Training our new employee is still going well. I took him with me this week to get a feel for the purchasing aspect of the job. He had his first experience spending the university’s money. I really like him and hope he sticks around for a little while at least. I am aware he is retired and does not need the job for a living so he could bounce at any time.

Week two of having good blood sugar. I feel so so so much better. My back and nerve pain not so much. More physical therapy. I’m really hoping this is worth my pain. It helped for a few days and I think I over did it. I’d really like to be capable of mowing my own yard again. My damn neighbor made a comment about it. Dude, Yvette and her daughter would beat my ass if I tried to mow my yard right now. Besides, I don’t think I could even if I wanted to. Damn back.

Thursday’s physical therapy kicked my ass. At one point I seriously thought I was going to cry. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to walk myself out of the building. Talk about torture. Damn sadist. It really zapped all the energy out of the rest of my day. It was a good thing there wasn’t a football game after work. That might have been a real struggle. After work I went to my mothers for a second. All I really wanted to do is hit my couch and play Zelda. I did indeed play some Zelda though.

Friday, finally. Bittersweet day. Bob was retiring. I didn’t know how I felt. Maybe a little sad. Worked with him for about 13 years. We had a small group of people all working together and just this year 3 of them have left. You get accustomed to seeing the same person almost everyday. I might have had my issues with Bob at times but I still liked the guy. Things will not be the same with out him. Not only was he knowledgeable(34 year on the job) but he also game us plenty of stories. The words that would come out of his mouth some days. Good lord. I could write a book. I truly hope he has a great retirement. Never thought I’d say it, but I’ll miss him.

Happy Friday!!! Dinner with Yvette and kids. They must have liked it because they had seconds. We got the telescope out and looked at the moon. Great night.

Jalapeño.

Stuffed salmon with broccoli cheese.

Steak and veggies.

Ground beef stir fry. The veggies included are asparagus, red bell, jalapeño, onion. Topped with green onion and bean sprouts over a little rice to give it texture.

Ground beef street tacos.

Armadillo eggs with grilled okra.

Shrimp tacos. I was almost so tired from PT that I was going to bypass even cooking. I manned up and cooked.

Dinner with the family. Yvette and the kids came over and we had a chicken enchilada “casserole”. Yvette made the Spanish rice.

We all went to a sorority luncheon. They had a set up in a back yard and served burgers and hot dogs. Cookies and cake. It was HOT. I was happy to be there. I felt honored. I think they could have done more to make it social but this is coming from a not very social person. I happy to be there with the people I love.

We took a break to cool down at my house after. We all needed a little cool down period. Why did it have to be so damn hot. Yvette and I had a pre Jam beverage. We chilled for 1 hour and let that cool AC treat us well. This was a first time for everyone but me. I had not been since I was married and it was pre pandemic 2019. Things clearly changed.

Honestly, RamJam was too hot. At least we could go inside being an alumni. We had free food and free drinks. I was surprised the beer was actually free. I guess the day payed for it’s membership. Lots for free stuff. I just wish it had been cooler. So much free food. I had ribs, pulled pork, fried chicken and so much more. The free beer still blew me away. I’m glad I could get her daughter in without issue.

Sunday I had my lunch with my mother. We went to Outback, which was a major change. I had some shrimp and broccoli. Tasty time. Sunday is a nice lazy day. I enjoy them. I didn’t need much from the grocery store, thank god. I took a nap and played some Zelda. Went over to Yvette’s. The weekend was fantastic.

Saturday we got an early storm. It rolled through around 7 am and dropped over 1.5 inches at my house alone. The town flooded and we needed the rain. The day was nice. I brought burritos late to Yvette’s and we enjoyed. I brought her daughter a doctor pepper to her sorority rush. Later I ran errands and eventually returned to Yvette’s house. We went on a search for silky pajamas. The rush was having a pajama movie night. She ended up just going as herself in t-shirt and shorts. Good for her. They both came over for tacos later that evening. Tacos and Queso. It was a good day.

