Broken Computer

Well, I've been away for a bit, and there's been a good reason for it. My computer broke - again. And I called Super Geek - again.

But this time, they did not call me back. I called last Saturday, and they have - to date - not called me back to make another appointment. 

So, I went onto my phone and Googled around to find somebody who would fix my computer. And I found a guy in my local area, Peter, who worked from his own house, and fixing computers is all he did. He was his own boss and has been working on computers and laptops for over 15 years. And the reviews I read over my breakfast were fantastic!

I called him and chatted with him about the treatment I had from Super Geek and he was disgusted - and he bit his tongue about his own thoughts of what Super Geek were really. Then, he told me exactly what kind of company they were - and that their quality of computer company people have slid in recent years.  I was convinced that he was the best person I could trust my computer with... and so, on Wednesday morning, I unplugged everything from the tower in my office and took it in to him. 

While I was there, he took a look at my hard drive and said there was nothing wrong with it - except it was 80% full... and was it okay to wipe it? I said yes, that when the computer was working, I got everything I could off it and onto an external hard drive. He was impressed I had thought of that. I said that it took over 4 hours and most of my sleeping time at night, so I didn't mind staying up late, so long it got done - and well, in truth, I had my suspicions that the computer wasn't going to work the next day (which turned out to be right).

I left my computer with him from around 9:45am until around 1pm Wednesday, while I visited a friend of mine - the first time in over a month - and we had a take away coffee from our favourite coffee place. We enjoyed our time, and I went to check my mail and while I was at my local post office, I found Peter had texted me about the computer - that it was ready to pick up.
I dropped by and he talked to me for around 40 minutes about what he had done to it... and that it's ready to go. And you know, it's running so much better now it's got the right programs in it. He said that this old hard drive could run for another two or three years, otherwise, the rest of the computer is up-to-date.

But you know, that's computers for ya. They'll be working one day, and screwing up the next. I'm so happy I could get this fixed. But I do want my money back on what Super Geek didn't do for me. And I'll be looking into that soon.

Back to the Real World

Yesterday, I went out to my art class and hadn't even left the unit complex when I saw a Dad walking his two kids out the front to see them off at the bus stop. But he had given one of them his phone to play with - the youngest one - and she proceeded to walk all over the road, in front of my car. Of course I stopped, waited until she was pulled of the road by her Dad and then crawled past. But she was out in front of my car again before I knew it with the phone up in front of her face not looking where she was going.

Now, her Dad became very frustrated with her and took the phone from her, pocketing it and telling her to watch where she was walking - which didn't do anything for her sense of direction. She took the phone from his pants pocket and started looking at it again (he didn't know she had done this). By this time, I was at the car gate waiting for it to open; and the little girl walked straight into the back of my car with the phone in her hand! Her Dad snatched it from her and walked around the driver's side and told both kids to 'come around here' but they walked around the passenger side of my and in front of my car (just as the car gate cleared my car) and ran to their Dad, who yelled at them. He spotted that his daughter had yet again had in her hands his phone! He grabbed it, put it away - again - and then smacked her, then her brother who asked him why he got smacked. The Dad told the older child it was for not doing as he was told (following his father's direct orders) and the youngest for taking the phone when he had confiscated it from her more than once and not watching where she was walking. 

Now... I watched this whole thing and am wondering exactly how are we going to bring up children to understand that those blue glowing screens aren't the end all and be all of everything? 

Okay, I have a smartphone and I use it a lot, but I don't go wandering around with it glued to my face all the time or have it plugged into my ears. I'm also on the computer and on the internet - but only for a certain amount of time. 

There has to be something done about the generation of children we're bringing into this world, as they're going to wind up so engrossed in their computer world that they won't understand or know what's going on around them. 

Seeing how I was brought up in the 1980's where computers were in their infancy, and now they fit neatly in our pockets, I think it'd be a great idea if this generation of children were introduced to a few days a week where they were disconnected from the Wifi completely just so they didn't have the convenience of Facebook, Google or texting their friends. This is so they are forced to get their backsides outside and to breath some fresh air and not air-conditioning, to pick up a real book, get in and and get their hands dirty with some gardening or taking out the rubbish without throwing an all-out tantrum that they're going to miss out on something online... oh yes, that all-famous FOMO. 

