Tag: work

Uncategorised

Boom!!! Headshot!

I somehow managed to dress up and tie an eldredge knot quickly enough to get to work around the same time this morning. I had forgotten it was going to be a new crew the next two days, so we had to introduce ourselves again, and then it was a waiting game for Ciara to show up and take our pictures. I guess she missed her ride in the morning or something, so Jessica ended up taking some of our photos herself just before lunch. I got Muad’Dib dressed up in his little tie, hat, and glasses, and even managed to get one good photo of him head-on. Then I discovered Google’s Nano Banana for generative photo editing, and got some really stunning results. Some were even a bit interstellar.

We ate some leftover fajitas from the sales lunch, but then the afternoon dragged by and I ended up being the only one upstairs for the last couple hours. I raced the sun home so I could take Muad’Dib for a run, but then Julie called with some sourdough and I had to vector off on a detour. He got in trouble when I got back to the car, because he crawled up into the front and was sitting on the center console.

We had our run, visited my parents, and made it back to the house just as the kids were finishing dinner. Summer made some chicken with some kind of habanero sauce, and boiled broccoli to go along with some leftover rice and mashed sweet potato. Dinner was really good, and then the kids disappeared and Summer went to bed.

He is the Kwisatz Haderach.

Uncategorised

Ceiling Dirt

I forgot my bánh bao for breakfast this morning, so I stopped at McDonald’s to redeem my last free biscuit. Then I jumped right into my network switch from yesterday, which went even worse than I expected. For some reason, I couldn’t get the old SSIDs to quit showing up. On top of that, I had a couple of important access points that refused to talk over their wired connections, and instead wanted to mesh to other access points. I fought that the entire day.

I ate some leftover coldcuts from the sales lunch, plus some steak tips from yesterday. I ate too much, but it made up for not having dinner later in the evening. At some point, Ciara wanted to take pictures of Muad’Dib with his little tie on, so Teisha and I went outside with her to do that. He was uncooporative, but that was expected. Teisha gets him even more riled up than usual with all her treats.

The afternoon was long and painful, and I checked in with Joel on the way out, but he didn’t have much to say. I felt like people were having a really poor experience with the network, but he said nobody complained to him about it.

Summer was baking pumpkins when we got to the house, and then spent the rest of the evening dehydrating the seeds and some guts. I took Muad’Dib for a quick run as the sun went down, and thought I’d have to go to the old house to look for my necktie, but I finally found it in my secondary storage closet.

How does the dust even get up there?!?

Uncategorised

Why Five

We woke up to a crash at around three in the morning. I yelled for Muad’Dib, and he jumped right back into the bed, but I couldn’t tell that he caused any trouble. Once I gathered myself, I discovered the ice finally fell out of the mini fridge and shattered on the bottom shelf. I was able to doze off a few more times, but kept waking up in the middle of wildly different dreams every few minutes.

All the salespeople and our new marketing coordinator were going to be at the office for some technical training today, so I tried to get there a little early. Muad’Dib did great all day. We started out with brief introductions, and then I just went to work as usual until Shane walked into my office.

He asked for the “simple” task of capitalizing the company name on all of our WiFi SSIDs, not realizing this would require a touch to every device that was connected to any of the affected networks. I took the opportunity to learn some more, and built out some structure that I had planned for the distant future. Without RADIUS, I was still able to learn how to create a policy in Intune to distribute shared credentials. It wasn’t perfect, but it worked.

That ate up all of my day, but I did take a late lunch to eat some of their leftover steak tips they got for lunch. Janice, Elizabeth, and Tammy were in the breakroom as we walked out, and invited us in to eat. Muad’Dib did well to lay at my feet while I ate, and then we had Janice’s carrot cake for Scott’s belated birthday just as he was walking out the door.

I didn’t really finish my whole task before I left half an hour late, but I had enough done that I felt confident in my ability to clean it up in the morning when everyone was there. Summer had dinner going at the house, so we got there as quickly as we could. I took Muad’Dib for a quick run as the sun went down. We visited Dad, then got back to eat just as the kids were finishing their plates.

After dinner, I finished setting up the KitchenAid KF8 that Summer unboxed. We brewed a few cups with some trash coffee, and then I filled the hopper to make a single milk drink before bed. We shared a couple sips to test it, and then Summer went to bed. I had an anxiety attack as I cleaned up, and then went to bed pretty early in anticipation of another early morning.

Why not six?

Uncategorised

Bring Grandma to Work Day

We had enough time to stop for coffee and then a biscuit this morning, and then still had time to stretch our legs when we got to work before putting on Muad’Dib’s costume. I wore my red hoodie, and he wore his robe, hairnet, and eyeglasses, which everyone loved. Joel brought Dexter, and though he was skittish at first, he eventually warmed up to Muad’Dib. Muad’Dib kept stealing his toy bone though, and I had to scold him.

I got into the firewall some and figured out how to pass the traffic I needed to make the Unifi captive portal work, so we won’t need a WiFi password next week when everyone shows up for training. I spent a bunch of time out and about, and felt a little more comfortable joking around with people, which was great.