The girl made it through her rush and was picked to be in a sorority. I was so proud of her confidence. She did something outside her comfort zone and was a success. Big deal for her.

Sunday I switched out my pump controls. It seemed they had a recall on my old one. At first I had some calibration issues and also I was using it wrong because I was accustomed to how the old one worked. Which means it really wasn’t working the way it should and the new one was. So I had a major low. Monday more of the same. Once I leveled out I was coasting within my range. By Wednesday I was within my range at 89%. That’s amazing. The old one I was struggling to be at 34%. So the last few months I’d been thinking something was wrong with me but it was a failed device. I almost wanted to switch back to manual injections because of the work I had to do with my pump, which was suppose to make life easy. The whole damn fucking time it was the failed device. My god, I felt better in 3 days. I wasn’t as lethargic. I had more energy. I felt good. It was great. how long was that other device fucked? Most the summer if not all of it. Pretty major screw up. I rely on that thing to survive.

The week also marked the first week I was to train our new employee. I like the guy and once he figures things out he will be a good fit. He has such a Forrest Gump Alabama accent. This will be the 4th person that I have trained. Crazy.

I watched Once Upon a Time in Mexico. It came out 20 years ago. I saw it in theater. It was great at the time and great now. I can’t believe that was 20 years ago and I was only 22. I felt so old. The movie stands up and brought me back to the years all my guy friends would pile into a movie theater. Those days before you could buy booze in a theater we would sneak little air plane bottle in. Such a blast.

Thursday was Physical Therapy and another football game. PT kicked my ass. I could have slept afterwards. I was given stretches to do in the morning and again the the evening. They want to see me once a week for 6 months. I’m really hoping it doesn’t take that long. I really feel optimistic. It was a good thing I went because they found more issues with my back than I thought I had.

Another football game, another blowout. What a first two games to attend. I asked her son if they were ever planning on letting the other team score. I was very happy for him. It’s fun going. Much more fun than I ever would have thought. I like spending time with her mom and dad as well. These games also make me realize how badly I need my eyes checked. Lord. I thought he was 22 the first part of the game. I swear it was the way his uniform fits him. Palm to face.

Overall this was such a damn good week. I felt so energized and I regained some mobility. I’m so happy to be addressing some of my problems finally. Let’s hope things remain positive. It was even pointed out to me that I seemed in a different place than I had been for a while. Yay me!!

Cheers and happy Friday!!!

Jalapeño.

Spicy chicken thigh bowl. Pretty much what we had on Friday without the shrimp.

Sausage, bbq beans, jalapeño over some sticky rice.

Menudo.

My very own orange chicken stir fry. Yummy.

Korean ribs w/ broccoli, zucchini, asparagus, jalapeño, and bean sprouts.

Date night!!! Italian pork tenderloin w/ a chipotle raspberry sauce and broccolini.

We finally had a little rain. A major surprise. Yvette was coming over and said we had lightning. Sure as shit. They predicted some hail so we woke up her daughter and put her car into my spare garage just for safe measure. Thankfully no hail occurred but at least her car was safe and sound. She picked it up the next morning.

The week was a little weird with so many familiar faces retired. I will certainly miss Hector. He helped train me when I started. We worked together for a good while when he fell and hurt his wrist. He was a hell of a worker. I won’t be the only one that will miss the man.

I’ll be so happy to no longer be short staffed. I’m tired of the extra work load and juggling everything when my coworker takes a day off. Hopefully the guy works out. We could use some good help. Friday was a nightmare.

Happy Friday!

Jalapeño.

Ravioli with green beans.

Spicy chicken thigh. That jalapeño was almost to much for me. I couldn’t believe it.

Baked Spasagna. I cooked for the entire family tonight. It was a lot of fun.

Chicken breast in a mustard herb sauce with Brussels sprouts and bacon.

Steak and cheese enchilada. The Grill. My mother and brother. It was tasty.

