Tag: work

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The Honest Ones

I got up fairly early this morning and headed home to mow my lawn. Summer had me drop a couple things off for her at the wash, and I traded vehicles with her so I could load up a ladder for our second home tour. It was nice and cool outside, so mowing wasn’t bad at all. I still felt some chest pain as I got going, but it got better over time. I got the front yard and most of the back done with just one battery, and I’ll need to burn some fallen branches and other scrap wood to clean up the rest. When I finished, Bác Vân called me over to get a couple slices of pizza she brought home from the casino. Then I took a shower so I could get some lunch for Summer.

She wanted “a good burger” but wasn’t willing to leave the wash, so she got a “Whopper” instead. After we ate, Brendon wanted a ride in the Model Y, so I took him around the block before eventually heading home. Eaddie was supposed to go with us to look at the house, but decided she would rather watch a band recital instead. Once Summer left work, I headed up to her house to pick her up, where she called Eaddie to convince her to come with us instead.

Summer drove us across town using the least efficient route to get Eaddie, and then finally started following the navigation system to get us to the house. Dad beat us there, and we beat Alisha, so we took our time staring at a neighbor’s dog that was running around the driveway. David was actually outside on the front porch, so we chatted with him a bit when we found him. Then Dad and I climbed up a ladder in the detached garage to try and figure out what it would take to put the garage door back together. They didn’t appear to have the parts, and the rails were removed far enough to encapsulate the door behind drywall.

The girls finished touring the rest of the house while we were messing around in the garage, but then I wanted to walk through once more to measure some spaces. Eaddie really seemed to like the place, and it smelled way better than it did the other day. They had incense burning in practically every room, and several of the windows were cracked open. As we finished up our second tour, I took David for a ride in the Model Y, which he really enjoyed. I guess all that’s left is to talk to a bank or five.

We dropped the ladder back off at my house, and then headed toward home. I convinced the girls to go to CiCi’s for dinner, but as we walked in the door, I got a call from the last lawyer I contacted. He was at least honest enough to give me the news I didn’t want to hear. By his estimation, the risk versus reward just wasn’t good enough, and he suggested if I had 10 grand to burn, I should take it to a roulette table in Tunica and bet on even. Though frustrated, stressed, and anxious, I was appreciative of an opinion that didn’t immediately turn into a sales pitch. I don’t know what’s next, but I know I’m not quite ready to give up.

After that lengthy phone call, we went inside to eat. It was overall a substandard experience, because we learned they were completely out of forks, but only after we had made big salads. They never once came out with a barbecue pizza, but at least they had some fresh spinach at one point. Most everything had been sitting for at least a little while, so it just wasn’t great.

Autumn was home when we got back, and had made herself a sandwich after doing who-knows what kind of grocery shopping. Summer went straight to bed, Eaddie disappeared into her room right away, and Autumn went to her room as soon as she finished eating. I spent the rest of the night poring over first-time home buyer tips, and trying to make sure we weren’t about to go completely broke. I’d really love a job offer right about now.

No Bull! Know WTF is happening!

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The Bœst Interview

I tried to let myself sleep in a little bit today after staying up so late last night. Eventually I got up and had another pork chop with some rice for breakfast before heading home to clean up. I dug out my old interview folders and rebuilt all of that with some extra stuff just in case. When I got out of the shower, Summer wanted me to bring some lunch to her at the wash, so I got all dressed up and took her some Popeye’s. While I was at the wash, I printed a couple more résumés and eventually headed to my interview.

It hadn’t really rained yet, but a storm was coming. I made it to Bost early and waited just inside the front door until Joshua came to get me. The first thing I noticed was his dual screen laptop, which I had been wanting for quite a while. We chatted about that for longer than I expected, and I could tell right away that he seemed like a really cool guy. The rest of the interview went similarly, with both of us winding our conversation all over the place. It seemed like they would have some really cool projects for me, and I was happy to hear it wouldn’t be just mostly break/fix type stuff.

We chatted for the better part of two hours, which was the longest, but most fun interview I’ve ever had. To my delight, he enjoyed my “fun” résumé. I really hope he liked me well enough to try and match what I was making at the school, especially since I’m sure the retirement won’t get close to matching the 17% that the school had. He said the work environment was great, and I was inclined to believe it.

