Welcome my new Renter "Va Va Voom."
Please go visit her this week. I think that she thought that my price of 80 credits for about 1000 hits was expensive, but liked my template so she bid anyway. Luckily my price for bidding came down from my usual 100 credits. LOL. I see people charging 300 or 400 credits for similar or even less hits. It's all in the stats folks.
I had lots of bidders this week so I apologize to all of those that I had to turn down. It was nothing personal!
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Indiana again
Night 3 in the Hotel. Tonight we ate at Longhorn Steakhouse, I had steamed mixed veggies and grilled chicken breast topped with peppers, mushrooms, onions, shrimp, and a sauce... and a baked sweet potato with cinnamon. Yum. South Beach friendly all the way but I still feel like I might have gained 60 pounds on this trip. I went for a long walk around Indianapolis, in a Northern Suburb like area, took some pictures, and got my muscles working and some fresh air since it got nice and sunny today finally. I walked for an hour at a good pace... and when I came back and sat on the bed my leg muscles were all twitching so I know it worked. But I still can't wait to get home.
Tomorrow is our last day of HDA Class so tomorrow morning in addition to getting ready for class, I will be packing up everything before class and checking out of the hotel. Then after class we will make the drive back to Illinois, gaining an hour on the way there.
I found out today that Indiana just got a new time zone recently, and it messed up all the Microsoft Operating Systems because there was no time zone in the system. Microsoft sent out a patch and it was a MAJOR issue for Indiana tech folks because it messed up everyone's outlook calendars when it shifted their appointment times. Interesting...
Today we saw an Indy car and a Big foot (see flickr photos) and we took a long nighttime cruise around town, checking out suburbs, houses and subdivisions, businesses, etc. Now I am kinda watching the incredibles, which I have never seen and always wanted to.
Have a nice night and I will be HOME soon!
YEAH!
Tomorrow is our last day of HDA Class so tomorrow morning in addition to getting ready for class, I will be packing up everything before class and checking out of the hotel. Then after class we will make the drive back to Illinois, gaining an hour on the way there.
I found out today that Indiana just got a new time zone recently, and it messed up all the Microsoft Operating Systems because there was no time zone in the system. Microsoft sent out a patch and it was a MAJOR issue for Indiana tech folks because it messed up everyone's outlook calendars when it shifted their appointment times. Interesting...
Today we saw an Indy car and a Big foot (see flickr photos) and we took a long nighttime cruise around town, checking out suburbs, houses and subdivisions, businesses, etc. Now I am kinda watching the incredibles, which I have never seen and always wanted to.
Have a nice night and I will be HOME soon!
YEAH!
Internet helpdesk...
Check this out. Safe for work Video... We saw it in our Helpdesk Analyst Bootcamp Class today...
http://www.deadtroll.com/index2.html?/video/helldeskcable.html~content
The funny thing is that I used to have that Rage Against the Machine t-shirt.
It's a great great video that is kinda like the story of my life. LOL.
And he has lots of other great stuff, including the "System Administrator" Song.
I'll tag this post later when I get to a PC with Mozilla and my Greasemonkey extensions.
http://www.deadtroll.com/index2.html?/video/helldeskcable.html~content
The funny thing is that I used to have that Rage Against the Machine t-shirt.
It's a great great video that is kinda like the story of my life. LOL.
And he has lots of other great stuff, including the "System Administrator" Song.
I'll tag this post later when I get to a PC with Mozilla and my Greasemonkey extensions.
Monday, May 15, 2006
The Recap (Chicago, Cubs, Wrigleyville, Indianapolis)
Whew! Just got back from Dinner at Joe's Crab Shack. It's 10:23pm Indiana time and I was able to talk to husband on the phone a little bit, which was nice. Dinner was DELICIOUS and my co-worker and I had a nice dinner chat, it was just good overall.
I just settled down in my pajamas, turned on the laptop, put on my headphones and started the Jack Johnson playlist on iTunes. Life is good. Even away from home. I just need to digest before I sleep, and I do have homework still.
I am taking a "Helpdesk Analyst Bootcamp" Course at Signal Learning (Serious IT Training.) The course has an exam certification that I am not sure we are supposed to take, because my employer would have to pay for it. But the class is good, seems to be worth it, but you can never really tell unless you get back and see if the rest of your co-workers want to implement the plan.
I did walk on the treadmill tonight for a little bit after my two hour nap. Nothing better than 5 pillows on your own king sized bed and room darkening shades to knock your ass out.
I have been trying to eat okay, but it is SOOO hard when all you can have is "eating out." Many places just don't have a south beach friendly menu. For breakfast I had a multigrain bagel toasted with cream cheese and some apple juice. Too many carbs but it was that or cookies/muffins. Lunch I had a Philly Chicken Open faced sandwich, and I didn't eat any of the bread... so it was basically chicken pieces (grilled not breaded) with onions, peppers, and mushrooms with melted mozarella. And Cottage Cheese. For supper I had broiled lemon pepper tilapia, rice with vegetables, corn on the cob, and salad. And I had a little fried Calamari... appetizer that we shared. But I tried to keep it okay. It's tough! I am feeling like I am swelling again, or maybe it's just seeing the photos from Wrigley Field and my giant round body and giant round head still there, despite losing 17 pounds. Ugh. More walking tomorrow.
Well... I know I said I was going to blog about the Chicago trip, but I am tired and that seems like old news.... but I will give a recap.
We went to Bernies on Clark Street which is the bar across from the field, on the corner. We had drinks and food outside, I had chicken Quesidillas and Angela ordered fries (some of which I ate even though I shouldn't have.) And then PG bought peanuts and PISTASCHIOS~! from a guy on the corner who was super cool, and then we went inside and got to our seats, which were AWESOME! PG is a season ticketholder. We sat in the outfield, outside the foul line behind 3rd base. We had a great view of everything. It didn't rain. It was cool out but it didn't rain.
I felt alot like an unattractive pack mule though because I was hauling around a jacket, sweatshirt, and umbrella just in case, and it only got worse as the day went on and we acquired more shit. AND I had on a pink cubs tshirt that I spilled Quesidilla juice on before we even got INTO Wrigley, so that pissed me off a bit. I had to wear my sweatshirt anyway then cuz it cooled off.