So it begins. The fall semester is upon us. As per tradition, we took our obligatory first day of class photo that we started back in 2020. Seven of us gathered and a picture was taken. I tried to get Yvette’s daughter in on the fun but she wasn’t having it. Later that days I did another photo session with some other ladies on campus. It was a busy day and by the end of the week I still wasn’t “acclimated” to all the students moving around.

It was really a lot of fun having Lola on campus taking classes. I’m very proud of her. I gave her a few gold cart rides. I also gave other students rides. I even made it on snap chat as the best Uber ever 5 stars. It was the 2027 group chat. I laughed. If a kid is in need I’m willing. I wonder how many will ask me for a ride after going viral. Haha

These damn delivery robots are a menace. I lost count of how many times I would have to find a different route to cross the street in my cart because they were blocking the ramp. What does that mean for someone in a wheelchair? Oh yeah, they caused some poor kid on a skateboard to eat shit. The kid for up and kicked the damn robot. They only just launched. My eyes roll out of my head.

It was really a hard week on me for many of reasons. Physically and emotionally. Glad it ended on a high note, Yvette and I having dinner.

Jalapeño

Sausage eggs Benedict with warped asparagus.

Menudo.

Sloppy Joe sweet potato.

Chicken with ginger noodles.

Salmon over Mexican street corn.

DATE NIGHT!! I made some cilantro lime chicken and rice.

The summer ends. Rather, the university summer. Move in was Wednesday and it was crazy. I swear we have more students in the dorm this year. I have not seen it like that in a long time. Certainly since before COVID. It will probably take me a few weeks to adjust to the students all over the place.

I’m excited about Yvette’s daughter taking classes. I’m proud of her. I’m sure she has the butterflies but I know she will do well for herself. She is a smart girl with a big heart.

So Monday I had a fall. Damn neuropathy and sciatic nerve issues. I like my mobility and I’m ready for my physical therapy. By Friday I was still hurting but better thanks to morning stretches.

We had a couple minutes of rain Wednesday. It didn’t do shit for us but it sure did smell good. Wednesday was actually a rather nice day outside. Damn my pain from keeping it perfect.

I decided to keep campus maps with me for all the lost students and parents. I turned out to be a great idea. I lost track of how many I gave out. I’m not sure why they are not supplied. The students were very grateful. I’ve learned from past years that trying to give directions goes over many of their heads.

Hope all had a great Friday!!

Jalapeño.

Simple burgers w/ chili cheese tots.

Sunday brunch. Biscuit with gravy, egg, bacon & fries.

Omelet with refried beans.

Alfredo chicken lasagna

Spinach ricotta cheese with a spicy meat sauce.

Taco salad.

Chili bean spud. That you Yvette for the potato.

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t going to miss my coworker. I was sad coming into Monday knowing I wouldn’t see her. Almost 4 years working together. We fought through the pandemic together. We both got hit at the same time by COVID. We worked well with each other. She is my friend. A bit of a worry wart, but otherwise a fine person. She brought a weirdness to the office that I’ll likely miss. She moved on to work on an internship at our only hospital for social work. I’m not really sure she has the fortitude for such work considering how she was constantly stressed at her last job. I wish her the best and hope I keep in touch. I will say that work was so much quieter.

Being short staffed again is just great. Especially this time of year when we are at our busiest. What can one do? I hope the hiring process goes well and a suitable replacement for Sarah applies. I worry though. We had one interview this week. Some young kid.

My back, leg and foot pain is really kicking my ass. I don’t like being cripple and that’s how I currently feel. Like a gimp. The chronic pain is exhausting. I’m afraid of real pain medications because I’m afraid if it works and the pain is gone I’ll get hooked and I do not need that. I understand why people get hooked. Pain all the time all day is taxing on the body and mind. I hope that physical therapy does me right. The referral went through. It’s time to start.

Fuck the week. It’s hard to be in a good mood when you have chronic pain and it’s triple digits outside. Friday was the cherry on top. No one showed up to work. I knew my boss would be gone but wasn’t expecting everyone else to call call in. What a bunch of bullshit. It left me extremely busy. I just wanted a break. I was ready for date night. Hope everyone has a great relaxing cool weekend.

