Computers... Bah-Humbug!

Okay! So I am out of my funk, Officially as of Today. I am unusually cheerful at work, and having a ball irritating everyone with my attitude. I have made a resolution to get some work done, both on the house, and on my computer. I am intent on getting a handle on this beast, and be able to take photos, run home and download them to the computer, all organized and safe, take my time to edit them, and print out prize-winning prints whenever I want them.

So, I got home tonight, ate my dinner, and then proceeded to gather a few of the memory cards I need to organize and copy. Sat down at said computer and proceeded to become even more confused. I have photos saved and re-saved; files are saved and re-named..... It is more than four hours later, and I don't know for sure WHERE or HOW MANY of the photos I've looked at tonight ARE!!!!!!

I've taken the advice of experts, and have temporarily forsaken the professional program of Photoshop that was a gift from my niece. A co-worker of hers suggested that I try and download Picassa, a free program that is immensely easier to use, and I should be happier with that. As soon as I plugged THAT baby in, it sucked EVERY photo on my computer, including all photos that were in my INBOX in Outlook Express to one gigantic file of PHOTOS!! Not only was that somewhat disconcerting, but it did not have the capable of designing a personalized birthday card, which is just one of the tricks I am hell-bent on doing with my photos!

Tonight, I decided to try to use the HP program that came with my computer. A few people have said that it is a pretty decent program. I sat down, pulled up the program, even thoroughly read the tutorial....and plugged in my memory card. The photos flew into my computer, and, theoretically, were ready to work with...... HAH!!!!! Four hours later, I have two discs worth of photos in one file, all of them titled "Jimmy Buffett concert 2007"--twice!!!! For some reason, I have not been able to separate them from each other and make what I thought were simple files!!!! I am just about ready to run to Wal-mart and just dump everything on discs and call it quits..... I am going crazy and it is all a certain, un-named computer Super-Geek's fault!!!!

Chicago's Public Transportation -- Best Kept Secret...

I used to visit the Big City Down Below for just a few events, usually within walking distance of the train station, or a cheap cab fare. I've been venturing farther afield since I've been able to find my way around other major cities.... Why not learn to get around in my own back yard, so to speak?

The reason I never ventured onto a public bus in the past is that I had no idea where I was going, nor how to figure out the bus system. For awhile, a friend of mine lived downtown, and she gave me a taste of the "El"; showed me the Blue Line, the Orange Line.... She no longer lives there, so to venture farther, I am on my own. I found a brochure in one of the train stations for using certain buses for particular events or destinations. I found a flaw in the system on Friday, when I traveled south to check out a zoo I haven't visited since my daughter was in second grade.

Drove to a nearby town to catch the Metra; found a parking spot at the far end of the lot about four blocks from the station. Even figured out how to pay the Day Fare for the lot~~ fancy machines! Who'd'a thought?

Once inside the downtown Terminal, I even figured out which door to exit to catch the correct bus. My biggest problem was exiting said bus. The brochure had said to get off on Washington. It just didn't say WHERE to get off on Washington. I got off on the first chance near Washington, no thanks to the VERY unfriendly bus-driver -- according to her, she had no idea where I was supposed to meet the next bus.... Thank you very much.....

Well, I figured out that the little signs at bus stops had a bit of a legend - what bus, where is goes, etc. However, I couldn't find a sign that read "Bus 151". Walking a little ways, I spotted Millenium Park ahead, and the photographer in me took over -- The "Bean" hadn't been exposed the last time I was there, so I HAD to go see it. Got some great shots, too. Okay, so 30 photos later, I find myself on Michigan Avenue, two blocks farther north than I started. I knew that wasn't a bad thing, but I'll be dipped in caramel if I could find a place to pick up the 151 bus, or anyone who could tell me how to find it!!!! Four people sent me blocks out my way looking for a Trolley; three people couldn't speak any English; the Trolley folks informed me that the Trolley wasn't running (wonder why I saw them coming and going once I did arrive at the zoo!); and one kind young man actually handed me a photocopied map and showed me where to pick up the 151 bus (two blocks away). Whew!

The Zoo was great~~ even introduced myself to some of the volunteers and got some inside information, such as names, breeding status, etc of some of the animals. Yes, saw two of the young red wolves slinking through the habitat. Hopefully, my two photos of them will come out okay... I do agree with natural habitat for the animals, but at National Zoo and at Lincoln Park, they certainly take "natural" to extremes. The habitat here was so dense and overgrown, it was only a fluke that I was able to spot the two youngsters. They were actually only about 10 to 20 FEET from the fence in a clear spot where the creek went through. People complain about OUR wolves!

The Polar Bear was putting on a show. He had a large, PVC cone that he was trying to sink. He really was animated! We were far above him, watching through glass, but in the right spot, he was quite a sight to see. His partner was much less extroverted, and swimming gracefully on the other side of the pool. There were workman blocking off the viewing area for the underwater window, or those would have been good photos, too. Oh, well..... By 5:00, I figured I'd better catch a Trolley or bus back to the train......

