Exploring Aravis

FYI:

For some time now I've been having trouble with MT and spam.  Specifically, when I have spam messages in the spam folder, I can't write a post until I've deleted them.  It's an odd bug that I haven't encountered before, but there you have it.

I've been ignoring it for the most part, but what if it gets worse?  The other day I had to really search to find the comment that was causing me trouble. 

MT announced a "mandatory" upgrade a few months ago that I've been ignoring, one which is supposed to address security issues.  Is that what I'm experiencing?  I've wondered.

So now I am debating.  Do I continue to put up with this strange spam phenomenon until I can no longer ignore it, or do I go through the colossal hassle of upgrading?  As simple as it's supposed to be, I always seem to run into snags that leave my blog offline until I figure them out.  Last time I never did get my blog back properly and had to create a separate archive in order to connect with the previous 4 years worth of blogging I'd done.  I'd probably continue to ignore it, but what if I lose my blog during the semester when I don't have time to address the issue?

Back and forth I go.

So if my blog disappears again, that's why.  I've either lost the Battle of the Bug, or I've given in and am attempting to perform the mandatory upgrade that really can't be all that mandatory because I've lasted this long without it.

Except for that bug thing.

*sigh*

While kidding around with someone (Mo) at work today, he said something about "your brilliant mind" to me.  Pretending to pluck my brain, I offered it to him and said "Here, you can have it!"

A few seconds later he came up to me and said "Seriously, with your mind, what are you doing here?"

And now I have to digress for a moment.

A week or so ago one of my supervisors (Mike) was having a bad day.  "You're doing the right thing, going back to college." he said to me.  "You've got to get out of here, got to better yourself."  And I have to say that, while I understand where he's coming from, the concept that I am somehow "bettering" myself rankles me.  I'm changing.  I'm growing in a new direction.  But I am not becoming a better person.  You don't need a college education, or even a high school diploma, to be the best sort of person there is.  Period.  And I was bothered that he said this at full volume while my  coworkers were walking around us.  It denigrates them, and it denigrates him.  Furthermore, for what it's worth, there's absolutely nothing wrong with working there permanently if that's how the deal falls for someone; it's honest work.  Mike is a nice guy who feels tired and ground-down most of the time.  He can be pretty funny, but that day he was feeling his age and his regrets.  It showed.  I'm not angry with him, but troubled by the mentality- one which he shares with a large portion of the population, I think- behind it.

So when my friend Mo came up to me today and asked me why I'm working there, I thought of Mike's comment, and I felt saddened once more.  "Why wouldn't I work here?  I need a job, this place is flexible and accommodates my school schedule,  and I'm surrounded by books.  What more could I ask for?"

"Oh, okay.  It's helping you get to where you need to go.  That's alright then."

The subtext being: You're not staying here like the rest of us.  Good for you!

"There's nothing wrong with working here!" I sometimes want to shout.  "It's not exciting, but it's good work that pays more than minimum wage and allows you to make your own hours!"

Three paper cuts and a fingernail torn to the quick later...

"Seriously, what am I doing here???"

Miss Louisa has commanded that you have everything you need and even some of what you want in 2009.  If you can disobey, you're a stronger peon- er, person- than I am.



(Randy, Patches and I wish you a very Happy New Year as well!)

Randy has purchased a Wii and is diligently playing mini golf while I cheer him on.  He's currently playing on the Rah (Egyptian) course.

I see Pharoahs.

Which is rather like seeing dead people, if you think about it, without the whole Haley Joel Osment/creepy kid thing.

On my pick list at work yesterday, I saw "Practical Poetry Curse."

Cool, I thought.

When I pulled the title, though, it was actually "Practical Poetry Course."

I like mine better.

Merry Merry Christmas everyone!

I found this over at LazyGal's place.  I know that it's a little soon after I've returned to blogging to post a meme, but I've got to go to work and finish Christmas-y stuff, so here you go for now:

The rules are: If you've seen more than eighty-five of these, you have no life.