We went to McDonald’s for lunch and had a pretty bad experience again. It wasn’t terrible, but every single aspect of being there could have been made better with almost no effort. I ended up sending a huge letter of complaint through their online form, since they requested I do so after I left a poor Google review.

The afternoon went by fairly quickly. I had a sudden anxiety attack, and Joel sent us home half an hour early. Muad’Dib and I got to the house where Summer was preparing for trick-or-treaters. We went on our run with Muad’Dib dressed as a cow, and then I took him around the block again without the outfit so he could feel more comfortable running fast.

I ate some food and then we sat outside with Summer while she passed out candy. There weren’t very many people in our neighborhood, which was great news for me. We came inside and watched the rest of Ironheart before winding down for bed.

My, what big runs you have!

Uncategorised

I’d Rautha Not

I took Muad’Dib in this morning with his little rodeo accessory, and everyone loved it. Unfortunately it just didn’t fit right, so he didn’t wear it for most of the day. I also had him wear an e-collar since he’s gotten into the habit of running off uncontrollably. He behaved much better today for our several trips up and down the stairs.

I also buckled him up while I went in for lunch, since I didn’t want him crawling all over the car and tearing something up. The afternoon was long and tiring, but we eventually got home. Summer was there, not feeling well. We went out for an early run, but then things got a little huskier.

We got to the end of the street and encountered a white and tan husky on the loose. They charged at each other and then ran in circles around me. Muad’Dib was fairly well minding, but the stranger was really skittish around me. I got a pet or two in, but otherwise he would cower and run away. He followed us back to the house where I had Summer meet us outside. It took some work, but once she came back out with a bowl of food, he came right up to us and followed us into the back yard.

He was super friendly from that point on, but had a ton of hair coming off in big tufts as though he had never been brushed, or even petted. He also had super long toenails like he had never been outside to walk, or even roam around freely. He was really skinny under all that fur, and showed a bit of bone. We needed to get to walking though, so I decided to leash him and see if we could find anyone who recognized him.

We made it all the way around to my parents’ house, where Mom scolded me for picking up another dog. They were talking with someone about replacing their windows, so we left. We got all the way back to the house when we rounded the corner and were approached in the dark by a lime green Jeep Renegade. A skinny, shirtless, white guy smoking a cigarette eyeballed us through his window, so I asked if he knew the dog. He nodded, and reached behind himself to try and open his back door from the inside. He gestured to put the dog in, again without words. I suggested he step outside since I didn’t want to take my leash and collor off the dog without securing him in some way. As soon as he opened the door, the dog cowered and tried to get away. I asked where he lived, and he pointed down the street where we found him. Then he loaded up and drove away.

Feeling pretty awful about the entire experience, I went inside and called the police, who basically told me to call Animal Control during business hours. I wrote a long email to them before going to bed, but I doubt anything comes of it.

Feyd to Black

Uncategorised

#mood

We picked up a frappé when we got into Morrilton, then realized how cold it was outside as we walked into the building. I bounced around a bit between projects, but stayed busy. The McDonald’s app screwed up at lunch time, but I managed to get my food. I was pretty sure Muad’Dib climbed into the front seat while he was waiting for me, so he was mildly in trouble for the afternoon.

I had to go downstairs to help Elizabeth with something, and her computer update took about an hour to complete, so I was down there with her for a while. We chatted and tinkered with Kandi’s old computer while we waited. Heaven came out and took Muad’Dib in to play with Teddy for a bit, and then we finally got back upstairs just in time to wind things down.

Summer had some food in the slow cooker when we got to the house. It was mostly dry, so I took Muad’Dib on a quick run, visited my parents, and then got back to eat. Summer went to bed after that, and I cleaned up for trash day.

~super automatic~

Uncategorised

Rainy McDainy

We got out a little bit early this morning, grabbed coffee, and got to work in the rain. I had forgotten I had a call scheduled with Tammy and the Aptean folks in the afternoon, so I worked on some other stuff in the morning and had to take lunch a bit earlier than I have been lately. I ate completely free today by redeeming a Happy meal, a double cheeseburger, and a snack wrap, but I probably should have stopped after the first two.

Our call with Jason went super well, and Tammy indicated she was at least mostly able to follow along to repeat his troubleshooting steps. We’ve got another call scheduled, but this one felt really good. I still can’t quite get a feel for what people think about me out there, but hopefully I’ve been visible enough lately that they at least see I’m doing things even if I’m not as forcably visible like Brandon had been.

The drive home was even rainier, so I ended up taking the first exit and driving through town. Summer was home working, so I made some rice to go with leftover chicken and what I think was actually chả trứng chiên, but Mom always calls it egg foo young. Eaddie was in Conway late, so Summer and I ate, she went to bed, and I continued vacuuming until I was more or less satisfied with the first half I’ve been working on for the past few weeks. I’m still getting about a tablespoon of what is essentially sand every time I make a pass over the area, but hopefully another steaming will draw out a bunch of that. I can be okay with a lesser clean under the couch, with the assumption that we’ll eventually leave this place.