It had mostly stopped raining by the time I left. We could hear it storming for quite a while, so I wasn’t terribly surprised that nobody was waiting for me outside the door with an ice cream cone. I left and went to find Summer at Superfast to fill her in. Then I grabbed a burrito and went home to change before picking her and Dad up so we could meet Alisha to look at a house.

We made it across town a little late, and climbed what felt like a 45º incline of a driveway. I’m absolutely positive the Murano wouldn’t do as well, especially in the rain. I’d probably have to drive backwards in order to keep enough traction. The house was quirky and cute, but the first thing that hit me when we opened the front door was the smell of cats. It smelled worse than just a litter box, but not the worst I’d ever smelled. There was some visible damage in quite a few places, but without an inspection, it appeared to be stuff we could mostly fix on our own.

The owner was home, sitting on a chair in the living room. We didn’t realize it until we got outside, but his wife was sitting on the porch. It all seemed very odd to me. He was kind enough to walk us around the outside, and we got into the detached garage. His wife was converting it to a rec room, and had the garage door drywalled over, and a drop ceiling installed. I couldn’t tell if the rails were still attached, but I figured they must be if the garage door was still there. It was weird to just seal that wall off behind drywall though.

Overall it was kind of a letdown, even at that price. I figure we’ll talk about it some more, and possibly look at it again if someone doesn’t scoop it up. I don’t really think that will be an issue, but maybe someone else will also appreciate the rocky terrain of a dated house in the side of a mountain.

We dropped Dad back off at home and got the Murano up to Summer’s for the evening. She ate and then took a bath before bed. Then we were going to watch TV, but she got distracted by a work call, so I had time to warm up some dinner for myself. Then we watched an episode of Modern Family before she started falling asleep. The girls were out late watching a school play, so I saw them in and then made it to bed.

The internet was here, for better or worse! *thunder booms*

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Salty About It

I went to bed pretty late, but had trouble sleeping after the sun came up, so I got up and made a really nice pork chop sandwich out of some leftovers. I had some trouble with the salt shaker, so I tried to adjust it and ended up shearing the threaded rod that the adjustment piece screwed onto. I took it home to try and extract the piece, hoping there were enough threads to put the thing back together again, but didn’t have any luck.

I was a really slow starter after that. I could tell I just didn’t want to do anything. It was rainy and cold, and I just didn’t want to be bothered. I still hadn’t quite fully recovered from my stomach issues over the weekend. The best I could do was apply for a job I had seen the other day. I dreaded calling another lawyer, and put that off until after I excavated the prehistoric pile of dishes in my sink and took a shower.

Dad’s friend-of-a-friend referral was a complete dead end and it had me second-guessing my ability to get past even the simplest of secretaries. Fortunately I received a response from someone I contacted last week, who unfortunately couldn’t help me, but did at least offer several other relevant referrals after actually reading my submission. I made a call, and now we’ll play the waiting game again.

Eventually I headed up to Summer’s for the evening, stopping for tacos along the way. Evidently Taco Johns was robbed, and both of their main entry doors were smashed and taped up with cardboard boxes. When I got everything to the house, the tacos were pretty cold and awful. Summer was in a mood. Eaddie came out to eat a couple tacos with us, but I begrudgingly finished up the lion’s share.

The girls disappeared pretty quickly after that. Even I was off to bed relatively early, and hoped to get enough sleep to make a little more of the next day.

ADD

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Hang Low

Summer asked me to stop by Superfast this morning to check out their computer, but they figured out how to hook up a new monitor on their own before I got there. I stopped for a couple breakfast burritos from Taco John’s and met up with her to eat, and then continued on home and got cleaned up so I could jump right into job hunting. I had a few that I had saved from the night before, so today was for submitting applications. In the middle of a bunch of confirmation emails, I actually got one for an interview, so I’ll schedule that for next week.

Summer ended up going to Morrilton, but came back so we could go out for a late lunch or early dinner. We ended up at Wendy’s for a relatively poor experience. They didn’t have the stuff to make the bourbon burger she wanted, and they didn’t add my requested vegetables to my pretzel pub burger. It was also just really dry and unsatisfying.

We made it up to her house and sat around for a while. Autumn eventually showed up after mooching some dinner off of her grandparents. Eventually I had to get Eaddie from her classmate’s house, where they were practicing for their National History Day competition tomorrow. When we got back, I started watching NOPE on a complete whim, but didn’t get very far before we had to go to the depot for the 5k Glow Run.

