You're Doing It Wrong

My level of busy has ticked up quite a bit. Earlier in the year when I was doing all my tutorials I was thinking: See? You have plenty of time to do this kind of stuff.

And now that I’ve got more going on and I’m a little more tired in my free time I’m thinking: D’oh. You had more energy because you weren’t doing anything.

It’s all good. Did I mention that we subscribed to The New Yorker?

We’ve subscribed before and I loved it except: the dang thing comes every week. I get really worked up if I have a pile of magazines stacked by the bed. And no, I can’t get rid of them without reading them. It’s like you don’t know me.

I gave up 3 other subscriptions that I was not loving (but only arrived monthly or bi-monthly) and Bob nudged me. And I am loving this magazine.

It’s perfect bus reading. The writing is terrific. So many topics I didn’t even know I wanted to read about. And if it’s something I’m less interested in I can scan through a section or two and move on with my life.

If I have one complaint it’s that the fiction has been underwhelming except for the Zadie Smith story. More good fiction!

Bob said we’re finally grown up enough that the cartoons are funny.

“I wouldn’t go that far,” I said.

I can’t remember what triggered this but I was thinking about when you’re a kid and you fantasize about running away from home.

Don’t all kids think about this when they’re little? You’ll show them.

I know I did. You had to put your belongings in a handkerchief and put it on a stick. Then I would bring Kitty and Monkey (stuffed animals) and something to eat. I don’t think it occurred to me to take money or a change of clothes.

When I was pretty young I wrote a story about some kids that ran away from home. They went into the hills where there were lots of apple trees so they had plenty to eat. They made a fire and put the apples on sticks and cooked them over the fire.

I wish I still had this manuscript. I had no idea what was going to happen next. I think the idea was a sort-of The Incredible Journey with kids. But I’m not sure where I thought they would end up. All living together in a great apartment in Haight-Ashbury?

When I was older and had visions of running away it usually involved driving to Mexico. These visions included all my money and clothes. But I always knew it would never work and then I would have to go home and have no money. This is all a big joke because I am the most boring predictable person alive. I would never run away. Even “what-if-ing” gives me anxiety.

Hm. Don’t love it but no time to fiddle with it.

I couldn’t login into my ebook account. The login window would say that I was successfully logged in but it would be blank and I wouldn’t be able to access my account.

I tried every browser on my desktop and my laptop. I re-installed one browser because I have an ad blocker installed and I thought that might be the problem. I went to customer service but you can’t ask a question if you’re not logged in. The forums were worthless.

I gave it 24 hours thinking maybe they were having a snafu. I still couldn’t login.

I finally changed my password and then I could get in. I’ll never give up my paper books.

I said I would have dinner on the table in 30 minutes and I haven’t even started yet because I was trying to add an effect to this and couldn’t quite get it right.

I couldn’t make my text look as good as in the tutorial. And I looked at this word so long I had to check the dictionary to make sure I spelled it right.

Remember when I started this class way back at Labor Day? I just finished it today. I thought it was 15 hours but now it says 13 Hours 46 minutes. I have 8 other classes in my playlist right now but none of them are that long.

I need tons more practice. Stay tuned.

So back during the holidays I went shopping at a big box sporting goods store. I was there pretty early but the posted hours were insane like 7am-11pm. I think I was in on a weekday at about 9am.

The store was empty. I was the only customer in there.

To be honest, it upsets me to see big box stores with insanely endless hours that are mostly empty every time I go in there.

I hiked around until I found the department I wanted and I needed help with what I was buying. There was no one around. I hiked back to the front of the store where the lone employee who wished me good morning when I came in was doing whatever she was doing to kill time. I asked her if I could get help.

Then I heard her on the phone, describing what I looked like to the person who was supposed to meet in the outback and help me with my question. I was thinking: Just say it’s THE CUSTOMER. How could he miss me?

I like the way this one came out but I could never figure out how to do it again. It’s fun to play but I’m an impatient learner. Once I’ve done it a couple of times, I want to be good at it.

Nice to have an excuse to sit around the house all weekend but I’m ready to get out in the world again.

We cleared the driveway and unburied my car to make it easier to get out of here in the morning.

Time to ditch the computer and do something else.

This afternoon I had an appointment in downtown Vancouver. Bob and I decided to walk to it.

The morning walk was terrific. It was semi-sunny and the air refreshing. We took lots of pictures and visited with some neighbors.

The walk home was less terrific. It had started snowing again, heavy and wet. The walk home is a gentle uphill. By the time I got home I was pooped and I still had to throw some dinner on the stove and mix up my bread for tomorrow. I make a sourdough loaf almost every week.

Then I somehow managed to stick my photocard (tired, not paying attention) in the DVD slot instead of the card slot and it plooped right in. I had a mild panic attack. Quickly powered down the machine. Powered up the laptop. Typed HELP! and my problem into a search engine because no matter what dumb thing you do, there’s always someone who did it before you.

I wouldn’t have cared so much except I really wanted my photos.

One suggestion was to tilt the machine on its side and shake it. Another suggestion involved a credit card and something sticky like a mailing label or tape. First I had to disconnect everything from everything. Then I shook and tilted my heart out. Nothing seemed to be happening. I wondered if I still have Apple Care and when the hell I was going to get around to carting my computer to some fix it guy. And whether I would be honest or make up a cover story.

I remained calm. I propped my machine on the bed so I could tilt it toward me while I held a baby flashlight in my teeth and wiggled a credit card in the slot. And [long frustrating bit omitted] it worked!

And now my brain is melted. Lots more snow photos *with filters* later this weekend.