Reaching the Hurdles
I have been a terrible slacker about updating my posts - and to all two people who check in on me . . . I'm sorry! Seriously, this nano is turning out to be the most difficult challenge of the year. If I look at my schedule more than two days in advance I suffer breathing problems - there are a startling number of birthday parties, nano events, concerts, movies, and other odd-ball events that I have agreed to attend. And Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is in there somewhere.
Unfortunately, I couldn't justify spending the money on airline tickets to go visit my family in Vegas this year - but while I thought that would mean less stress - it seems like everyone has seized on the opportunity of having me around, and doubled up the family commitments.
And then my laptop started dying. ::sniffles:: I love my little decrepit laptop, but it's finally reached a point where (1) when I plug it in, it turns on all by itself - no power button needed (it has no battery, but it was that way when I purchased it, so I won't add that to my list of complaints); (2) it does not play well with flashdrive software (even when I stop the process and eject the flash drive the way you are supposed to, it gives me a warning); (3) it always thinks it is 1980 (see no battery above) and it takes 15 minutes to set the clock and do other changes that enable me to surf the net; and finally (4) the screen is beginning to flicker and die (I HAVE A WITNESS!!!!). I was innocently typing along at the coffee shop, and a single white line cut across the screen. This was followed by two white lines, . . . then twenty . . . and my screen image faded out of existence.
I think this all boils down to - time to get a new laptop . . . and Christmas is around the corner. T. - of course - is not so sure I need a new laptop. (Maybe he is right, but I think I deserve one ::sigh::).
So now I am afraid to write my novel on my little laptop, because once the screen goes, it will be impossible to salvage any of the information . . . okay - not impossible - but highly inconvenient. I would rather keep it powered down and save the screen life for transferring files once I have my new 'puter.
Enough whining . . . . there may be hurdles . . . but I'm still planning on winning the race! Even if my laptop is whining like a jet engine when I cross the finish line!
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“I am making a muck of this explanation,” the Lady said, smiling ruefully, “but how do you sum up a person in so few words? I’ve known Commander Stavelin my entire life, but he was not a Commander to me. He was family. He was,” the Lady shook her head, at a loss for words, “souvenirs from far away lands, fascinating tales and inappropriate jests. He laughed far more often than he frowned, and he treated everyone he met, including children, with unstinting kindness.”
Gwen felt her own throat begin to close as the Lady Arisa’s emotions swelled. Even without her empathic net, Gwen would have sensed the Lady’s distress.
“And how do I reconcile that?” the Lady whispered, her eyes glimmering with unshed tears. “How do I take the image of everything I ever knew, wipe it clean, and replace it with a monstrosity?”
Gwen was left speechless.
“He told me a story once,” the Lady sniffled, “about a warlord far to the North. My uncle was surpassingly good with historical facts and figures, and while I could barely remember half of Peiceland’s history, it seemed he encompassed the world in his head.” She laughed, scrubbing gently at one cheek. “I had asked him why it seemed that he hated his position, and in turn, he told me the story of this Northern warlord, who set out to conquer a chunk of land three times the size of our small country with nothing but a small nomadic army. The warlord was a fierce fighter and clever. While he usually took a village through means of trickery, it was ultimately his ruthlessness that he became known for. After he conquered a village, he would line up all of the survivors in front of a horse carriage. And he would execute anyone - man, woman, or child - who was taller than the wheel.”
The blood drained from Gwen’s face. “Dios,” she exclaimed. “To what purpose?”
The Lady Arisa smiled. “That was the lesson,” she said. “My uncle waited patiently for me to guess, and I think I will do the same.”
Gwen shuddered as she considered what drove the warlord’s thoughts. As quickly as an explanation came to mind, she would discard it, until the sheer number of reasons she could think of began to make her feel sick.
The Lady Arisa nodded, her eyes filled with understanding. “It is terrible, isn’t it?” she said softly, “All the things we can think of. All the things we never thought we could think of.”