After asking three people, I was directed to the Main Information Office and finally told that the Trolley doesn't run up here except for the weekends. I went out front and figured out I had to cross the street to catch the 151 bus again, and head back to the train station. Goofy thing here was THIS bus went all the way to the train station, didn't have to jump off for anything! Thank God -- no telling where I would have ended up this time!

An hour and a half later, I was back to my car, and nearly kissed the steering wheel when I got in! It sure felt good to step on the gas pedal and go where and when I wanted!!!! The way I use my car, I can't imagine being slave to the Public Transportation System.... Now to solve the gas crisis!

To Be, Or Not To Be, Move, Build, Go Crazy.....

As usual, it is the end of a long day, and I am tired. This is the last day of my vacation, and I have not gotten enough done.

No, I didn't go anywhere. Let's see.... I spent the first day at a seminar; the second day I drove to Madison, about 70 miles away for a Bead Show. Nice, intimate little thing -- I was not overwhelmed, for a change. So many of the shows these days are GIANORMOUS and upon arrival one becomes instantly overwhelmed, and you can never "SEE EVERYTHING"! Not the case here. It was small, lightly attended, and I had a chance to talk with several vendors and other artists. Wonderful!

On the way home from there, I stopped at a house model and talked to a wonderful couple about building a house. Yes, I'm considering......BUT..... first I had to talk to the bank....

Monday found me at the bank first thing. I'd set up the appointment last week, so I had a list of questions for the dear man. He was incredibly informative, and was very patient with my "Okay, if I do it THIS way...." form of questioning. Bottom line was that he wants me to DO NOTHING at all, including building a garage, until I find out what I can list my home for. Turns out the house I was lusting after did indeed go under contract in May, but that fell through. Now the sellers have taken it off the market until next Spring. (??) I have two realtors to call to list my own home, however, after months of neglect (we spend five months cleaning out my mother's home -- going 40 minutes away nearly every evening and on weekends), then spending two months driving my ailing Laborador 70 miles each way to Chicago for doctor visits until he died. Then I allowed myself about a month to grieve, in which I pretty much did nothing at all. Well, almost nothing ~~ my job lately, has been hell, and I've been working like a house elf with about as much respect, so, yeah, I've been pretty much burnt out and exhausted, too. Result is that my tiny, little house looks more like a storage unit than a home. I had been thinking that the property would be split and sold as vacant land, or I would stay and build on it. Turns out, it can't be split, so if I sell, I need to make it look inhabitable. Ew. If I stay, I will probably spend more money, so the smart thing is to move the hell out, and buy something decent!
The Good Thing is that the house I wanted is available, and waiting for me; the Bad News, is that I am packing and cleaning like crazy!~ Talk about an obsession!!! I sure wish I knew what I'm going to be when I grow up!!!

The World Is My Oyster!

Today is the second day of my vacation!!!!!

It is really weird, I slept all the way to 6:30 this morning, did some computer work, a couple games of Spider Solitaire, then fed the critters, and took off for a Bead Show in Madison. Silly me, I plugged in old Bitch in the Box. I drove most of the way there arguing with her, but not knowing where the hotel was actually located, I finally let her lead the way. About ten miles ahead of time, she took us off the freeway and took me through about half a dozen little towns and finally into the back entrance of said hotel. I had no clue where I was, but I went inside to the Bead Show.

Upon leaving the show, I spotted a Noodles and Company across the street, and being the Carboholic that I am, needed some lunch. I was going to stop at a model home on the way home, and wasn't sure how far I was from the target city. I figured, I'd tell Bitch in the Box the crossroads I was headed for and find out how long it would take to get there. I didn't dare ask for "Home", because I was afraid she'd take me there via the Mackinack Bridge or something. Well, looking up a location by crossroads was a bust. The highway I was looking for has about four names, none of which were recognized by BIAB..... Neither was the Freeway, under the three names I could think of for THAT! Forget it!!!!!

I pressed the button for "Home" and crossed my fingers. She started with: "Go to start of route". I had no clue. Luckily, I have a compass in my car, and I headed for the East exit of the parking lot. That did the trick... Turned out I was deep in the middle of one of those weird megaplexes that contain apartment houses, hotels, shopping centers (several), frontage roads everywhere, and the freeway was less than a mile away. Whew! At that point, I knew pretty much where I wanted to go. I left BIAB on to see what she'd come up with from there. I had purposely asked for "Mostly Freeways" to get there. Believe it or not, she took me way too seriously, and instantly added 20 miles to the route home. When I got off the Freeway, and was heading directly to my home, she kept requesting a "legal U-turn" and wanted me to head for the Freeway again, no matter how far away from it we were traveling.

