Back in the Saddle! My Computer is Fixed!!!

I finally got my laptop fixed. WOO HOO!!!

Okay, here's the deal. Yes, I spilled just the smallest amount of adult beverage on my brand new computer while fixing an elaborate Thanksgiving meal for my wonderful and blessed family.

Lessons learned (and I am sure there will be more)? Do not keep a computer, cell phone, iPad, whatever, on the kitchen island while in a food preparation frenzy. Keep adult (or any) beverages away from your technology. Check. Check.

A big part of why it took so long, first to own up to the issue then drop off for service, was I knew it would be an immensely expensive repair, and it would NOT be covered under my one year Apple warranty, unless Apple recently started covering wine spills or liquid damage of any sort. They don't. So I took my laptop to an Apple authorized repair shop here in the city for a $79 diagnostics exam (I know, 3 months after said event because I really didn't want to deal with it, but in reality, I just didn't want to get into it. Do you "get" what I mean?).

The repair person happened to call in the early evening yesterday, and I actually thought about walking out of the room to take the call.

I didn't, listened, then said, "Okay, can I get back to you tomorrow?"

Only then to be asked quite innocently, "Who was that?"

"Oh, just the computer repair place. I took my laptop in today."

"Really? What did they say?"

I winced then spewed, "So it seems that the very tiny amount of liquid I accidentally spilled on Thanksgiving while making dinner happened to enter at the perfect angle and spot to completely corrode the mother board that controls the computer's display which they said they could repair just like brand new for $XXX.xx parts and labor and all they have to do is order the board then fix it which will only take a matter of days so I could have it by the weekend and the good news is it would still be under Apple's limited warranty since they are an authorized repair facility and I am paying out of pocket doesn't that sound pretty good Honey?"

Then I held my breath.

The dollar amount was met, only, but not surprisingly, with two extremely wide eyes. Almost bugged out if I were to describe them more accurately.

I gave a silent "phew", and not that I expected any other reaction. I just really felt bad. It was a careless, and costly mistake.

The good news is I am back in the saddle!!! And no worse for the wear.

Care to know what I'm reading? It is Wednesday after all.

I think I will write another post purely about books because... I CAN!!!!!!!!!!!

Stream of Consciousness Sunday: Old Friends and Weird Dreams

We are two couples in Florida this weekend. The two guys have best buddies for 35 years. We wives met when I became engaged almost 27 years ago. Our children have been like cousins since the day each was born and our families took vacations together at least once a year as they were growing up. We've all seen "the good, the bad, and the ugly" side of each and every one of us. Oh, the bickering we've mediated! And the parent/kid issues and challenges  we all took turns having. Recalling them is *now* hilarious. Like the first time I swore at my kid at the snack bar of the Telluride, CO airport during an eight hour flight delay (and through clenched teeth but still audible. I might have said something like "Just eat the fucking cheese." Maybe that.). 

This morning I told them a recent and weird dream I had in which they were the main character. He was sitting on my back, poking and annoying me while she was flipping through a cookbook of mine stealing secret recipes. It was strange. His dream starred a monkey (which freak him out) in a police uniform who wanted a piggyback ride. Etc..

We could sit around and talk for hours. Haven't found a topic that's is off limits. Still some bickering occurs since we're human after all. But there is just something about the comfort level with those whom you have such long history. Sometimes it feels like "home".

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My five minutes of unedited babble comes to you from the sunshine state (overcast but an improvement from Chicago's current 30 degree temperature).

We link up our stream of consciousness writing on a Sunday at allthingsfadra.com

Velvet Verbosity: Those Words That Make You Nervous

She pulled grandmother's patchwork quilt tighter around her slight shoulders. Her dark hair stringy, brow pinched, and eyes damp with tear remnants. He had never seen her look so intensely fragile. He held a calloused hand up in a feeble attempt to keep her from uttering anything. Maybe even a "Sh-sh-shhh." softly escaped on his breath. His only desire was to kiss the confusion away.

Her lips began moving; a train barreling down the track. 

"I have something to tell you..."

His eyes glazed over. In his experience, nothing pleasant ever started with those words. But then her face softened..

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This 100 word piece is in response to the prompt "quilt" at velvetverbosity.com. 

[This phone blogging thing isn't going as smoothly as I imagined. Can't get the formatting right! Sorry! I am working on it.]

WWW.Wednesday Books: What Are You Reading This Week?

(Editor's Note: I am still using an iPad for blogging. The iPad will not let me italicize anything. Please note that I am fully aware that the title of books should be italicized. [wink])

What am I currently reading you ask?

Lila by Marilynne Robinson is written in such beautiful prose. I am enjoying it very much albeit quite slowly. Its pace is like a turtle's, in my opinion. Don't get me wrong; I like it. It is just not drawing me in like others I whip through. That said, I can't wait to read her Pulitzer Prize-Winning book titled Gilead.

I am also slowly reading a book that a good friend recently sent me in preparation of a trip on which I'll embark next month to Nepal. The book is called Living Fully by Shyalpa Tenzin Rinpoche. Rinpoche is a renowned  Buddhist teacher who was born in the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains. I am going to the Himalayan Mountains! Perfect!!!

What have I recently finished?

Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill. LOVED IT! Yes, I am shouting here! This book is clever and different. It is the story of a relationship, marriage really, and its ever changing dynamics. It is so fantastic. I must add that it won't be for everyone because Offill's writing style in this book is unique. Basically, the story is told in snippets. Sometimes just a sentence for a scene; other times a paragraph. It seems choppy, but trust me, it flows once you get used to the book's structure. Two thumps way up! Please try it out and let me know what you think. Here is the Goodreads link:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17402288-dept-of-speculation

Are you still with me and interested in what I will read next?

Either The First Bad Man by Miranda July because I loved her collection of stories called No One Belongs Here More Than You, or The Hundred Year House by Rebecca Mikkai. Maybe something entirely different. Who knows but the wind (my mom used to say that).

If you are interested in seeing what about one hundred other people are reading, check out shouldbereading.wordpress.com.

SOC Sunday: A Winter Storm Seen from the Sky

I live in a condominium on the twelfth floor of a high rise building. The entire front and most of one side is floor to ceiling windows. We face South, mostly, though the windows afford us a large slice of East as far as the horizon allows, and the West until the skyscrapers disappear as the Chicago River veers.

We are under a full-fledged weather warning.

Whisper fine flakes of snow are swirling in the strong wind, beating into our windows. I can hear their wet pelting sound hit the glass. A bus drives below on LSD. Snow adding four inches to its height. A usually congested thoroughfare on any other day, the only cars on the road now are brave souls. It is probably a skating rink out there.

This is the first winter storm "event" I have witnessed so far this winter. Maybe we will get 14 inches, or 5, but it is pretty watching it develop down below, from above. It's a prospective I haven't had before. One hundred and forty some odd feet in the air.

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Five minutes, unedited, push publish.

Allthingsfadra.com  hosts the place to link up our stream of consciousness writing on Sundays. If I could, I would write this way everyday. I should. Just do it.