It's so new, no one knows what to do with it yet

I just set up my high speed internet service thru the local cable company. So far, so good.

However, my laptop has the new (since January 30) Windows Vista OS, and it seems that preparations for this are a bit lacking. No one knows what to do with it yet!

In my self installation kit from Cox, it gives directions on how to set up your Cox email accounts. Those instructions only work with XP and earlier versions, such as Win 95/98/2000,etc. The Vista instructions are on Cox's website. No one told me that.

I haven't been given the opportunity to set up my Cox email addy, but I need it to set up the account in Vista.

Grrrrr!

Maybe I should have stuck with the wireless connection. But it's not mine, so I feel guilty for "borrowing" it.

My tech ignorance is showing. Where's a tech savvy 12 year old when you need one? Huh?


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

Well, it IS true

I'm a pear. In Italian and Spanish, it's "pera".

My family is Italian, and that's my last name.

It's always fascinated me about the origins of people's names. I have a friend who has a French surname that means "dear friend". That's not what he said it meant, but I took enough French in high school to figure it out.

My aunt (my dad's sister, who is 88 years old) has a coat of arms for our family name that she got years and years ago. She had it the last time I visited her home in San Francisco in the mid 1980's (I think Daniel was 6 months old at the time).

I fought hard to have my name restored to me when Jon and I divorced. If I ever get married again, I'm not changing it. I might hyphenate it with the last name of the guy I get hitched to, but I won't change it, so it will be Pera-(fill in the blank).

I won't make it my middle name, like my sister did. I have kinda grown fond of my middle name, thanks, after 43 years.

Maybe I'll just live in sin with some guy... naaah... that would put my mother into orbit. She wasn't exactly thrilled when Saon and I lived together for all of 4 months five years ago.

I was going to expound on that previous paragraph (the "living in sin" part), but I think I'll save it for another post.

That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

The essay that was kicking my butt is now in the capable hands of my professor

Hopefully, I didn't screw it up too badly.

No homework this weekend, but I do have a midterm in US History that I need to study for. It's worth 100 points! How come I have this feeling the whole test will be over World War I?

Better bone up on some names, dates, and other fun stuff. It's all essay questions. Fun.

I need to find a portable DVD player somewhere. I have a movie to watch during Spring Break. I found one at CVS in Edmond for about $40. I wonder if it's a good one or a piece of crap.

And maybe I'll check out the car show this weekend, if my 23 year old son remembers to pick me up!




That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

Back to the essay that is kicking my butt...

Second draft is due Wednesday. Oh. Joy.

I did find out today that I have an A in the class so far. Go me!!! Woot! LOL

US History-- we had a test. I think I missed two questions. Just drew a blank on a couple of names. I hate when I do that. I'll find out how I did on Wednesday.

My editing project is DONE! Yay! Not due til Wednesday. So I am ahead of the game.

The enchiladas I made Saturday were good. I still have some, because there is no way I can eat 13 of them in one day. Some are in the fridge, and a couple of servings are in the freezer.

I might make chili later in the week.

Yes, cowboy, I can cook. You oughta come and check out Chez Stef sometime.

Check out the food, not the chef... unless you want to check out the chef, of course!




That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

Walkin' in L.A. (NOT!!)

Walking in Del City, yeah.

I decided that I'm slacking in the exercise department because I can drive my car to and from school, so I walked to the public library. I have about 1/2 an hour left, then I think I'll go home, because I think some people are coming over later.

At least, I hope they are.

Amalia told me last night that she has a present for me, and that she's bringing it over today. Her mom says, "Maybe".

I had this dream last night that Tori brought Joey over to my apartment for me to babysit, and Larry showed up about the same time. I told Larry he's lucky I can speak "Joe", so he could understand what the kid is trying to say.

Joey wished me a happy birthday last night, and I pretty much understood him. His mom thinks he might not be ready for pre-k in the fall (he'll be four on his next birthday at the end of March). It's a wait-n-see thing at this point.

