Format or forever live in technology hell

Xperience 85

It so happened that my beloved laptop, Bob, crashed last week. Now saying that he crashed insinuates some kind of fast, self destructive movement, when in fact he just stopped… Yep, it was happening (although slowly) and then it didn’t. Took me about an hour (and 3 harbour’s worth of sailor language) to restart the damn piece of plastic.
And to answer the Big Q. Yes, I backed-up, exactly 7 days before. Thank goodness for good ol’ paranoia, but maybe that should hit more than once a week.
When the computer wizz kid collected the now useless door stopper, he just had to say it “Didn’t I tell you last month some time you should format your machine?”. I almost made a useful door stopper out of him…

By Tuesday (last week) I got Bob back. Same old body, but brand new Windows 7 and I started again from a side to get it back to my lovable piece of machine. What a mission… Do you know how many little thingy-ma-bobbies you download in a year?

Today my trusted BB failed on me. It got slow (and I have a feeling I’m going to get judged here and I have horrid flashbacks to last week) so I rebooted it for a change. But instead of the sickly yellow screen before my beautiful background… I got a little black pic and some stupid software reload 502 (or something around there) message.
So I did what everyone else does, restart again and got the same result. I abused my knowledge of unmentionable vocabulary and threw myself to the all knowing wizard of life – Google.

The news was dire…re-install the handheld device’s software.
Now see this isn’t that bad. Didn’t I go through tech hell a few months earlier (check it out, it’s got an xperience number and all) to download the desktop software (too much soft stuff around for my liking)? I did, yes sir. And where is this hard earned software? Gone! Into format wasteland, gonners!

By this time no words, no matter how vile, could make the situation bearable.
Back to Google, get the software, download, install, restart, update, install, restart, plug in handheld (I forgot to mention, drive to friend’s house for USB cable), let the juice run and wait, chew nails while hoping the back-up of BB survived the laptop crash, find back-up, restore back-up, reboot BB.

Positives to this day includes, BB desktop software re-installed on laptop, got new OS on BB handheld (therefore the new FB app). Negatives today includes, unnecessary strain to already over active ulcer, downloading a few million apps for BB, rebooting said BB a million times.

What have I learned from all this? Use faxes and doves. Or format your pc when the damn wizz kid tells you too and there is always some new way your phone will screw you over.

By the by, this post was written on the darn BB… (Who’s the wizz kid now?)

 

Donating some bits…

Xperience 84

The doctor rushes to a weeping family telling them that their loved one’s liver just gave out. Most probably due to said doctor pumping way to many meds into the poor kids body whilst trying to figure out why she’s having seizures and boils on her feet. Think I’ve gone nuts? Nope, just another episode from one of those totally addictive medical shows you download from your friends (not that I do that, just for the record).  And always, just as the poor girl is about to die, they find a viable organ stolen from some hospital… and find out all the boils and seizures are caused by an acute tonsillitis, seriously? Sometimes even I have to roll my eyes and pour another glass of Chardonnay.

After a few glasses I do start wondering, where on earth will I get a liver (the one I’m currently compromising) if my tonsils pull a fast one on me or, without getting all morbid and heaven forbids, something really bad happens. Sure, I could go the cloning way, but on my salary (bwa-ha-ha) I’ll get the budget-budget option and end up with a little toe (mine, but worth nothing if I need an internal organ). These kind of thought also leads to the next one, what if a family member needs an organ (this while I put the empty with my recyclable stuffs). Thank goodness a long day of receiving massages and generally just rotting on the couch under a mountain of novels took its toll and I fell asleep.

But this morning the universe poked me in the side when I saw a link to the Organ Donor Foundation and hey, did you know it’s Orgust? So I registered, easy peasy. No doctors, no blood samples (hopefully yet, I’m sure I can still feel last night’s Chardonnay) and all in 5 minutes.

This almost feel like my first recycling trip, I can’t see a difference today, won’t tomorrow (hold thumbs), but somewhere in the future I hope I made someone’s day a whole lot brighter…

 

Doing it the Thai way…

Xperience 83

There seems to be a massage from just about every corner of the world, from swedish to african to rain forest (I kid you not) to the east (in all it’s colourful glory and variations).

Last night at a braai I mentioned to my friends that I’m going for a Thai massage today. One of the guests asked me if I’ve been before, when I confessed it’s a first for me she laughed and told me to be receptive for a strange xperience. I couldn’t help to remember my spray-on tan xperience…

With this in mind I pitched for my appointment 10minutes early as advised when I made my appointment. After supplying some information, the kind lady asked my shoe size (?), handed over some pyjamas, consisting of a pair of thai fishing pants, a loose top and flip flops (I had an Aaah moment) all in crisp white.
I read up a bit before, so the pyjamas was no surprise.

Jeremy collected me after a brief wait on one of the most beautiful Art Deco inspired couches. Walking up the stairs to the semi-private or semi-public (one of those half empty, half full glass situations, you decide) treatment area, Jeremy asked the question again. I understand why he’s asking, but started feeling like I should loudly clear my throat and declare, “Hello, my name is Charlotte and this is my first Thai massage, mmmmmkay??”

As I mentioned, the area is semi-private with shoulder high dividers which can be lifted and moved depending on the requirements. Each little area has a mattress on the floor which is used for the massage. It’s a strange xperience walking to our corner and seeing other clients receiving their massages, been used to a more salon style, private massages.

Thai massage is a real deal treatment, there’s nothing girly about it and it’s hard work using pressure points. Working from your toes up to your crown, I really moved between heaven and some discomfort when my problem muscles were sorted out.

They suggest you have a bit of a lie-in afterwards and a cup of tea downstairs. Unfortunately I couldn’t due to another appointment I stupidly made just after. Do yourself the favour and follow their good advice, by the time I got home I could hardly keep my eyes open and had the best nap ever. Working toxins out is hard on your body, so be gentle afterwards.

Now I’m having a look at my diary to schedule my next appointment… Enmasse remember the name, I forgot it once and it took me months to find it again. It’s worth every cent and you’ll most probably feel you got one hell of a bargain when you leave.

I like it the Thai way now…