This past weekend I went up to Connecticut to see some friends from college that I haven't seen in a long time. We only seem to be able to get together like... twice a year. I took the train to Philly, then got on AmTrak to Penn Station. Bill came and met me there and we waited for Ken to arrive then headed up to Connecticut and Bill's home. It was really great to talk to them and just listen to them talk.
Mike, Mandy, Adrian and Ray all came and overall it was great time. Ken and I talked to the wee hours of the morning, though we did try to get to sleep at reasonable times... We learned what a 'cord' of wood is, the definition of a gelding and that one might want to avoid going down by the river. I learned I can hypnotize babies.
There were a lot of great moments over the weekend and I'm really glad I went. I have to send a special thank you to everyone for the weekend really. Each person made it fun. A big huge thanks to Bill and Jill for having us all as their guests for the weekend. You guys were awesome hosts and I really appreciate your kindness and the lovely food you provided. I'd also like to thank Ani and Niel for being such lovely hosts as well - the cake was delicious and Olivia is a lovely sweet baby. Thank you Mike and Mandy for the drive home, thank you Bill and Ken for all the help and advice and of course your words of friendship and logic. And Ken, thank you for Lion-o. :D Thank you to Adrian for the game and fun and thank you Ray for being such a fun character.
It is hard to really thank all the specifics for the fun of the weekend. I needed to get away and it is always great for me to reconnect with the people who help inspire me and keep me balanced in their own special ways. I always feel better after seeing them and I hope desperately that it won't be too long before I see these people again.
On the downside... Sunday after Mike dropped me off, I realized that I wasn't feeling well... And there was no mistake in it... I got sick. So, now I'm sick. I'm not sure exactly what it is I'm sick with but I figured I was fighting something off all weekend and after the amount of junk food and lack of sleep, my immune system just didn't fight enough. Hopefully it will pass, but I just want to curl up in bed and sleep sleep sleep and sleep.
The weekend was worth it.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
We got snow!
Yeah, it snowed. A real snow finally. Granted, I didn't enjoy being at work with it snowing outside, but it did really snow. I would have rather been at home watching it snow outside the window. Unfortunately my dog was having trouble walking through snow. It was really good packing snow but that meant it gathered on her paws and she would start limping. I had to stop and try to clear the snow from her feet before she could walk again. Generally it would get so bad I had to carry her. *sigh*
But yeah... I do like snow... watching it fall. Its so peaceful.
In other news... GOD I have so much to do. I have to make a list of places to send my resume to, get portfolio items together, get my online portfolio on, redo my website, get ready for Katsucon, get two commissions done before Katsu and in general do work.
I haven't done any art in a long time. I drew some art on the computer (previous to its meltdown), but just can't seem to get motivated to sit and finish them. I can't seem to get motivated to do anything though I might want to. I don't know if it stems from fear or depression or there's just so much I have to do that I can't figure out what to do or something else... Its sort of frustrating I can't get myself moving on stuff.
Argh! I have to get motivated again!
This past weekend I saw Slumdog Millionaire. It was really very good and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good movie to see. And I think its good for guys or girls. I have also come to love BBC America. A month or so ago, our cable provider changed channels around and rearranged them and we lost some, so when I called them to ask about it, they said we had to get the digital box.... so I got that and we got BBC America. At first, we didn't pay it much mind like the hundreds of other channels we got, but then we saw Predator... and The Graham Norton show... We started watching Dr. Who - a show I NEVER got into or watched before. Then I had it on randomly while doing something else and I saw Top Gear, which is essentially a show about cars, but its actually funny and interesting! We watched BBC on election night and it was really great to see the American election through the eyes of another country. And hey... they ALL have accents...
On a final note, I will be grateful for Wednesday this week. I can only take so much of something being shoved down my throat before it gets too completely annoying to take.
But hey... Look! I've had a blog posting each week for a while! GO ME! I'm trying to keep this interesting and its great that people respond to it and say stuff.
But yeah... I do like snow... watching it fall. Its so peaceful.
In other news... GOD I have so much to do. I have to make a list of places to send my resume to, get portfolio items together, get my online portfolio on, redo my website, get ready for Katsucon, get two commissions done before Katsu and in general do work.
