The Edge

Spent two or three hours last night learning how to use Dropbox and Manuscript for Ipad, and, more importantly, trying to get the two of them to work together. It was two or three hours of utter and complete FAIL. And absolutely frustrating as all hell, too. Dropbox seems great, so far. I don't have a lot of experience with it yet, but it seems to work well and be fairly easy to use.

Manuscript ... is another story. I had such high hopes for that application. I would love to use my iPad for writing, as I could be out and about and not have to lug my laptop with me. It would make life so much easier. Bottom line seems to be that Manuscript just can't do the things I want/need it to do. The way that program works doesn't fit the way I write at all. Which is fine; nothing is perfect. I just wish I had been able to come to this conclusion without wasting so much of my time on it. The website for the app is beyond useless. All it provides is a series of screenshots, which you can't even click on to enlarge (fail) and a "support" link. The "support" link takes you to a forum where lots of people are complaining about the app and the "support" people are defending themselves and the app. There was very little useful information on there, and what little bit there was took a lot of digging to find. I hate that. So, basically, I was stuck with a whole trial and error thing. You know: "So, what happens if I do this? No ... ?? OK, how about this, instead?" Yeah -- very frustrating and annoying.

After my lovely journey through Manuscript and Dropbox hell, I spent another hour picking up the kiddo's playroom so that we could unfold the futon. Most of the child debris was Littlest Pet Shop-related. I swear, every time I turned around ... every time I thought I had, finally, managed to pick everything up ... there was another pet or another little accessory that needed to be put away.

And so, last night, I dreamed ...

*wait for it*

That I was trying to put all these Littlest Pet Shop pets into Dropbox. But they all kept jumping out and laughing at me.

>.O

Geez. -.-"

In other news, my mother arrives today for a long-ish visit. I was trying to do a bit of house cleaning, but my vacuum started smelling like burning rubber before I finished the carpet on the first floor. So, I kind of gave up. I hate my vacuum. I really need a new one. I still have two bathrooms to clean. *sigh*

OK, so I got up this morning thinking I would try and work on uploading things to the new cel gallery since my daughter is sitting in here with me watching Playhouse Disney as she eats her breakfast. It's really hard to write with Micky and Co. (or whatever) in the background. Particularly when kids' shows are, of course, cheerful, and what I'm writing is so very ... well, not. >.O

But I turned on my PC only to have it make a horrible squealing/alarm sort of noise and do ... nothing.

O_O

I think my darling old-faithful PC has finally cratered. I'm sitting here trying not to think it. And trying not to panic or anything. But still ... WAAAAAAH!!! I love that computer. Love, love, love it. And everything is still on there. All my writing files. My photos. My website stuff -- all my art images. I haven't transferred anything over to the other computer yet, partly because I've been busy and partly because I was going from PC to Mac, and I wasn't sure exactly how the transfer would work. It's stupid, but still ... sometimes the brain shies away from something that seems too complicated and sticky. Particularly when surrounded with the mundane problems of daily life, like sick dogs, sick kids, plumbing that needs to be fixed, household chores that have to be done, a hubby that travels, and yadda, yadda, yadda. Luckily, I backed things up not that long ago. I know I have backups of all my art image files, so that's a good thing. I don't think I would want to try to scan all of those again.

But now I'm panicking because I'm not sure if my latest photographs were backed up or not. I had some really pretty pictures of my daughter in a dress my aunt sent ... and I may have lost those. Among others. The photographs, if I can't get them off that computer, are gone for good. That's the horrible part of digital photography. *cries*

Just ... AAAAAAAAAACK!!! *flails around*

So, I took the plunge today. After months of slobbering and drooling -- and, literally, years of waxing back and forth regarding switching from PC to Mac -- I broke down and got a new computer. iMac i5 with the 27 inch screen.