Unfortunately, I couldn't justify spending the money on airline tickets to go visit my family in Vegas this year - but while I thought that would mean less stress - it seems like everyone has seized on the opportunity of having me around, and doubled up the family commitments.
And then my laptop started dying. ::sniffles:: I love my little decrepit laptop, but it's finally reached a point where (1) when I plug it in, it turns on all by itself - no power button needed (it has no battery, but it was that way when I purchased it, so I won't add that to my list of complaints); (2) it does not play well with flashdrive software (even when I stop the process and eject the flash drive the way you are supposed to, it gives me a warning); (3) it always thinks it is 1980 (see no battery above) and it takes 15 minutes to set the clock and do other changes that enable me to surf the net; and finally (4) the screen is beginning to flicker and die (I HAVE A WITNESS!!!!). I was innocently typing along at the coffee shop, and a single white line cut across the screen. This was followed by two white lines, . . . then twenty . . . and my screen image faded out of existence.
I think this all boils down to - time to get a new laptop . . . and Christmas is around the corner. T. - of course - is not so sure I need a new laptop. (Maybe he is right, but I think I deserve one ::sigh::).
So now I am afraid to write my novel on my little laptop, because once the screen goes, it will be impossible to salvage any of the information . . . okay - not impossible - but highly inconvenient. I would rather keep it powered down and save the screen life for transferring files once I have my new 'puter.
Enough whining . . . . there may be hurdles . . . but I'm still planning on winning the race! Even if my laptop is whining like a jet engine when I cross the finish line!
-----------------------
“I am making a muck of this explanation,” the Lady said, smiling ruefully, “but how do you sum up a person in so few words? I’ve known Commander Stavelin my entire life, but he was not a Commander to me. He was family. He was,” the Lady shook her head, at a loss for words, “souvenirs from far away lands, fascinating tales and inappropriate jests. He laughed far more often than he frowned, and he treated everyone he met, including children, with unstinting kindness.”
Gwen felt her own throat begin to close as the Lady Arisa’s emotions swelled. Even without her empathic net, Gwen would have sensed the Lady’s distress.
“And how do I reconcile that?” the Lady whispered, her eyes glimmering with unshed tears. “How do I take the image of everything I ever knew, wipe it clean, and replace it with a monstrosity?”
Gwen was left speechless.
“He told me a story once,” the Lady sniffled, “about a warlord far to the North. My uncle was surpassingly good with historical facts and figures, and while I could barely remember half of Peiceland’s history, it seemed he encompassed the world in his head.” She laughed, scrubbing gently at one cheek. “I had asked him why it seemed that he hated his position, and in turn, he told me the story of this Northern warlord, who set out to conquer a chunk of land three times the size of our small country with nothing but a small nomadic army. The warlord was a fierce fighter and clever. While he usually took a village through means of trickery, it was ultimately his ruthlessness that he became known for. After he conquered a village, he would line up all of the survivors in front of a horse carriage. And he would execute anyone - man, woman, or child - who was taller than the wheel.”
The blood drained from Gwen’s face. “Dios,” she exclaimed. “To what purpose?”
The Lady Arisa smiled. “That was the lesson,” she said. “My uncle waited patiently for me to guess, and I think I will do the same.”
Gwen shuddered as she considered what drove the warlord’s thoughts. As quickly as an explanation came to mind, she would discard it, until the sheer number of reasons she could think of began to make her feel sick.
The Lady Arisa nodded, her eyes filled with understanding. “It is terrible, isn’t it?” she said softly, “All the things we can think of. All the things we never thought we could think of.”
posted by Andrea Peach | 5:13 PM
1 Comments:
Yes, you deserve a new laptop simply because your old one is gasping for air and DYING!!
Be nice to yourself and get something for Christmas that is not dying before your eyes. I do hope your old one will last until then.
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