We arrived at the depot a little early, but didn’t have a whole lot to do. Cindy walked by us and stopped long enough for me to give her a hug. She has always been so friendly, and was always so encouraging about the work I did on the CPPC. I couldn’t help but feel a little like I let her down, but that’s why I have to fight.

Once they started lining up for the race, I had to leave to get away from the loudspeakers. I headed home to swap cars, and then took Summer’s to the carwash before coming back to pick them up. Of course Summer and Eaddie had already finished for a little while, but we had to wait for Autumn to finish well below average.

The girls showered once we got back to the house, and I did my best to get to bed early so I could take a bunch of kids to Conway in the morning.

If you’re going to be rebellious for rebellion’s sake, then I recommend you continue being a complete twat.

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Two Broke Dudes

I woke up before Summer this morning and couldn’t really get back to sleep, so I just laid in bed until everyone left, and then got around to some leftovers for breakfast. Then I made sure I had all the information I needed and headed home to try and find some alternative firms that might be interested in what I have to say. I stopped by Superfast on the way home just to see Summer, and return her wallet that I found in the Murano. Then I dug right into telling my story in another, slightly different way. I only got one person on the phone, and then just decided to submit online forms for the rest of them. I still felt it was pretty disheartening not to get an answer right away, but it felt better than getting hounded for money.

Gary eventually got back in touch with me, and said that I could come by the Baptist Health Medical Center in Little Rock to see him. He seemed to be in relatively good spirits, but I still didn’t even know what actually happened. I made plans to go see him, but Summer reminded me that the band had a fundraiser at Freddy’s after school.

I met the girls for dinner, but Summer wasn’t in the mood to socialize after having her character attacked by a customer at work. I hung out adjacent to the girls while she went home for the evening, until I finally made the call to leave for Little Rock. I talked to Melinda about possibly going with me if she finished preparing for her grandfather’s funeral, so I dawdled a bit on the way out of town. I went home to clean up, then went to the car wash to get the big chunks off of my windshield. Then I went by Summer’s to get my Steam Deck on the way out. Melinda decided not to go at the last second, but then called me to get an update on all of my drama while I was driving.

We talked from about Pottsville all the way to the hospital, which helped pass the time. I kind of hoped she might have a little more helpful insight, but I think we were already on the same page. I let her go, and continued to drive around the parking lot, just guessing where I needed to enter the building. Fortunately I guessed correctly, and found my way up to see Gary.

He was on the phone when I walked into his room, which actually made me feel a bit better. He was fully alert, but with metal rods holding his leg together. He broke his left elbow, and his right knee, tibia, and fibula. Overall I was impressed with his apparent outlook. He was trying to take it easy on the pain meds, even as the nurse offered more. I tried to help him get readjusted a little bit, but I don’t think there was much we could do. Hopefully the swelling around the knee will let up soon so he can get somewhere a little more comfortable.

I didn’t stay too long. We caught up a bit, and then I wanted to let him try and get some sleep between his hourly checkups. Zach chatted at me briefly on my drive home, so maybe he can go back down with me later in the week. I stopped for another car wash just as I got home, and then headed up to Summer’s for the evening. Everyone was asleep, so I finished up and went to bed myself.

That’s not even a real bone.

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Stick-on Shade

Summer went to the gym this morning and then came home to shower before going to work. I had gotten around a little bit, and once Summer left, I tried to get someone from the EEOC on the phone. The wait time ended up being longer than I could stay on the phone though, because I had to get home and cleaned up before taking Summer’s car to River Valley Tinting and Glass to get the windows tinted.

I waited in the near-silent lobby for over an hour while they did the job. I had high expectations after trying two other places in town with the Murano and then the Model 3. I was told this place had a plotter to cut the vinyl, which would make the corners perfect. When it was all done, the left window looked to be stuck on a little lower than the right side, but they both looked good. There were a couple bubbles on the driver side as well, but not as much on the passenger side.

Once I got back home, I put together a slightly more concise timeline to try and explain to another firm, but my first pick was a girl that claimed to be a “switchboard” that could only take my information, but couldn’t tell me whether I would get a call back or not. The second place I tried also said they never worked with employees, and would only work in defense of the employer in my type of case. For better or worse, the first place I called was still ready to get started if I would only pay them nearly two months’ salary.

Just as I was becoming the most frustrated, Dad rang my doorbell and I went outside to see him. Apparently Mom, Lelan, and Julie were all coming over to try and sort their outfits for Randall’s wedding. It seemed to be quite an ordeal for the girls to find something suitable to wear. It was all a bit too stressful for me to consider.

