The word of the week is commitment.
Aug 5 - Tech Support
Today I finally got a tech support call.
Not the kind you would think however; it was a call from
somebody in the building looking for me to help them with their computer. For
10 months now I've had several posters up in this building the one next-door
and this is the first call I received. Which means that either people around
here have really reliable computers or they fix things themselves - either way,
they haven't called me. Until now.
It was a fairly easy fix that just took some time to effect.
Her laptop had been infected by the RCMP virus, which had locked it up totally
with a form of ransomware: a screen was displayed telling her that she had
violated various laws( false ) and that she needed to pay a 'fine' via
electronic methods in order to have her computer back. This virus is used by
organized crime groups to generate funds for their activities that is an
excellent example of criminal scum using sophisticated methods to dupe the
unwary into parting with their money. I personally can't stand this sort of
thing or criminal activity in general.
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| Some variants take a pic of you with your laptop's webcam for added scare value |
What perhaps was the most interesting thing about today's
tech support visit was the apartment itself: it was utterly disgusting. I've
been in some weird places over the years, including student dorms and people
with too many pets, yet this place just had her and a complete lack of
housekeeping. Dozens of empty pizza boxes stacked on the back of the couch
competed with as many dirty dishes and scattered wrappers all around the main
room for the attention of various flies. The floors were covered with various
layers of food and other things that I tried not to identify, though there was
little odour overall. Revolting.
I don't know what else to say. She was obviously happy
living in these conditions and working on her quilting hobby full-time. She
paid me well for my time after I'd finished restoring her laptop to her and I
headed back to my place, seeing it with new eyes from a fresh perspective of
how others choose to live.
Aug 6 - Back to work, you!
You should be careful for what you wish for.
Turns out, I got what I wanted: a full week at work! I'm
working 5 full shifts this week, eight days in a row altogether, which will be
great for the paycheque. I will have to get back into the swing of things after
10 days off.
Working in the Copy Centre at this point of the year is
actually a great choice, as back-to-school is ramping up for the last few weeks
of August. It's the busiest time of the year for the company, as well as the
most crowded as thousands of students of all ages with their families pile into
the store. I'm quite lucky to be in the department I am, as I don't have to
worry about running around too much. I'll just be doing a lot of directing,
which I can handle, or so I think; I've never done a back-to-school before so
we'll see how it goes.
At least I get to work with a great bunch of people as part
of the solid team that set the store. Everyone knows what they're doing and is
more than willing to help out wherever and whenever they are needed. It's that
positive attitude and the knowledge that your coworkers have your back no
matter what that means going into this busy season isn't as stressful as it
could be. Definitely a good thing.
Aug 7 - Framing
Lots of wall space, not so much in the wallet.
I need to get quite a few things framed, but I don't have
the funds right now. Which is odd, as I haven't had a lot of things I want to
hang on my wall that aren't already up there.
But, at Phoenix ComiCon, I picked up a set of three of these
beauties by the artist Ant Lucia:
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| I got a set of all 3 for a SWEET deal! They're ALL I bought. |
And just before I left for Ontario last week, I put in three
images to be turned into 3x4' posters. One of my novel's Second Draft cover by
Brian T. Woods, one of a set of dozens of sci-fi spacecraft… and a cutaway of
the Milennium Falcon - just because. As well, I have my recent diploma from
Brock and there's even a poster of Star Trek Continues, signed by the whole
cast, from Phoenix!
So yes, I have a LOT of posters to frame and hang over the
next while, as I can. I will keep them as safe as possible, but they're meant
to be seen, not stored. Right?
Really, I just want some more cool stuff on my walls:
they've been fairly bare for far too many years!
Aug 8 - Recharge Me
What do you do when your battery is low?
In my case, this applies to both myself and my Samsung phone
this week.
With the phone, my battery doesn't last the day and in fact
usually lasts only about six hours. Something in the list of programs I have is
draining it and I have to discover what it is. From my initial scan, it looks
like the Samsung Link is the culprit, but I have no way to uninstall that as
it's part of the manufacturers software that comes with the phone. Even the
battery life extension software app I've installed isn't helping.
