11 February 2011

CALL IT CRASH OF CALL IT FAIL

I'm on kind of a journey here.  I have a feeling it's gonna be a long rode home for me.  Here's the way it goes.


I'm sorry Mrs. M, your hard drive has failed.  Failed?  How can it possibly fail?  What does that mean, it failed?  I've loved and nurtured it all its life.  I clean it out and de-germ it regularly.  I sing it love songs when I put it to sleep at night.  Failed?  I thought computers were smart?  How could it possibly fail?  What does this mean for my computer?  What does this mean for me?  Well, Mrs. M, I mean, your computer crashed.   Whaa?  What do you mean crashed?  I never even let it drive.  I'm so protective, you don't even know.  I take better care of my computer than my kids.  Was it an accident?  Is crashed the same as failed?  What does this mean for my computer?  What does this mean for me?


It looks here like you just had too much stuff on it.  It's really over doing it having 57,000 pictures in your files.  And it looks like maybe it may have been dropped a few times.  DROPPED!  Those darn kids!  Yep it's pretty banged up.  Look at this ~ and this here ~ and that over there ~ and see how hard it is to open?  Even the magnets in the opening lever have been altered by some kind of accident.  We can give (sell) you a new hard drive but I doubt we can get any of your info back.


I died.  I cried.  I poked my eye out with my bare knuckle.  Then I remembered that I used to listen to talk radio.  Way back before my kids were driving and I spent 90 percent of my awake hours in the car, I signed up for a program called "Carbonite" because some radio talk show host said I should.  He said he did.  He said I'd be sorry if I didn't.  And I just hate to be sorry.  I didn't want any regrets, I'm too old wise for that baloney.  So, I signed up for Carbonite.  It's cheap - like $29.00 per year at the time to back up every single thing on your computer.  It would work silently in the background of my computer and I'd never even know it was there.

Okay then, I have a back-up plan.  I have Carbonite Mr. Apple Guy.  So there.  Am I good to go once you get my new hard drive installed?  "Hiccup".

Two days later, after hugging my new Apple Computer representative from Basics-n-Beyond, and writing a check which would have covered my baby's tuition for college.  Sorry baby, you know, first things first, priorities and all that xoxox.  I took my computer home and started the quest to get my life back.  All of my whole life and wellness living isn't helping me at all.  There is no detox for this.  No Reiki or acupuncture sessions will get me my stuff back.  No herbal wrap, yoga, Thai or even foot love special will return to me my life blood.  My computer info is either gone, or in a jumbled, non recognizable mess.  I have calls in to Carbonite, emails into Carbonite and soon I may have to get on a plane to India, because after talking to many of their representatives,  I think that's where Carbonite is located.  Wait?  Do I have my passport on my computer?  No, I think I have that in real life, so I'm good to go.

Lucky for me, my blog is on the internet so they had it all right there for me.  But my past is gone for now.  Even my Apple settings which I've tweaked to my satisfaction over the past 6 years are back to the original store version.  I'm lost in the wilderness here Granny Smith.  If I had any of your addresses or info it's all gone because I no longer possess an address book.  There will be no Christmas Cards, no emails, no notes of encouragement or sympathy or congratulations.  Know though, that I'm here loving you and praying to all the angels and saints (especially St Anthony, finder of lost things) to bring back my stuff.  Well, the angels, the saints and Carbonite.  It's scary to think how much some of us have come to rely on our computers, isn't it?  It boggles my mind as I try to recover stuff, just how much stuff I didn't even know I had, and that I now find missing.  And how much I miss it.  I'm beginning to realize I may have been too 'plugged in'.  I use my computer to communicate everything now-a-days.  I preserve and memorialize and store my mementos and treasures here.  This is where I write and journal and read.  Oh, woe is me.

Okay my friends, unless you have any advise, miracles you can perform or just want to hold my hand,   I'm back off to the trenches to see if I can do more recovery.  I'm bound and determined to get this thing back on track as if my middle name is 'Bound and Determined'.  That, or else I'm just gonna go take my dogs for a walk on the beach.  Wish me luck.  I'll let you know how it goes and in the meantime remember,  I love you more than all the failed/crashed hard drives people everywhere experience every day.  Whaaaaaaaaaaaah.

