Getting Jiggy With It
Date: Thursday May 8, 2008Posted in: Blogging, Emily, Family, Graham, Nathan, Workin' It, me
I *think* most of my computer issues have been resolved. One of the drawbacks to living in the sticks is that the only high-speed Internet you can get out here is via satellite. While it is a billion times faster than dial-up, it usually hesitates a second or five two before loading a page. Matthew called our ISP yesterday, and we decided to upgrade to the next level of service. I do not know the technical term, but it’s SUPER FAST. Wheeee!
As of this morning, gmail is working. Woo! My work website is easily accessible. Yes! I can procrastinate by surfing the Internet get my work done even faster. Huzzah!
I was trying to use the crisis as a means of convincing Honey that this would be the perfect time for me to switch to Mac. He was not convinced. I see his point. If I am using the “But it’s better for photography!” argument, then I really should not spend money on a new laptop until I start making more from my photography gigs. Want to hire me and support my cause?
As for the whole “work” thing in general, I just started a seven-week contract. Those of you have been around for a while will remember that last year at this time I started a seven-week contract. With thirty-five students. I was working fifty to sixty hours a week and ALMOST DIED was a little burnt out by the end. This time around, I only took on eighteen students. That’s exactly half (with one left out for rounding), and should keep me busy a mere thirty hours or so a week. I won’t even have to pull the up-until-midnight shift to meet deadlines. Hooray!
This means that I will have time to do the photography gigs that come my way. Last weekend I was asked to go to a couple of the local wineries that were participating in the Spring Wine Festival and take some photos.
It was a tough gig. I sure hope I don’t have to do another one of those. Ha! It was too much fun to be considered “work”.
In addition to work and “work”, I plan on having time to hang out with the kidlets and Honey. Last year we managed to keep doing a lot of family stuff, but the whole time I would be thinking about all of the work that I knew was piling up in my inbox. Some people are good at compartmentalizing. Me? Not so much.
I should be able to get my work done in a reasonable amount of time, which will leave me to play with wild abandon. With the arrival of spring (FINALLY!), we spend the bulk of our days outdoors when we are not at school/swim class/boot camp. After dinner we usually head back outside to play some games.
The dudes have been loving “baseball”. Basically, they just take turns hitting the ball. I do not have any photos of this game we play, as they like the way I pitch. I cannot pitch and take photos at the same time. I may be a fantastic multi-tasker, but even I have my limits.
I did manage to get some photos of them playing frisbee with Daddy. Here they are waiting to catch it.
I have been having some issues with my computer and my website.
Not this site that you are reading, but the one that I use for my contract work. It is not their fault, and they are working with me to get the issues resolved. They use a third-party service who decided to upgrade to a New! Better! Platform!
Except that the new platform is slower than molasses. After putting the kids to bed last night, I went to log in to the site to quickly (ha!) check my email and it took me an hour to just LOG IN. An HOUR. I don’t know about you, but I do not want to spend ONE TWENTY FOURTH OF MY LIFE IN THE LOG-IN SCREEN.
In addition to that problem (which included trying to log in from ALL THREE computers in our house), my laptop has decided that it does not want to play nicely with the Internet. After (FINALLY!) getting my work done, I thought I could answer a few emails before editing some photos I had taken yesterday.
It ALSO took me a while, but I EVENTUALLY got into gmail. Then (THEN!) I could SEE the EMAILS but could not OPEN them. I had the gmail that was “Loading…” for almost an hour.
I thought maybe I should try some surfing. The problem was (AND IS) that anything I type on the Internet has about a twenty-second delay. I type, sit back and have a sip of DC, and watch the characters I typed slowly make an appearance. I closed the Internet and walked away from the disaster that is my STUPID VISTA laptop before I heaved it over the embankment.
I may or may not be a little frustrated. In the meantime I am working on this boat anchor of a desktop that I have down in the office. It is five (Five!) years old. It also makes my heart sing for joy. Ha!
I should trade them both in for a Macbook Pro. They say once you go Mac, you never go back. ARE YOU LISTENING, LAPTOP?
I think this photo I took of Graham yesterday sums up how I am feeling.
I may or may not have looked exactly like that last night. And possibly as I type this.
I use the Internet for work (WHICH PAYS THE BILLS) and pleasure (WHICH KEEPS ME SANE).
As I lay in bed last night (with a sick baby girl), I decided I had two options:
1. Throw my laptop in the lake and eschew anything Internet related. While I am at it I will give up all modern conveniences, including electronics, appliances, and razors. I will start pumping out more babies to, you know, churn butter and pluck feathers off of the chickens.
2. Call in our computer guy to come and fix my laptop. I can then get my work done and save myself (and my family) from joining a commune. Then I can also possibly get back to being an Internet Member In Good Standing.
I really hope it’s the latter. I’ll keep you posted.
My friend Loralee (She who wants to make babies with Canada) is having a sweet giveaway. Go and see.
Domestic Goddess*
Date: Wednesday February 6, 2008Posted in: Emily, Family, Parenting, Workin' It, domestic bliss, me
As most (some?) of you know, I am an accountant. Of the Chartered variety. Seven years and a four-day exam later, I managed to pass an exam with a sixty percent pass-rate and finally be DONE with the whole schooling thing. Except for the eleventy billion hours of Professional Development that I need to do each year. But that is a different post.
Since having kids I have not worked full-time outside of the home, save for a few tax-season gigs early in my parenting years with Honey operating Daddy Daycare.
I switched to the education side of the boring accounting field and have been able to dabble enough to be the Gravy on top of the Meat and Potatoes made by Honey. Lately, however, his work in the lumber industry has been slow. Not non-existent, but not paying (all of) the bills either. I can always take on more of the education contract work but have been feeling all antsy lately and not sure if that is what I wanted to do.
I’m Not Just Any Slob. I’m A Sobbing Slob.
Date: Wednesday September 26, 2007Posted in: Blogging, Family, Workin' It
I wasn’t planning on posting anything until Foto Friday (It’s drafted, pending final edits. For the three of you who care.) The week? It is BUSY. The hours? Not enough. The work load? Enormous.
I am teaching this Friday through Sunday. I have to leave tomorrow night and have eleventy billion things to do before I go. The main order of business has been to prepare so that the students don’t think I’m a complete door knob. I don’t think I’ll fool them, but it’s worth a try.
This is why I closed my Internet browser this morning and was pretending the Internet didn’t exist. I did keep email open, because who doesn’t love the little chime it makes when a piece of email arrives?
The day was chock-full of accounting mumbo-jumbo and listening to my ever-patient husband deal with Daddy Daycare. I was feeling a bit behind the eight ball but think it will all work out in the end.
After lunch I had some, um, symptoms. I Googled them, and even pulled out my health guide. Yep. I was pretty sure that I had succumbed to my very first UTI. Super. Could not have come at a better time. No really. I love being sick when I have to be on my game. Don’t you?
I traipsed off for a “quick” trip to the drop-in clinic. An hour later while sitting in the waiting room the trifecta of stress, discomfort and impatience may or may not have caused me to sob in the waiting room. And while in (finally!) to see the doctor. And while at the pharmacy. And the whole drive home.
