Technology Sucks

Technology SO has not been my friend lately. Last Friday, my laptop took a total dump on me and started freezing up. Once it froze it never unfroze, and the only way to stop it was to force it off. I ran two antivirus programs (which was an endeavor in itself since the computer kept freezing) and found no viruses at all.

Now what?

So, I did a system restore to a date before the problem...still nothing.

Now I'm completely lost.

After whining to one of my friends who is good with computers, he had me try a few more things. Still no luck.

Yesterday, I gave HP a call, and they figured it was probably a borked installation from one of the many programs on a computer that auto updates and agreed it was best to just wipe the whole damn thing clean and start fresh. I would have done this before, but my laptop did not come with the operating disc, and I didn't think I could.

Anyway, he walked me thru the whole process and now my laptop is all fresh and clean reset back to the original factory settings.

Within this whole process, my internet went down completely on Tuesday and has been spotty ever since. They took two days just to get out here and just told me the cable outside is bad and will take another two days to replace it. Thank god for the auto save feature here on blogger.

Within THAT whole process my speaker cables got severed. I have a pull out tray that my desktop computer sits on and somehow the cord got tangled in the track and severed when the tray was pulled out.

*side story*
I had to pull out the tray because when I was working on reports for work, the "A" key went nuts and started filling up the report with the letter A. I had to pull out the computer and unplug the keyboard entirely to make it stop.
*end side story*

Anyway, me being the ninja that I am decided I was going to try to fix this on my own because unfortunately it was the cable that runs from inside the speaker to the computer, and couldn't just be replaced. Since I grew up with a dad as an electrical engineer, I remembered the many times he fixed wires without the proper tools and used his method (scissors and teeth) to strip the insulation on the outer and inner wires, rewire them, reinsulate them with electrical tape, and tape the whole thing up. AND

drumroll please....................

They work.

Yea, I'm that awesome.

Anyway...needless to say, technology has not been my friend lately. All I can say is that I'm glad that all of this happened AFTER school has finished and not during the middle of the semester. At the moment, my speakers and laptop are fixed...I just have to wait for ATT to fix the net.

2/3 problems fixed ain't bad considering where I was at a couple days ago.

Makes it all Worthwhile

As many of you know, I am a teacher to men and women who have been arrested for domestic violence. I teach 2 mens groups and 1 womens group a week to teach people where their violence is learned and how to stop the cycle through accountability and communication. Most of the men are in there for 52 weeks, so I get to know them very well in their time with me. This past Friday, one of my guys was on his last day of the program. His partner (who was also the victim) came in after class and handed me a letter to thank me for everything that has been done over the last year.

I erased all identifying information to protect those involved, but I really just wanted to post this letter. It really meant a lot to me, and helps to renew my faith in the kind of work that I do.

I know it is small, so just click the picture to see it in a readable size.

She's Crafty

My friends Andrew and Carrie invited me to come up to Modesto to celebrate their daughter's 1st birthday. Unfortunately, it is quite a drive and more gas than I would like to spend money on, so I decided I'd at least do my part by making her a nice gift and sending it to her.

I used some of the leftover fabric from the pillowcases I made my mom, a plain photo album, some batting, some ribbon, lacy trim and a hot glue gun to make a cute little photo album for her


I'm considering going to the craft store and picking up some little iron on letters to personalize it with her name on the side.

No one seemed interested in learning how to do the pillowcases but I guess I'll offer it again. If anyone is interested in learning how to make one of these, I can try to post a little step by step blogaroo over the summer.

Office Cave

I.LOVE.CLOSETS

I do not believe you realize, dear readers, just how much I love closets.

I moved out on my own in the fall of 2003. I spend the next 5 years in a tiny one bedroom apartment across the street from campus with one single closet in the bedroom. Not only that, but it was a closet system built into the wall in my bedroom that had no doors or way to cover up your junk. All my clothes and things were exposed all of the time. And since you had to walk through the bedroom to get to the bathroom, I had to get used to everyone seeing pretty much everything I own.

