Month: August 2019

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The new machine is up

Macbookpro2019It took a while, but the techno-demons have been cast out of the new machine.

Setting up a new computer is always a pain in the ass. In this case it turns out that the old machine had gotten a bit senile in it’s last days and corrupted the backup I have at the apartment.

So when I restored the backup(s) to the new machine, I also restored the corrupted files. OOOOPPPS!

Neither I, or the old workhorse realized there was a problem, so there was no way to anticipate the issue and since the old machine wasn’t working there was no way to check before I brought the new machine online.

Under normal circumstances, if I’d just been doing a normal computer replacement I’d have checked the backup before restoring to the new machine which would have avoided the problem.

It’s 4 AM

I woke up thinking I was late to work. I’m going to go back to sleep for a couple of hours. I guess it’s going to take me some time to get over the odd schedule I’ve been living on for the past 3 years.

Since I was awake I figured I’d check on the computer. It looks like everything has been sorted at the apartment hooray!

Now I have to clean up the backup on the mountain to complete the setup and fully retire the old machine. Just a couple more details to finish & files to load, and those can be done mostly automatically. I’m still in San Diego and will head up to the mountain later today.

It’s nice to not be worried about timing or rushing to get somewhere.  I can take my time without worry over losing my job. That’s already happened!

This new keyboard feels strange. I do like the touch-bar but it’s going to take some getting used to.

I’ll probably come back to San Diego on Tuesday. I’ll take the opportunity provided by being on the mountain during the week to make arrangements with a storage facility nearer the house to store the larger items from the apartment.

The plan is to take the smaller items up and reintegrate them into the house storing only those things I don’t need in the storage facility.

Depending on the job situation I’ll move stuff from there if I need to.

The Job market is very weird right now and I don’t know how long a period of unemployment I’m looking at. Who does? It’s a lot harder to land a job than it used to be.

In the mean time I’ve got a couple of books to write and perhaps that will help with the income side of things. After all those stories have been fermenting in my head for a few years they should be about ready to pour onto the page.

It’s 4:30, I’m going back to sleep.

Have a great Sunday

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Day one of unemployment

IMG 0319AHHHH!

I slept more normal hours. I’d taken a nap for much of the afternoon yesterday, mostly from exhaustion so my sleep schedule is still screwed up. 

I woke up at the usual 3 am a habit built on 3 years of early rising  then wandered around a bit and forced myself to go back to bed. So I racked up a grand total of 6 hours sleep last night. I’m feeling much better, and more like a human being today.

I’m going to move slowly today. One of the biggest things about the previous job was the feeling that I was always on the clock even when I wasn’t,  It’s illustrated itself in eating meals fast and always feeling like there was a schedule I had to keep.

For at least the next few days I’m keeping to my own schedule as far as I can and will try not to act like there’s a ticking clock or doom hovering over my head all the time.

These next few days are mine.

I’ve claimed them and while there are things I want and need to do. I’m doing them in my own time the way I see fit. So I’m not being antisocial, or lazy, or whatever if I don’t respond instantly to you. I’m just reclaiming some little bit of peace.

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All bow your heads in respect…

macbookairWe commend this faithful computer’s soul to infinity. At the respectable age of seven the little fella has died.

We pray that the techno-gods will welcome it into their grace and that it finds everlasting peace.

Yeah… My MacBook Air died yesterday. Aged 7, it had to be put down because there weren’t parts to repair it and even if there were the cost of repair would have been excessive; (more than half the cost of a new computer). Unless you do computers the way I do, then it’s about a third.

Upon seeing that my faithful machine no longer had a working display. I was less than pleased as you might imagine. Then I thought about it’s age and wasn’t quite as upset. I did tell the machine, “You picked a hell of a time to die my friend.”

My job ended today. In this day and age you need a computer to execute a job search.  Boy, do I miss the days when you could buy a newspaper, go to an address and request an interview with a nicely printed hard copy resume in hand.

So, the next step was a trip to the Apple Store. Followed by the inevitable “KA CHING” on a credit card, followed by ten hours of restoration from my backup. Thankfully that process was a “Start it, and forget it until the “DING! I’m done,” from the computer.

That left me simply unable to sleep in anticipation of the day ahead. Pending unemployment!

That process was tedious beyond belief. Rather than have us simply process out, they made us come in and work until our appointment with HR.

I’m now free, it’s time to rest.