And then there are Joey's allergies. That could be a whole post of its own. Start with the CT scan that he had to be sedated for, then didn't fall asleep for two and a half hours! That boy has fighting sleep down to an art. He even fights sedation for a medical test!

Back to the birthday thing: the people who should have known yesterday was my birthday didn't call or try to get in contact with me, nor did I expect them to. When I was dating Saon, I was happy he knew my birthday was in February. Ditto for Paul, my former landlord in Massachusetts. Jon didn't even attempt to call me.

Someone remembered, though. Thank you! It means a lot to me that you remembered. Wait til next month (insert mischievious grin here)!


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

Those strange dreams did mean something...

but where and how is still to be determined. I think.

I did pass that quiz I was so worried about yesterday. By some miracle. It was a history quiz, and a lot of the questions were on the stuff we read and discussed in class. And some was because I remember it from high school!

Go me!

That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

The more things change...

the more they... you probably know the rest.

I'm in Edmond, at the library here, checking my email and other stuff since my computer (still at Mom's house) is barely hanging on to life (I can get to my Word files and a few pics, but that's it. No internet...).

Mom did go to the doctor at long last. My sister went with her and asked all the right questions I guess, because Mom got a check up, some new breathing meds, and a follow-up appointment for six weeks from now.

When I got here last night, Pinky was so happy to see me that I thought she was going to wag that little stumpy tail right off her butt! She's so not going to understand the the scent of the service-dog-in-training I met at the post office. She seems to think if I'm around other animals, that I'm "cheating" on her.

My cats were the same way, so I guess it's not just a "dog" or "cat" thing.

I talked to the ex hubby this morning. He really should quit telling me that he's going to do something for me if he has no intention of doing so. Of course, it has to do with money, and as his M.O., is pleading poverty after I called him on the fact that he said he'd do something for me.

Silly Stef, you never learn, do you, grrl? Isn't this one of the reasons you're no longer married to the guy (among many).

And the storm is still coming... oh. joy. Now it's lots of ice on the roads and a little snow. In November when the last time this happened, it was lots of snow with a healthy layer of ice underneath.

I better get what I need while I'm up here in Edmond, because I'm not going to venture out anywhere for the next 4 days once I get back to my apartment this evening.

At least, I did get some things done today.

Go me... :)


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

1:16am and all is well

Not a creature is stirring, though Pinky's downstairs snoring her head off.

I should be in bed snoring my head off (not that I snore... much). I have an interview at 11am!

At least the left rear tire isn't flat anymore. I think I can get to where I'm going tomorrow without a major catastrophe (famous last words...).

Look out I-35!


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

Hurricane Joe

Though, today Joe was wearing my cowboy hat, and his cowboy boots. He looked more like Cottoneye Joe than Hurricane Joe. I waited in vain for him to line dance or imitate Garth Brooks or Toby Keith.

Or even say "yee haw".

He didn't though.

Bummer.
===

Know what I was thinking today? That if my maternal grandmother was still alive, she'd be 99 years old tomorrow.

And that a year and two days from tomorrow; Oklahoma will celebrate the centennial of its statehood; Two days from tomorrow will be a year since I saw my first Hornets game; and four days from tomorrow will be a year since Daniel had his appendectomy and spent 4 days in the hospital right before Thanksgiving.
===

I need something to write about.
===

It's still my cowboy hat...



That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

I have a million things to do

and here I sit at the computer, putting it all off.

Okay, so I like doing my laundry late at night. Mom doesn't like it much, since the washer and dryer is on the other side of the wall from her room.

Late nights are the only time I don't have to compete with everyone else in this house for the washer and dryer.

At least I don't have to do everyone's laundry...



That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

I thought I had this taken care of years ago...

but, on Tuesday, it landed me on my ass. Oh, my long absent sciatica! Why didn't you stay gone, for God's sake!

It was like someone reached inside my back, grabbed the nerve that runs down my right leg and pulled with all their might. Then they let go and it still friggin hurts!

