So...
Most of the public blogs I've been writing have had to do with trying to figure out what to do with my life when there's hardly anyone around to do this stuff with. Since leaving New York, roughly 95% of my non-work contact with people has been through the computer.
Well, that was until last week.
Before leaving on a weekend trip to Houston to take myself to see a show (which, by the way, is a topic for another blog), with a sudden burst of motivation caused by new free time (my hours changed again), I decided to sit in front of my computer and try to fix the problems I was having with frequent, spontaneous restarts. Unfortunately, this led to Windows corrupting itself.
Reinstalls of the OS failed; the PC would shut down mid-install and a loud shriek would emanate from within the case (not the speakers).
That was Wednesday. Thursday, I brought the box to a PC repair shop I was referred to - the same place I'd bought my 19" flat-panel monitor.
Keith, the owner, confirmed my suspicions: there was a possible problem with my motherboard. "Don't buy a new one yet, though," he said. "I might be able to fix it if you leave it with me."
After charging me a bench fee of $64.95 (I promised myself I'd never pay a bench fee as long as I lived, or as long as I was able to fix my own computer, whichever time elapsed first), he took in my only active communications tool, promising to call me later that day with a better idea of what the problem was. He'd even said that if it was an easy fix, I could just come get it later that day. Worst case scenario, I could even come by on Memorial Day since he'd be in.
That was Thursday. The day came and went without further contact from him.
Friday, I went to work. I heard nothing. Later that evening, straight from work, I started a long and ill-fated trip to Houston (once again, a topic for another blog).
Sunday evening, on my way back, I called the shop. I got their answering service. This was a problem.
Monday: Memorial Day. Despite promises otherwise, his shop was closed. I went to work that evening, covering for someone absent. (I think everyone was absent; I didn't even get a single IM the entire night.)
Today: I got back from work about 6:30 a.m. and took a nap. I woke up at about noon and called the shop. A "Steve" answered the phone.
"You left a computer here? ... Oh, yeah, there's a box here with that name on it... No, I don't think I saw anything about it... Yeah, there's an invoice on it, but there's nothing written on it. I don't think Keith had a chance to look at it... No, he's not in today. He'll be back tomorrow. Maybe he'll get a look at it then... might call you back afterwards."
In the interest of this blog not "sounding negative," which I understand is costing me friends, I'll just say that I'm positively losing my patience. I don't know what I'm more annoyed at: the fact that I have to use my development's business center to check mail and view my sites (since CherryTAP is blocked at work), the fact that the two kids on the computer next to mine are being really annoying with their noise, or the realization that during this whole time I've managed not to hear from anyone.
Well, that last part's not entirely true. Sunday morning, I did take a cell phone call from someone whose daughter's laptop was not working properly. My experience so far is that these calls never end well. After spending a couple of hours fixing a similar problem for another person on my list, that person blocked me the very next day for my "negative blogs." This person seemed a little bit more grateful, looking past the somewhat dead-end nature of the conversation. Of course, I haven't heard anything from her since, either.
It all boils down to: I'm without a computer for the foreseeable future. I don't know if I'm getting it back anytime soon. However, since hardly anyone knew I was gone, I'm probably not missing anything.
I'm going back to my apartment, now.