Summer picked me up when she got back to town so we could go to the high school for a PSAT meeting for Eaddie. Michael was outside the Crimson Room when we got there, and told us it would mostly be the same information we already had. We decided to leave, assuming Eaddie was already at home. Summer dropped me back off at home so I could continue to visit with family.

As soon as she got home, Summer called to say that Eaddie wasn’t there, and that she had left her phone in her room. Evidently she was still at the high school in her study group, which I thought was being led by the same people hosting the meeting we didn’t attend. By the time I made it back to the high school, Eaddie had already started walking toward my house, and was spitting mad that we left without her.

I took her back to my house to cool down while I visited some more. After a little while, I took her on home and shared some of my leftover pasta with her. Autumn was excited to share some “tea” with me, that turned out being a critical accident that happened at the school. Evidently Gary had taken a hard fall at the arts center and broke several bones. I was upset that she considered this “tea” that she selfishly wanted to share with me herself, instead of letting me know that my friend was badly injured.

Everyone made it to bed, and Michael ended up calling me late so I could catch him up on all of my drama. He was surprised, and shared the same sentiment I had gotten pretty much everywhere else. All that’s left is to start a GoFundMe for lawyer’s fees.

Seriously, why is it so hard to find someone to provide some counsel with vigor?

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WH and San

I woke up pretty wide-eyed today, so I didn’t bother trying to go back to sleep. I made another phone call to try and schedule a consultation, and was surprised to schedule a call within just a couple hours. I headed home to prepare, and aside from the cost structure, it seemed like pretty good news. My main concern was that after telling my side of the story, the rest of the call really sounded like a sales pitch. I spent most of the rest of the day trying to research alternatives just in case. I called another firm, and they also asked about another government acronym. After hearing about it twice, I figured I should do some research, and scheduled an appointment in August – the first available.

I didn’t get out of the house until Eaddie called and asked for a ride later in the evening. I brought her home, and discovered a lizard stuck to a glue trap in my garage. I thought it was dead, but Dad convinced me to check again, and luckily I was able to use some vegetable oil to free it. It wasn’t too happy, and kept opening its mouth at me, but I got it into a little critter keeper to try and nurse it back to health just in case anything got broken.

We made it up to Summer’s house, where Autumn had done us the huge favor of making some Hamburger Helper. Obviously it was devoid of anything even resembling plant matter, so I used one of her dirty pots to fry up some fresh broccoli and cauliflower to add to mine. That helped, but it was still such a heavy meal.

After we ate, I took Eaddie to Tech for another band concert. Then I picked her up again after it was over. We never saw Autumn again all night. I nearly forgot about my new little critter, so I caught a couple crane flies and threw them into the container, hoping he could find them. I’ll have to try for something a little squishier tomorrow.

Contingency Plan C

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Whornado

I got up early this morning and cleaned up some leftovers for breakfast before diving into some more job hunting. I applied for three remote jobs, and one of them looked like it might be really fun, and actually appreciate some personality. It would pay really well too, so hopefully I at least hear something back.

Afterward, I made it home to do a couple more loads of laundry before jumping into the shower. Once I was cleaned up, I headed to Conway to meet Summer. We parked my car at the Holiday Inn Express to charge while we went to Marketplace for dinner. The girls called a couple times with some trouble back home, but it was mostly argument drama, and Eaddie wanting help getting another bike down so she could take a friend riding. After all of the fuss, I don’t think she ever even went out. After we ate, we traded again and took the Model 3 to Little Rock for Whose Live Anyway at Robinson Center.

We arrived just before the doors opened, and then we had to wait another half hour before they’d let us find our seats. There were plenty of available seats behind us, but it was still a good crowd. The show started a little late, but it was overall pretty great. It was definitely more vulgar than Whose Line Is It Anyway? the television show. There were some really hilarious parts, and then a bunch of middling stuff, but all-in-all it was an awesome time aside from the seating.

We bailed pretty quickly once the show was over, and made it home quickly after a stop in Conway to get the Model Y. It had to split charging with another car that came in, so it didn’t actually get topped off like I had hoped. It will be nice once we get the wall connector installed at my house though. I had to shuffle cars again once I got home, and I discovered the kids hadn’t locked the Murano like I specified multiple times over the phone. They’re completely thoughtless and worthless like 80% of the time.

