DMV and register the Pathfinder. While we were there, I remembered that I had my boat registration at home, which couldn’t be done online. I raced to get it so we could take care of everything in one trip, but then realized I needed a picture of the hull identification tag. This was strange to me since last time they made me get a new one because they wouldn’t accept the original 4-digit tag. I called Dad and had him take some pictures for me, though I was just able to find my old pictures at almost exactly the same moment. Ultimately, I was told that they actually reverted that rule and could have accepted the old ID if we hadn’t already gotten a new one.

The girls were hungry after that, so we ran by the bank and then stopped at Foodie’s for a late lunch or early dinner. I was super disappointed in my burger, which looked awesome in the picture. The girls liked their gyros alright, but Eaddie thought her lamb was too tender and we ended up splitting our meals in half and swapping.

We were going to go shopping for snacks for Eaddie’s trip, but decided to just go home and start packing her stuff instead. We already had a bunch of snacks stockpiled anyway, so we figured she could pick from that first. I rode the Onewheel to see my parents, but they weren’t home, so I came back and waited for Eaddie to finish so we could go clean up the Pathfinder.

We went to the wash and did a quick detail of everything inside. Then we used the cleaner and some elbow grease to get some of the sap off of the hood and front bumper. The car was nearly unrecognizable afterward. I think Eaddie was the most surprised, and she actually got excited about it for the first time. From there, we ran by the old house to pick up some stuff, and then by my parents’ house to see if she left her swimsuit there last season.

We eventually made it back home and got settled in for the night. It was a long, and mostly sticky/humid day, and the bed had been calling my name for some time.

That seems like an awful lot of money split that many ways. Somebody’s getting rich.

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Spring Server Room Cleaning

I took some cereal to work for breakfast, which actually worked out really well out of my coffee mug. I also brought my Onewheel so I could run quickly back and forth between my office and the server room. I took a couple trips worth of trash out to the dumpster, swept the floors, and then spent all afternoon troubleshooting one of my distribution switches that wouldn’t show up in the controller.

Summer was feeling better enough to get out of the house and have dinner ready for us, but wanted me to stop by the store on the way home. I ran to the old house to feed the fish first, and then went to Walmart. It’s been so long since I’ve been in the main store, and I love to shop. I hate feeling like I never make time for anything I enjoy any more.

Eaddie had Eli and her friend Autumn over for dinner, and I guess they couldn’t wait for me to get home. I got frustrated by that, and by the fact that Summer didn’t just have the kids go to the store so I could come straight home. By the time I got there, I had a pretty good tension headache going, and I just wanted some internal peace.

Denice emailed me to say that their internet at the house went out. I thought everything came back up after I worked on it, but I guess their point-to-point radio connected to the wrong upstream point or something. I messed with it a bit and got them working again.

We all ate and the kids eventually left. Then I took the Model Y out for a wash so I could take it to my interview at Bitec in the morning. Summer had a bag of some stinky clothes in the trunk, so I emptied all of her crap out of the car before coming in to go to bed.

It’s the same crap that was in there six months ago.

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Lab Delivery System

Becky said they were going to cook breakfast, but I got to work a few minutes early and the place was a ghost town. Steven and Keith were there wandering around the high school, but I really didn’t see anyone else. Luckily I brought my leftovers from BFD and could eat that for brunch. I brought the Onewheel in case I needed to get across the campus multiple times, and it made delivering the last couple of desktops a breeze.

Steven was talking to Possum, and later Keith, outside their little office cove, and seeing the Onewheel got them pretty excited. Then Kelly showed up with a couple of the other lunch ladies, and she actually tried it out. After that, I talked Steven into giving it a shot, and he kept wanting to ride down the hall on his own. It wasn’t until he tried turning around in the width of the hallway that he fell off.

Those guys left after a half day, and then I called Nicky to see if she was in her office. I think she and I are the only two people there that feel obligated to work our contract hours. Everyone else is content to lie on timesheets all year long.

I did end up leaving fairly early because Tim called again to say we could get the Pathfinder. Summer got home early too because she was still feeling really sick, but I made her get out and take me to Orr. Tim had previously said the battery was dead, but it started up fine today, so I drove it home after a couple trips through the carwash. Now we just have to figure out the paperwork.

When we got back in, I ate a brat and then laid down on the couch with Summer to watch Three Amigos. I was super tired though, and kept dozing off. I guess I had never really seen it before, but I’ve always been aware of it. I guess I slept through the explanation about why there was an invisible person and a singing bush in this otherwise reasonably realistic fiction.

After a while, Summer craved a pretzel crust from Little Caesar’s. I eventually left the house to try and get some food, and called the restaurant to see if they could make one with the “old world pepperoni” instead of the normal ones. I just like the fact that you get more than two pepperonis on your slice. I was immediately told that it would be a 45-minute wait for a custom order. Then my question caused a little bit of confusion, which was met with “we can’t do that because there’s not a button.” I just gave up, not wanting to deal with those inbreeds, and went to the old house to feed the fish and come up with another plan.

I ended up ordering from Domino’s, and the food was ready before I could make it there. Then I saw Neal feeding the cats out back and stopped to talk to him a bit. I guess he had never seen either of the Teslas, so he was super impressed. I started to hold up traffic, but my phone key had been giving me trouble and I couldn’t get out of “park.”

I did eventually make it home, and the girls really enjoyed my custom barbecue chicken and bacon pizza. Summer and I watched a little more YouTube after Eaddie went back to her room. Then she crashed pretty hard from feeling sick, and I eventually followed.

Definitely couldn’t do that back in RSDland.