I haven't done any art in a long time. I drew some art on the computer (previous to its meltdown), but just can't seem to get motivated to sit and finish them. I can't seem to get motivated to do anything though I might want to. I don't know if it stems from fear or depression or there's just so much I have to do that I can't figure out what to do or something else... Its sort of frustrating I can't get myself moving on stuff.
Argh! I have to get motivated again!
This past weekend I saw Slumdog Millionaire. It was really very good and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good movie to see. And I think its good for guys or girls. I have also come to love BBC America. A month or so ago, our cable provider changed channels around and rearranged them and we lost some, so when I called them to ask about it, they said we had to get the digital box.... so I got that and we got BBC America. At first, we didn't pay it much mind like the hundreds of other channels we got, but then we saw Predator... and The Graham Norton show... We started watching Dr. Who - a show I NEVER got into or watched before. Then I had it on randomly while doing something else and I saw Top Gear, which is essentially a show about cars, but its actually funny and interesting! We watched BBC on election night and it was really great to see the American election through the eyes of another country. And hey... they ALL have accents...
On a final note, I will be grateful for Wednesday this week. I can only take so much of something being shoved down my throat before it gets too completely annoying to take.
But hey... Look! I've had a blog posting each week for a while! GO ME! I'm trying to keep this interesting and its great that people respond to it and say stuff.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
iMac is home now
So, yeah... the iMac has been having problems. The least of which were spoken about in the last blog. Since then, the computer hasn't gotten much better. Corel Painter still couldn't start up and while I contacted Corel tech support, I never received an answer in their 'three to five' days via email.
On top of that situation, the computer kept shutting down. And when it was in sleep mode, I couldn't get it to wake up. After losing a project I was working on, I decided enough was enough and made an appointment at the Genius bar at the nearest Apple store. I packed it up in its box - which I still kept, even with the styrofoam, which was good because I'm not sure how else I would have carried it - and hauled it to the car. The Apple Store is in a mall and it was hell to carry that thing through the place to get to the store - we didn't know exactly where it was inside. The iMac is freaking heavy!!! Did you know that? I didn't... NOW I do. ITS HEAVY!
We passed a kiosk with cell phone covers and I have two hands on the handle and my arms are killing me and I didn't change my shoes because I had left right after work to go to the store to make my appointment and CLEARLY I am struggling to carry the box and the girl at the stand looks me in the eye and says, "Hi, what kind of cell phone do you have?" I mean, she was preparing to try and get me to come over so she can try and sell me some cell phone cover while I'm lifting this heavy ass box - and it was obvious I was having difficulty... I managed not to say, "Shove it up your ass you idiot!" or something equally classy and just said, "Sorry no, carrying something heavy!"
So, in the end, I managed to get to the Apple Store and Mom commented that it sort of smelled like sweat and I couldn't disagree. I don't know what happened at that store, but it went down hill. There used to be cleancut decently groomed employees... in their place was now, shaggy, scraggily looking people in ill fitting t-shirts. I can only guess a bunch of people needed jobs and they applied at the store and got jobs... I dunno. It was just sort of... bleh. They were all VERY nice I will say. They were polite. When I finally got to see my Genius, I was really tired, as we waited a half hour after my appointment time.
He checked out the iMac and opened it up and went through a bunch of tests, even with help from another Genius. Then he said he thought it was the power supply. This would cost about 170 some dollars with labor. If it wasn't the power supply, he said it might be the logic board which would hike the cost up to over 700 dollars. While this was a lot of money, it was still going to be cheaper than buying a new computer... though I had to admit, seeing all the shiny new computers, it was hard to not want one.
But I will also admit, that after a while... I didn't really want a new computer. It was... I dunno... The thrill was gone. Maybe it was the store.
Anyway... So I had to leave the computer there, hoping it was the power supply and not the logic board.
I got a call from the Apple store today that it was the power supply and the iMac was ready to pick up. After work, Mom and I headed back up and got to the store - this time with the box and a little rolling luggage cart thing because lugging the computer through the mall again was not happening. The greeting apple employee informed me I had to wait on line to get my computer back so I went to the register line and stood there for a bit... then got some padding things for the laptop I have... figuring I'd pay for the repairs and pay for that at the same time. Let me tell you, that register line was SLOW... I mean REALLY SLOW!
I have never waited so long on a register line that wasn't even long! It was ridiculous.