Blessings,

Tia

P.S.  There are more important things than computers, right?






04 February 2011

Birthday LOVE

Tomorrow is my birthday, and I've decided to re-post a little something that my son wrote for me on my birthday last year.  For those of you who've read it, sorry for the repeat.  For those of you who haven't, it's worth the read if you're mushy about love, or kids, or well, just about any kind of mush at all this is for you.  Because after all, the most important gift is the gift of life.  And the most important thing about life is love.  


The following was a gift from my eldest son, to me, for my birthday.  There hasn't been a day since he wrote it that I haven't read it.  And it brings happy tears of love to my eyes every time. 


We started a tradition in our family when it was young.  It's called, "I love you more than".  When we say how much we love each other, we say, I love you more than...and then we say things like, "I love you more than all the Shamrock's in Ireland," or some such endearment. 

Today and every day is a day to be happy to be alive no matter who you are, where you are, or what your situation.  Just because you are.  Because of that, I leave you with one of the greatest blessings I have in my life.  A love note from my son to me for my birthday.  Children certainly are, a heritage of the Lord!
  
 
I simply can't imagine a world without you.  So today as you complete your 55th trip around the sun, I give you 55 reasons I love you, mom...

1    Your penchant for cozy socks
2    Your sense of humor
3    You passed down to me your germaphobic habits
4    How very religious and prayerful you are
5    Your love for dogs
6    The sound of your voice
7    Your humility
8    You drink tea everyday out of the tea cup I got you, a reminder to me that I am with you even when I'm  not
9   Your kind heart
10  Your generosity
11  How cute you look when you laugh hysterically
12  How serious you are about bloging
13  How hard you work at keeping your promises
14  The way I miss you when we're not together
15  How lucky you make me feel each day for having someone like you in my life
16  When Dylan used to bite us, you would encourage us to bite him back.  If we were crying too hard, you would do it for us
17  The smell of your perfume
18  Your handwriting
19  How we get See's every time we go to the mall together
20  You knit me scarves
21  Your smile
22  You blogstalk
23  You gave me a brother and sisters
24  You were recycling long before it was cool
25  You are very forgiving, and we've given you a lot to forgive along the way
26  You don't consider it cake unless it is chocolate
27  You bring me Sprite and toast cut into strips when I'm sick
28  You listen to good music
29  You kissed James Taylor
30  You have pretty hair
31  You cry during romantic comedies
32  I love watching movies with you, even though you talk the whole time
33  Your freckles
34  You are an amazing writer
35  You're strong, in many ways
36  You have traveled all over
37  I inherited your artistic abilities, a talent of mine I value above all else
38  We are more alike than I sometimes care to admit
39  You taught me well
40  You let me make my own decisions
41  Your hands are always cold
42  Your heart is always warm
43  You love yoga, I love yoga
44  You spoil me
45  When I was little you always let me borrow your beloved silky blanket
46  My favorite birthday present I ever got was the letter you wrote me when I turned 19.  I cried when I read it
47  You let me keep Bailey
48  You like Soulja Boi
49  You married your best friend
50  You make me laugh
51  You survived my teen years
52  You are convinced that all of your grandchildren are gifted and talented.  Really, they are
53  You always told us our birth stories on our birthdays growing up, even if we didn't always want to hear them
54  You make lists
55  Dessert doesn't always have to come last in our house

I love you more than all the days we've been together,

Cooper

  
My son Cooper, because you took all the love I gave you and gave it back to me in one simple note on my birthday, and therefore made me feel like a bizillion bucks.



You're my hero, boyo!

I love you more than all the love there is in the world...

My son Cooper is a Sophomore at Loyola Marymount Unviersity.  His major is Fine Arts and he minors in Communications.  Besides being an excellent student he belongs to the Ingnations Service organization, and works three jobs.  I have no idea how he finds the time but, he keeps a little blog when he has the time.  You might enjoy getting to know him and his art a little better.  If so, his blog is called "Look Hear" here is the link   Look Hear

So, go forth and love one another!
Blessings one and all,
Tia