And Grimace, too.

Uncategorised

Cone Down

Muad’Dib just didn’t want to listen today. He immediately jumped out of the car and wanted to chase a cat in the parking lot, and refused to come to me as I called after him. I finally caught him and had to spank him before he would follow me into the building. It was a quiet day and I tried to focus on the Avigilon all morning.

I had picked up a coffee, and then a steak biscuit on the way in to work, so I ended up taking a late lunch. I had my usual Big Mac and then an apple pie with a melty ice cream cone that the girl had to put into a cup on account of how soft it was. It was still a perfect combo.

The afternoon was slow to go by in spite of how late we left for lunch. I had brought Muad’Dib back in on a leash, and ended up having to leash him again on the way out because the same cat was hanging around outside. We got into the car and made it to the house where Summer was taking a work call.

I took Muad’Dib out for a run and let him play in the creek, so I knew he would need a bath. We visited with Dad, then got back to the house. He didn’t much like his bath. I cleaned up an assortment of leftovers out of the fridge, and then went to my room to wind down.

It’s a lonely job.

Uncategorised

Lockdown: Not Just for Schools!

I thought McDonald’s would be busy again, but we breezed right through for a coffee. Mitch called just as I was leaving the house, so I called him back to tell him all about our resident alien. After that, the drive in got a little crazy because some idiot with out-of-state tags was cruising in the passing lane, below the speed limit, in perfect lockstep with a semi truck in the right lane. A whole line of cars was swerving and peeking around angrily, trying to pass. I finally got around and slowed way down in front of him to try and get him to move over to let other cars pass, but I also had an upcoming exit.

I cooled down at the office and got into some stuff there. We didn’t have a call in the morning like I expected, but I dug into the security stuff all day. We went for our Big Mac break and I had an apple pie with a vanilla cone, and it was spectacular. I was surprised how good their ice cream was, and the apple pie was perfect with it.

When we got back from lunch, I spotted no fewer than three cop cars near the property, including one parked right near where I always park. Teisha didn’t answer her phone, but I got a hold of Tammy, who let me in and said there was a car chase, and they thought someone jumped our fence. They had locked down the best they could while operations continued in the plant. Muad’Dib and I went back to work.

The afternoon wasn’t very fruitful. Kandi finished her last day without much fanfare that I could see. Muad’Dib and I left a little late, so I skipped our slushie stop and we made it home through heavy traffic. It wasn’t very long before Dad texted that they had bún thang for dinner, so Summer got out of her bath so we could go eat. Muad’Dib got a little antsy, so I let him out to run part of the way. Dinner was good, but we headed home soon after because Summer had an early run in Conway the next morning.

Eaddie was home briefly but left. I was feeling pretty worn down, so I didn’t stay up much later than usual before going to sleep.

Some guard dog.

Uncategorised

The Secret Life of an Alien

I had an anxiety attack in bed while I was trying to go to sleep last night, which was a rare occurrance. At least I went to bed early, and got an above-average amount of sleep. We got out of the house and tried the other McDonald’s, but still got stuck in line again. It seems to be completely luck of the draw. I took my coffee and made it to Morrilton to order a biscuit for breakfast.

It was more deep-dive into the AI exploits of the fraudster technology manager, and I am one billion percent positive that he is an alien from another planet. I have begun collecting evidence. If I disappear or am found dead, then dear reader, do not believe anything they say about me. It was no accident. They got to me, and silenced me the only way they could.

I went down to help Elizabeth with something, then took a walk with David to investigate our two fence controllers. It appeared they had blocked the safety sensors to keep the back gate open, which seems counter to any security protocol. It had clearly been that way for some time.

We went back to McDonald’s a third time for lunch and had to argue with the staff about my order. The two low-level staff were as friendly as they knew how to be, while admitting complete ignorance. The manager on duty absolutely refused to make eye contact or respond when I spoke directly to her. I wasn’t ugly in any way, and I see her five days a week, so I could not fathom the stress she was under. I was eventually fed and went back to work.

The afternoon went by fairly quickly because of how late I went to lunch. I texted Kyle since I remembered he used to work at Acxiom, and he actually replied pretty quickly. I talked to him about our resident alien, and as if by mysterious forces beyond our universe, he was actually working for the company that Brandon moved to. We shared several laughs over text throughout the evening.

Muad’Dib and I made it back to town and I ordered tickets for Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox. Then we went on a great run in the crisp air before it got dark. Summer and I ate when we got back, and then I took my car for a good washing. The new FSD release gave me all kinds of fits this morning, and even fussed quite a bit on the way home, so hopefully this helped.

I vacuumed some more to end the night, and got to sleep just a little bit early again.

⏁⊑⟒ ⌇⟒☊⍀⟒⏁ ⌰⟟⎎⟒ ⍜⎎ ⏃⋏ ⏃⌰⟟⟒⋏