Confessions of a One-Track Mind

After putting it off for two weeks on account of being a techno-chicken shit, I finally got the laptop going. It involved calling the cable company and getting them to reset the modem, because otherwise, I couldn't find the internet with both hands and a flashlight. And I hooked up my trackball mouse, because the touchpad was NOT working for me.

And now? It's incredible. The keyboard has a very light action, and none of the keys stick. 'K' is a letter one uses more often than one thinks, and now I don't have to try to stomp on it every time I know, think, talk, keep, make, take---you get the idea.

And damn it's fast. None of the infernal WAITING I had with the tower. Seriously, making a post, I'd be banging away at the keyboard with nothing happening. I'd sit and wait for ninety seconds or so and a block of type would appear. Forever to go to the next screen, longer if pix were involved. Forget having several windows open and trying to cross over; it would probably crash.

This is divine. I think (ThinK!!!) it's even faster than AI's computer, and I was blown away by that. sbjb, you are a goddess!

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Right now, at this particular moment in time, I'm feeling supremely contented with my life. Some of it stems from little things: I dug up a section of my front flower bed and threw down some zinnia seeds. One of the hydrangeas is boasting some fuzzy green baubles that suggest they may eventually become flowers. The tidy white rack in my hallway (as opposed to two boxes full of IDK) with the happy picture of a Victorian house on the wall above it. The octagonal stained glass shade that I've had for ten years and had a brainstorm to try on my "new" bedroom floor lamp and which looks like a colorful glass crazy quilt. Small victories.

The chat I had this afternoon with GK, wherein she placed a bid for a digital camera for me as an early 50th birthday present (with luck, I'll have it in time for the Sand Art Festival). Big honking triumph, unless she's outbid.

And...a couple weeks ago I mentioned something in the wind that I didn't want to jinx---well, it's happened, so now I can say: I HAVE A LAPTOP!!! Thanks to sbjb and her preference for all things MacIntosh, I have the indefinite loan of a dandy HP laptop* with a huge screen, tons of memory and its own happy little carrying case. This is a great, big honking triumph...now all I have to do is clear some space on my desk, and/or get a wireless router.

I have a feeling I'll be sprouting extension cords in every room. I'll finally be able to do a proper inventory of my DVDs! And I wouldn't be surprised if this accelerated the progress of transforming my office into a boudoir---no longer being tied to a desk!---although again, wireless router. Hmm, must check prices, especially on Amazon, since I still have a Christmas present from socialhermit....

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* Per her, if/when I get to where I'm solvent, we can discuss payments, otherwise, don't worry about it. Thank you, girlfriend!!!
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Today was far less arduous than I anticipated. There were a few flurries of calls. I thoroughly hate, loathe and despise the Executroid Twins (two yuppie menswear companies we gained over the last couple of months). Can hardly tell 'em apart, they're both overpriced "prestige" brands and a major pain in the ass. (Especially since the Executroid Product Boss emailed me to fill out a pre-training form that I did last fucking week. Been there, done that, really was not in the mood to do it again but did anyway.) Usually, I don't get calls for them; I'm going to have to have a few words with the In-Charge desk, because I haven't had a Trendicrap call since last weekend, and I swear, I MISS them. They can be dumber than dirt sometimes, but compared to the pretentious, whiny, demanding yuppie scum that frequents the Executroids, they are the salt of the earth.

Despite that bullshit, there were a number of mellow little lulls. I actually scribbled quite a bit on the continuation of my Yuletide treat. Eight steno pages---I'm rather amazed! And with resounding irony, that one is getting more reviews than my "big" story. I've never written in the treat fandom before, although I've been familiar with the source material since 1982. *beatific smile* Thankfully, I have a normal schedule tomorrow then two days off to write! This is the most excited I've been about a project in ages.

After sleeping on it, I've decided to use the cash S & T gave me to repair the laptop that they gave me. It needs a new keyboard, which RHappy says he can take care of. The prospect of a sweet little portable computer that I can take into my warm cozy bedroom during the coming winter is lovely. (Trust me, I know Florida: January thru March are the winter months. December *can* work up a chill, although this year, not so much. And invariably, there will be one last cold snap in April after one's packed away the heavy blankets.) It'll also be useful in helping me inventory my DVDs---I can take it out to the living room, rather than dragging armloads back here just to type in the title.

Anyway, that was the day after Christmas.

The good news is, the only thing wrong with the laptop is, it needs a new keyboard. R_Happy plugged it in with a USB keyboard and says it worked fine. I *thought* I could use my folding Palm keyboard, but realized after a half-hour of fruitless mumbling that there's no way to connect the two. So, either I get a USB keyboard or a SB adapter for a "normal" keyboard---I do have spare kicking around---or I cough up $30-50 to have the one in the laptop replaced, which I'll probably end up doing anyway. Eventually.

Did a little bit of clean-up in the front yard while I was wating for R to arrive. I've determined, regretfully, that my ceramic dragon is too severely shattered (by hail a while back) to be repaired. Alas!

And then there's the really bad news: I paid both insurance companies AND my car tag, which seemed my most pressing problems, only to find a final notice from the power company in today's mail. They won't grant an extension; I tried that right off.

At this point, I think I WOULD sell a kidney if I could get any takers.

Last night, it was so lovely to come in to my office after work and turn on my "new" lamp. It cast a soft glow over my desk and was very soothing after a day under fluorescents. Yes, I know incandescents are less "green" than those "Dairy Queen" bulbs---which I have in all the major fixtures---but they're so nice for a warm, golden ambience.

This morning I vacillated about going to church. Went, and am filled with hope---the Happy family was there, and R_Happy works on computers. I ran home as soon as the service was over and grabbed my free laptop and brought it back for his inspection. He took it with him and is going to work on it. From the symptoms I described, he *thinks* it's a loose connection between the keyboard and the motherboard. We'll see!

Did WalMart instead of going directly home, so I am set for basic groceries for the next couple of weeks, although I'm probably going to have to pick up some bathroom tissue. Not critically low, so that can wait.

I MUST do laundry....

I never did make it to the beach, but I DID see The Dark Knight. (It was dark. And LONG. And, no spoilers, but---there are NO cookies at the end of the credits. See, I just saved you twenty minutes, aren't you thrilled?!)

S & T got back late afternoon, and I hung out there for a while. T gave me an old laptop of his that hit the floor and is quasi-dead. It still turns on and boots up, the touch-pad mouse works okay, but the keyboard is peripetitic and the command keys, bupkis. Anybody out there ever taken apart a laptop and fixed it? Any suggestions? It has a wi-fi card, so it would be SWEET if I could get it working!

The Camaro is gone. Long-time readers may remember last year's drama, wherein I *thought* I was going to acquire it, but finally came to the conclusion that it was beyond me. Today, T's brother got it to take to a dealership as a trade-in. Bye-bye, I'm sorry it wasn't meant to be!

And now, to raid the fridge!