Jalapeño.

Weekend pizza.

Menudo.

Brunch? Enchiladas.

Sunday lazy dinner. Canned spaghetti. Chef Boyardee.

Salmon croquettes w/ peas and broccoli cheese.

Soppin sauce on pork loin with spicy as hell sweet corn and pickled red onion.

Hawaiian style teriyaki chicken thigh w/ sticky rice and pineapple.

Some pork bulgogi over steamed rice w/ a side of sriracha soy sugar snap peas.

Spicy chicken thigh with veggies, pico, green sauce from Jamie, black beans and chips and Queso. I was going to make an Alfredo lasagna but Yvette doesn’t like Alfredo sauce. Oh well, this was still great. Date night was much needed.

This bloody heatwave will not leave us. It’s too hot. This summer has broken me down. I can’t wait for a nice cool day. My body does not want to function when it’s 114 outside. Im over this summer. Like A Heatwave is a great song though.

Robots, man. Robots. The campus food delivery service has kicked off. They started off with 2 so they could work out glitches. They had a lot of glitches. We will eventually have 12 going back and forth across campus. It’s going to be a pain in my ass. The students at least eventually move out of my way but these little fuckers move slow and keep the course. I guess I’ll get use to it eventually.

My nephews were in town till Thursday so I went and saw them everyday for a few hours. Fun cute kids. I knew that the time that I arrived they had to be on the tired side of the day. So was I. I will say they are needy and picky. I need to bitch at my brother for that. He was whiny. Didn’t know the definition of no. Love him also. The oldest kid is perfect. I love him though. Middle kid needs to stop throwing shit at people.

Yvette’s daughter made it back into town Wednesday! Since they were on the road I provided the youngest son with a pizza. I believe he was a happy kid. Thursday the girl wanted queso, chips and steak. I had a task. All the steaks needed to be prepared differently. Med-rare, medium and well done. I can’t say I’ve ever done that. I believe it all worked out well. We ate it all up. It was a pretty good time. I’m glad the girl is back home.

Jalapeño.

Sunday brunch. The weirdest omelet I’ve had. BBQ chicken, pickled red onion with cheese and jalapeño.

Secret taco flat bread.

Taco salad.

Spicy Sloppy Joe frito pie.

Hamburger salad.

Chimichurri steak with smashed potatoes. This meal I cooked for Yvette and her daughter. Her daughter wanted steak once she was back in town. She opted for A1 steak sauce.

Grilled hibachi steak, shrimp, veggies w/ gilled fried rice. We had a salad w/ ginger dressing. I also made a yummy ginger sauce for the food.

The weekend was fantastic. It doesn’t happen often but some weekends we get to stay with each other over night. This last weekend it ended up being both nights. Saturday I fired up the Chiminea for the first time and the youngest two kids wanted to roast some s’mores. I really think it had been about 20 years since I’ve done that and dame was it good. Not good for me but good. It was also very good fun. A little hot for an outdoor fire but worth the fun.

Monday was fucking weird. So I arrive at work and realize I’m the only one of us. “Leroy” wasn’t there and his vacation was over. We all thought it was a bit strange. No call no show. Maybe he forgot it was Monday from being off for so long. 9:30 we get a call from HR informing us that his wife found him unresponsive Saturday morning. He was taken to the hospital. They were stumped so they airlifted him out of town. We don’t know what happened. He just won’t wake up. It as a scary hard way to begin the week. All of us were discombobulated. Left a funk on everyone.

Monday was also Yvette’s oldest sons 21st birthday. I still remember my own 21st birthday. That seems like ages ago now. My friends over served me. For her sons party 20 of us went out for hibachi. I had a lot of fun being with her family. I felt honored to have been included in a family photo. Her father has seemed to have opened up to me. He showed his comedic chops. The made is humorous. Really good people. I got lucky with this one. So the day began on a sour note but ended on a high.