I have to be honest, how the day went and how we had imagined it were not exactly in sync. PG Wanted to be sure that we got the whole "wrigleyville/Cubs game experience" But we just really weren't up to it OR into it.
Evan and I thought we were going to go to the game and then out to eat and then either stay at Angies or go home. But instead we went from Bar to Bar, where it was PACKED with people, a d we were walking and lugging all our crap. I don;t mind the walking but it was so packed I had to hold Evan's hand so I didn't get seperated from him.
And we were dressed in sweatshirts and long john shirts, not like "Chicago bar" attire... so we looked crappy compared to the trendy yuppies in black as far as the eye can see. But the part that we didn't like was not being able to sit down, or walk, and being crowded in the bar like sardines. We went to Tryst on Clark Street in Wrigleyville. You can tell by their website how they describe themselves as "upscale" contemporary and all that jazz. We were just out of place. Evan and I both had headaches and were exhausted already.
We had been up since 7am and were on the road for 3 hours and through traffic to get there, picked up Angela on the way and drove to PG's downtown. We hadn't got much sleep the night before with laundry and prep and packing... so we were tired. Then we went to Sluggers/Dueling Pianos, which was also on clark, and pretty cool. It was more laid back and casual and the usual bar environment. I took video of some chicks pole dancing on the pianos (maybe online soon) and also we requested a song, did the whole thing. IT was then that I realized Evan not looking too happy and then not looking like he felt good, and I realized that PG Kept bringing him alcohol that he didn't want, and his headache was worse, and he hadn't eaten.
We stayed there much longer than either Evan or I anticipated, and even I was getting antsy. I didn't want to be rude so we hung out. PG is great and I didn't want to seem ungrateful. But what he didn't realize is that the Wrigleyville experience wasn't something we really wanted, the Cubs game was exciting enough for us.
So PG's friend Rene came, and she was GREAT. We were all so glad to meet her and we seemed to all click pretty instantly. She moved to Chicago from NYC recently. We all went to Club Lucky, and we were excited about that, but the cab ride was rough and I started to feel car sick, little did I know that Evan was feeling the same way but much worse.. and by the time our food came he looked positively GREEN. I felt so bad for him. I know how terrible it feels to be nauseous and have a headache, let alone when you are miles and miles from home, or from ANYONE's home. The food was good, as usual. Evan ate half of his meal and then went to get some air. I knew right then that he would be sick.
I ended up having to excuse myself from the table because I was so worried about him and everyone else was talking and enjoying coffee and dessert, but I couldn't concentrate and I was so worried. I went outside and Evan and I waited together for everyone else to be done. PG bought dinner, for which I am so grateful but didn't get to tell him. I feel bad because I am sure he thought I was such a bitch, but I just KNOW how sick Evan was and how miserable he was. Evan had to Rally to make it through the cab ride home, and we didn't even get inside PG's and he was throwing up in the front yard. Poor guy. I felt so bad. We had a nice time chatting at PG's for a while, and we got to know Rene better, while Evan slept on the floor until he felt good enough to go back to the suburbs so we could stay at Angie's. Rene and I started talking about blogging, and famous bloggers, and blogs she reads, and also about people getting fired for blogging or being outed from a "secret" blog identity. She told me about Chicago and NYC bloggers who had been outed by someone, I found that very interesting and right up my alley.
Angela was so kind and let us have her bed and she took the couch. We slept like rocks, then got up and drove home... buying a Chicago street map on the way home. I had about 4 hours at home, where I did laundry and packed more clothes for Indianapolis, and saw the dogs. Then we went to Princeton to grab some food and I met my co-worker for our 4 hour drive to Indy. We saw the speedway as soon as we got into town. The Qualifying got rained out last Saturday, and again on Sunday. Practice is scheduled to start again this Wednesday, and then will try the Qualifying again this weekend. The news is abuzz with Danica Patrick interviews and other race info, like the return of Al Unser Jr after his "retirement." It's interesting. If we were able, I would love to go see the practices... but we have class and then we have to head for home.
SO that's it in a nutshell, and now I had better get to my homework or I will regret it in the morning when I have to get up at 7am instead of my regular 9am!
People, please comment and email me. I totally need communication out here in Indy all alone. I keep checking for emails and comments but I have none. Entertain me. Don't leave me hanging! Puh-LEASE!
I just settled down in my pajamas, turned on the laptop, put on my headphones and started the Jack Johnson playlist on iTunes. Life is good. Even away from home. I just need to digest before I sleep, and I do have homework still.
I am taking a "Helpdesk Analyst Bootcamp" Course at Signal Learning (Serious IT Training.) The course has an exam certification that I am not sure we are supposed to take, because my employer would have to pay for it. But the class is good, seems to be worth it, but you can never really tell unless you get back and see if the rest of your co-workers want to implement the plan.
I did walk on the treadmill tonight for a little bit after my two hour nap. Nothing better than 5 pillows on your own king sized bed and room darkening shades to knock your ass out.
I have been trying to eat okay, but it is SOOO hard when all you can have is "eating out." Many places just don't have a south beach friendly menu. For breakfast I had a multigrain bagel toasted with cream cheese and some apple juice. Too many carbs but it was that or cookies/muffins. Lunch I had a Philly Chicken Open faced sandwich, and I didn't eat any of the bread... so it was basically chicken pieces (grilled not breaded) with onions, peppers, and mushrooms with melted mozarella. And Cottage Cheese. For supper I had broiled lemon pepper tilapia, rice with vegetables, corn on the cob, and salad. And I had a little fried Calamari... appetizer that we shared. But I tried to keep it okay. It's tough! I am feeling like I am swelling again, or maybe it's just seeing the photos from Wrigley Field and my giant round body and giant round head still there, despite losing 17 pounds. Ugh. More walking tomorrow.
Well... I know I said I was going to blog about the Chicago trip, but I am tired and that seems like old news.... but I will give a recap.
We went to Bernies on Clark Street which is the bar across from the field, on the corner. We had drinks and food outside, I had chicken Quesidillas and Angela ordered fries (some of which I ate even though I shouldn't have.) And then PG bought peanuts and PISTASCHIOS~! from a guy on the corner who was super cool, and then we went inside and got to our seats, which were AWESOME! PG is a season ticketholder. We sat in the outfield, outside the foul line behind 3rd base. We had a great view of everything. It didn't rain. It was cool out but it didn't rain.
