Newest toy

Guess what I just got, y’all?!?

A brand new laptop.

Yep. Brand new. First time I’ve ever had a brand new one.

I feel like such an adult. Funny how that works. And I didn’t need anyone’s approval. I went out on a limb and picked it out myself. Nobody looked over my shoulder telling me I was picking the wrong kind. Nobody was trying to convince me that I needed features that I didn’t. It was just me and my knowledge of computers that brought me this beauty.

And now I have a place to hide all my stuff. :-)

Mac

So, it turns out, the Mac isn’t as easy as everyone said it would be. I can’t begin to explain to you how obnoxious it is to not be able to do something you know how to do well. iWorks is different. Nothing is in the same place. And I can’t figure out for the LIFE of me, how the hell to print in color.

With that being said, yesterday was a nightmare of a day. I had a major meltdown. I cried uncontrollably because I just couldn’t figure things out. Why was my budget template all-of-a-sudden taking up FOUR PAGES? Why do all my pages print with a box around it? There are extra steps I have to make when doing certain things. I’m fast and efficient on the computer. With extra steps, I lose time. And that’s not okay.

Today, was a totally different day. I accepted the fact that it will most definitely take me more than one day to learn how to use a completely different operating system. It will most definitely take me more than one day to learn how to use different software. It will most definitely take me more than one day to learn how to navigate the innards of this new computer. Knowing the PC I was using is in the next room and is easily accessible if the Mac drives me completely bonkers, is what helped me sleep last night.

Mac vs. PC will always be something people will debate. Kind of like Ford vs. Chevy.

Mac users…what is it that makes you love them so much? I’m totally not getting it.

What a day.

Hello.

Sometimes I get overwhelmed at how wonderfully a day goes. It’s an “awe” moment, when you realize not everything sucks.

Woke up at 4:30am this morning. I don’t know what’s going on with me, but I haven’t been able to sleep through the night in over a MONTH! It’s horrible. I wake up and am awake for an hour or more. I finally fall back asleep, and the dogs wake me up. It’s. So. Annoying. I miss sleep. Once I stepped outside to leave for work, I saw the beauty in the day. The overcast was welcomed.

My bosses and I have been talking about changing my office computer to a Mac for a few weeks now. Everyone knows…I am Val, and I’m a PC. My uncomfortableness and skepticism about it’s usage, made it difficult to persuade them against it. Every day I deal with Mac users. There are times when I hear we can’t open this. Aren’t Mac and PC supposed to be compatible? I tried to fight it, but in the end, I had to tell myself Get over it. You’re not an idiot. You’ll figure it out. Stop being afraid of failure.

And so, Boss#2 and I went to the Mac store and bought one. The large screen makes my office seem funny now. It’ll take some time to get used to it. I think it’s too big. When you have to turn your head left and right to see the whole thing, it’s a bit overkill.

I heard bff@work on the phone with his wife talking about having pizza for dinner. On my drive home, I started thinking about how good that sounded. I didn’t want to order pizza (cause I never eat it all-just ends up being a waste), so I settled for a frozen pizza. I really wish I hadn’t.

I settled on the couch to watch NCIS. So glad I did. I was gonna watch something else, but didn’t. Figured it could wait, and Gibbs couldn’t. Mmm.

I balled my eyes out while watching it. Uncontrollable crying. It was ugly, but necessary. And it was the first time I had cried in months. All the emotions and feelings came flooding out. All because of a television show. A very good television show.

What the hell is wrong with Hope? Maks was obviously spoken to by the head honchos at DWTS because he’s been real cheerful and smiley ever since his outburst. But Hope? Really? We get that you’re stressed. We get that you’re hurt. We get that your competitiveness is shinning out and showing us exactly how much you hate to lose. We get it. But we’re tired of it. As much as I hate to see Maks gone, I hope you get the boot this week.

Okay, enough from me. I’m exhausted (if only I could actually sleep), and I need to be at the ranch early to play with the new computer. Transferring files will be a better part of my morning. All while trying to get other things done. I can’t wait!

Till next time…

A strong little mouse

A few years ago, I bought an external mouse for my laptop. me+touchpad=annoyance. To keep the peace around the house and make playing Farmville easier, I bought it.

Just about every single day since, I've either dropped it, bumped it against something, or thrown something on top of it. This mouse should be dead, but it's not. It works just as perfect as the day I got it. No scratches or dings. Only a few worn off letters.

Fast forward to the other day. Accidentally, and it doesn't matter how, my laptop slid off the side of my bed and fell to the ground, on it's side. The side that has the USB for the mouse sticking out. Bent the dang thing right in half.

And it STILL works. Perfectly. I ♥ you Logitech Mouse.

A computer problem, or not?

A few days ago, I got a message on my computer saying Battery not operating at full capacity. Replace battery soon. I started to panic a bit, but realized it was just a battery issue and if it needed to be replaced, then it needed to be replaced. Big deal. I’ve had to do that with cell phones in the past. Whatever. And I shrugged it off.

Last night when I closed my laptop lid, I unplugged the computer from the wall. This, I never do. It’s always plugged it. My computer is never powered off. I always have active windows open. It’s a bit of an annoyance when someone uses my computer and starts closing tabs/windows.

Turned it on this evening when I got home and no warning message. Awesome. I guess I’ll just keep an eye on it.

Anyone have this problem?

Talk soon-

The Mouse Cord

For seven years, I complained about it.

The mouse cord that sat attached to his desktop computer, was always being held down by a heavy item (speaker, stapler, book, etc.). I hated it. I used to move it off, so that I would have free range of the mouse when using his computer. When I was done, I would usually forget to put whatever was holding the cord, back. (Had this been something he’d done regularly to me, I would have yelled and screamed more often than I did.)

Today, on my desk at work, I use my popup post-it dispenser to hold my mouse cord in place, and when someone else comes over to use the computer on my desk, they always move the post-it dispenser so that the mouse cord is pulled all.the.way. out from the back of the computer. Grr @ this situation. One WE is left handed, so when she comes to use the computer, she not only moves the post-it dispenser off the mouse, but she pulls the mouse cord all the way out and TO THE LEFT SIDE OF THE DESK!

I never, in a billion years, could have imagined I’d feel like this. I wonder what he’d say about this if he knew. Hmm. Inquiring minds want to know.