(x) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(x) Grease
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean
( ) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest
( ) Boondock Saints
( ) Fight Club
( ) Starsky and Hutch
(x) Neverending Story
(x) Blazing Saddles
( ) Universal Soldier
( ) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
(x) Along Came Polly
( ) Joe Dirt
(x ) KING KONG which version? parts of the original, Jessica Lange version, Charlize Theron
(x ) A Cinderella Story
(x ) The Terminal
( x) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
(x ) Dumb & Dumber
( ) Dumber & Dumberer
(x ) Final Destination
(x ) Final Destination 2
(x ) Final Destination 3
(x) Halloween
( x) The Ring
(x ) The Ring 2
( ) Surviving X-MAS
( x) Flubber Orignial version only
( ) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
(x) Practical Magic
( ) Chicago
( ) Ghost Ship
( ) From Hell
( ) Hellboy
( ) Secret Window
(x ) I Am Sam
( ) The Whole Nine Yards
( ) The Whole Ten Yards
(x ) The Day After Tomorrow
(x ) Child's Play
( ) Seed of Chucky
( ) Bride of Chucky
(x) Ten Things I Hate About You
( ) Just Married
( ) Gothika
(x ) Nightmare on Elm Street
(x) Sixteen Candles
(x ) Remember the Titans
( ) Coach Carter
( ) The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
(x ) The Mask
( ) Son Of The Mask
( ) Bad Boys
( ) Bad Boys 2
( ) Joy Ride
( ) Lucky Number Sleven
(x) Ocean's Eleven
( ) Ocean's Twelve
(x ) Bourne Identity
(x ) Bourne Supremacy
( ) Lone Star
( ) Bedazzled both versions
(x ) Predator I
( ) Predator II
(x ) The Fog
(x ) Ice Age
(x ) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
( ) Curious George
(x ) Independence Day
(x ) Cujo
( ) A Bronx Tale
( ) Darkness Falls
(x ) Christine
(x) ET
(x ) Children of the Corn
( ) My Boss's Daughter
(x ) Maid in Manhattan
( ) War of the Worlds
( ) Rush Hour
( ) Rush Hour 2
( ) Best Bet
(x) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
(x) She's All That
(x) Calendar Girls
( ) Sideways
( ) Mars Attacks
( ) Event Horizon
(x) Ever After
(x) Wizard of Oz
(x ) Forrest Gump
(x ) Big Trouble in Little China
(x) The Terminator
(x ) The Terminator 2
(x ) The Terminator 3
(x ) x-Men
(x ) x2
(x ) x-3
(x ) Spider-Man
( ) Spider-Man 2
(x ) Sky High
( ) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
( ) Catch Me If You Can
(x ) The Little Mermaid
(x ) Freaky Friday
( ) Reign of Fire
(x ) The Skulls
(x) Cruel Intentions
( ) Cruel Intentions 2
( ) The Hot Chick
(x) Shrek
(x) Shrek 2
( ) Swimfan
(x ) Miracle on 34th street
( ) Old School
( ) The Notebook
( ) K-Pax
(x ) Kippendorf's Tribe
(x ) A Walk to Remember
(x ) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
(x ) The 40-year-old-virgin
(x) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring
(x) Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
(x) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King
(x) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(x) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(x) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
( ) Baseketball
( ) Hostel
( ) Waiting for Guffman
( ) House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
( ) Elf
(x ) Highlander
( ) Mothman Prophecies
( ) American History
( ) Three
( ) The Jacket
( ) Kung Fu Hustle
( ) Shaolin Soccer
( ) Night Watch
(x) Monsters Inc.
(x ) Titanic
(x) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
( ) Shaun Of the Dead
( ) Willard
( ) High Tension
( ) Club Dread
( ) Hulk
( ) Dawn Of the Dead
(x ) Hook
(x) Chronicle Of Narnia The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
( ) 28 days later
( ) Orgazmo
( ) Phantasm
( ) Waterworld
( ) Kill Bill vol 1
( ) Kill Bill vol 2
( ) Mortal Kombat
( ) Wolf Creek
( ) Kingdom of Heaven
( ) The Hills Have Eyes
( ) I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
( ) The Last House on the Left
( ) Re-Animator
( ) Army of Darkness
(x) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(x) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(x) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(x) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(x) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(x) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
( ) Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
( ) Ewoks The Battle For Endor
(x ) The Matrix
(x ) The Matrix Reloaded
(x ) The Matrix Revolutions
( ) Animatri
( ) Evil Dead
( ) Evil Dead 2
( ) Team America: World Police
( ) Red Dragon
(x) Silence of the Lambs
( ) Hannibal
( ) Battle Royale
( ) Battle Royale 2
( ) Brazil
(x ) Contact
( ) Cube
( ) Dr. Strangelove
( ) Enlightenment Guaranteed
( ) Four Rooms
( ) Memento
( ) Pi
( ) Requiem for a Dream
( ) Pulp Fiction
( ) Reservoir Dogs
(x) Run Lola Run
( ) Russian Ark
(x ) Serenity
(x) Sin City
( ) Snatch
( ) Spider
(x) The Sixth Sense
(x) The Village
( ) Waking Life
( ) Zatoichi
( ) Ikiru
( ) The Seven Samurai (but it's on my to-watch list)
( ) Brick
( ) Akira