I felt alot like an unattractive pack mule though because I was hauling around a jacket, sweatshirt, and umbrella just in case, and it only got worse as the day went on and we acquired more shit. AND I had on a pink cubs tshirt that I spilled Quesidilla juice on before we even got INTO Wrigley, so that pissed me off a bit. I had to wear my sweatshirt anyway then cuz it cooled off.
I have to be honest, how the day went and how we had imagined it were not exactly in sync. PG Wanted to be sure that we got the whole "wrigleyville/Cubs game experience" But we just really weren't up to it OR into it.
Evan and I thought we were going to go to the game and then out to eat and then either stay at Angies or go home. But instead we went from Bar to Bar, where it was PACKED with people, a d we were walking and lugging all our crap. I don;t mind the walking but it was so packed I had to hold Evan's hand so I didn't get seperated from him.
And we were dressed in sweatshirts and long john shirts, not like "Chicago bar" attire... so we looked crappy compared to the trendy yuppies in black as far as the eye can see. But the part that we didn't like was not being able to sit down, or walk, and being crowded in the bar like sardines. We went to Tryst on Clark Street in Wrigleyville. You can tell by their website how they describe themselves as "upscale" contemporary and all that jazz. We were just out of place. Evan and I both had headaches and were exhausted already.
We had been up since 7am and were on the road for 3 hours and through traffic to get there, picked up Angela on the way and drove to PG's downtown. We hadn't got much sleep the night before with laundry and prep and packing... so we were tired. Then we went to Sluggers/Dueling Pianos, which was also on clark, and pretty cool. It was more laid back and casual and the usual bar environment. I took video of some chicks pole dancing on the pianos (maybe online soon) and also we requested a song, did the whole thing. IT was then that I realized Evan not looking too happy and then not looking like he felt good, and I realized that PG Kept bringing him alcohol that he didn't want, and his headache was worse, and he hadn't eaten.
We stayed there much longer than either Evan or I anticipated, and even I was getting antsy. I didn't want to be rude so we hung out. PG is great and I didn't want to seem ungrateful. But what he didn't realize is that the Wrigleyville experience wasn't something we really wanted, the Cubs game was exciting enough for us.
So PG's friend Rene came, and she was GREAT. We were all so glad to meet her and we seemed to all click pretty instantly. She moved to Chicago from NYC recently. We all went to Club Lucky, and we were excited about that, but the cab ride was rough and I started to feel car sick, little did I know that Evan was feeling the same way but much worse.. and by the time our food came he looked positively GREEN. I felt so bad for him. I know how terrible it feels to be nauseous and have a headache, let alone when you are miles and miles from home, or from ANYONE's home. The food was good, as usual. Evan ate half of his meal and then went to get some air. I knew right then that he would be sick.
I ended up having to excuse myself from the table because I was so worried about him and everyone else was talking and enjoying coffee and dessert, but I couldn't concentrate and I was so worried. I went outside and Evan and I waited together for everyone else to be done. PG bought dinner, for which I am so grateful but didn't get to tell him. I feel bad because I am sure he thought I was such a bitch, but I just KNOW how sick Evan was and how miserable he was. Evan had to Rally to make it through the cab ride home, and we didn't even get inside PG's and he was throwing up in the front yard. Poor guy. I felt so bad. We had a nice time chatting at PG's for a while, and we got to know Rene better, while Evan slept on the floor until he felt good enough to go back to the suburbs so we could stay at Angie's. Rene and I started talking about blogging, and famous bloggers, and blogs she reads, and also about people getting fired for blogging or being outed from a "secret" blog identity. She told me about Chicago and NYC bloggers who had been outed by someone, I found that very interesting and right up my alley.
Angela was so kind and let us have her bed and she took the couch. We slept like rocks, then got up and drove home... buying a Chicago street map on the way home. I had about 4 hours at home, where I did laundry and packed more clothes for Indianapolis, and saw the dogs. Then we went to Princeton to grab some food and I met my co-worker for our 4 hour drive to Indy. We saw the speedway as soon as we got into town. The Qualifying got rained out last Saturday, and again on Sunday. Practice is scheduled to start again this Wednesday, and then will try the Qualifying again this weekend. The news is abuzz with Danica Patrick interviews and other race info, like the return of Al Unser Jr after his "retirement." It's interesting. If we were able, I would love to go see the practices... but we have class and then we have to head for home.
SO that's it in a nutshell, and now I had better get to my homework or I will regret it in the morning when I have to get up at 7am instead of my regular 9am!
People, please comment and email me. I totally need communication out here in Indy all alone. I keep checking for emails and comments but I have none. Entertain me. Don't leave me hanging! Puh-LEASE!
Angela and Meagan at the Cubs game
Peruse my flickr Albums for all the cubs photos, pictures of my hotel room in Indianapolis (where I am right now) and of Evan giving the dogs baths on Friday night. I am so tired that I need a nap, but stop back by later for the full scoop, or at least as much of it as I can stand to type.
Indianapolis
Hey, just to let you all know I am alive and well in Indianapolis. Our hotel doesn't have free internet (cheap bastards) so I have lots to post, but I will have to do it later when I can find a hotspot. I have lots to say about this past weekend~ our trip to Chicago and to the Cubs game, and Now that I am in Indiana and have seen the speedway and all that jazz... so I stay tuned for some long posts and cubbies pictures.
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Welcome to Indianapolis Indiana, Home of the Indy 500
Well, it is Sunday night, 11:05pm
So this weekend was LONG. We went to
I noted that while my room is nice, my smoke detector looks older than me, and I am less than thrilled. But I am on the second floor and fully prepared to throw that floor lamp through the window and tie sheets together and climb down to safety, with those king sized pillows tossed below to stop me from landing in the broken window glass. I Have a Plan. (In case of emergency.)
Well, since I have spent 6.5 hours in the car today, as a passenger, I am tired. My butt hurts. My neck hurts. If I were rich I would totally go get a massage. But I am not. So off to bed with me so I can get up in the morning.
Friday, May 12, 2006
New Pictures.....
