Since we’ve had a bunch of rain lately, currently listening to a frog serenade outside. 🐸

Went out today prepping for a big damn ice storm, which is what the forecast says is coming to NC. Saw an old dude with two cases of wine. A lot of mushrooms. A quart of heavy cream. And a lot of pasta. Everyone else was running around grabbing bread and cookies, but that man had a plan.

One frustrating thing about my neurodivergence with my job is exercise planning. Think being a D&D DM but with real fire engines & whatnot. And like a DM knows sometimes the players don’t stick to your script. I get super annoyed & have to remind myself it’s OK because that’s the point of doing it.

Dropped daughter off at the airport this morning. Being flown cross country for a 3rd round in-person interview, which seems a pretty good sign. Back in the city she spent the past 4 years in & we just moved her home from. 🤪

My boys!

It’s not much of a river for water, but Hollywood likes it. RT with your home river

Well, candidacy for intimidating job has come to an end. Had a very nice phone call with the hiring VP who let me know I came in at a very strong 2nd place & 1st place candidate has accepted. Came down to them having significant experience in one of the areas I was light on.

Guys, we did it. We invented the Commodore 64

Dinner tonight included pan seared chicken with a sherry/shallot cream sauce. Which included the sherry igniting in the pan in a rather spectacular & unplanned fashion. Daughter was impressed/horrified in equal parts, while I explained it away as “just extra flavor”. 🔥😬

Tomorrow is my first day back to work in literally a month (12/5 was last day). This is gonna SUUUUUCK!

Well I didn’t see a girl in a flatbed Ford. But standing in a truck stop I did see a fire engine, my lord.

Impacting daughter currently- a lot of the entry-level CompSci jobs have dried up because companies figure they can use AI for the entry level & have more experienced people clean up the slop. 😡

The fucking tire is flat again! The same damn one. The brand new tire that still had a label on it. 🤬 We haven’t driven anywhere (leave this morning).

My MIL also made some kickass bacon/egg breakfast sandwiches with jalapeno/habanero cheese, in case you thought all Midwest food was bland. 🌶️🥵

Several of the Christmas presents were wrapped with this gold foil metallic paper & @elleqsabine.bsky.social’s father kept saying it should be used to make ‘’men’s panties” and we’re all 😳😲😵‍💫😂

Roadside assistance already called for trailer…still sitting in-laws’ driveway. 🤣 Discovered one tire was flat when we loaded car yesterday. Aired it up & was flat again this afternoon. But they brought a new wheel & tire, jacked it up, and swapped it. Pit crew-like speed from the tow truck driver.

Prepping references for the intimidating job has meant catching up with folks I haven’t talked to in awhile. One former direct report & I spent an hour on the phone last night filling her in on daughter & other things & hearing about her grandkids & retirement life, which was great.

Daughter’s car is now loaded on a trailer behind my truck for the final leg of the road trip when we leave the in-laws’ the day after Xmas. This will be the furthest I’ve ever towed a trailer so please send good thoughts for my nerves that morning. 🤪

@electraheartt.bsky.social A very happy birthday to you! 🎂🎁🎈👋🍑

Somehow - despite being married to a Hoosier girl for a quarter century - I went to my first Indiana HS basketball game tonight. Yeah, it’s like you’d expect in this state. 🏀

It’s been a very interview-y week. Aside from mine on Wed, daughter has also had an online interview & is on a 2nd (different) one right now. Both back in the city we moved her out of /checks calendar/ 5 days ago. 🤪 And now I’ve gotten a screening questionnaire for another I applied for months ago.

I’ve never had an interview that started the night before with a really nice dinner & wine with the hiring manager. I should have started applying to “intimidating jobs” a long time ago. 😂 We’ll see how I feel by the end of the day tomorrow. /consults 3 page interview schedule/ 😵‍💫

Just walked into a mall the first time this season and…what song is on the speakers? Any guesses?

It’s the weekend after Thanksgiving, so as tradition dictates I’m hanging Christmas lights on the house. Already did the yard work & have a pot of Hatch chili verde simmering.

Introduce yourself with 5 answers to common security challenge questions.

The right wing just fell off my sister’s turkey as she took it out. Here’s hoping that’s a metaphor for the coming year.