And before anyone jumps on here, telling me that's not possible, well, I have at least one day a week where I'm not online. I don't have Foxtel or Wifi in my house and I have recently gone without data on my smartphone and found it rather refreshing to not be bothered by endless texts or any weird phone calls from scammers (yes, they need to know if you've got data to actually call you - strange but true). It was nice, quiet and interestingly mind-clearing to not have data on my phone for a week, simply because I couldn't afford it. 

I seriously think it's time we all turned off our phones and computers for a day and dragged our families out into the real world kicking screaming to breath some air, look outside, turn our faces up to the blue, blue sky (which really isn't blue, but an illusion - I'm not going into here) and enjoy the lovely thing called Nature. Yes, we seem to be missing out on that lately. 

Busy Week

It's Thursday and today I've been able to sit down and write this - for once - because my week has been go, go, go for the whole time!  Honestly it has!

On Monday, I was at my craft group and we all chatted about what we got done over the last few weeks, seeing last week was a public holiday, and I showed the ladies my new hall table and the terrariums I worked on.  And then they cheered me on for getting myself into clearing out my house more too.

And then on Tuesday, I was inspecting some gardening I did when my neighbours asked how my computer was going.  I said it was a little on the slow side.  Well, Rickie said for me to bring it on over and I hesitated saying I didn't know which plug went where.  So, he jumped at the chance of getting in and fixing it where it sat, grabbing his box of stuff and landing on my doorstep in a minute!  His girlfriend came over too and we all hung out for the whole day chatting drinking tea and laughing over things.
Vanessa loved my place, saying it was cosy and very retro because of the old-fashioned furniture you don't find anymore; and it was cool I enjoyed having it around me.  I told her how I got all the pieces and then Rickie showed me the mother board he wanted to give me!  It was gamers mother board he didn't use, but it didn't fit into my HP Pavilion... so I said I'd save up for a new tower.  But, nope!  He wanted to go out and get one now... that day!  I looked at Vanessa asking if they were sure.

While we were standing in Game Dude on the service road, I asked why they were doing this for me.  She smiled saying that Rickie likes helping people out with their computers.  And she appreciated what I did for her and him by standing up for them when a certain resident cut back a shrub in the Body Corporate garden right back to a stump, making it look terrible - and making my neighbours look out at a horrible view.  This was their way of thanking me for doing something most people wouldn't.  And Rickie just wants to make sure my computer doesn't blow up on me, seeing I'm a writer and artist, I'll be needing it all the time.  Very cool!

Well, we spent a good part of the day hanging out while Rickie installed the computer and Vanessa saw the rest of my place all set out.  She loved the library of books in my spare room, saying it's wonderful that there's people out there who do love the real written word instead of the iPad or e-readers.  And then she saw my bedroom suite and said it's good to make sure you get something you like... and that one day she hopes to get something like mine because it's a matter of making yourself happy in life.  

I told my older brother about my day last night and he thought it was sweet!  He said there's nothin'  like having great neighbours who you really do get along with; and it's wonderful when you can just sit down and be yourself with them without wondering if they're being nice to get something out of you... and it sounds like mine are great people.  And they are.  

Yesterday, for me, it was shopping day.  I bought some things from Woodys'  and then went to K-Mart and bought two storage boxes - which were lined - for my scarves and shawls and sarongs, and then got some hangers which clipped onto my jeans for the wardrobe.  It was very cool.  When I got home, I found I didn't have an original copy of Windows7 and the computer wouldn't boot up properly.  So, Rickie came over and installed Windows - after I backed up everything on my external hard drive.  

Tomorrow, I'm out and about again.  This time, I'm having lunch at Mt Coot-tha with my great friend, Susan.  And what a place to have lunch!  Even if it's raining, we ought to have a wonderful time!  I can't wait to see her.  It'll be the first time she's seen my new car. 
This morning, I got the car washed, two loads of laundry done (and hung out on the clothes horse) and then I had to fiddle on the computer again... I'm still wondering how to get the Windows7 working.  Looks like I'll have to get Rickie or Vanessa over to help me with it as it's not working the way it did the last time.  Until my next post, take care, stay safe and remember, I'm always here.