I had no place to put a broom, mop, vacuum...any of those things. They just sat out in my kitchen and entry way fully exposed. And my desk with my computer and printer was right in the living room. Nowhere else to go.

I have lived in this new place for 5 months now and I am absolutely in love with the THREE closets that it has to offer.



The first two are right next to each other and provide enough room for me to store my shoes and all of my clothing. The one on the right houses all of my hanging clothes while the one on the left houses a dresser (you can't see it from here) with all my folded goods. They don't look very big but each one goes far enough in that they pretty much meet in the middle.

The third closet is what makes me LOVE LOVE LOVE this apartment. It is a walk in closet that I converted into my "office cave."

This thing is big enough for me to hide the litter box, my desk, computer, file cabinet, printer, a huge suitcase, and at the moment, three 5 gallon water bottles. As you can see, the shelves on the top are used to keep all my books and other junk that wouldn't fit in the other closets.


As far as apartments go, I'm sure it isn't the best arrangement in the world, but I cannot tell you how happy I am to have my office and other clutter out of sight. All I have to do is shut these three doors and my apartment is all neat and tidy. Now, I am able to actually have a living room that functions only as a living room, a bedroom that is only a bedroom and a kitchen that is only a kitchen.

:-)

May 16th 2005

Today has been 4 years since the day of my accident. With time, the fear has faded, but I still remember that I am very lucky to be alive.

On May 16th I was out with Craig (my then boyfriend), Holly, and Kasi. We were in the middle of finals week at SJSU and decided we were going to Cold Stone to have an "ice cream for dinner" night. We all got in my car, headed to Cold Stone, and enjoyed our dinner.

On the way back, we were slowly approaching the stop sign less than a block away from my home when noticed some pedestrians looking above my car in fear. I watched them run out of the way, and looked up just in time to hear a loud cracking sound and see a HUGE tree branch fall right in front of my car. Fortunately, I was going slow, so I was able to stop in time for the branch to hit just inches from the hood of my car. The branch was so big that it smashed a big van parked on one side of the street and a little honda parked on the other side.

Just as we all let out a sigh of relief, we heard a soft buzzing sound. It only took a moment to realize that the tree branch had brought down a power line, which fell right over top of my car. The line draped from one side, all the way to the other, and electrified the entire car. While it didn't hurt at all, you could literally feel the electricity in your skin.

I am so fortunate that I was in a car with 3 level headed, intelligent individuals. We all knew that if we tried to get out, we would be electrocuted the second our feet hit the ground. We didn't want to stay, but we knew we couldn't leave.

That is when the end of the power line that was touching the ground started arcing, and caught the front passenger tire on fire. To be quite honest, this is when I first started getting emotional, as I knew that A. It was damaging my car, and B. the rubber was keeping us safe...if that tire popped and the metal rim hit the ground, we would be dead.

The car was filling with a very nasty kind of electrical/burning rubber smoke. It wasn't so bad that we couldn't breathe, but it was enough to burn your eyes and make things uncomfortable. The firemen were there at this point, and telling us to remain calm. They yelled over to us that we needed to stay in the car as they tried to put out the fire. They couldn't use water, because the electricity could travel through the water, through the hose, and to the man on the other end. Instead, they were flicking an unsteady stream of foam on the fire. Every time they put it out, it would start back up again a few minutes later.

This is the time that I only vaguely remember. We were all scared, and although none of us would admit it, we were all worried that we may soon die. What I do remember is that we all tried to keep a good attitude, and even started cracking jokes whenever we could to lighten the mood. I don't really remember what most of the jokes were, but I do remember it being all we could do to stay calm and rational.

This is when I called my mom. I didn't know if I was going to make it though, and I wanted to at least have a conversation with her. While she was literally falling apart on the inside, she never let me know it, and remained very calm and collected. She even called my best friend as soon as I got off the phone with her to let her know what was going on. Michelle immediately called me and I talked to her for a few minutes. I think my mom figured that she would want to talk to me too...just in case something really terrible did happen.

Fortunately...we were all very lucky that day. After an hour and 15 minutes, PG&E finally got the power shut off, and they were able to get the lines off my car. We all exited the car wobbly legged, teary eyed, and thankful to be alive.

