I think everyone has had one of those days that they would like to “do over.” You know, when just about everything you touch goes wrong or breaks. Well, I have had one of those months.
Gary’s 5-year-old laptop finally decided it had enough. He received the “blue screen of death” more often than not. He was leaving for Indy in the beginning of the month, so he gave me his requirements and asked me to order him a new computer. I did some research and then ordered him a Dell. It arrived the day before he was supposed to leave, so I had time to load all the programs and get it set up for him after I come home from work. I handed him the computer letting him know it was ready, to which he responded, “Did you test my Laptop Connect Card?” I hadn’t so I grabbed the card and realized fairly quickly that it was not going to work. Seems that I didn’t check out the card slot on the Dell computer when I ordered it, and that we bought the latest and greatest technology. Unfortunately, we do not have the latest and greatest PC card to go into it. The new cards are much smaller. So, I took him to the airport the next day with his old computer, while I ordered the new card for the Dell. Oh yeah, and only one wireless company currently manufactures the new version of the PC cards.
On my way back from dropping Gary off at the airport, there was a seven-car accident (no one was hurt) that shut down the highway that I was on. I sat in my car for three hours until the road was clear. I had my computer and cell phone, so I was working from my car. All was fine until I tried to take my car out of park and move forward when the road was clear. There must have been a sensor or solenoid that was going out because I could not get my car out of park. It took me about 30 minutes of finessing with the brake pedal and the shifter to successfully get my car moving forward. I still had to get to work and once I did my second mechanical dilemma took place. The same switch or solenoid must also be connected to my ignition switch because when I turned the key to off, the motor shut off, however the key would not go to the off position allowing me to remove it. Again, after 20 minutes of finessing, I was able to turn it to the off position. I completed my Friday at work and was fortunate enough to make it home with no issues. I parked my car at home in the garage, and with Gary in Indy, I reverted to his truck. It was probably a good thing because we were hit with a snowstorm that weekend.
I made it through the snowstorm just fine Monday morning, but my technical and mechanical issues where still occurring. My GE computer decided to flash me the “Blue Screen.” I spent all day Monday and half day Tuesday with our in house GE “Help Desk” copying my data from my old hard drive to my new one. My computer is working great now, and I think I have finally got to the point where it’s just like it was before the hard drive failed.
Life was good again on Tuesday, that is until that nice sheriff pulled me over. Yes, I received a ticket for speeding on the way home from work. He wrote me for 65 mph in a 55. I think the last time I received a ticket was about 20 years ago.
Recapping, teo computers crashed, my car malfunctioned, and a received a speeding ticket in the month of January. Wait, I mean in the first half of the month. The second half of the month is turning out much better, so I am sure all the little technical and mechanical bugs have flown away. I don’t have any pictures for this blog, (the sheriff was not willing to pose) but, we just returned from the Mac Tools Tool Fair in Nashville, and we are leaving at 3:00 a.m. tomorrow for a week in Mexico, so there will be pictures in the next blog.