Say no to procrastination

It happened to me again.  I had a task on my to do list that I kept putting off and putting off and putting it off made me anxious but I still wasn't getting it done which made me more anxious and then finally... I got it done.  Today.  And, as always, it was much easier - and as it turned out, cheaper - than I thought it would be.  Once again the lesson is that procrastinating does nobody any good.

What was the task, you ask?  Well, as you might remember, my laptop died last summer.  It fully kicked the bucket, though thankfully the hard drive was saved.  My friend W told me that I could go and get the hard drive cased and it could act as an external hard drive.  I kept meaning to go and get it cased but, as I said, kept putting it off.  FINALLY today I dragged myself to Canada Computers in an ungodly area (north of Finch) and told the employee who greeted me at the door what I needed done.  I thought I'd have to hand over my hard drive and leave it with them for a few weeks and then pay $100 to get it back.  As it turned out, it cost $14 and involved nothing more than opening the box, casing it, screwing in some screws, and handing it back to me.  AMAZING.  Short, sweet, and now I have the luxury of enjoying all the music, movies, and TV shows I thought I lost forever last summer.

I love when that happens.....


Currently reading: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Next post: Discovering T.O. #5 - 416 Snack Bar, Lola's Kitchen, and Ha Long Bay

R.I.P. Laptop

Last summer, while enjoying an episode of “Sex and the City”, my computer shut down. I tried to turn her on but she was not in the mood. In fact, she was not interested in working at all.

Shortly after this I took her to Future Shop where they told me her AC adapter cable needed to be solderized or something. I decided not to deal with that right then and there and instead leave my girl alone for a while.

Months passed and I just left my computer alone. Every once in a while I would think, “man I’d really like to download something”… “I miss my music”… “I want to read that essay I wrote in second year”… but nothing could be done. I missed her, but I wasn’t ready to take action. I’d bring home my work laptop on occasion, but it doesn’t have much RAM, and the rest of the time I’d just use my iPhone.  It was good to take a bit of a computer break.

Then my friend W. came to visit for a weekend and took a look at it. He couldn't turn her on either, so he assumed it was still the AC adapter cable. I decided it was time to take her in to get solderized.

I went to Future Shop this past weekend to take care of business. The employee there told me it wasn't the cable any more. My baby was gone. Her hard drive, on the other hand, was still salvageable, so the nice gentleman removed it and gave it to me in a bag. He asked me if I'd like to recycle my laptop and I said yes.

R.I.P., Fujitsu Lifebook.  Recycle In Pieces.

We had a lot of good times together. You were patient with me as I watched the same movies ("Jesus Camp") over and over again, and you stayed in working order for my entire academic career to date. I loved you. Enough now.

Pigs, Men, and Joni

"The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which."

I finished Animal Farm this weekend... wow, is all I can say. What a fantastic novel! The quotation above - the last line of the novel - was my favourite line of the book, and so poignant, but the whole book was just great! I'm thinking of going on a dystopian kick, but I might have to break it up a bit so as not to get in a rut. I moved from Orwell to Michelle Mercer's Will You Take Me As I Am: Joni Mitchell's Blue Period. I haven't read non-fiction in a while, and I don't think I've read books about any musicians other than John Lennon/The Beatles, so I'm excited to get some insight on Joni, even if it is about a particular album and time in her life. I love it so far, so I'm feeling good about the choice!

With A.F. finished, I'm half-way done rc-3 and half-way done the year 2011. Right on schedule!


In other news, I believe my computer is kaput. My Fujitsu Lifebook. My loyal friend. It's been 5 or so years now since I bought it, so it may be that it's just bitten the dust, for which I will forgive it. However, I'll wait to confirm the diagnosis with a PC doctor. I'm also hoping I can save the contents of my hard drive, but if not - I'll live. Unfortunately if it is dead, it might be a while before I get myself a new one. Between my iPhone and my work laptop, I think I'll manage, but since my latest purchase (a car!!!) set me back a bit, I think it's best that I wait a little while before investing in a new comp. When the time comes, you can be sure I'll reach out for your suggestions. It might be time to convert to a Mac, but we'll see.