YEAH!!! YEAH!!! I found the wedding reception picture CD's! YEAH! Um, in the bedroom, in a canvas tote on the bottom shelf of my nightstand? Um. Yeah. No wonder I didn't know where the hell to look. So I uploaded them all, there are 159, lots of them are FAMILY family FaMiLy... and it took me almost TWO HOURS to get them all uploaded. Whoa! So go check them out at my Flickr Photos.... Wedding Reception Album.
Engaged/Thanksgiving/Birthday
Christmas 2003
December 2004
Evan in Vancouver 2003
October 2004
Fishing For Dad's B-day 2004
Engaged/Thanksgiving/Birthday
Christmas 2003
December 2004
Evan in Vancouver 2003
October 2004
Fishing For Dad's B-day 2004
eCost.com can Bite my Ass!
Pissed! L-I-V-I-D!
Ordered Memory yesterday for my laptop. Wanted it ASAP (today) So I paid overnight shipping. Today at 4:30, when it still hadn't arrived, I called them.
The DAMN thing is on BACKORDER?! Don't you think that if I spent $200 with you and paid $20 for overnight shipping, you would think I was concerned that I got the item quickly and you would notify me IMMEDIATELY when you discovered that the item was unavailable? Especially if you had my home phone, cell phone, and email address? Um. Hell-O!
I was SOOOOO pissed. I asked why I wasn't notified. I was told "you should have been."
ARGH! So I luckily was able to call Tiger Direct, and in the end ordered the memory for $55 less and even though they couldn't get it out today, and there is no Saturday "next day" delivery, I did get 2nd day for $14.99 so I should have it when I get back on Wednesday. Although I am frustrated that I can't take it with me, that's what I get for trusting some stupid company and not checking up on the order earlier than 4pm.
So, yeah. Don't buy from ecost.com ~ Evaaahhhh!
**UPDATE~STILL PISSED! Have been on the phone for almost 40 minutes now, being passed back and forth through Tiger Direct. Why? Because DUMBASSES at eCost.com have placed a hold on my credit card for the amount of the product, and now when someone else tries to charge anything, THERE'S NO FREAKING MONEY! ARGH!!!! What is up with my life? Can it Get any worse? (probably, I am just asking for it, right?) So now I am trying to pay via paypal and I have been holiding forever to get back to customer service, which is where I STARTED when I placed the order 40 minutes ago. Well Luckily I got through to get the damn thing paid via paypal, but that requires "additional processing time" and therefore I probably won't have it until Wednesday or Thursday now. DAMN eCost.com! I HATE YOU!
Ordered Memory yesterday for my laptop. Wanted it ASAP (today) So I paid overnight shipping. Today at 4:30, when it still hadn't arrived, I called them.
The DAMN thing is on BACKORDER?! Don't you think that if I spent $200 with you and paid $20 for overnight shipping, you would think I was concerned that I got the item quickly and you would notify me IMMEDIATELY when you discovered that the item was unavailable? Especially if you had my home phone, cell phone, and email address? Um. Hell-O!
I was SOOOOO pissed. I asked why I wasn't notified. I was told "you should have been."
ARGH! So I luckily was able to call Tiger Direct, and in the end ordered the memory for $55 less and even though they couldn't get it out today, and there is no Saturday "next day" delivery, I did get 2nd day for $14.99 so I should have it when I get back on Wednesday. Although I am frustrated that I can't take it with me, that's what I get for trusting some stupid company and not checking up on the order earlier than 4pm.
So, yeah. Don't buy from ecost.com ~ Evaaahhhh!
**UPDATE~STILL PISSED! Have been on the phone for almost 40 minutes now, being passed back and forth through Tiger Direct. Why? Because DUMBASSES at eCost.com have placed a hold on my credit card for the amount of the product, and now when someone else tries to charge anything, THERE'S NO FREAKING MONEY! ARGH!!!! What is up with my life? Can it Get any worse? (probably, I am just asking for it, right?) So now I am trying to pay via paypal and I have been holiding forever to get back to customer service, which is where I STARTED when I placed the order 40 minutes ago. Well Luckily I got through to get the damn thing paid via paypal, but that requires "additional processing time" and therefore I probably won't have it until Wednesday or Thursday now. DAMN eCost.com! I HATE YOU!
The Laptop Revival
Last night at around 9pm I decided to start the process of reformatting my hard drive. I bought a new memory chip and it SHOULD be on it's way. I dumped the contents of my hard drive onto the external USB Hard drive we have. It took 120 minutes to dump it, mostly because of my 3 gig iTunes Library.
Then I couldn't find my restore disks. I thought I had my husband's (his laptop is almost identical, same brand and series, but more memory and a dvd burner.) Finally discovered that it was my restore disks I had found, but some of my software was "missing" and husband found it in his car, which although suspicious, he promises he didn't use it, so I believe him. (because I know he couldn't install it with my code because he would have to call Microsoft to authenticate and they would know he wasn't me.)
So once I restored the hard drive, I was SOOO thrilled with how fast it was. It only took half the time to dump the same stuff back onto the hard drive, which was awesome. I reinstalled Office 2003, got my firewall and antivirus on there... and then got my windows updates done, which were HUGE as there were 45 for XP including SP2 since the original restore disks were made.
I noticed that AS SOON as I put Norton 2006 on there, my computer started to bog down and take twice as long to start, and twice as long to respond to clicks. That Fucking program. I don't understand?! It doesn't do that on my home PC. The whole laptop us up and looks ready but you can't click anything because Norton hasn't loaded yet. I don't want to remove it from the startup because I want it working. But I am tempted to uninstall it and go free of virus protection. I don't have any problems with a Zone Alarm firewall/Norton Antivirus combo on either of the other two PC's that I am running it on, but Norton bogs down Zone alarm something terrible on this laptop. Even after completely reformatting. How frustrating!
I have noticed that especially the new "Norton Protection Center" is causing issues in Norton 2006. As a default, it shows the window each time you start your computer. WTF? uh. No! So I disabled that and all other Norton Protection Center Alerts. Whatever. Get off my back. I also removed as many system tray icons and pop-up alerts as possible. As an advanced user I don't need all that crap. It's really frustrating. So hopefully that will help. I also turned off the integration between Norton and Zone Alarm, since Norton thinks it needs to monitor my firewall. It doesn't. Zone Alarm is perfectly able to handle itself and I don't need DOUBLE pop ups and notifications for firewall activity. We will see, but I bet you Norton doesn't last long on this machine. If I haven't ripped it off in the next two days it will be a miracle.
