Giving Free a Try

This past weekend I had to take a class that would teach me about using the computer for my upcoming online program in which I will become a certified special education teacher.  Some parts of the class really felt like a waste of my time.  Not because the instructor was wasting my time, but because I had already had to learn to use some of the programs by taking online classes for the last two semesters.  There was plenty of helpful stuff too, but perhaps the most helpful to me was the extra attention I got for learning Ubuntu, a linux based operating system.

You see, Doug's laptop runs Windows Vista.  When we moved into our apartment 4 months ago, it was giving him so many troubles he quit using it and was using my desktop for all his computer needs.  But when my class said that a laptop was "highly recommended" in one place, and "required" in another, I figured it was time to give laptops a go again.

At first I emailed my Dad, the computer guy I trust most, about finding a good deal on a new laptop for school.  He suggested that in addition to looking at new computers, I also look at fixing Doug's up to meet specifications and reinstalling Windows.  Since I couldn't fix Vista without buying a new edition of software, I just reinstalled it, but took the time to upgrade hardware.  Seemed fixed, until the second day of class, when it crashed, like it always does.

Enter Ubuntu.  The guy who teaches the class I took was all about running open source software.  Somethings I was already running on my own and had been for years, like OpenOffice.  I had always been interested in Linux, but was worried I couldn't do it myself.  Turns out I was wrong.  The tech professor gave me a thumb drive with a copy of the installation software, and a print-out from his blog to get me started.  Saturday evening after class I spent a couple hours getting it up and running, downloading several free features to go along with it.

Back in class on Sunday I had only one problem: I couldn't get DVDs to work.  Tech professor to the rescue - he pointed me to a website that could get me through my problem, and then left me to follow directions.  It was actually really easy.  And now I am running Ubuntu on Doug's laptop, and it hasn't crashed since installation.  Not only has it worked as I want it to for the last few days, but it also boots up faster, connects to the internet faster, runs faster in general, and shuts down in seconds, as opposed to several minutes all those things took in Vista (if the machine didn't crash first).  Plus, it takes up MUCH less space on the computer.  And just in case I find I need Windows for something, it is still on the hard drive, I just have to tell the computer to boot Windows instead of Ubuntu.

I like free.

Back in Simi Valley

Today we made it back to our starting point, Simi Valley, CA. Sadly we did not all make it in one group though. The boys were able to make it along the planned route on the three bikes that were still running, but Bev and I came inland and came down I-5 from Mark's parent's house.

Yesterday on our way into Menlo Park, CA (where Mark's parents live), Bev and I made a stop at the Palo Alto VA Medical Center. I was still coughing and wheezing hard, and since it had been three days since the wheezing had started, Doug decided that it was likely more than just a cold and that I should get seen as soon as I could that day. Bev took me since we were already in the U-Haul with her bike. I was a bit annoyed when I made it to the ER, and the clerk told me I had to register since it was not my normal VA Center. I asked if there was anyway that I could just be seen, and when she realized I was short of breath just from the short walk in from the parking lot, she ran the paperwork around for me so I could be seen. Turns out I had been having a mild asthma attack, but because of the cold I didn't know it. After 60mg of Prednisone and two Nebulizor treatments I was let go, but told to take it easy for the next week or so, and given more steroid pills to help my breathing improve. Its been over two years since my last asthma attack, but with this last one, I won't likely forget the feeling anytime soon.

After getting the doctor thing out of the way, we met the boys at Mark's parent's house, where his parents put on an amazing meal for all of us, plus Doug's college friends. It was nice to finally meet the friends he has been talking about since we starting dating, and it was fun to watch him interact with them and bring up all the old college strories. After all the visiting was over, Mark's mom (Betty) gave me lavendar bath salts, and I soaked until all the road soreness and chest soreness was gone.

The boys said they had a great ride today, and it was a bit of a bummer not to finish with them, but the doctor said that it would probably be best for me to ride in the truck as long as that was an option, so I had to miss out. Bev is great company though, so we had a nice girls ride down from the San Fransisco area.

I'll work next on posting all the pictures. I'm sure there will be plenty of commentary to go along with them, so I'll end this post here.

I'm the Creepy Lady

Well maybe not really. But I did succeed in creeping out an ABC Store (the largest chain of convenience stores on the island) cashier. It was super easy, and I did it all without even trying. Really.