I was so totally excited about getting this thing. I mean kid-in-the-candy-store excited. And it is amazingly gorgeous. I love how it's all one piece ... and this monitor is just ... wow! I love how big and beautiful it is and how it just seems to stretch on and on for miles. I was using a 24 inch flatscreen and a 17 inch flatscreen (two monitors) on my PC. So, I'll basically be switching from a 24-inch (because I don't use the "extra" screen as much since I switched to the bigger flatscreen) to the 27 inch monitor. In my mind, I think: "3 inches isn't that big of a difference. Not really." And, really, it isn't. But it just seems so much bigger as I sit here and look at it.

I love, love LOVE this "magic mouse" that came with it. And I didn't think I could love anything as much as the Logitech mouse I bought to go with my PC. So far, though ... yeah, I would have to say I love the mac one way more. Magic, indeed!!!

On the downside, I am not at all sure I can use the itty-bitty keyboard that came with the computer. It's really neat-looking, and I love that it's wireless. It doesn’t feel all that bad, typing-wise. I like how responsive the keys are and all, but it’s just so darn small. And I'm not crazy about how the keys are spaced. It just doesn’t feel … “right”.

Also on the downside (and a bit more of a problem than the keyboard thing), we pulled the computer out of the box, turned it on, and within a few minutes, it started flickering. I was so disappointed and quite dismayed. I mean, I read all the posts and information about the flickering, pixel-burn, and yellowing issues before committing to buy the new machine. But I also knew that, for every person who had the issue, there were many who had no problems whatsoever. I figured luck was probably on my side. Looks like I figured wrong. Bleh. We downloaded the “firmware fix”, but I am not sure if it’ll actually fix the problem. The posts on the various forums are not very positive about it -- it seems that, once you have the flicker, it's there to stay. Right now, I've been using the computer for a while after downloading the firmware update and restarting, and I don't see any flicker. I guess I'll have to wait and see what happens tomorrow when I reboot the machine after having it off overnight.

Plus, I ran the yellowing and pixels test on the screen. Pixels were good – as in I don’t have any dead ones. But I did notice yellowing on my screen during the test. It wasn't significant, and I don’t notice the yellowing on the desktop background I’m using, on websites, or on stuff like a Word document when I’m typing it. So, maybe it’s not a big deal ... ??? I’m really not sure. And I don’t know if it will get worse over time or not.

So, basically, after all my excitement over the new computer, now I'm not even sure if I should keep the darn thing. Right now, I’m tempted to take it back. I could get my money back and wait a few months or a year to see if Apple irons out the problems. I mean, my PC is old, but it still works just fine. And if I pay this much money for something, I really want it to work. Or is this just my own insecurities and fears coming through? Because thinking about switching over totally from PC to Mac is a bit frightening, honestly. I started out using Mac, but I've used PCs for years now. But I have fundamental problems with each new OS Microsoft produces -- not to mention personal issues with the fact that the company basically forces you to "upgrade" to whatever crappy OS is its latest release. Even so, it's hard for me to wrap my brain around this type of total switch-over. I guess it's not as bad for me because my laptop is a Mac. So I already have word for Mac and PS and Dreamweaver for Mac. But it still feels like a HUGE change. I thought I was ready but now ... the doubts are beginning to creep back in.

It's stupid, I know, but I feel like crying right now. *sigh*

It's such a little thing, but, really, I've been searching for any tiny excuse/event that will give me even the smallest amount of "happeh" vibes lately. I've been in such a downer mood that it's unreal. Seriously, this is very much unlike me. Usually I can manage to choke down any negative feelings, concentrate on the positive, and just get on with life. Lately, though, I can't seem to do that. In short, I've been rather a mess. Bleh.

I already posted about the flooring project being done. So, that was one "little thing" that caused me happiness. I think I also mentioned this, but it bears repeating: I love the new floors.