Now I need to get all my greasemonkey extensions and other firefox extensions installed on the laptop, and iTunes. Then next will be all the graphic and web design programs. And then we will see what happens. Hopefully when I put the new memory in (hopefully tonight!) it will just hum right along. Right now it's hard to have Adobe Photoshop, and Dreamweaver open at once, let along the 10 programs I can have open at work or home on 512mb. I can't WAIT for a GIG! Yippee!
:) Have a lovely evening!
Then I couldn't find my restore disks. I thought I had my husband's (his laptop is almost identical, same brand and series, but more memory and a dvd burner.) Finally discovered that it was my restore disks I had found, but some of my software was "missing" and husband found it in his car, which although suspicious, he promises he didn't use it, so I believe him. (because I know he couldn't install it with my code because he would have to call Microsoft to authenticate and they would know he wasn't me.)
So once I restored the hard drive, I was SOOO thrilled with how fast it was. It only took half the time to dump the same stuff back onto the hard drive, which was awesome. I reinstalled Office 2003, got my firewall and antivirus on there... and then got my windows updates done, which were HUGE as there were 45 for XP including SP2 since the original restore disks were made.
I noticed that AS SOON as I put Norton 2006 on there, my computer started to bog down and take twice as long to start, and twice as long to respond to clicks. That Fucking program. I don't understand?! It doesn't do that on my home PC. The whole laptop us up and looks ready but you can't click anything because Norton hasn't loaded yet. I don't want to remove it from the startup because I want it working. But I am tempted to uninstall it and go free of virus protection. I don't have any problems with a Zone Alarm firewall/Norton Antivirus combo on either of the other two PC's that I am running it on, but Norton bogs down Zone alarm something terrible on this laptop. Even after completely reformatting. How frustrating!
I have noticed that especially the new "Norton Protection Center" is causing issues in Norton 2006. As a default, it shows the window each time you start your computer. WTF? uh. No! So I disabled that and all other Norton Protection Center Alerts. Whatever. Get off my back. I also removed as many system tray icons and pop-up alerts as possible. As an advanced user I don't need all that crap. It's really frustrating. So hopefully that will help. I also turned off the integration between Norton and Zone Alarm, since Norton thinks it needs to monitor my firewall. It doesn't. Zone Alarm is perfectly able to handle itself and I don't need DOUBLE pop ups and notifications for firewall activity. We will see, but I bet you Norton doesn't last long on this machine. If I haven't ripped it off in the next two days it will be a miracle.
Now I need to get all my greasemonkey extensions and other firefox extensions installed on the laptop, and iTunes. Then next will be all the graphic and web design programs. And then we will see what happens. Hopefully when I put the new memory in (hopefully tonight!) it will just hum right along. Right now it's hard to have Adobe Photoshop, and Dreamweaver open at once, let along the 10 programs I can have open at work or home on 512mb. I can't WAIT for a GIG! Yippee!
:) Have a lovely evening!
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Hair today.
For anyone browsing through for my HNT post, this is not it. My HNT is below, two posts down. Thanks.
100% Upgradeable
Sometimes I don't mind it when it rains. Like if it wants to rain while I am at work? Great. If it wants to rain when the garden is dry? Fine. This week is another one of those weeks where it was supposed to rain every day and every night. So far we have gotten pretty lucky and the rain didn't really make it here till last night. And the wind didn't make it here till this afternoon. But it looks like it might be here to stay. And I am just really hoping that it doesn't ruin the Cubs game. Saturday. Or my work related trip to Indianapolis Sunday through Wednesday next week. But I am sure it will. This weekend it looks like Cubs fans and Indy Time Trial Enthusiasts will be wearing rain ponchos and sporting umbrellas. So sad.
The forecast?
Yep. Rain Rain Rain. Fabulous! I am trying not to let that get me down. I can still function in the rain, right? I have three umbrellas. I have a hooded sweatshirt. It will be okay! Even my new haircut is wind and rain friendly. Straight. Don't even need to part it. I am ready. I am even going to get a new pink cubs/breast cancer hat for the game, so I will be covered. It will match my pink cubs shirt and my pink breast cancer umbrella. I will be that color coordinated bitch that you see one of two ways. a: I want to smack that bitch [or] b: She's so damn cute! Look at her!
Today was a very busy day at work... I was almost always doing three things at once, and with the prospect of a short-staffed Friday and being gone for 3 of the 5 days next week, I will probably have lots to get done in a short amount of time tomorrow.
Then there is the "at home" aspect. Luckily the cleaning people came this past Monday so I don't have to worry about them being there while I am gone and husband having to make sure things are picked up and out of their way, or to write them a check and all that jazz. And really all he has to do is feed and water the dogs and pick up after himself... so that my head doesn't spin when I get back. Pray for me. (I am sure he will do fine.)
But if I have to stay in Chicago Saturday night and then be in Indiana on Sunday night through Wednesday, I have both laundry and packing to do. Eewww. And I have to rethink those giant liter bottles of Biolage shampoo/conditioner that I have. I can't be taking those on my "trips." SO I will have to search for the travel bottles and fill them up I guess. And I have a jumbo can of Big Sexy Spray and Play Harder Hairspray that was a special deal, It is LITERALLY 14 inches tall and it doesn't pack well in a suitcase. LOL. So I have some organizing to do. And I have to grab my suitcases out of the attic. Oy. I need to make a list!
Are you a list maker? I am. I should actually charge my Sony Clie. I haven't used it in a long time but it was EXCELLENT for list making and I had the Quicken program on it so I could enter my checking and financial information and then sync it with my online banking and my quicken on the laptop. I am thinking of spending my evenings in the Hotel in Indianapolis reformatting my hard drive and upgrading my memory from 256 to 1 Gig. But that means I need to convince husband that I can take the External Hard drive with me to dump all the stuff from my hard drive onto it. I just ordered a 1 Gig chip for the laptop. I had it overnighted so it SHOULD be here tomorrow. It damn well better be for an extra $17+.