On Sunday Doug and I went to a craft market in Honolulu too look around. Anticipating a lack of parking, we took the bike but also a change of clothes. Upon arriving at the park where the craft market was taking place, I changed into shorts and slippahs. After a couple of hours in the sun, we decided to change locations, and this is where the fun begins.

Instead of going through the trouble of wrapping a towel around myself and changing out of shorts back into jeans in the parking lot, I just pulled my jeans over my shorts. This was to save time, as I thought I would be removing my jeans at the next location to enjoy the comfort of shorts again. In thinking that I would be removing the jeans, I left my wallet and cash in the pockets of my shorts instead of transferring them to the pockets of the jeans. En route to the next location, it was decided that we should visit a local mall instead of the streets of Waikiki, where we would have the added comfort of air conditioning, since it was a rather warm day, even for November.

Once parking at the mall, Doug and I decided that it would be better to just leave our jeans on. After all, while air conditioning is a nice touch to indoor venues, they often have it turned a bit too high, and then I freeze. Of course, at this point I had forgotten that my wallet and cash were still in my shorts. And after being in the sun for a couple of hours, my body was in need of some liquid refreshment. Good thing there was an ABC Store nearby. I walked in to find myself a tasty beverage, and then proceeded to the counter. The nice lady told me how much I owed, I reached into my pockets only to remember that my cash was in the pockets inside my jeans. No worries, I'll just undo my belt and out of the cashier I hear: *gasp* "What are you doing?!"

Duh!! Normal people don't just start undoing their pants to find money, do they?? Haha. I quickly explain that it was okay. I was wearing shorts. I was with my boyfriend on his motorcycle. I put my jeans on over my shorts. It wasn't til I walked out of the store with the drink and receipt in hand that I realized what I had really just done. Lucky for me the friends I was with that day found just as much humor in it as I did.

No Pumpkin for You

This year I learned about the availability of pumpkins in Hawaii. It's been a few years since I bought a pumpkin to carve. Last year I was out of the country, and the year before that I ate all the pumpkins I bought without carving a single one (well, besides the normal carving and cutting up involved with pumpkin preparation). This year I saw that stores were "starting" to get their pumpkins around the beginning of the month. At least I thought they were starting to. Turns out that initial shipment I saw at each store was the ONLY shipment. Of course, I didn't realize that there would be a shortage of pumpkins until it was far too late.

Now it is Halloween, and there are no pumpkins. I've been all over town looking for them, but all I came up with were specialty varieties of squash (which I bought. Hope Doug likes squash). The squashes are too small for carving. I wonder if I can still roast the seeds though? And if any stores will get in another small shipment of pumpkins for the pie making at the end of next month?

Video Games DO Offer Life Lessons

Well, at least Tetris does. The better you can get at Tetris, the more efficiently you can pack boxes. And the more efficiently you can pack the boxes into the moving vehicle. I'm learning that as I go along, trying to pack the last of my apartment. I still have lots of furniture, but, it is sold. Kind of. A couple who has moved to the area has nothing, and will take most everything that is left, so long as they can get the money from their boss to pay me. And if not, another woman is willing to buy it all for her son, who is also just starting out. I ended up selling it dirt cheap, but every bit of cash will help me get to Seattle, and every bit can help either of the people who will end up with my stuff. So even though I would have liked to sell it for more, it is still a win-win situation. I just hope that I can find a similar situation when the time comes for me to get my next apartment. I think it will. I truly believe that what goes around comes around.

Spammers Stop Spamming Me

Sometimes the internet turns out to be more of a hassle than a resource. I was very excited when Craigslist created a site for the Western Slope, since I had seen the site for other cities and always wanted to use it myself. But, as it turns out, it's not all that great. In fact, as it turns out, there are several people out there looking to screw you over. Lucky for me, I knew enough to not get taken advantage of (at least this time), but it was still a waste of time. All I wanted to do was sell my TV, and I thought that by listing it online I might do better than by just putting it my moving sale. Instead all I got were several emails asking me to ship the item to some far away place. It almost sounds real, the so-called buyer wants to pay for everything, but then there is that little fishy thing about sending a money order for nearly 10 times the asking price of the item. Turns out that all of the emails I got about my TV were from spammers.