Early Start

This morning, I was up at around 7am... well, okay, I was dozing but not physically up and around.  My bed and was nice and warm and it was cold out.  Seeing I was in a rare comfy spot in my bed, I didn't really want to get out of it too soon.  But off went my 7:30am alarm and I was out of the nice warm covers of my feather duvet and into the bathroom for a hot shower to wake up - to try to anyway!
Today, I was being picked up by my folks to house sit for the day - and dog mind too.  They were asked to mind Mindy, a friend's dog who is the kindest, most wonderful and quietest dog I've ever come across.  Mindy is a lovely dog who follows anyone around who she knows.  She's a darling pooch and she enjoys being patted, going for long, long walks and literally shakes with joy when it comes to having a ball thrown around the yard!  Her back legs shake like jelly and she almost wiggles herself into a sitting position, she's so eager to go after that ball!  Such a wonderful dog... and she looks for people who have left the house and are supposed to come back.  A wonderful intelligent dog to be around.  But she's so quiet I'm forgetting she's around as she's sleeping a lot.

Today, though I brought along a lot of stuff to keep myself occupied.  There's my Crafty Pegs things that I've brought with me.  This includes an extra set of painting clothes - so my good clothes don't get messed up with acrylic paint - and so I brought along my usual craft gear.
Then, I brought along my preparations for dinner:  Pumpkin and Walnut Cannelloni.  What a delicious meal!  I've started looking into perfecting this dish as it's so lovely to create! I'll add the recipe to this dish in a separate post today - it sounds complex, but once you get into the swing of working it, it's so very simple.  And if your family isn't big on pumpkin, you can fill the cannelloni shells with anything really; so long you have the right herbs to go with your meal and time to do it (as it takes around 2 hours out of your afternoon to prepare).
And for tonight's entertainment, I brought along my box set of 'Angel' watch - just in case my folks aren't home in time.  However if they are, I'll take it home and watch it there instead.  And we'll be eating all the cannelloni together.  Very cool.. I hope they like it; as they're out today for a very long day out at my brother's house for a working bee there and will be very tired... and I'm sure this dinner will be something they will look forward to when they arrived home.

Otherwise, I'm hoping to get some writing and editing done and some reading of one of the books I've been looking at next to my bed lately:  'The Wastelands' by Stephen King - one of the books from his 'Dark Tower' series.  I've missed reading it; and really do look forward to reading the others of it and getting it finished over the next year or so; as I've got a few other book series' I'd like to get my nose into once I've finished this one.  Well, what are you all up to over the weekend in your part of the world?  Do please leave a comment and let us all know.  Until my next post, take care, keep safe and warm and remember I'm always here.      

One Heck Of A Week!

Just when I thought my week was going to be easy, it turned into a week of being not.  Right from the get go, it started out being a very busy week and didn't let go of me; not until this morning when I could sit down and take my time with things.

I'll begin at the beginning - a very good place to start of course.  Sunday was a wet kinda day, so all my laundry ended up being inside instead of out on the line as planned.  I couldn't do anything else around the place I had planned, so I washed up and ended up on the computer here surfing the net and doing some writing.  
Monday was a massive day out.  I was away early on the bus to Garden City where I bought myself a Diamond Touch at the Shaver Shop for $20.  This thing is fantastic.  Do try it out.  I also bought an Easy Step Mat which sucks up all the dirt off your shoes and keeps you from tracking it all through your house.  A great thing!  It was also $20 at Big W.  Before I knew it, I was off to Springwood by bus to pick up a free-standing coat rack from Target.
While at Springwood, I was also going to attend my Craft Group at the Springwood East Community Centre.  I arrived at Mum and Dad's place just on 11:30am; a mere half and hour before my group was to start!  So, I unpacked my gear, grabbed a drink container and made my drink and prepared myself for the afternoon and headed on up to the centre.  While there, I painted two clothes pegs and had great laughs with the girls and then - before we knew it, after some builders put in a set of double doors at one end of the hall - it was 3pm.  I packed up my gear and walked back to my parent's house.  This was my Monday.  I was stuffed.  I spent an hour putting together the coat rack with IKEA-like instructions and a pretty picture on the front of the box with the idea that I needed a spanner but really when I looked at how it went together, I needed a screwdriver.  And by the time I figured out how it went together, I wanted something as stiff as the drink and not the tool!

On Tuesday, I dragged myself out of bed, shoulders killing me, and wishing I had more sleep to my night.  I was going out again!  This time, I bussed it to Mum and Dad's place to sort out two boxes of my childhood toys.  They had been boxed up when I was in high school and put away by my folks and now it was time for me to look into them.  So much of this brought back memories, it was amazing!

A Blast From My Past 

I thought a story from photobucket would be better than a series of photos... it was a lot more fun to put together too.  Hope you guys enjoy it; and you remember toys from your time here too, as well as some things from World Expo '88.