Now I have to make a list of software to take with so I can replenesh the Hard drive. But if I get lucky, I can wipe it clean at home and put the memory in at home and then I will just be ready to reinstall programs and finish up in Indiana. Oh hopes and dreams.
Well, enough of this boring post. Everyone have a fun night, or at least a relaxing one.
The forecast?
Yep. Rain Rain Rain. Fabulous! I am trying not to let that get me down. I can still function in the rain, right? I have three umbrellas. I have a hooded sweatshirt. It will be okay! Even my new haircut is wind and rain friendly. Straight. Don't even need to part it. I am ready. I am even going to get a new pink cubs/breast cancer hat for the game, so I will be covered. It will match my pink cubs shirt and my pink breast cancer umbrella. I will be that color coordinated bitch that you see one of two ways. a: I want to smack that bitch [or] b: She's so damn cute! Look at her!
Today was a very busy day at work... I was almost always doing three things at once, and with the prospect of a short-staffed Friday and being gone for 3 of the 5 days next week, I will probably have lots to get done in a short amount of time tomorrow.
Then there is the "at home" aspect. Luckily the cleaning people came this past Monday so I don't have to worry about them being there while I am gone and husband having to make sure things are picked up and out of their way, or to write them a check and all that jazz. And really all he has to do is feed and water the dogs and pick up after himself... so that my head doesn't spin when I get back. Pray for me. (I am sure he will do fine.)
But if I have to stay in Chicago Saturday night and then be in Indiana on Sunday night through Wednesday, I have both laundry and packing to do. Eewww. And I have to rethink those giant liter bottles of Biolage shampoo/conditioner that I have. I can't be taking those on my "trips." SO I will have to search for the travel bottles and fill them up I guess. And I have a jumbo can of Big Sexy Spray and Play Harder Hairspray that was a special deal, It is LITERALLY 14 inches tall and it doesn't pack well in a suitcase. LOL. So I have some organizing to do. And I have to grab my suitcases out of the attic. Oy. I need to make a list!
Are you a list maker? I am. I should actually charge my Sony Clie. I haven't used it in a long time but it was EXCELLENT for list making and I had the Quicken program on it so I could enter my checking and financial information and then sync it with my online banking and my quicken on the laptop. I am thinking of spending my evenings in the Hotel in Indianapolis reformatting my hard drive and upgrading my memory from 256 to 1 Gig. But that means I need to convince husband that I can take the External Hard drive with me to dump all the stuff from my hard drive onto it. I just ordered a 1 Gig chip for the laptop. I had it overnighted so it SHOULD be here tomorrow. It damn well better be for an extra $17+.
Now I have to make a list of software to take with so I can replenesh the Hard drive. But if I get lucky, I can wipe it clean at home and put the memory in at home and then I will just be ready to reinstall programs and finish up in Indiana. Oh hopes and dreams.
Well, enough of this boring post. Everyone have a fun night, or at least a relaxing one.
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Bookworm HNT #16
This is my bookworm HNT... me with just a few of my books. Click to make it BIG so you can read what titles I am hiding behind. I finished "Son of a Witch" last night. I had just been blogging about how I was having a hard time getting as excited about it as I had recently been about the DaVinci Code, or even about Gregory Maquire's Wicked, but at 11:30 last night the plot thickened and I was awake reading in bed till 2:30am when I finished. Now it's on to another book! Have a great HNT everyone! and go visit Osbasso for all the HNT details and other participants!
Cubbies Here I Come!
I am excited for a Wednesday evening! Saturday I am going to see the Cubbies! Yeah! if it doesn't rain.... we will be watching the Cubs versus Padres at Wrigley Field on Saturday.... and my friend Angie is going too! Yeah! I am still waiting to see if husband can go too. PG Is a season ticket holder, and he lives a little less than 7 miles from the field. We will meet PG and go to the game and then to club lucky for dinner. I love Club Lucky. The last time we ate there was in December, and it was decorated all Christmas-y and we were celebrating that we had just gotten engaged (two years ago, can it BE that long ago?) The last time I was up, Angie and I
met PG at his condo and we ate at Feast on Damen. Which was also awesome. I love love love to visit the city....So anyway, the forecast says 40% chance of rain. Cross your fingers that it doesn't rain out the game and That the weather is nice and we don't get too much lake-effect chill! I can't wait!
Gotta make sure my pink Cubs shirt is clean now!
Just a Redneck Hangin Out with Jesus
Okay. I ran across this site today through Blog Explosion. It's kinda like a car wreck. You know, you don't WANT to look, but you are intrigued and you just HAVE to look. I am not yet sure whether this is more about rednecks or baptists, or the unique combination that is redneck baptists, but I Have to say I love the pictures of the jeep climbing over rocks. It makes me think of phrases like "Jesus is my rock." and then I wonder about the symbolism of driving your jeep OVER said Rock. Hmmm. This proves that Baptists just wanna have fun. You totally have to check it out. I thought about applying to rent it, but then I thought um, what are the chances that I would be approved? I mean me, the potty mouthed, organized-religion-questioning, DaVinci Code Loving Adventurer. Don't you think I would get the immediate approval of a baptist pastor with his own podcast? Maybe I underestimate myself. I am sure he may want to rent to me if he thought he could convert me... Anyway... intrigued.
**UPDATE: I applied as his renter and Pastor Matt approved me! I just knew he had to be fun. And I guess I did challenge him a teeny tiny bit. Go check his site out again and see what he wrote about me. I guess I should clarify for him. My parents were raised Catholic. I was raised Lutheran, and I wasn't baptised until I was old enough to make the decision for myself, and when I was 10 and my sister was probably 6 we were baptised together. I was also told that I had to attend sunday school, bible school, and confirmation, to be educated... but it was my own decision to be confirmed and become a member of the church. And I did. And I was confirmed. So I am technically Lutheran. And I believe I am a Christian. I was in the choir. Every Sunday. practice Every Wednesday. But you know, I started to see the things in organized religion that make it look more like a clique, more like a "business." People looked down upon because they didn't have nice clothes to wear to church, Older men in my church, married with kids, hitting on me and making their old man checking out a teenage girl comments. Our most troubling thing as a church? Pastors. We went through pastors like WATER. We had some creepy guys. Guys that made me uncomfortable. Then we had the greatest pastor we had EVER had. Pastor Jeff. That man whipped up a youth group so fast it made your head spin. He chose a young married couple in their early 20's to be our sponsors. We had so much fun! We did so much GOOD! We had parties all the time. Halloween Costume Parties, Movie nights, Pizza nights, etc. He was all about fellowship. And that man kept us laughing and kept us all friends and kept us all out of trouble. Who would have thought that the church could do all that?! But we weren't all fun and games. We held spaghetti suppers and we did can drives where we walked door to door and collected for the local battered women's shelter. We were just good kids. And youth group did alot for us. It really did. We even had a lock-in at the church. This man had INTERESTING sermons and he applied God to the life of teenagers even! How is that possible! And the best part, as kids we didn't even realize it was all happening!