I feel like that Garth Brooks song: I'm much too young to feel this damn old! It's almost like my brain is 30 and my body insists that it's almost 43, and what the hell do you think you're doin', Stef?!

So guess who didn't get to vote on Tuesday because she was in a lot of pain?

I have my own little election thingy going on here though--

Goes something like this:

Republican control of the House and the Senate: OUT!
Rumsfeld: OUT!
Istook for Governor: OUT!
Saddam: soon will be swinging from the gallows pole, so he's OUT!
My old hunk of junk: I wish it were on the way out, but has won a reprieve of sorts
K-Fed: OUT! OUT! OUT! and don't let the door hit ya where the Good Lord split ya on the way out
===

glad you're feeling better...



That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

Why I'm not doing NaNoWriMo this year, apartment hunting, and Babydoll

NaNoWriMo: I had already decided not to participate this year due to my not having my computer in Wyoming with me. Since I'm back in OKC, I've got so many things going on now, that I just don't have the time to write anything. Usually, I would have had a clue as to write about by this time, but I don't. And, it's probably more important to find a place to live and a job, than it is to attempt to write 50k words in 30 days.

I'm taking the year off to collect myself and get things back on an even keel. In retrospect, I should have taken last year off, too. I was busy with finishing up broadcasting school, then Daniel got appendicitis, and the novel I wrote last year was not my best work. I barely got to the 50k mark.

Let's see where I am next spring before I decide to participate in 07.
===

Tori drove me around on Friday to see apartments in MWC and Del City. The first place in MWC was nice. I was shown a couple really nice ones, a one and a two bedroom. The one bedroom was cozy (read: small), and could very easily meet my needs since it will just be me living there. And the gal who showed me around was very nice.

The second one I saw was okay, but the gal who showed me the one bedroom there was a bit standoffish, like she had better things to do than show me an apartment.

We then went to Sonic near Tori's house because Joey had speech therapy at 1:30pm. Scott tagged along because Memorial was having conferences on Friday, so there was no school. Then we dropped Joey off at the elementary school and Tori took me and Scott back to her house while she went back to the school to pick up Joey.

Scott was doing homework, so he stayed home and awaited Marc and Amalia's return from school. Tori debated leaving Joey with Scott, but decided to take him with us, in the hope that he would fall asleep in the car as we drove to Del City to see the last apartment I wanted to check out.

Of course, he didn't.

We kinda got lost on the way to the last place. Tori got disoriented and we ended up going in a big circle, but we finally found it. She asked me how I knew my way around Del City so well (she kept asking me where Sunnylane was, and it was away from where we were headed). I only said that the broadcasting school was near where we were going.

The apartment at the last place had already been rented, but the gal there asked for my name and phone numbers and told me she would call me if something was going to be vacant in December. I'm going to call her in about a week and inquire as well.

The place in Del City is right by I-40, but I can deal with that if that is where I end up.
===

Babydoll is sitting in Tori and Dean's garage, waiting for me to tag and title her. I think Im going to take some of the stickers off her windows and the back bumper. She needs a lot of cosmetic work done (paint job, redo the pinstriping, maybe replace the passenger side rearview mirror where someone in Methuen opened their door into it about 5 years ago...), but that will have to wait. She really needs fluids, windshield wiper blades and tires more than a new paint job.

But, she runs! I wish I knew in 2003 that all she needed was a new fuel pump. I'd have probably taken care of it then instead of letting her sit for three years.

Tori asked why I wasnted to hold on to this car that needed all this work done. I told her that Babydoll was the first major purchase I made after Jon and I separated, and that she's paid for.

What I didn't tell her is that Babydoll represents freedom to me. Life is a highway, and I wanna ride it all night long...
===

That "Yes yes no no" and "No no yes yes" thing? Daniel explained it to me last night, and it make a little more sense. But just a little...


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

A "small" fire requires 5 fire trucks?!

....and other observations.