So, if I've counted correctly (94 viewed), then I have no life.  Of course, it doesn't take into consideration the span of years over which these have been viewed, but that's ok.  I could have told you that I have, at times, had no life. 

As you can see, I have been culturally enriched because of it.

Don't know if any of you are still out there, but I'm here.

We're on day two of a snow storm, and it's beautiful out.  I've got a front-row view of the falling flakes, a cup of hot chocolate, and a purring cat on my lap.  I'm still in my favorite pj bottoms with the softest, snuggliest sweater I own completing this most comfy of ensembles.

So, what's new?

I think I have about a bazillion posts of yours to read, and I'm going to.  I want to catch up with what's been going on.

As for me, well, the semester is over and, while I enjoyed my classes, I can't tell you how glad I am that I have this break.  During the second half of the semester, two of my professors realized that they had fallen sadly behind.  Rather than change their plans, they subjected us to a whirlwind of chapter overviews, quizzes, tests and papers.  In both classes, I had a test on the last day of class instead of review.  Yeah, they took it right to the very end.

While I'm certain that I received an A in my 2 psych classes (one has posted the grade, the other hasn't but has already told me I'm in good shape), it is my sad duty to report that my streak of perfection has come to an end: I got a B in Statistics.  As you might guess, I'm not happy about that.  There were some problems with the final.  When I challenged him, he told me I was right and said that he corrected that and gave me credit.  The test was online, so I went back to look.  The grade is the same, and he has posted our final grades.  I emailed him but never heard back.  This was his last semester here- he's off to teach at Purdue- so it's not like I can track him down.  I keep the B.  I'm trying to practice acceptance.  It's an uphill battle, but I'm working on it.  Here's some happier news: my Bio lab professor liked a paper I did so much that she's keeping it on file for future students to use as a reference for how their papers should be done!  I'm still waiting to find out how I did in Human Bio overall.  I know I got an A in the lab, and A- on both the midterm and the final.  I'm in the B range, though, for homework and quizzes.  Each of these components makes up 25% of the grade, and I don't know if the B on homework, etc., is going to pull me down to a B+ for the class or not.  The A in lab is really an A+, so perhaps that will offset it and leave me with an A-.  I just have to wait and see.

I have a lot to do... tour college campuses, fill out applications and financial aid forms, finish work on that incredibly involved scholarship application (due Jan. 14).  Our donation drive for area shelters went really well and I have a carload full of items to sort through, divvy up and deliver.  I've already made one trip before this (a carload of blankets that time) and am so pleased and proud of our students and faculty for their generosity.  Other clubs collected winter coats and stuffed animals for the shelters as well, while the faculty had a giving tree covered in ornaments with children's wish lists for toys and clothes on them.  We  could choose an ornament and buy the things listed, then leave them in the office to be delivered.  My brother, who has just been laid off from work because of the economy, bought a special $50 snowboarder's sweatshirt for a kid who loves the sport (in other words, a kid after my brother's own heart!). 

