*BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP*
Taking a hiatus from online things until I get offline things under control. This could take awhile, hence this note.
Cheers all,
DJ
The person you have reached is experiencing technical difficulties. If you feel you have reached this message in error
GUESS WHAT? YOU HAVEN’T!
/frustration
Anyway, yeah. My laptop is fried. It’s a long story, but the short of it is that it has to go in for repair, and that will take anywhere from two weeks to a month to get back. Hopefully – HOPEFULLY – it will be done and sent back in a week or so, but this being the holiday season, “7 business days after we receive it” may as well translate to “don’t expect it anytime soon”.
But there’s always hope, right?
Right?
I mean, the laptop is less than a year old and still under warranty, so I’m not going to have to take out another mortgage or anything to pay for it, or buy a new one (that I know of…yet). I don’t even have to pay shipping, so that’s good. This came at a seriously unfortunate time, but it’s not the end of the world, no matter what it feels like (and it does feel awful – everything is on that laptop, but the really important things are saved and available, namely my manuscripts! Weekly external hard drive backups FTW!).
So it’s not the end of the world. It’s just the (hopefully very temporary) end of the lifestyle to which I’d become accustomed. Yeah, I’m bummed bigtime – I has a BIG sad 🙁 – but I’ll bounce back soon enough.
I’m trying to look on the bright side of this crisis/fiasco/craptasticness (and believe me, I did NOT need this today on top of a few other…issues I’m dealing with that I won’t detail here.*sings* “Always look on the briiiiiiiiiiiiiight side of life!”) – lappy is under warranty, I don’t have to shell out big bucks, it will come back nice and shiny and fixed, it’s good that it’s in because there’s obviously a big problem that needs serious attention, I have the most important things backed up or otherwise available, I have access to other computers, etc. – but anyone who knows me knows I’m a pragmatist, and I adapt well and make the best out of a situation and make do with the tools I have.
If that means mustard ends up on the ceiling, well, that’s your fault for letting me in the kitchen, isn’t it? It’s not like you weren’t warned! It doesn’t mean I’m unaffected by the situation or that I won’t complain about how much it sucks before I get on with it.
Sometimes “getting on with it” isn’t ideal, but it’s what you’ve got, so stop whining already and go. I believe the phrase is “suck it up and move on”. I’ve had my frustration vents and moved through the stages of grief already. This note is just to let you all know, really, that I’ll be scarce the next however long, as I’ll be borrowing computers and connections to get what needs doing done.
So being a pragmatist helps. As do cupcakes and a borrowed laptop.
Cheers,
DJ
I’m so recycling this post from the previous one about #dietgame.
Welcome to your doom.
Just kidding.
If you’re here, you probably want to know about #dietgame on Twitter. Well, you’ve come to the right place.
Background: A few months ago, on September 3, my Wii Fit made bad jokes about how much time had passed since my last workout and made the Noise of Disappointment when it did my body test that morning. So, of course, I wrote it a nasty tweet in return, announcing my weight loss goals in an effort to ensure some kind of accountability besides that of the Evil Wii Fit. (That thing is EVIL, I tell you, and not in the good way!)
Long story short, #dietgame has been invented. It’s like #wordathon for weight loss.
In that regard, here are the “rules”.
1) You must have a weight loss goal.
2) You must start as soon as possible/as soon as you find out about this.
3) The end date for this edition of #dietgame is March 4, 2010. 90 days from today (or 3 months if that’s how you want to think of it).
4) You must tweet your progress at least once a week (Thursday is good, as it’s the day we’re going to end on March 4). Use the hashtag #dietgame so that the rest of us playing can kick your – um…”offer encouragement”.
Other things:
Your weight loss goal does not have to be pounds. It can be inches, body fat percentage, whatever. This is a motivational/accountability exercise/encouragement/ass-kicking group, “sponsored” by yours truly and @Zombie_Joe.
This is a FRIENDLY competition, but those of you who play #wordathon know I have an alter ego in the form of #gunnyjames. This is my R. Lee Ermey-style motivation-by-degradation, and you will get screamed at and told to get your lazy ass on the treadmill if #gunnyjames is in-or-pro-voked.
Like #wordathon, there is no “winner” or “prize”. This is about reaching a goal, and that goal can be in pounds lost, percentage lost and percentage of goal reached. Suppose we reach March 4 and the best among those playing #dietgame have only reached 80% of their goal? Well, that person “wins”.
Now, this is not a “diet” or “weight loss plan”. You do your own thing. Whatever works for you/however you want to lose weight. There are no suggestions, we’re not all joining Weight Watchers or going on the South Beach Diet or Atkins or whatever. This, like the way we #wordathon players write, is highly individual. You do whatever works for you. Some of us do a daily thing, some of us push hard a couple days a week, some of us wait until the last minute, whatever. However you want to do it. Up to you. This is a motivational thing/friendly competition, NOT an advice column. Play at your own risk, etc. etc., no one assumes any liability for your weight loss or lack thereof, blah blah blah, etc. etc.
So, you in?
Good. Now put down that donut and go clean out your pantry before I kick your ass.
-DJ