Jeff and I went to WalMart near Mom's house, just to get milk, and we were there all of 2 minutes when there was this announcement that the store needed to be evacuated.

As we were leaving, the fire fighters were already unrolling the hoses and headed towards where there was smoke.

We stuck around for a bit, and I asked a cop what was going on, and he said it was a small fire inside the store. Well, duh!

People were taking pictures with camera phones, and I was wishing I still had my Motorola phone with Channel 4's news tips line in the address book. I had to give that one up when I went to Wyoming because of the different "technology". Tracfone now offers a camera phone for like $60, and I think I will get one when my financial situation improves.

It seems a lot of stuff goes down in MWC, and maybe a camera phone will come in handy.

But why, pray tell, did it take five Edmond fire trucks for a small fire?
===

Someone got a new work computer (at last!). I'm almost jealous.
===

The days of my sitting around like a lump have to end. Nothing gets accomplished that way.
===

And... those individual packets of Hamburger Helper you can get now-- the ones where all you have to do is add water-- there is hamburger in them, but it's a joke. You almost have to look for them!
===

If you live in Edmond, it's Yes Yes No No. Think of Beethoven's 5th symphony. Works for me!



That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

It's official: my week sucks

it seems that nothing has gone right this week.

I have to find out what happened to a money order that I mailed out the day I got my last paycheck from the radio station, and didn't reach its destination.

I have to write to the company that issued the money order and send them the original receipt. Problem is, it's packed in one of the two boxes I brought with me from Wyoming. And that's a problem because they are now in storage until I get a place of my own.

Still nothing from the Unemployment folks, although they tell me that they did, indeed, send out the stuff they told me they would. I can't call them again until Monday because the phone system is down for "routine maintainence" today and tomorrow.

Of course, by Sunday, I'll be able to call in my claim for this week.

Oh. Joy.

I was able to apply for financial aid so I can go to school in January. Waiting for transcripts from California is a pain in the ass, because as I've said before, I don't do waiting well these days.

I'm anxious to get things going. Can you blame me?

Geez, I still need to talk to Ben about getting a new radio gig! Guess that has to wait until next week.

I wonder who won the Edmond North/Del City game tonight...

I have a headache. Better hunt up some Aleve. 'night! :)




That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

Waiting game....

and I don't really do that very well these days.

I bust my ass to get things done, then I have to wait for replies, mail, answers, and the whole nine yards.

My problem is, I don't wanna wait!

I want to get Unemployment, a job, an apartment, my security deposit from Wyoming back, my car tagged and titled here RIGHT NOW! Immediately if not sooner.

I used to be so patient *sigh*...



That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--

The weirdest things are happening to me...

or "You went all the way to Kansas for that?!"

I'm having the strangest dreams, having weird conversations with people I know pretty well, having people I haven't heard from in 25 years get in touch with me, and making enchiladas.

Mom swears I've made them before I went to Wyoming, but I can't seem to recall ever doing so. They were good though.

I had the strangest text messaging session with Vincent last night. He was on his way back from Kansas of all places. I asked why he went there, and he said he was clubbing. I teased him about that, saying something like, "what? the clubs here aren't good enough?"

Well, it seems that there are nudie clubs in Kansas, and Vincent said that he had to get it where he can because he was lonely. I don't even want to think about what that meant, and since it was one in the morning when this took place, I was really too tired to make a smart ass comment.

Yeah, Vincent needs a gal in his life. He has a lot to offer a nice gal in his age range.

And, my weird dream of the week took place at the broadcasting school. That I had just been there a little more than a week before probably had something to do with it. But it was just weird...

Tomorrow or Wednesday, I'm heading up to Rose State to talk to someone about enrolling for the spring semester that begins in January. Then, maybe I'll head over to Del City and talk to Ben about getting another radio gig. And talk to Larry about life in general.

Let's see how this shakes out.

Gotta stop having those microwave cake things that Daniel brings home from work right before bed.


That's all from where I sit.

--MorelaterZ--