Technology Hates Me, Part 2

So today the transmission on my car blew up. I swear to holy heaven. I don't know what the freaking deal is, but this is becoming totally ridiculous. I am scheduled to make my LAST car payment on this thing in T-minus 3 months and counting, and *of course* the effing transmission has to go and blow up on me! To make things worse, the tranny was rebuilt, brand new, for me when I bought it in August 2005. Sure, it's been two years and 35,000 miles, but a transmission ought to last a far piece longer than THAT!

On the flip side, my new hard drive arrived in the mail, fresh from Gateway. Shimron (Shaun's best friend), bless his heart, has ever-so-kindly agreed to examine the busted hard drive and see if any of my data can be recovered, as well as install the new one for me. He told me tonight he can even have it back to me tomorrow, which is a blessing because my homework is piling up and I NEED my computer!!

So, lovely readers, please keep your fingers crossed for me that, by some miracle of nature, a magical money elf appears and offers to pay for my transmission rebuild so that I can still buy my family and friends Christmas presents this year, because it'll probably cost me at least $1000, which is my Christmas budget.

Fingers crossed people!!

Technology Hates Me

So tonight, for no apparent reason other than the fact that technology hates me, my hard drive on my *brand spanking new* -- and expensive as all get out -- Gateway notebook failed. After 45 minutes on the phone with Mark from Gateway support I was faced with two horrible options:

1. They can ship me a new hard drive in 3-5 business days, which I then have to install, and then I have to ship the defective hard drive back to them within 30 days, otherwise they charge my credit card the cost of the new hard drive, OR
2. I get to PAY to ship my whole computer back to them, they fix it and ship it back to me -- in 3-4 WEEKS!

I think I did pretty good while on the phone with young Mark, I didn't yell, I didn't cry, I only used the F bomb once, and not at him, more as a groan of complete and total frustration. But as soon as I hung up I burst into tears. I have most of my important documents for school backed up on a flash drive, and what's not there I can download again. But my photos, all the music in my iTunes, just gone.

I did a lot of research before I bought my computer, more research than I've ever done before purchasing anything, except maybe my education. I ended up spending a LOT of money on my Gateway because I had never heard of anything like this happening to a Gateway owner and I figured that if you're going to buy a good computer, you might as well buy a good computer. Dell owners have horror stories, HP's are not much better, I *almost* bought a Mac, but thought that the learning curve of getting used to a Mac while also starting grad school and a new job might be a bit much. If only I had listened to my inner Shaun and just bought a Mac, I could actually take my computer into a store and talk to someone, IN PERSON! What a concept!!

Now you may be thinking, Maria, we know this is bad, but come on? You think technology hates you just because of this one incident? To that, dear readers, I say no. My brand new Dell at work, that was replaced three weeks ago because the only slightly less new Dell that I was using crapped out on me, has been acting possessed as well! I have constant trouble with the image on both monitors, and lately it's taken to flipping to a blue screen after encountering some horriffic error, and then forcing me to reboot. I save my data every 4 seconds, just in case.

In addition to that, I've been having an EXCESSIVE amount of trouble with my cell phone. I upgraded to a Samsung Blackjack in October, which quit working 27 days later. So I exchanged it for a Palm Treo, which then quit working SIX days later. So I had to have that one replaced too!! I'm afraid to even turn on my television or start my car, and I hope my bad luck manages to hold off til I'm done with this post, otherwise I'll obliterate Little Brother's computer too.

Honestly, is my blood magnetized in some mutant way that causes electronic devices to go haywire on me? Do the Powers That Be not understand that I depend on my computer for school?? Where is Yoda when I need him???

I think it's time to breathe and reboot, and hope that when I get my new hard drive in the mail I'll be able to install it.

Sympathy, words of wisdom, and advice are all particularly welcome at this time.

Goofin' Around On Turkey Day

Me, Cameron & Natalie taking a time out from a tickle war to pose for the camera.

The Grand Eye-Opening at the DIA

So the DIA (Detroit Institute of Arts) has been closed since last May and is re-opening to the public this weekend. I decided to buy a membership ($80 gets two adults in for free any time we want for one year, + 10% off at the DIA shop) and so I took my mom last weekend, during the member preview.

Normally I don't like to take a lot of pictures inside museums because I think it's hard to photograph that type of experience, but I just had to include these of the Diego Rivera murals that completely fill all the wallspace in the part of the museum that is now called Rivera Court. Mom went to go find a bathroom and so I got to sit and just start at these for a while. They're pretty amazing. I've been meaning to look up how long it took him to complete them, but I keep forgetting.

Apparently the renovation that the DIA undewent is a bit controversial in the art world. In my humble, non art-expert opinion, they did a fantastic job. The DIA looks beautiful. Plus they incorporated a variety of interative and informational elements to the exhibits, to make it more accessible to the non-expert crowd (such as myself!), and I think that is such a smart idea! The DIA has an incredible collection (including works by Monet, Degas, Cezanne, Cassat, Van Gogh, and many others) and almost no one was visiting the permanent collection. When traffic moved through the DIA it was for special exhibits. Somehow I don't think they'll have that problem anymore.

Check out more about the DIA, and go downtown to see it in person!

Congratulations Matt & Jody!