There was a couple that were in their 90's. They lived together and loved each other. They were not married. They had already both been married, and widowed, and they were living off social security. They hesitated to get married because they couldn't afford to live without their social security, and they would lose if if they remarried. They asked Pastor Jeff to bless their relationship, and he did. And then shit hit the fan. The church's "elders" were FURIOUS that he would perform such a thing in the name of god and thought it reflected poorly on our church. They reprimanded him. They basically started to slowly run him out of the church. He met a woman that he wanted to marry, back near his home. The rectory was in some disrepair. All the appliances were avocado green. He wanted the church to consider some remodeling, and if they would do that for him, he would get married and he and his new wife would live in the rectory and continue with our church and with the youth program. The church refused, more because of what he had "done" than because they didn't want to remodel. And so he moved away and married her and got a job at another church. Many of us felt terrible. The church split. Probably at least 25-40% of the parishoners left the church. Two pastors later, I have never set foot in that church again, not in probably 7 or 8 years. I didn't "intend" to boycott it, I just couldn't bring myself to face those people in the church who had treated Pastor Jeff that way, not after all he had done for the whole congragation and for the youth. It was then that I realized that their actions were less Christian than political and snobbish. Where was their forgiveness? Where was their tolerance?
Ever since then I have been doing alot of thinking about what I was taught versus what I believe. And although I haven't figured it out, I have to say I am feeling better about it. I realize that organized religion is not all it is cracked up to be. I do not believe that God is vengeful. I do not believe that Mary's was a virgin birth. I have always disliked the way women are treated in religion, and how they are portrayed as being more sinful than men, and a temptation. I feel it is an unfair stereotype put forth by the men of the early church. That is why the DaVinci Code, and the Sacred Feminine spoke volumes to me. I have a hard time believing alot of what is seen in the bible, and believe that it is more of someone's opinion and take on the faith, or their "representation" of Christianity, then of the actual facts. Any book translated will lose it's originality, and what of a book whose originality was based largely on stories that people told.. and wasn't factual to begin with but was largely filled with opinion.
I refuse to believe that homosexuals are any more sinners than people who engage in pre-marital sex. To me it is a ridiculous notion. I believe in TOLERANCE. Tolerance for people whose religions are different than ours, tolerance for people whose beliefs, races, and thoughts are different. I don't think the Devil Wears an iPod, but even if he does, I will still wear mine proudly. What if the devil wears underwear? Does that mean I should not? I believe that Jesus is a cooldude. I don't know if he was the messiah or just one kick ass soldier of god. It's hard to say. Maybe the Jewish have been right all along? I have to say, that to believe that if I don't think Jesus was the savior, I am going to hell, sounds like a crock of shit. I don't think that God wants us to believe in Jesus as the savior as much as he wants to believe in his work. In a higher power, whether that be God or Buddha or most any other name that gods can answer to. I think he wants us to believe in the good of people and in doing good things for others. And I don't mind if God wants to be involved in government or not. Nothing the USA says is going to influence my faith one way or the other. So if they want to take GOD off a pepsi can or out of the government, fine.
If this means I am not a Christian, then so be it I guess. I Have been able to make more sense out of writings of people like Neale Donald Walsch and Dan Brown than I have of the bible. Is that blasphemy? I am not saying I take every word they say to be truth or gospel. As Mr. Walsh so eloquently pointed out, are we to believe that God talked to people in bible times and then just STOPPED? Are we to believe that God never speaks to any of us? That no one's feelings and thoughts could be results of "conversations" with god? And I don't mean "I saw Jesus in a taco and he spoke to me." I just mean that there is the possibility that people of our modern times, and people during the Rennaissance, like Leonardo DaVinci, could have communicated with God. It's possible. What if the bible gets it all wrong. What if Jesus wasn't the savior, but just a realy great guy. What if he died in vain. Was he risen? Will we ever know? Probably not.
Sometimes I think that religion is more of a convenience. What kind of life would we be living if we thought there were no heaven or hell? Would we be comforted by a life that ends abruptly? Of a future or afterlife that doesn't exist, of abruptly losing and leaving the people we love without a chance of ever seeing them again, or spending eternity with them? I believe that is the saddest of all. At 28, I try not to think of the end of my life. I have to believe that it is a long many years off. But Even then, when I have become even MORE attached to my family, my friends, my husband, and hopefully the children and grandchildren I will someday have.... How will I ever say goodbye to them if there is a possibility that there is no afterlife? The thought just about opresses me into bed again, curled up in a fetal position and unable to go through each day. Is this why we have religion?
I don't know. And that is the bottom line. What I do know is that I am interested in investigating these things and thinking for myself and reading other people's thoughts to see if others feel the same as me. And surprisingly... others do. I am interested in learning about other religions. Of Buddha. Of his teachings. I believe in Karma. Do. I. Ever. There is something there. Something real that I want to understand, even if it is on my own level.
Sorry if that was boring, passionate, or went against everything you have been taught to believe. Maybe there is someone out there who feels as I do.
