Zen and the Art of Motherhood

Long time, no post.  I know.  Its been a strange few days.

Monday was so serene.  The kids were back at school (Halleluiah!) and I was able to gain my bearings.  I organized closets, did some shopping and even made a great turkey tortilla soup dinner.  I was on a roll.

Then Tuesday came.  I was so excited because my long-awaited new laptop was scheduled to arrive.  Yes, my old one officially bit the big one, so I broke down during all those online Black Friday deals and bought me a brand spanking new one.
 
The anticipation was almost more than I could handle.  I kept running to the door every time I heard a truck go by.  When the FedEx guy finally did show up, I nearly knocked him down trying to get my hands on my new toy.

Well, its not actually a toy.  More like a necessity if you ask me.   My life as a blogger was being seriously hampered by a series of annoyances.  Holidays, kids and pesky chores like dinner and laundry were constantly getting in the way.  And anytime I did sit down to type a few lines, I had three not-so-subtle kids breathing down my neck.

“Are you done yet? “
“When can I go on?”
“Mom, I have to do my homework!”

Come on kids.  What’s more important?  Your essay on the Constitution or my blogging fix?  This was officially cramping my style.

So as soon as I had the box in my grubby little paws, pieces of cardboard could be seen flying everywhere.  That new laptop was unwrapped and ready to go in record time.  Why I’d be up in a matter of no time.

Yeah, like that happened. You’ve all known me long enough to know better, right?

I knew there was going to be some setup time required.  What I didn’t sign up for was exactly how much time we were talking about.

I read the instructions.  I followed the directions.  It was supposed to be easy.
So they said.

They lied. I ended up with about half my files and none of my programs loading properly.  As for my email?  It was gone.  Out on some joyride, generously taking all my contacts, addresses and phone numbers along for fun.

So if you’ve been wondering where I’ve been, I’ve spent the better part of the last two days trying to figure out how to get all my info from one computer to the next.  And this sent me on a seemingly never ending trip in circles.

First I started by contacting Microsoft.  It was there software after all.  But no.  Since the operating system came loaded on the computer, I was not-so-quickly instructed to talk to Dell.  Not to be outdone, their policy clearly pointed me to a link right back to the software vendor.


Never mind that groceries needed to be bought and bills paid.  I was plastered to my chair (in between breaks cursing this elaborate conspiracy to take my money and run), because I was bound and determined to figure it out.

Round and round I went until finally – I’m still not sure what exactly I did – software and data alike magically appear.  What the $@*#!

All I know is, right now I am pleased to report that all is safe and sound.  Backups are scheduled.  And I am right where I belong – on my bed cranking out yet another mindless, but sanity inducing post.

So at the moment, the planets are aligned.  And all is once again right in the world.  Until tomorrow.

One never knows what kind of trip I’ll end up on then.