I don't have a Christmas tree and, at this rate, probably won't.  We gave our tree stand to my mother because hers broke and, though she went to every store in the tri-state area, she couldn't find a new one!  She had her tree in a bucket in her living room, still wrapped up, because she didn't have a stand for it.  She asked Randy and I if we had a spare- we used to- but our second one had broken and we'd tossed it.  Randy offered her ours, insisting that he can rig something up for us.  I can't tell you how happy my mother is!  She and the kids were finally able to decorate their tree yesterday.  Why wait so long to put up the tree?  My fault.  It's a family tradition to keep the tree up until my birthday in January; I loved it so much when I was little!  Naturally that means holding off on the tree until late in December so that it won't be a brown, shriveled up husk on Jan. 12.  I haven't been over to see it yet, but will soon.  As for us, well, we don't have any children and I've just been too busy to even think about Christmas really.  The fact that today is Dec. 21 sank in a little while ago, causing my chest to contract, my breath to catch and my heart to accelerate like a rabbit's.  Apropos, that, since "Rabbit" is my mother's nickname for me.  I haven't bought anything for anybody, which isn't quite as bad as it sounds; most of us have said that we'd rather the money that would have been spent on us be donated to charity instead.  It's such a tough year for so many!  I can't even imagine...

I've blathered on long enough and have only covered the surface, but I think I'll stop here for now.

Good to be back!

Lest you think that I've fallen off the face of the earth... I haven't.

I wrote a long, witty, newsy post a few days ago, and then my browser spontaneously closed (any idea why Firefox has been doing that since the upgrade?) and my lovely post was lost.  Aggravated and out of time, I decided not to try to recreate it; it's never as good the second time around anyway.  I've received all of your wonderful emails and comments, though, and wanted to let you know that I'm ok.  Thanks for asking!

I'm up to my eyeballs in last minute tests and finals.  My last final is Wednesday, and then I'm a free woman.  You'll hear more from  me then.

Until that time: peace, love and broccoli.

When I went to bed last night, my computer was fine.  Beautiful, in fact.  It was a happy computer.

 When I woke up this morning, it was sad.  It had become depressed sometime over the course of the night, and attempted suicide.  Whether or not it was successful is yet to be determined.  Here's what happened:

When I woke up and stumbled into my living room, I turned on my laptop, and then wandered away to complete the rest of my morning routine.  When I returned to my beloved toy, I discovered that although the power was on, nothing else was.  The screen was black.  The computer wasn't loading, nor would it turn off.  It also wouldn't load the restore disk.

I need my computer.  I need my Office Suite, which I can't install on Randy's laptop because it eats too much space. I suppose I could have used Randy's for the online course components, but my mind has that awful glitch that won't let me focus on anything else when something is wrong, especially something as wrong as my laptop's black screen of death.  I decided to go to Circuit City to buy a new one.  Extravagant, I know, and I wasn't happy about it.  Was I giving in to the urge to buy something new just to have something new even though it wasn't technically necessary?  To offset the guilt, I brought along my broken laptop to see if they could fix it quickly so I wouldn't have to buy a new one.  Off I went.

When I brought in my laptop, it was hot.  Very hot.  I paid them to run a diagnostic, but it won't be completed for a couple of days.  They're not even sure it can be salvaged due to heat damage.  A new laptop it is, then.  "If they can fix my laptop, I'll just give it to my brother, who wants a laptop but can't afford one," I thought.  One of the tech guys was excited to work on my old one.  It seems the store's heat went out yesterday and, though it had been restored, he was still feeling chilled.  My computer had just become his hand-warmer.

I now own an HP G60-120US Notebook PC.

And, if the old one can't be fixed, the tech guy now has a space heater.