The New Baby

In all the posts regarding the Misha Defonseca story I have had little time to think or post about anything else. However, there is an exciting new development in my life --- I have new, slick, handy computer. I loved my old Toshiba but it was getting to the point where I couldn’t do a lot of work because the old girl was just so --- well --- old. So I did it. I bit the bullet and bought a new, slick HP with lots of RAM, and ROM, and all that stuff --- plus Windows Vista. Oooolala! I’m even finally figuring out how to use my MP4 player!

I got the MP4 player for Christmas and so far all I had done with it was knit a cute little cozy out of bright pink Banana Silk for it. It looks so cute --- except I didn’t know what to do with it. Now I’ve subscribed to all these cool Podcasts (KnitPicks has a great podcast) and can listen to Kelly tell me knitting secrets while I cook dinner and clean the kitchen. Cool.

So anyway, the new baby arrived two weeks ago and for three days it sat in the box because I was so busy. Well, actually, that’s sort of a lie. I was kind of busy but I was also somewhat intimidated about having a new computer after nearly six years. There is so much to deal with when a new computer gets set up --- loading all the software, setting up email (I have over a dozen different email accounts), transferring passwords. Lucky for me I got some good advice and used some very slick password transferring software that I didn’t know about before.

So it took me three full days to get the desk cleaned off, make a place for the new baby, familiarize myself with all the new gizmos and widgets, add software, download new drivers, configure email, transfer passwords, etc. No wonder I put off doing this. Then it was time to transfer all the files.

This turned out to be pretty easy actually. I have 2 removable hard drives --- one 80 GB and one 120GB --- and I had backed up files to them so it was easy to transfer stuff using those but, of course, all that stuff takes time.

Then there is the whole issue of just making the new baby feel like “home”. There were things on my old computer that I was used to --- a little Weather Bug, a notepad on the desktop, my beautiful wallpaper of a rainbow over Niagara Falls. But, little by little it is all getting shaped up and this week I seem to be able to work without too many issues. And this new computer is slick.

But, of course, there is the old one sitting there ready to leap into service if I discover there is anything I forgot. I loved that computer --- it was so reliable and easy to work with and I hate the idea of it being neglected. I’ve entertained the notion of cleaning everything off of it but my writing projects and moving it in to a different room so I can go there to write when I need a break from working in here.

Now that the Misha story has calmed down a little (although fascinating new developments are percolating and I can’t wait to reveal details when I get the green light to do so) I can get back to normal life and work. I had been trying to pull together a short story to submit to the Level Best Books annual crime fiction anthology and I now have the first draft of that done and ready to polish up. I like the story --- it is another of my anonymous-and-strange nameless heroines dealing with an unfair world. Where these women come from I have no idea but I’m glad they keep showing up.

The down side of this new baby is that it is too entertaining. I’ve got a lot of very cool new software to play with plus it can access television programs and movies I never had access to before. I’m totally hooked on HBO’s In Treatment (guess why) and keep sneaking breaks to watch another episode. So, well, maybe I need to keep the old, less talented PC for when I need to stay focused. Of course I can always take the MP4 player with me……………… sigh.

Thanks for reading.