Before we get to the register, an employee came up asking if I was picking up something and I gave him my info so he could go in the back and get it. I got to the counter and told the guy we were waiting for my computer... So the WHOLE line had to wait till my computer came up. They weren't going to ring up anyone else till I did... They finally brought my computer and put it in the box and I packed it up and got it ready to go. I then handed the guy my paperwork so he could ring me up... and the little protection pack thing. We stand there for about 10 minutes and finally ask what the problem was. Apparently... you cannot ring up a repair and an item at the same time on their register.
That is freaking insane! I cannot believe that they would have it set up that way!!! So, since I'm paying by check, I have to write out two checks for this thing... I write up the first check and give him my ID.. another 10 to 15 minutes and he is ringing up the check. Mom and I are standing there as a line builds up behind us and are in complete disbelief that this is taking so long... Apparently, the guy working the cash register is a trainee... Then we have to ring up the protection pack... another 5 - 10 minutes... I felt like.. I don't know... Standing there while this line of people is building up behind us. I'd have felt bad, thinking that it was because of paying with a check, but we waited on line a long time too and I can't think that everyone ahead of us was paying with checks too. So clearly there was an issue with this system with the register. Which pisses me off because I love macs and think they are awesome and there is no reason for an Apple store to have that slow a system for ringing up stuff.
But anyway... we got back home and I hooked up the iMac again. So far, I think its working fine... we'll see. I'll be glad if it all works fine again. VERY happy. Pray that the iMac is fine and that I won't have to worry about it going wonky and not working again.
On top of that situation, the computer kept shutting down. And when it was in sleep mode, I couldn't get it to wake up. After losing a project I was working on, I decided enough was enough and made an appointment at the Genius bar at the nearest Apple store. I packed it up in its box - which I still kept, even with the styrofoam, which was good because I'm not sure how else I would have carried it - and hauled it to the car. The Apple Store is in a mall and it was hell to carry that thing through the place to get to the store - we didn't know exactly where it was inside. The iMac is freaking heavy!!! Did you know that? I didn't... NOW I do. ITS HEAVY!
We passed a kiosk with cell phone covers and I have two hands on the handle and my arms are killing me and I didn't change my shoes because I had left right after work to go to the store to make my appointment and CLEARLY I am struggling to carry the box and the girl at the stand looks me in the eye and says, "Hi, what kind of cell phone do you have?" I mean, she was preparing to try and get me to come over so she can try and sell me some cell phone cover while I'm lifting this heavy ass box - and it was obvious I was having difficulty... I managed not to say, "Shove it up your ass you idiot!" or something equally classy and just said, "Sorry no, carrying something heavy!"
So, in the end, I managed to get to the Apple Store and Mom commented that it sort of smelled like sweat and I couldn't disagree. I don't know what happened at that store, but it went down hill. There used to be cleancut decently groomed employees... in their place was now, shaggy, scraggily looking people in ill fitting t-shirts. I can only guess a bunch of people needed jobs and they applied at the store and got jobs... I dunno. It was just sort of... bleh. They were all VERY nice I will say. They were polite. When I finally got to see my Genius, I was really tired, as we waited a half hour after my appointment time.
He checked out the iMac and opened it up and went through a bunch of tests, even with help from another Genius. Then he said he thought it was the power supply. This would cost about 170 some dollars with labor. If it wasn't the power supply, he said it might be the logic board which would hike the cost up to over 700 dollars. While this was a lot of money, it was still going to be cheaper than buying a new computer... though I had to admit, seeing all the shiny new computers, it was hard to not want one.
But I will also admit, that after a while... I didn't really want a new computer. It was... I dunno... The thrill was gone. Maybe it was the store.
Anyway... So I had to leave the computer there, hoping it was the power supply and not the logic board.
I got a call from the Apple store today that it was the power supply and the iMac was ready to pick up. After work, Mom and I headed back up and got to the store - this time with the box and a little rolling luggage cart thing because lugging the computer through the mall again was not happening. The greeting apple employee informed me I had to wait on line to get my computer back so I went to the register line and stood there for a bit... then got some padding things for the laptop I have... figuring I'd pay for the repairs and pay for that at the same time. Let me tell you, that register line was SLOW... I mean REALLY SLOW!
I have never waited so long on a register line that wasn't even long! It was ridiculous.