We got a quick chance to talk to all of the firemen and policemen on the scene. They told us that even though they were telling us we would be fine, there were moments when they were not so sure about that.

At this point, there were about 100 people standing around watching. We couldn't see it before, but apparently every news station had brought their crews and were waiting behind the giant tree branch. The chief of police came up and asked us if we were up for being interviewed. We took a moment to compose ourselves and agreed to the interview.

Within an hour, we were on every channel from Fox to Telemundo. My uncle even called the next day and said he saw our story on the Weather Channel. ABC came by the next day and knocked on my door for another interview.



All I remember is wanting to get my car into the shop, and go get the rental car. I wanted these people to leave me alone so I could process all that had happened and be with my loved ones.

This first photo was taken by a neighbor shortly after it happened. You can see my little silver car wedged in there.


Taken by the same neighbor as the night wore on... you can see the fire here


This is on the OTHER side of the huge tree branch where we couldn't see

You can kinda see the fire here that was melting my tire


Much of bright light is from the arcing of the power line



Some of the fire damage


Where the line was dancing around on top my car


We were all just thankful to be alive. I think it caused us all to re examine our lives, and begin to take things less for granted. Even though I no longer speak with my ex, we will ALL always have a special kind of bond as a result of that hour and fifteen minutes we spent together in my car.

If any of my dear readers feel so inclined, I'd like to suggest that you all celebrate with me my 2nd chance at life by having some ice cream for dinner tonight :)

Feeding Time

It was time to feed Fang today. I figured I'd do it on the floor to let the kitties have a look




I took this video 20 minutes ago and they still haven't left the tank. Every time I walk by, Tawny meows at me like she's asking for me to let Fang out, lol. I'm not sure she realizes just what that would be like...lol.

Happy Mother's Day and an Update

Happy Mother's day to all you mothers out there. I saw my mom yesterday and gave her some pillowcases I made especially for her:

I've been thinking about posting a blog on how to make these cases...it isn't hard at all. If you have a sewing machine and know how to do a plain straight stitch, you can make these cases in under an hour. Let me know if anyone is interested and I'll do a little step-by-step photo blogaroo.

I also stopped off at my friend Michelle's house and brought her flowers for her very first mother's day:)



Speaking of mothers day, I thought this was interesting. Go to the link and punch in the number of kids you have and whether you are a working or stay at home mom. This calculator crunches the numbers to tell you what your salary would be based on the amount of work and number of hours you put in as a mommy.

People often take for granted just how hard being a mom really is. The truth of the matter is that most moms would be making SIX FIGURE INCOMES for the kinds of hours that they put in. Once you've had a chance to check it out, don't forget to take a moment to appreciate all the moms you know:)

Speaking of moms, I was tagged by Marni to do a Vlog. I promise that I really do intend to do it, but I do not own a video camera, and cannot for the life of me find my 2 gig card for my digital camera. Right now, I'm using an old 256 which would not record very much. It may be very delayed, but I do intend to do it eventualy.

On with the life update:

So I have two ten page papers, one quiz, and one exam this week and then I AM DONE FOR THE SUMMER! That's right....as of this Thursday night, I am officially done for the next three and a half months. I will still be working two days a week, but that is nothing compared to the schedule I have been pulling this last semester. The sad thing is that this is the last summer that I will have off like this. By next summer, I will have graduated and will have a real grown up job. No more forever student status.

At least we're planning to make the most of it. We're planning a Boston and New Hampshire trip this July, followed by the possibility of a Disneyland trip. I am also planning to go to Las Vegas for my cousin's bachelorette party in August. Should be lots of good times:)

Anyway, that's all for now. I'll be posting plenty more when the semester is through. I also have a blog planned to explain the little project I've been involved in for our troops in Iraq. Stay tuned:)

If Lisa Frank made pillow cases...

I'd totally be in business. Purple cheetah print, zebra print, and aqua swirls? Oh yeah.


I got bored of plain fabric projects and used some bright fabric I had laying around the apartment...not entirely sure what I'm gonna do with it, but putting it together kept me entertained for a while.