Compocalypse '09: Treading water
So. We returned everything to Best Buy--laptop, Geek Squad contract, Microsoft Office disk--and got a full refund, no questions asked. (Say what you will about their stock or their tech support, but their customer service desk has been a treat.) So we're done with them now. They could be the best store in the world (...), but it was to a point where I just started to feel like they or I or both of us were cursed. So: done.
But I've fallen in love with that Dell Studio 17 laptop (yes, I will build it on the Dell site), and here is the artwork I want to splurge on because after THREE WEEKS OF COMPOCALYPSE I am pretty much beyond impulse control:
The screencap has a ton of extra white space around it because I can't figure out how to crop in freakin' MS Paint. OH GOD I WANT MY OWN STUFF BACK.
(
particle_person : "Of course it's purple.")
Anyway. I'm probably going to end up spending a lot more than I intended to, but when I sell something, that'll pay it off (like kings, Caroline! KINGS!). I'm to a point where I want to max out the service/support contracts--people have spoken very highly of those, and since it's a laptop and perhaps more prone to damage, I'll probably need it. My point is, if I max out the service contracts, I ought to be okay, they'll come out to the house in a timely fashion, they'll replace things, good times. But that's going to cost a good bit. And I want to upgrade a few options here and there, because while laptops do not last as long as desktops, generally speaking, I intend to keep it as long as it'll work, and I want to buy ahead on the technological front. Which will also inflate the price. And then, my completely gratuitous custom artwork. So... shut up, is what I'm saying.
(LIKE KINGS!)
Our current problem: data retrieval from Betsy. Because I'm going through my backups--which were helpfully saved on three different sites online and a thumb drive--and apparently I didn't back up THE STUFF I ACTUALLY NEED. I mean, the Black Ribbon stuff and the poetry (THE POETRY?!) are okay, but somehow I neglected to actually do anything about THE SHORT STORIES, which are what one might actually be able to sell. GODDAMMIT. And I've got to have my music back; the un-backed-up files just make data retrieval a bit more urgent than before. A friend of mine in town has recommended a local IT guy, so I'm going to try him--I mean, yes, I hear that you can get an external casing and put the hard drive thinger from the actual CPU into it, but... I ain't touchin' that. With my luck and inexperience? Hell no. I'll get someone to transfer the hard drives from both Betsys--I've been holding on to Betsy 1.0 all these years for that reason--and then we'll be back in business.
(Oh God. I hope we'll be back in business.)
Meanwhile, the iPhone's doing pretty well. I really don't want to spend a huge amount of time on it--the battery tends to run down like whoa--so I'm not putting a ton of recreational apps on it. But it's nice to have a way to look at Twitter and my email now and then, especially since I don't have a computer of my own at the moment. I hate "typing" on it, though, because I'm wordy and not used to expressing myself with just two fingers. I mean, it's still a shitload better than "press a number key four times for the letter D," but I can't write the kind of emails I'm used to writing, you know? So it's good, but it's not my life. I did remember that I have a little woven blue purse--from Delia's, I think, way back from college--about the size of a 5"x8" index card, so it's perfect for toting the iPhone and its little charger cord and headphones around. I mean, not that I'm doing this oh-so-fashionably 24/7, but it's good to put the phone in while it's charging, or to chuck in the thumb drive as well while I'm moving my work stuff around the house.
(Can I just say? I looked at the thumb drive and it has a capacity of 64 MEGABYTES. WHAT IS THAT. THAT IS LIKE A FINGERNAIL PARING OF FILE STORAGE. I mean, I know it's five years old, but WHAT DO YOU EVEN PUT ON THAT? [Not the backups I actually need, apparently.] I just saw a three-pack of 2GB flash drives for $26 at The Cursed Store the other day! What the hell, people!)
So. Anyway. Things are looking a bit up, and I would dance the dance we dance when we have our life back if I could retrieve my files off the Betsys. Wish me luck on that account.
But I've fallen in love with that Dell Studio 17 laptop (yes, I will build it on the Dell site), and here is the artwork I want to splurge on because after THREE WEEKS OF COMPOCALYPSE I am pretty much beyond impulse control:
The screencap has a ton of extra white space around it because I can't figure out how to crop in freakin' MS Paint. OH GOD I WANT MY OWN STUFF BACK.
(
particle_person : "Of course it's purple.")
Anyway. I'm probably going to end up spending a lot more than I intended to, but when I sell something, that'll pay it off (like kings, Caroline! KINGS!). I'm to a point where I want to max out the service/support contracts--people have spoken very highly of those, and since it's a laptop and perhaps more prone to damage, I'll probably need it. My point is, if I max out the service contracts, I ought to be okay, they'll come out to the house in a timely fashion, they'll replace things, good times. But that's going to cost a good bit. And I want to upgrade a few options here and there, because while laptops do not last as long as desktops, generally speaking, I intend to keep it as long as it'll work, and I want to buy ahead on the technological front. Which will also inflate the price. And then, my completely gratuitous custom artwork. So... shut up, is what I'm saying.
(LIKE KINGS!)
Our current problem: data retrieval from Betsy. Because I'm going through my backups--which were helpfully saved on three different sites online and a thumb drive--and apparently I didn't back up THE STUFF I ACTUALLY NEED. I mean, the Black Ribbon stuff and the poetry (THE POETRY?!) are okay, but somehow I neglected to actually do anything about THE SHORT STORIES, which are what one might actually be able to sell. GODDAMMIT. And I've got to have my music back; the un-backed-up files just make data retrieval a bit more urgent than before. A friend of mine in town has recommended a local IT guy, so I'm going to try him--I mean, yes, I hear that you can get an external casing and put the hard drive thinger from the actual CPU into it, but... I ain't touchin' that. With my luck and inexperience? Hell no. I'll get someone to transfer the hard drives from both Betsys--I've been holding on to Betsy 1.0 all these years for that reason--and then we'll be back in business.
(Oh God. I hope we'll be back in business.)
Meanwhile, the iPhone's doing pretty well. I really don't want to spend a huge amount of time on it--the battery tends to run down like whoa--so I'm not putting a ton of recreational apps on it. But it's nice to have a way to look at Twitter and my email now and then, especially since I don't have a computer of my own at the moment. I hate "typing" on it, though, because I'm wordy and not used to expressing myself with just two fingers. I mean, it's still a shitload better than "press a number key four times for the letter D," but I can't write the kind of emails I'm used to writing, you know? So it's good, but it's not my life. I did remember that I have a little woven blue purse--from Delia's, I think, way back from college--about the size of a 5"x8" index card, so it's perfect for toting the iPhone and its little charger cord and headphones around. I mean, not that I'm doing this oh-so-fashionably 24/7, but it's good to put the phone in while it's charging, or to chuck in the thumb drive as well while I'm moving my work stuff around the house.
(Can I just say? I looked at the thumb drive and it has a capacity of 64 MEGABYTES. WHAT IS THAT. THAT IS LIKE A FINGERNAIL PARING OF FILE STORAGE. I mean, I know it's five years old, but WHAT DO YOU EVEN PUT ON THAT? [Not the backups I actually need, apparently.] I just saw a three-pack of 2GB flash drives for $26 at The Cursed Store the other day! What the hell, people!)
So. Anyway. Things are looking a bit up, and I would dance the dance we dance when we have our life back if I could retrieve my files off the Betsys. Wish me luck on that account.