But tonight, hubby managed to get my desktop back up and running. I had internet access through our laptops, so it wasn't like I was forced to drop off the face of the earth or anything. But I missed my big, old, monster desktop in a way that, I'm sure, is entirely unnatural and unhealthy. No longer, though, as I'm back up and running. I had a minor keyboard issue. Hubby and I both have wireless keyboards. Wireless keyboards that are identical, except mine shows quite a bit more wear and tear. I ended up with the correct keyboard, but the wrong receiver. I switched out receivers, but still had a problem getting the keyboard and receiver to talk to each other. I ended up changing batteries in the keyboard, and that seems to have solved the problem. (As you can see, since I'm sitting here typing this very long message >.O) So far, that has been the only hiccup, and I was relieved it was such a minor one.

I decided to celebrate my comp's resurrection with a little gallery/website update. I had added a few things to my main website cel gallery before the computer came down. I got a new rilezu recently, so I scanned it tonight, and added everything to my RS gallery.

Tactics Rilezu
Loveless Genga
Aya Fanart #1
Aya Fanart #2
TnN:Muse
TnN:Dispell #1
TnN:Dispell #2

Yep ... that ear drum-shattering, wall-shaking THUD(!) you heard earlier today was me --- falling over from shock, surprise, and sheer amazement.

That's right. My prodigal cel ... the little bit of celluloid goodness for which I have been waiting for a bit over a month now ... finally arrived! You can't even begin to imagine how shocked and surprised I was when it showed up on my doorstep this morning, courtesy of my friendly postal carrier.

I'm not sure how pathetic this makes me ... but, after compulsively checking the status of this package for the last eight days and getting no other response from the USPS website except that the shipper had notified them to "expect" my package for shipping at some point in the near future, I recognized the tracking number on the mailing label right away. OK ... so, perhaps I do know that this fact makes me incredibly pathetic. Or, perhaps I just do not care. Perhaps, I'm more than willing to wallow in the "pathetic-ness" of my silly, fangirl existence because it means my prodigal package is finally home with me.

Anyhow, although I recognized the tracking number almost immediately, I still refused to believe this was actually the package for which I had been waiting all this time. I think I was too afraid of the bitter sting of disappointment I knew would wash over me if, by some off chance, that turned out to be the case. So, I told myself I was mistaken. I told myself this couldn't possibly be my "missing" package. I told myself these things the whole time I pried off the tape and opened the box with shaking hands.

And, when I finally managed to (oh-so-carefully) pry the cel out of its packing material ... when I finally got my first, in-person, look at the cel I thought I would never see ... well, I'm not ashamed to admit it --- I felt like shedding a few tears of joy and gratitude. It's not often I get that choked up over a cel. I mean, yes, I love my celluloid darlings ... but actual tears are rare. It's only happened two other times, not counting this one. But, this little cel is special to me because of the twisted, tortured path it travelled in coming into my possession. I had been a bit worried that this whole, rather bad experience would cause me to dislike the cel ... but, in fact, I think I love it even more because of all the trouble I had to go through in order to get it. Plus, it's from one of my very favorite Card Captor Sakura scenes ... so that always helps with the "love factor".

Let's see ... in other news ...

My super early Christmas present arrived late last night --- a new desktop, courtesy of my wonderful and loving hubby, who, I think, finally got tired of hearing me whine about all the strange things my old computer was doing. He found what he considered a really wonderful deal, which is why I'm having Christmas in October right now. I am rather dreading the task of moving all my files and such --- all the digital flotsam and jetsam that seems to make up the bulk of my life --- over to the new machine. I have a feeling it will take a few days to get it done. But, in the end, no matter how much trouble it is, it'll be worth it. I'm so looking forward to using the new computer ... and I'm especially looking forward to doing some serious anime watching on the new, 24-inch flatscreen monitor that came with it! I'm going to be in otaku heaven with that thing. I just might end up spending all my time sitting on my big butt in front of the computer.

...

Oh, wait ... I think I already do that. >_<

And, the only other super-exciting thing going on for me at the moment is the U2 concert. After racing to get tickets when they first went on sale, and, then, months of waiting for the concert date to roll around, we are finally heading out to Philadelphia on Monday to see U2 in concert! I am so excited, and can hardly wait. This will be my very first time seeing them in concert, so I hope it's a really great show.