Let it be known that I started this before midnight, and will consider this a slight cheat-day, if only because the whole evening was a magnificent series of problems and frustrations.
Thanatos, my new-ish laptop, died. Take a moment to appreciate the humor in something named after the God of Death kicking the proverbial bucket. The entire process of figuring this out took about two hours, and one trip to BestBuy. The diagnosis: one very dead graphics card.
Suffice it to say, I was not happy. However, some good came from that, and so I’m going to postpone my post I’d planned for today in favor of another. It seems more appropriate, given the circumstances.
Day Sixteen – The best laid plans, the way they crumble, and the good that can come of it
It’s been said I have a little black cloud that floats over me, and there are days I’m inclined to agree with that. My history of dental problems that could have been avoided if procedures had been done correctly speaks to this end quite loudly, and with many expletives. It helps no one that I am quick to find myself in a bit of a down in the dumps state. I dare say I’m a bit of a high-maintenance person at times (that is not a happy self-assessment to make).
One thing I have been is a planner. I’m not very good at spur-of-the-moment, and my whim decisions are usually a bit expensive or end poorly (see also: my purchasing a Surface 2 or the time I decided to test the flammability of hand sanitizer). I may not always plan a great deal ahead, but I like to have a general idea of what I’m doing (except in writing, for some reason, which is generally drafting like mad and then calculated editing). Suffice it to say, I usually get pretty frustrated when things go ass-over-elbows on me.
There’s an unsung good side to when the best plans go to shit, though. Tonight is a very good example of that. My very good friend, and brother-from-another-mother (I went there because he’s called me that before, but I think it sounds ridiculous), Jason was so kind as to build me a desktop for Christmas. It’s a decked-out behemoth of a gaming PC, and I got plenty of use of it before I moved to Hollidaysburg.
Somehow, along the journey to my new home, my screen got scratched up a good deal. I had it wrapped in two microfiber fleece covers, with a pillow pressed against it for support, and so I have no idea what the hell happened. I do know that particular monitor isn’t very good at being functional now, which is kind of what matters. And so my desktop just sort of sat around. I could, and should, have replaced the monitor and used my desktop, but I had plenty of excuses instead. I didn’t have a desk here. I have my laptop to use (and now my Surface 2). And so on.
When my laptop of less than six months bit the dust tonight, that was enough of a wrench in my usual writing and gaming routines to force me into some action. After leaving Thanatos in the capable hands of the Geek Squad, I bought a monitor for my desktop. And then I bought a desk, which ended up half-assembled because no one in their right mind assembles a desk after 10:30 at night. I am prone to some very stupid decisions occasionally, but we’ll not dwell on that.
Most importantly from this all: my evening was going to be spent getting some work done on a short story (which is presently in Limbo, unless its last upload to my OneDrive worked), and relaxing to some WoW. Thanks to that unhappy incident, I am now most of the way towards having set up a much-needed space for writing (and PC gaming, yes).
Beyond that, I am very ready to make my trip home to Carnegie, see my family, and just decompress for the weekend. It’s a much-needed vacation, I think. Eighty-four days remaining.
Phil's Misadventures In Fiction 