Wednesday was my only day off.  But it didn't mean I didn't have any problems.  I had my fair share of them.  The computer I'm on now played up big.  When I turned it on, it went back to the factory settings; deleting all my photos and acting as though I had just bought it and turned it on.  And yet, it knew I needed a password to get into it.  Stupid thing!  So, I called Mum and Dad on their mobile and they came around for some coffee and Dad looked at it saying his computer did the same thing the other day.  I did remember my stereo system played up a little, with the 3-cd platter doing a little dance and getting stuck before behaving itself (and it hadn't done that since I bought it).  So, something was going on!  When we turned the computer back on, it was all back to normal - stupid thing!

Well, yesterday, I was off to the doctors to get checked up at the gynie.  He and I chatted about what the Pill did to me last year and he said it was good I stopped taking it; we'll try something else, seeing I can't take anything to do with the Pill now we know what it does to me.  He had a look and said surgery to remove the cyst was my best option now and to put in an IUD to help with contraception.  I won't be having the operation until next month, so I have plenty of time to get my house and life into shape for somebody to stay with me for a bit afterwards.

Today, I'm off on a date with a lovely man, Jeremy Murphy.  He and I are having lunch in a little over an hour's time.  I hope it works out well and we get along okay.  I haven't seen him online this morning, so I'm guessing he's on his way to the restaurant we agreed on.  
So, this was my week.  How was yours?  Good and busy like mine?  Or slow and sunny and relaxing?  Let me know, I'd love to hear about it.  Until my next post, take care keep safe and warm and remember, I'm always here.       

Weekends

It's been a busy old weekend, but also a strange one as I'm without my mobile for the next day or so.  You see, my older brother upgraded to a new smart phone and generously gave me his old smart phone so I could get used to having one before buying one for myself later this year.  Well, he didn't delete all his e-mails and internet downloads off it and now the memory is full... so I've given it to Mum and Dad to take to his place at Brighton so he can do that and I can use it again.  This has caused me to learn more about my iPod; that it's got an alarm clock in it! How cool is that?

Well, yesterday I was off to the Logan North Library to the Logan Writers' Forum - the first for this year - to see the future of this group.  After my dear friend passed away, I promised myself to get more active with my writing and creative life; and I am.  At this meeting, there was a guest speaker who told us about how the publishing world is changing around us very quickly.  It was fascinating and I wanted to know more.  So, I got talking to Anthony Puttee who worked for BookCover Cafe and he gave me his business card.  He was impressed I already had a book out, but not surprised it wasn't doing well and liked it that it was of what people were reading and will want to read in the future.  I said I was writing vampire and horror when it wasn't the thing to read; and people were laughing at me about it.  I had a few people tell me that I was ahead of my time when I was young then.
After the meeting finished, Wendy Johnson (who picked me up from home) dropped me at Mum and Dad's house.  It was good to see them.  I needed to look for something there, but I didn't find it.  So, I hung about on the net and looked at the news reports about the meteorite that landed in Russia.  It was amazing!  I found one on youtube and there were over 60 sonic booms after the initial one that I could count... amazing! 
Aunty Helen arrived and she started going through a few things with Mum and Dad.  Meanwhile I looked on my iPod for another book to read.  Now, when I download books off iTunes, I have promised to get books that are over 800 pages long so I can carry them with me without them being phyically too heavy.  So, this is why I read off my iPod now... so, I downloaded Leo Tolstoy's 'Anna Karenina', which has been turned into a film and is now showing at all the cinemas.  However, seeing I'm not one to go to the cinemas anymore, I'd much rather read the book.

Last night, it rained for a good part of the night.  I caught one of the cats from over the back in my yard and had to chase it out.  It was curiously looking through my back door... guess it wanted to know who I was.  Jumpy little thing.  Anyway, I was in bed early but couldn't sleep until around midnight.  
Today, I made pancakes from scratch, mowed the lawn, clipped the edges, pulled out some weeds and then did two loads of laundry and hung it out on the clothes horse.  The washing up needs doing, but that will be done this afternoon.  Otherwise, I'm going okay with everything.  The computer is working well and I have been able to download skype without it destroying anything (touch wood!) and now, I've got to get the Word program working to see if it'll do something for me.
This afternoon, I'll be taking it easy.  Then, tomorrow, I'll be out and about again to a craft group at Springwood to learn how to crochet... and seeing I'm a lefty, it could be a real challenge. Until my next post, take care, keep safe and warm/cool and remember, I'm always here.