Which means I'll probably have to root the phone, which I've
been meaning to do anyway once the one-year warranty runs out in September. Rooting
the phone will mean I have complete control over everything that goes on and I
can get rid of whatever extra stuff is taking up space or causing problems for
me in daily use. I really don't want to buy a spare battery, as the one that
comes with the phone should be more than adequate to let it last a day, at a
minimum, once I have it rooted. My previous phone was rooted and although the
battery life wasn't great, it definitely lasted a whole day.
The funny part is I don't do all that much with the phone
that would be the battery. I don't watch YouTube videos or Netflix or surf the
Internet endlessly. If I did, I just have to keep the thing plugged in 24/7
given the current battery drain and that would just be silly, I think.
Aug 9 - Jetfire SkyStriker? Cool !!!
When I was a kid, one of my favorite toys was a G.I. Joe
airplane called the SkyStriker. I also coveted a particular Transformers toy
jet aircraft called JetFire, which was copied from a Robotech toy.
Imagine the grin and delight on my face when I saw this
picture of what was being given away at this year's San Diego ComicCon:
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| Pure. Awesome. |
That's one really cool crossover and shows how a love of all
things g33ky can sometimes combine several nostalgic memories into one really
cool collectible. Not that I could justify dropping several hundred dollars for
such a thing, but it's nice to know that people are still being creative in
coming up with unique items like that. Perhaps if I end up with more room in
the future, I'll be able to display some of my collectibles in some stylish
glass cases instead of hiding them in cardboard boxes in storage.
Because cool collectibles aren't meant to live in darkness,
but to be seen in the light of g33kiness.
Aug 10 - Talking about my novel! In a bar!
It was a full shift for me today at work, tired as I was.
Back-to-school is starting and today was a preview, with a
solid stream of people flowing into the store together supplies for their kids
on top of the regular weekend crowd. Copy wasn't overly busy, which was good as
I spent a fair amount of time assisting people elsewhere to help take the
pressure off my coworkers whenever I could. It was definitely wearing as I'm
feeling under the weather with a throat tickle that's turned into a sore throat
as of this morning. But I got through anyway without losing my voice.
In the evening I met up with a couple of guys from work for
a few drinks downtown, at a pub I'd walk by many times but never been in. Turns
out the Yates Street Taphouse is quite a nice place and I enjoyed finding that out.
Most of the conversation was between myself and one of my
coworkers who had just recently finished reading the second draft of my novel -
I'd given him a printout some months back at his request. It was absolutely
fantastic to sit there and toss questions back and forth about my work with
someone who had really paid attention to the details while reading it. It's that sort
of feedback that I really need in order to take my work to the next level and
several half-formed ideas I had already became much clearer after tonight's
conversation.
I was also just plain thrilled that someone liked my work so
much that they wanted to reread it again after talking to me in order to catch
the details they missed the first time. That's the sort of thing that writers
live on and I found myself energized anew to write more about the world I'd created.
Aug 11 - Blarg Bug
I woke up to find my cold was in full swing. Congestion,
headache, the whole works plus a lack of sleep means it was going to be a bad
day for me.
Unfortunately, I was working today at 10 AM.
I managed to make it through four hours with several fairly
busy periods before I headed home, feeling quite tired and definitely intent on
destroying a full box of Kleenex by the time the day was out. I'd also managed
to tweak my right arm somehow today, probably when I was helping out a few
times on the sales floor getting several chairs down for customers. One more
thing to add to my sick list.
After napping briefly and drinking a lot of fluids, I was
back at work for 6 PM for the annual mandatory back-to-school meeting. I sat
myself well away from everyone in the back with a box of Kleenex next to me and
did my best to pay attention. It worked for the most part but by the end of the
meeting I was feeling much worse and at that point I pulled one of the managers
I wouldn't be coming in on Monday. Good call, that.
It's worth noting that I have to be more careful now about
getting sick, as I've had a severe case of pneumonia last winter. Which means
that I'm more prone to a cold moving into my lungs and setting up shop, which
would not be good. So I'm being aggressive about combating this one, with lots
of fluids, chicken soup, cold medicines and rest whenever needed. I definitely
don't want things to worsen by not paying close enough attention, that's for
sure.
That's all I have. It took me most of the day on Monday the 12th to put this together, and here it is. Any ramblings or errors I blame on the battle with the bug that's got me. G'night!