Told MIL about interview & now she’s super excited since we’d be in driving distance (getting reports from daughter who is at 🦃 w/ her). Mom found out about prior interview from sis (can’t keep a secret) & is mad I’d consider leaving. So however this works out there going to be an upset mother. 🤪

It’s Thanksgiving in SoCal, so of course yesterday was the first day in weeks we had to turn the A/C on. There’s a reason I always wear shorts & an aloha shirt to eat turkey. 🦃 Thankful for all you people in my screen who make life better.

Ahh, I see we’ve reached the “let’s schedule you to come for in-person interviews with everyone” phase with intimidating job. And during the same period we’re traveling for daughter’s graduation? Sure, why not? 🤪 (Actually somewhat convenient since we’ll be on right coast)

Yesterday, I passed a storefront that said “Kung Fu Acupressure” on the sign. I have…questions.

Had my second interview for the intimidating job & now sitting at the tire shop and enjoying the recent snow up on the mountaintops.

Can I also say that I’m very glad it’s now sweater weather here in SoCal. I have far more sweaters than I should because I constantly live in hope of being able to wear them. And I’m on my second one this week!

Spanked @elleqsabine.bsky.social at some ungodly hour this morning because she wore the orange socks to bed. I told her she’d been doing it with impunity* & I was reasserting my authority. 🤪 *she’s done it a couple other unspanked times lately since neither of us are morning people

Got a weird call from my mom last night. Very terse, could tell she was upset. Turns out my sis let drop that I’ve been interviewing for an out-of-state job when she pressed her about whether we’d be moving if daughter gets a job somewhere else. Which is a possibility, but nothing imminent.

Since it’s a cool rainy day, making another attempt at cassoulet. Using a different non-Instant Pot recipe this time that slow cooks in oven for 3 hours. Browned the pork shoulder & salt pork already with duck fat, now browning the chicken in the renderings (sausage to follow).

More power tools in use in an adjoining office. I think that’s my signal for lunch.

I think coffee season is in full force now, even if it is supposed to break 80 the next few days. But it’s chilly in the morning & the caffeine is needed. Every year the DST shifts seem a bit harder to adjust to. 🥱 ☕️

Coffee has made an appearance this week. ☕️

If the dead don't want to be spoken of poorly then they should have been better people in life.

There are power tools in use in the office next to me. 😵‍💫

Rumination about breakfast & changing tastes. Most of my life, I hated eggs if the yolk & white were at all separate. So pretty much all I’d eat were scrambled or omelettes…got pretty good at the latter as a result.

Breakfast was 2 fried eggs & a little deli ham with pepper jack & Japanese-style spicy mayo on toasted jalapeño sourdough. 🌶️ 😋 That should fuel the yard work nicely.

Scheduling for a 2nd interview for the job with the intimidating big title has commenced. 🫨

Well, that (sesame chicken) didn’t turn out entirely as envisioned. Tasted OK but the breading & the chicken went their separate ways while frying.

About to attempt a brand new recipe for dinner. Pray for our kitchen & cookware (and probably the integrity of my epidermis when the knives come out).

Was a pretty productive weekend. Yesterday @elleqsabine.bsky.social & I redid the front planter with new plants to replace some dying ones, and she cleared out all the grass/weeds growing through. Today I reorganized the garage more to better utilize the shelving. Still work to be done there.

Had a cough start about 3 weeks ago, probably related to the stress around last week. I started drinking hot Earl Grey tea to help with it & now I’m finding myself fixing a mug every morning using my coffee maker in my office. Have not yet made coffee (only drink it in fall/winter usually).

Have been quiet for a bit due to the chaos of work the past couple weeks. But today I had an initial interview for a job with the letters “VP” in the title & I’m simultaneously a little freaked out & impressed with myself. Fighting the imposter syndrome hard on this one.

Introduce yourself using one food you refuse to eat, one movie you'll never watch again, and one song you can't stand. Salmon patties Leonard Part 6 Wonderful Christmastime

This has been a long fucking week, so it’s a heartfelt TGIF today. Extra work stuff for both of us, my mom having some (not super serious) medical issues requiring extra help. And preparing for next week at work which is going to be an absolute shit show in my professional estimation. TGIF’inF