Before we get to the register, an employee came up asking if I was picking up something and I gave him my info so he could go in the back and get it. I got to the counter and told the guy we were waiting for my computer... So the WHOLE line had to wait till my computer came up. They weren't going to ring up anyone else till I did... They finally brought my computer and put it in the box and I packed it up and got it ready to go. I then handed the guy my paperwork so he could ring me up... and the little protection pack thing. We stand there for about 10 minutes and finally ask what the problem was. Apparently... you cannot ring up a repair and an item at the same time on their register.
That is freaking insane! I cannot believe that they would have it set up that way!!! So, since I'm paying by check, I have to write out two checks for this thing... I write up the first check and give him my ID.. another 10 to 15 minutes and he is ringing up the check. Mom and I are standing there as a line builds up behind us and are in complete disbelief that this is taking so long... Apparently, the guy working the cash register is a trainee... Then we have to ring up the protection pack... another 5 - 10 minutes... I felt like.. I don't know... Standing there while this line of people is building up behind us. I'd have felt bad, thinking that it was because of paying with a check, but we waited on line a long time too and I can't think that everyone ahead of us was paying with checks too. So clearly there was an issue with this system with the register. Which pisses me off because I love macs and think they are awesome and there is no reason for an Apple store to have that slow a system for ringing up stuff.
But anyway... we got back home and I hooked up the iMac again. So far, I think its working fine... we'll see. I'll be glad if it all works fine again. VERY happy. Pray that the iMac is fine and that I won't have to worry about it going wonky and not working again.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Leopard's still gnawing on my leg
So, I started trying to use my Painter program that I got for my birthday... And my Wacom tablet wasn't... responding the same way it was before the switch to the new OS. I realize then, that I may have to install the cd that came with the tablet, because while it works cause Mac is so great about the plugnplay thing, it is not working the way it used to.
I go over to where I keep all my discs and surprise-suprise, I can't find it.
I look all over at all the places I might have logically put it because I can't imagine I just threw it away or tossed it somewhere. I know me. I know that I would have put it some where to keep it safe that made sense. The problem is, I got the tablet almost exactly a year ago... I have to think about what would have been logical and made sense to me THEN.
At about 11 p.m. I gave up and I still don't know where it is. So I can't really use Painter or any other art program with the tablet yet till I can figure this out.
NOT happy. *pout*
EDIT: I have found the installation discs. They were on my drawing table under some papers. I don't know why I put them there, but I found them. I installed them... The tablet worked and was fine. Then I tried to use PainterX and.... that got weird. I shut it down and restarted the computer. Then tried to open Painter again and it won't open at all, saying it can't open painter files? ARGH. So I contacted Corel to ask them for help. I'm still waiting to hear back from them.
I cannot say how sorry I am I installed the new OS system... but I'm getting concerned since my mac is acting weird all over the place. I started it yesterday and during the start up it just stopped and shut down. When I restarted it again, my backup drive wasn't on the desktop. I don't know what's going on but none of this is looking good. And I'm REALLY concerned because I can't really afford to get a new mac of any sort right now. I'm just hoping this is something that won't lead to something really bad. *cry*
I go over to where I keep all my discs and surprise-suprise, I can't find it.
I look all over at all the places I might have logically put it because I can't imagine I just threw it away or tossed it somewhere. I know me. I know that I would have put it some where to keep it safe that made sense. The problem is, I got the tablet almost exactly a year ago... I have to think about what would have been logical and made sense to me THEN.
At about 11 p.m. I gave up and I still don't know where it is. So I can't really use Painter or any other art program with the tablet yet till I can figure this out.
NOT happy. *pout*
EDIT: I have found the installation discs. They were on my drawing table under some papers. I don't know why I put them there, but I found them. I installed them... The tablet worked and was fine. Then I tried to use PainterX and.... that got weird. I shut it down and restarted the computer. Then tried to open Painter again and it won't open at all, saying it can't open painter files? ARGH. So I contacted Corel to ask them for help. I'm still waiting to hear back from them.
I cannot say how sorry I am I installed the new OS system... but I'm getting concerned since my mac is acting weird all over the place. I started it yesterday and during the start up it just stopped and shut down. When I restarted it again, my backup drive wasn't on the desktop. I don't know what's going on but none of this is looking good. And I'm REALLY concerned because I can't really afford to get a new mac of any sort right now. I'm just hoping this is something that won't lead to something really bad. *cry*
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