Yvette was having a truly shitty week. Wanted to strangle folks at work, had a battery die on her leading to unexpected expenses, couldn’t find anyone that could work on it in town for under $500 because of the onboard computer. She took Wednesday to drive to the dealership in Abilene and somehow managed to get herself sick. Poor thing. I picked up some Lilly’s Pizza so she didn’t have to cook for her kids. The pizza was great. My poor sweetie. The kids enjoyed and I stayed a while.

Thursday just before lunch some DAMN good news came on an already frantic day. “Leroy” called. He came out of his 5 day coma. Just woke up. It was incredible. The whole offices spirits were levitated. He felt fine. He had a seizure is what they told him. To fall asleep in your own bed and wake up in a different towns ICU had to be a trip. I’m so glad he is okay. They even told him he could probably go back to work next week. I think that’s pushing it, honestly. I really feared to worse. Him not waking up at all or if he did, not being the same. So happy he is okay.

The only complaints I had come Friday was the excessive heat and my sciatic nerve flaring up. I lost sleep over that one. I was really really hoping the pain wouldn’t have lasted all week. I wanted and had planned to go to Dallas with Yvette but the thought of sitting that long…. Excruciating pain. Pisses me off. I did it to myself. I stubbornly moved some stainless steel storage shelves. I should have waited for help. Idiot.

So the Saturday trip to Dallas is happening so Yvette’s daughter can fly away to see her father. I don’t think anyone, including me, is very happy with the idea but she is a big girl and it’s her choice. I’m sure she will be fine. She is a brave amazing young woman that’s doesn’t mince her words. I found that out years ago when I first met her. Proud of her. Has her mothers strength.

Happy Friday. It feels weird being a bachelor on a Friday night. Date night has become what I know. She doesn’t feel great and needs rest for the driving tomorrow. I wanted to go see her but it would be selfish of me. I really wanted to. Hate not going tomorrow. I was looking forward to it. Fucking back and money.

Hope you all have a great weekend.

Jalapeño

Philly cheese steak over white rice. It was perfection.

Steak fajita tacos & black beans.

Happy birthday Noah!!! Bonsai Garden.

Chimichurri chicken cordon bleu. An experiment. I had leftover sauce so why not.

Bacon chicken Alfredo with spaghetti squash.

Monterey chicken w/ veggies.

No date night. 😦 Pasta with grilled chicken, bacon, sun dried tomatoes and a carbonara sauce. I’ve made this before and it was a treat.

We had to go to work Monday and we had Tuesday off for the 4th. Everyone was in disbelief that we worked all day. It was dumb and no one was actually working. After much, no one was really there. It was a horribly long day. I might have cried.

The 4th & 5th I didn’t do a goddamn thing. Yvette came back in town and hung out with me on the 5th. She tried to see me on the 4th but I had crashed. I admit, I had some beers. I watched, or rather had in the background, Independence Day. I think it played 3 times. I grilled.

Thursday was another Monday. How do you like having two Mondays in one week. That’s what I had. My time is so damn confused in my head. What day is it. I unfortunately fucked up my back movie some shit.

Friday. Finally Friday. It started fucking bum. I was distracted leaving my house and didn’t notice my garage door failed to open all the way. I backed into it and knocked it off the rail track in the process bending it. I pulled a Bekah. I was able to fix it with brute force but it wasn’t easy. Could have used 2 people. I was worn out before I even made it to work. Really having the middle of the week off threw me off big time. I had some serious lifting. And big fucking boxes. I didn’t carafe for this week. I was kind of in a funk on top of getting my ass kicked at work each damn day. I was looking forward to cooking dinner for Yvette.

Happy fucking Friday.

Jalapeño

Zucchini noodles and marina sauce with meatballs.

Bow tie pasta with meat sauce.

4th of July chili dogs.

Soppin’ chicken thigh with grilllwd zucchini.

Chimichurri Steak again. Date night with my love.