**UPDATE: I applied as his renter and Pastor Matt approved me! I just knew he had to be fun. And I guess I did challenge him a teeny tiny bit. Go check his site out again and see what he wrote about me. I guess I should clarify for him. My parents were raised Catholic. I was raised Lutheran, and I wasn't baptised until I was old enough to make the decision for myself, and when I was 10 and my sister was probably 6 we were baptised together. I was also told that I had to attend sunday school, bible school, and confirmation, to be educated... but it was my own decision to be confirmed and become a member of the church. And I did. And I was confirmed. So I am technically Lutheran. And I believe I am a Christian. I was in the choir. Every Sunday. practice Every Wednesday. But you know, I started to see the things in organized religion that make it look more like a clique, more like a "business." People looked down upon because they didn't have nice clothes to wear to church, Older men in my church, married with kids, hitting on me and making their old man checking out a teenage girl comments. Our most troubling thing as a church? Pastors. We went through pastors like WATER. We had some creepy guys. Guys that made me uncomfortable. Then we had the greatest pastor we had EVER had. Pastor Jeff. That man whipped up a youth group so fast it made your head spin. He chose a young married couple in their early 20's to be our sponsors. We had so much fun! We did so much GOOD! We had parties all the time. Halloween Costume Parties, Movie nights, Pizza nights, etc. He was all about fellowship. And that man kept us laughing and kept us all friends and kept us all out of trouble. Who would have thought that the church could do all that?! But we weren't all fun and games. We held spaghetti suppers and we did can drives where we walked door to door and collected for the local battered women's shelter. We were just good kids. And youth group did alot for us. It really did. We even had a lock-in at the church. This man had INTERESTING sermons and he applied God to the life of teenagers even! How is that possible! And the best part, as kids we didn't even realize it was all happening!
There was a couple that were in their 90's. They lived together and loved each other. They were not married. They had already both been married, and widowed, and they were living off social security. They hesitated to get married because they couldn't afford to live without their social security, and they would lose if if they remarried. They asked Pastor Jeff to bless their relationship, and he did. And then shit hit the fan. The church's "elders" were FURIOUS that he would perform such a thing in the name of god and thought it reflected poorly on our church. They reprimanded him. They basically started to slowly run him out of the church. He met a woman that he wanted to marry, back near his home. The rectory was in some disrepair. All the appliances were avocado green. He wanted the church to consider some remodeling, and if they would do that for him, he would get married and he and his new wife would live in the rectory and continue with our church and with the youth program. The church refused, more because of what he had "done" than because they didn't want to remodel. And so he moved away and married her and got a job at another church. Many of us felt terrible. The church split. Probably at least 25-40% of the parishoners left the church. Two pastors later, I have never set foot in that church again, not in probably 7 or 8 years. I didn't "intend" to boycott it, I just couldn't bring myself to face those people in the church who had treated Pastor Jeff that way, not after all he had done for the whole congragation and for the youth. It was then that I realized that their actions were less Christian than political and snobbish. Where was their forgiveness? Where was their tolerance?
Ever since then I have been doing alot of thinking about what I was taught versus what I believe. And although I haven't figured it out, I have to say I am feeling better about it. I realize that organized religion is not all it is cracked up to be. I do not believe that God is vengeful. I do not believe that Mary's was a virgin birth. I have always disliked the way women are treated in religion, and how they are portrayed as being more sinful than men, and a temptation. I feel it is an unfair stereotype put forth by the men of the early church. That is why the DaVinci Code, and the Sacred Feminine spoke volumes to me. I have a hard time believing alot of what is seen in the bible, and believe that it is more of someone's opinion and take on the faith, or their "representation" of Christianity, then of the actual facts. Any book translated will lose it's originality, and what of a book whose originality was based largely on stories that people told.. and wasn't factual to begin with but was largely filled with opinion.
I refuse to believe that homosexuals are any more sinners than people who engage in pre-marital sex. To me it is a ridiculous notion. I believe in TOLERANCE. Tolerance for people whose religions are different than ours, tolerance for people whose beliefs, races, and thoughts are different. I don't think the Devil Wears an iPod, but even if he does, I will still wear mine proudly. What if the devil wears underwear? Does that mean I should not? I believe that Jesus is a cooldude. I don't know if he was the messiah or just one kick ass soldier of god. It's hard to say. Maybe the Jewish have been right all along? I have to say, that to believe that if I don't think Jesus was the savior, I am going to hell, sounds like a crock of shit. I don't think that God wants us to believe in Jesus as the savior as much as he wants to believe in his work. In a higher power, whether that be God or Buddha or most any other name that gods can answer to. I think he wants us to believe in the good of people and in doing good things for others. And I don't mind if God wants to be involved in government or not. Nothing the USA says is going to influence my faith one way or the other. So if they want to take GOD off a pepsi can or out of the government, fine.
If this means I am not a Christian, then so be it I guess. I Have been able to make more sense out of writings of people like Neale Donald Walsch and Dan Brown than I have of the bible. Is that blasphemy? I am not saying I take every word they say to be truth or gospel. As Mr. Walsh so eloquently pointed out, are we to believe that God talked to people in bible times and then just STOPPED? Are we to believe that God never speaks to any of us? That no one's feelings and thoughts could be results of "conversations" with god? And I don't mean "I saw Jesus in a taco and he spoke to me." I just mean that there is the possibility that people of our modern times, and people during the Rennaissance, like Leonardo DaVinci, could have communicated with God. It's possible. What if the bible gets it all wrong. What if Jesus wasn't the savior, but just a realy great guy. What if he died in vain. Was he risen? Will we ever know? Probably not.
Sometimes I think that religion is more of a convenience. What kind of life would we be living if we thought there were no heaven or hell? Would we be comforted by a life that ends abruptly? Of a future or afterlife that doesn't exist, of abruptly losing and leaving the people we love without a chance of ever seeing them again, or spending eternity with them? I believe that is the saddest of all. At 28, I try not to think of the end of my life. I have to believe that it is a long many years off. But Even then, when I have become even MORE attached to my family, my friends, my husband, and hopefully the children and grandchildren I will someday have.... How will I ever say goodbye to them if there is a possibility that there is no afterlife? The thought just about opresses me into bed again, curled up in a fetal position and unable to go through each day. Is this why we have religion?
I don't know. And that is the bottom line. What I do know is that I am interested in investigating these things and thinking for myself and reading other people's thoughts to see if others feel the same as me. And surprisingly... others do. I am interested in learning about other religions. Of Buddha. Of his teachings. I believe in Karma. Do. I. Ever. There is something there. Something real that I want to understand, even if it is on my own level.
Sorry if that was boring, passionate, or went against everything you have been taught to believe. Maybe there is someone out there who feels as I do.
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