Hard Drive Death Rattle?

Maybe.

We have the blue screen of death.

We have the expensive call into Dell Software types to make sure it's not Windows XP messing with my mind. (I did my blogging at the belfry while on hold.) Don't bother to ask: of course I haven't backed anything up this week.

This is the fourth time in two years I've had a laptop go south. Have I learned anything? Not enough, apparently. I might have lost 30-60 pages this time,** depending on whether or not Linda has the copy I sent her. That doesn't beat my old record of 80 pages of the unfinished Someone To Love going ffffffftttttt.

Damn. I don't haul the damn computer around any more. I treat it with kindness, consideration and a light touch. I keep it well stashed and away from boy and dog abuse when I'm not using it. Apparently this is not enough for Mr. Dell "OOooo She's lookin' at me funneeeeee" Inspiron Laptop.

I can't work. I might as well do Doug's meme. Lyn Cash's meme, really. Ms Lyn is evvvvil.

Three screen names I've used: Kate, emmeline, miskate

Three things you like about yourself: creativity, humor, (occasional) passion . . Hey, it works for Doug, I'll take it. No reason creativity has to apply here.

Three things you don't like about yourself: sloth, short attention span and...other stuff

Three parts of your heritage: polachintas, depression and anxiety, dobos torte

Three things that scare you: nasty illnesses in which you drown in your own bodily fluids or blood pours from your orifices, Dick Cheney, the problem with my damned laptop

Three of your everyday essentials: coffee, bugging my four guys, being bugged by my guys

Three things you are wearing right now: grey teeshirt, grey sweatpants, blue and red and yellow Bosnian socks.

Three of your favorite songs: whatever is playing. I'm not very well informed about music. If I hear Crosby Still and Nash again, I'll have a fit. Lately my husband has been trying to make us feel old by playing a disk of their music over and over and . . .

Three things you want in a relationship: someone who'll bring me coffee in the morning, someone who'll give me lots of creative guff, and someone who is generally more optimistic than I am (I wrote cheerful, but I'm plenty cheerful. It's optimism I lack)

Two truths and a lie: my grandfather was an inventor, I am an inventor, my brother is an inventor

Three things you can't live without: my laptop, as it turns out. Breathing? Pfah. Two other things...hmm. I can live without tech support. Coffee, and occcasional sunny days

Three places you want to go on vacation: Denmark, somewhere in the Carribean, any place with high quality room service

Three things you just can't do: keep my laptop healthy, watch any kind of suspense movie without screaming "I HATE this. Make it stop! No, don't turn it off!", bend over backwards and make a bridge. I used to be able to do that and tried to show my kids and oops -- just can't do it any more.

Three kids names: What? Any three names? Okay--Gertrude, Matilda and Ethel.

Three things you want to do before you die: eat at Morimoto's in Philadelphia, force my husband to dance with me, see my siblings again under happy circumstances

Three celeb crushes: Jon Stewart, Patrick Fitzgerald, Rufus Sewall (have to have one standard movie star type, right?)

Three of your favorite musicians: Whatever my kids are willing to listen to...hmmmm Bare Naked Ladies, U2 and Weird Al. NO, GOD, NOT HIM. I'll take Green Day over Weird Al.

Three physical things about the opposite sex that appeals to you: sense of humor, inner beauty, and a deep reservoir of compassion. Stolen from Doug. No, really. This one is true. Must be a boy/girl thing, or maybe I'm kidding myself.

Three of your favorite hobbies: hobbies? I write and I have kids. Who has time for hobbies?

Three things you really want to do badly right now: throw Michael Dell and Bill Gates off the deck, throw my laptop off the deck, eat more Halloween candy

Three careers you're considering/you've considered: psychologist, mechanic (not that I had any aptitude--I worked in a garage and they got good pay), sales help in Susanna (I'm not sure the store still exists, but it was my favorite job. I love Barbara Dollar). I've never suffered from over-ambition.

Three ways that you are stereotypically a boy: I'm a slob, I think about sex too often, I laugh at crude jokes

Three ways that you are stereotypically a girl: I own some dresses, I've given birth, I write and read romances

Three people that I would like to see post this meme: Bron, Elsewhere and Teresa.

Will I be surprised if they ignore this: no

______

**Oh. GOD. I just went to check my back-up at gmail and ohhhhh GOD. t might be more like 100 pages, about 75 of which are a new story. Oh. GOD OGGGGGGGGGGGRrrrrr

update to Oh. GOD part Deux. The little stick that I use for back-up is corrupt. Everything I've written is gone. All of it. All the story starts, the partially finished, the nearly done and Little Lord Fakeleroy--gone. Finished and published stuff is at gmail. Everything else. pffffffffttttttttttttt


Comments

  1. Oy. (Yes, I need to back up everything.)I like to email copies back and forth to myself so that my stuff is on at least two computers, but then I get confused as to what is the most recent version.

    I hope a miracle happens for you, Kate, I really do.

    And wasn't that meme annoying? I hate to think how you're going to get me back for that one.

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  2. aack - am SO sorry about the computer problems. Blame Kris on that freakin' meme - lol. All I did was send to 3 (okay, 4) who I knew would zap the rest of you. hehehe - Enjoyed yours, by the way.

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