Once I made it up to Summer’s house for the evening, she was getting ready for bed. The girls were already locked away in their rooms. I finished up quickly, and it was off to sleep.

Leave it to Arkansans to not follow the directions.

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Off the Job

I woke up pretty early today and started doing a little research before leaving. Summer wanted me to swing by to see her after she finished at the gym, and then I went to 10 Box to get some almond milk. I tried the almond and coconut this time, and it was a little bit weird with my cereal, but I’m just glad I can eat a bowl without being sick for the rest of the day.

I also did some laundry while I put together some more damning evidence, and then took a shower so I could head up to Summer’s for the evening. I quickly applied for another job before I left the house, but there’s some kind of test I’ll need to take for it tomorrow.

The girls were at the high school for most of the evening for some band event. Summer came home while I was cooking her ground turkey into taco meat, and said she went through the touchless wash in Morrilton, and that her right wheels got scratched on the guide rails. The company will fix them, but I don’t know if that means replacing the wheels or just grinding them down and repainting.

Dinner was alright, for as annoyed as I felt while making it. I hated the lettuce wraps before, but having proper taco seasoning and some corn tortillas made all the difference. Then I laid on the couch with her and watched TV for a while, feeling sad and frustrated, but still less stressed than yesterday.

The girls got home really late, and Eaddie talked to us for a bit and then ate before going to bed. It was really hot inside, so I ended up switching on the air conditioner, and then it was off to bed.

If I hurt my knuckles when I punch you in the face…

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Straight Fire

I had to stop by the wash to give Summer her lunch that she forgot at home, and then I continued home to finish prepping for my hearing. I had pretty much all of my information where I wanted it, but I still wanted to get copies of some things to hand out to the board members. After taking a shower and starting some laundry, I went to Staples for copies of a couple pages. I didn’t realize how much the copies were going to be though, and spent over six bucks for 20 pages.

Afterward I went by the wash and printed the rest of what I needed, and then I read my argument to Summer, Justin, and Cameron before I left. I spent the last few minutes I had re-assembling my handouts and dressing up before Summer came by to pick me up. We made it to the high school a little later than I wanted, but it didn’t really matter anyway.

My dad beat us there. Kevin was inside, I suppose as “the muscle” in case things went really sideways. I was happy to see him. Thomas was manning the recording station. I remembered seeing Andrea, Chrissy, Samantha, and of course Ginni. Six of the seven board members were there, but Jason was absent. Ben showed up right before we started, and I think Jeff showed up a little after we started. Judy had to sit with Marshall, and by five o’clock we were off to the races.

The hearing more or less went how I expected. Marshall had binders for everyone with the supporting documents, which were just the statements given by those that were there when I bumped into Zach, as well as one from Thomas after our conversations. I was really surprised how much some of the statements differed, but I was most bitter about Thomas’s. I chose to assume it was misremembering, rather than outright lying. Given that he has a Pixel with an excellent audio recorder, I don’t know why he wouldn’t have recorded the conversation to get my quotes correct.

The biggest letdown was the fact that Marshall objected to me giving any background of my employment. I think I made my case to the board reasonably well, and I received sad smiles from a couple of them. They went into executive session for about 45 minutes, so I almost got my hopes up while we waited. Things were relatively light outside the boardroom doors, and I chatted with several people there.

When they let us back into the boardroom, they got right to the vote, and only Don voted against my termination. The feeling of the room read very much that there were others present that didn’t feel comfortable with the situation, but played the political game of backing the superintendent they had just hired for the next three years. Onward to Plan B.

I tried to get Kevin to join us for dinner, but it was just Ben with Summer and me. He chose Linh’s and we chatted over noodles. My phone had been blowing up, but I tried not to pay too much attention to it. I did jokingly ask Judy if I would get to fill out an exit survey. Brody confirmed he was trying to open a position for me, so I’ll have that option. Ben insisted on paying, even though I had originally offered to buy his if he actually showed up. I don’t even know why I was surprised that he said he would, because he’s one of the most supportive friends I’ve ever had. I did have to joke that it took me getting fired to bring him back to town though.

After dinner, we dropped him back off at his truck at the high school. Then I went home to clean up before catching up with Summer at her house. Shortly after I got there, I remembered I had a pickup order for some chicken strips at Walgreens, so I took the Model Y across town to get those. Summer was feeling mixed emotions about the day, but I felt nothing but relief for the moment. At least now I know what path to take next.

Six to four isn’t a bad ratio. At least I’m not a quitter!