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Lab for One

There was no way I was getting to work on time in the rain this morning. I forgot my routine for summer hours, only barely remembering that we would work four ten-hour days. I resigned myself to picking up some Burger King so I wouldn’t starve for lunch, and made it in about five or ten minutes late. I was by myself all day. It looked like Denice had been in her office at some point, but otherwise I never actually saw her.

I spent the entire day imaging lab computers and updating network equipment. I got nearly all of Jaime’s lab finished, and got rid of most of the boxes that were stacked in front of my desk. Tim called to say they fixed the Pathfinder, so we can go pick it up tomorrow. Becky came in a couple times to get trash and then invited me to have breakfast with them in the mornings in the life sciences classroom.

It was a ghost town by the time I left, which made me wonder when everyone else left. Being completely solo, and working more hours than Kim, I really don’t have a clue when I’m allowed to duck out a little bit early.

When I got to the old house, Dad was there with a guy down the street cutting branches off of the fallen tree. He wanted to get quotes for insurance, and the tree removal alone would have been slightly more than his deductible, so it didn’t seem to make sense to start removal if nothing was seriously broken. He did uncover the air conditioner though, and without any damage, it started up just fine.

The mini fridge fit in Dad’s trunk perfectly, so we took it to the new house after stopping by his house to get the rice dispenser he had already picked up from Bác Vân’s house for me. We should have left the fridge outside to defrost, but we brought it in and left it in the entryway.

Once Eaddie got home, we went to Dardanelle for dinner and ice cream at Bocadillos. The food wasn’t bad, but the service was. The girl just didn’t seem to want to be there at all. We chatted and stuffed ourselves before heading back to town. I thought we’d swing by the store to find Summer, but she was having a very bad day. She wouldn’t be home until late, so we headed home to find water all over the entryway.

I crawled around and cleaned up the water, and set the fridge up in the dining area. I think it’d probably be better in the living room, but I’d want to put something under it to keep it from leaking onto the carpet. Summer eventually made it home and I put her to bed quickly before heading to sleep myself. We were both completely burned out from the day, and needed much rest.

Government wouldn’t do something like that…

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If a Tree Falls in the Hood

Today was the last day of school, and things were quiet everywhere. Traffic wasn’t bad, and people weren’t pouring into my office constantly, so I had a little time to get settled in and put some Chromebooks and chargers away. I ended up scanning all of the returns into a sheet so I could know exactly where each device was on the shelf.

They brought us Taco Villa for lunch, and then sent everyone home afterward. Kim ate with everyone in the cafeteria, and I would have too if I had realized it soon enough. I already had everything open in the office though, so I just ate and continued working. I stayed a little bit late just to wrap things up, and then headed home.

Just as I was getting close to Dardanelle, my old neighbor David called me. I could swear he said a big branch had fallen between my house and Bác Vân’s, so I headed over to check it out. When I got there, I was greeted not by a branch, but by an uprooted pine tree from the front yard. By some miracle, it managed to fall perfectly between the houses and only appeared to cause a little bit of damage to the very edge of my roof. It missed the other house entirely.

I headed home to change, and then picked Dad up so we could go check it out. He took a bunch of pictures that we took to the insurance office, and it seemed like it would be the better option for us to just take care of the tree ourselves and then just pay a roofer or carpenter to fix the house. As long as there’s no hidden damage under the tree, we didn’t figure it would be that bad. The trunk of the tree would be a lot of work, but the upper branches seemed small and manageable for two people.

I dropped Dad off and went back home until Eaddie showed up after school. Summer was supposed to work really late, but came home because she didn’t feel well. FedEx delivered a replacement thermostat and Eaddie was super hungry, so I took her for a ride across town to swap out the baseplate at the old house and then get some food. Just as we were about to go to Freddy’s, Dad reminded me that they had both ribs and curry, so we got Eaddie a free custard and then headed back across town.

After we ate, I took Eaddie home and then took the Onewheel across town to swap thermostats. It hurt my feet pretty bad since I was out of practice, but at least I didn’t dump the board. I was afraid to test the thermostat until we got the tree off of the unit outside, so I just headed back home. I stopped to get some more pictures of the shipping container in the woods, then at Casey’s for a drink, and circled around Ridgewood and the bike path where I saw the first lightning bugs of the season.

The girls were in bed by the time I got home, so I cleaned up a bit and then tried to get to bed early myself. Kim is out for the summer, so unless we have a project for her to work on, now is my time to really get things done.

Like threading a pine needle…

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No Son, You Failed Yourself

I got in a little bit early today, but it didn’t really help. Wave after wave of kids and teachers came in to talk to me, and only me, to check out or return devices. Jace was there with Kim again, and was being loud until I finally had to yell at him myself to stop making unnecessary noise. It was just impossible to do any work, and nobody else was really helping. I knew she had a long lunch duty, and I could have given her simple instructions on how to check devices in, but we just didn’t really have a plan going into it, and I wasn’t really backed up an unreasonable amount. It was just frustrating that I was roped to my desk all day.

By the end of the day, we only had one kid with anger issues, and were left with just over 70 students that either owed money or still had to return their device. That was a better number than last year, but still more than one grade level of students.

I headed home afterward and got stuck in slow traffic for the last leg of the trip. I fed the fish and thought I’d get back out on the Onewheel, but then it started to look like rain. I had Summer cook up the rest of the Brussels sprouts she bought the other day, and I grilled some brats as the weather sirens went off. Eaddie got super nervous about some cloud rotation, so the girls hid in the bathroom for a bit while I started eating. The sirens went off a couple times, but we never saw anything too bad on our side of town.

After dinner, everyone ended up in bed pretty quickly. The storm blew through super fast, so it didn’t even rain the rest of the night. I got things mostly cleaned up and put away, and then I was off to bed.

I just carried the grading pen a while.