I suppose it isn't all bad though, some of the people who came to my moving sale today did see my ad online. I only wish they would have bought more of the bigger things, like furniture. It is easy to load up my car with little stuff and find a place to donate it, but what about that super heavy couch that took the better part of an hour to get in my apartment? I hope I have better luck tomorrow.

Super Onion Breath

A couple of hours ago I took a huge bite out of a thick slice of onion. A nice, pretty white onion. Mostly because I wanted it on my pizza, but it didn't get on there in time. So, bite of pizza, bite of (salted) onion. And now?? Super Onion Breath. I can still taste it. Which would be okay if it were a good onion, but I've had better. Too bad I didn't have a date tonight, that could have been fun. At least for me.

Success!!

So I tried the sushi thing again last night. This time with sushi rice and brand new nori. I even opted for the sushi nori. And for how easy it was once I had the right ingredients, I'm a little disappointed I didn't take on the challenge sooner. There is still room for improvement, but at least I finally got the rice right. Now I can see just how long it will take for me to tire of sushi.

Guess what I'll be eating again today?

Failed Sushi

For some reason, lately I cannot seem to get enough of the sushi rolls. I think more than anything it is the wasabi, which really makes no sense because I usually don't like hot stuff. So today I gave my culinary skills a challenge and attempted making my own. The results? Nasty. I ate two bites and threw the rest away. I think it is all my fault though. Instead of white rice, I decided I should give brown a try. And I used nori that I bought more than two years ago, that has been sitting in my pantry in a ziploc bag getting stale. So now what do I do? I think I should head to the store, buy some rice that is meant for sushi, and new nori as well. I don't think I'll be brave enough to try preparing raw fish in my own home, at least not this far from the coast. But just filling them with veggies should be enough to satisfy me until I get closer to a salty body of water.

I think I might even try the second batch tonight.

Boozing and Breasts

Sounds like they go good together, doesn't it? Well, get your mind out of the gutter. Today when I was at the doctor she told me that she had read that drinking increases a woman's risk for breast cancer. So when I got home I looked it up. And there are quite a few sites that say that it has been proven. But then there is something else to think about: if drinking increases your risk by 30%, what exactly does that mean? As the same doctor also pointed out, if 1 in 1,000 are likely to die from something and then adding alcohol to the mix makes it 2 in 1,000, than it can be said adding alcohol doubles your risk. But really, do you think you are lucky enough to be that 2 in 1,000? So all these sites need to be put into perspective. Not too many have numbers, but then again, I didn't look too deep either. Maybe for now on this one I will claim ignorance and go have a beer. I hope my breasts don't mind.

One Deer, 3 Horses, and a Weasel

When I go to work, there is supposed to be a shuttle to take. But, through miscommunication, it turns out that on the weekends, there is no shuttle to return me home at a reasonable hour. So instead of wasting my entire day in Gateway, I drove myself and the girl I was working with to the job site. About 45 minutes into the drive, I noticed some kind of animal moving rather quickly across a field. The memory of the last deer to come in contact with my car still fresh in my mind, I decide that perhaps 65mph (the posted speed limit) is a little fast, and I begin to slow down, keeping my eye on this animal. Sure enough, it was a deer. Being the talker I am, I told him to stay right where he was, but no, he starts to run along the fence, just ahead of my car. Then the dumb animal decides to jump the fence, and run right in front of my car. I hit the brakes and start pleading with my car to slow down, NOW. My passenger wasn't too freaked out, and she commented that she didn't even see the deer until we were really close to it. I of course was shaking like a leaf once the deer was safely out from in front of my car.

A few more miles down the road and I noticed what looked to be a black animal in the road up ahead. At first I thought it was a cow, but as we got closer we saw it was actually 3 horses. Someone must have left a gate open. At least they were in the road, and easy to see from afar. As we (slowly) approached them, they made the wise move of getting off the road.

Not too much later, a small animal (which I thought to be a ferret, but was told by others was probably a weasel) crossed the road, and I was sure I hit it with my tire. But a glance in the rear view mirror revealed no dead animal.

Lesson learned: there is no reason to travel the road to Gateway at excessive speeds. My car has enough wildlife damage already.