Again, I digress.... I am on vacation! Fun stuff! Bead Show. It has occurred to me that I need to get out of the office I work in and find some means of support either making jewelry, or working with my camera. Being with these like-minded people, I feel relaxed, free, and utterly inspired. Normal people don't notice my unusual jewelry when I am in a mix such as today. At a gathering of artists, my jewelry is always noticed. Of course, at functions such as this, EVERYONE has on some piece of new and unusual bauble, and mine is usually different. You know, for years and years and years, I have resisted doing the craft show/art show scene. But, after reading up on quite a bit of stuff to market my photography and jewelry, it seems that I need to attend exactly that. I've always wished for a marketing person to come forward and just perform miracles, sell my stuff, make me famous.... I guess I'm looking for a Fairy Godmother! I'm essentially living in a place where this kind of thing is sought-after. I'll have to become known as a "local artisan"......

For sale: Hand-crafted jewelry, art photography.....

House: To Buy or To Build.....

Okay, so my situation is slightly unique.... Fourteen years ago, I found this little cracker box to purchase. I was going to "show up" a boyfriend who kept talking about moving up here, but could never get away from the old apron strings -- you know the type -- 40 years old, living at home, trying to figure out what he wanted to be when he grew up -- to be fair, I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up, either, but I at least make my own decisions.... and live on my own.

Anyway, he kept talking about moving up North, and I certianly wanted to, as well. He wasn't doing anything about it, so I did. It was kind of cool at the time. I found an ad in the little Sunday Advertiser: Cute, 2-bedroom Cottage on 12 lots. Dirt cheap! I decided before I saw it that if it was at all inhabitable, I was going to make it mine! Put it this way, it had a roof and windows, and the yard was SPECTACULAR!!!! It is more than half an acre and a veritable clean slate. I had a damned good job at which I was being well-paid and I loved it. I wrangled buying the house, coerced my boyfriend into helping me install a new water heater; found a local handyman who helped me with a few other minor things; at that time, there was a junk man who was all too thrilled to pick up the mountain of trash that we pulled out of the house, the shed, the crawlspace; I even found a used furniture dealer who picked up the vinyl davenport and formica bedroom set. I spent the first winter nearly freezing to death because the place had no insulation, and the gas-fired space heater in the living room was all I had!

The plan was to build a garage with a loft, move in there, then tear down the house and rebuild THAT. My initial plan included just adding on to the house and raising the roof. Then, silly me, I realized that the original part of the house was under constructed: not only was there NO foundation, but the joists were 24 inches on center, not the prescibed 16 inches. I had moved in on December 5th, so I just hunkered down and weathered the winter. I installed my driveway for Mother's Day. I spent the spring and early summer researching the garage. Found out that NO building permit was needed at that time, and all I had to do was hire a builder! I got two estimates for the garage, and just needed to secure the financing. And then I was laid off from the infamous MEGACONGLOMERATE GE. Well, I didn't have to be laid off, I could have moved to New Jersey to keep my job at the same pay, without any help with moving expenses..... Who could resist THAT?

I digress.... the job layoff meant a halt to any building plans. Heck, as the following several years proved -- Yes, SEVERAL years -- it called a halt to any planning I could possibly have done AT ALL! I temped for pittance for way too long. The only reason I didn't LOSE the house was because the bank didn't want the cheap little shack! I eventually found a job, and began to build my life again. I was working two jobs and getting to the point of being able to start thinking about improving my circumstances when I was diagnosed with cancer! I'm fine now, but a year of treatment, several more years of rebuilding my body and paying off medical bills, and I am back to thinking about improving my living arrangements.

SO..... back in January, I started talking to builders to get an estimate on a garage. I figured that if I started in January, I'd have a good chance of getting the garage on my lot by Mother's Day. Well.....it is now August. I have talked with no less than 8 builders. I have two estimates that are enough to install a pool, a bathhouse and hire a cabana boy full time, and no word from the rest of the gang. There were actually two groups of them.... Once the first group was either too high or non-existant, I was so exhausted and discouraged, I started to look for another house. First day out the door, I found my "dream home". It had a yard nearly as big as my current one, four bedrooms, an extra large garage. The icing on top of the cake is that it is within a half-block of the lake! I could walk my kayak down to the water and be off!

But before I could write a contract, someone else had written one, with fewer contingencies. I mourned for a few days, then decided that Someone bigger than me was making a decision for me. I dug up a couple more names, called up builders, and requested more estimates for my poor, doomed garage.......

It is currently three weeks later. I have no estimates for garage in hand. I am tired to death of this so-called game. I called the realtor about the house I so dearly coveted. The contract fell through, and the house is available again. I have made an appointment with the bank; that's tomorrow. I have made another appointment to see said house AGAIN. Monkey wrench: when I called a realtor to take a look at my house and list that, she indicated that it would have to be listed as vacant land and the sale probably wouldn't pay off my mortgage....... ARRRGHGHGHGH!!!!!!!

SQUARE ONE: Call a builder, get an estimate on a garage.......