Well...

I've said this months ago, and now it appears that it's finally happened. My computer has apparently had a stroke and died. I know a stroke is not a laughing matter, but that's pretty much what it looked like when it finally went down. Now everytime I attempt to turn it on, it'll get so far before it comes to a white screen saying it'll need to be restarted. No matter how many times you try, it'll always go back to that same screen. Before that, though, the monitor would go crazy and the screen would apparently freeze in place. The keyboard and mouse would then go dead. If the screen would apparently freeze, then how would I know that they were dead in the first place? Easy. The scroll wheel on my mouse lights up when it's getting power. After the screen froze, the mouse would lose it's little green light, everytime. They both still work on other computers. With that reaction on my computer, however, it just reaffirms that my computer can no longer function. It's had a great run, though it appears I can't get anymore out of it. A few months ago, I mentioned that my entries would get further apart with those minor computer problems. Well, they didn't. Now that my computer is seemingly dead, that statement has come true. I have less ready access to a computer, so my entries will probably get further spaced apart than this one and the one before.

My tax return came in yesterday, though it's nowhere near enough to get a new computer. So now I'll have to get a job and save up big time if I'm going to get a new one. When I say "new one" I mean it. The one I have (or had, I suppose) was second hand. It was a gift from an old teacher of mine, but it was still a computer. I had all of my important files backed up, so I'm not worried about that. The computers that I'm looking at are well over $900. I don't need much in a computer ('net access, music playback and CD burning, maybe some DVD action), though what I'm looking at is still a ways up there. Something I wanted on my old computer that I was thinking about getting for a new one is Adobe Photoshop. That, however, is quite expensive. Effectively doubling, or even tripling, the cost. No matter what I end up doing, it'll be a few months before I'm posting regularly again.

Obviously, I'll be finding ways to post in the meantime. It'll be some time, though. Until then, a temporary farewell and good luck to all.

Speakers, amps, cables, and other sound equipment.

"Hi [Username at other site]! It's been 131 days since you joined [Other site]... won't you support us by [Upgrading account]?"

Last time I've seen that message, it was only at 55 days. Seventy-six days later, I'm still in pretty much the same position. This sucks horribly. With the way everything has been shaping up so far, I'll more than likely still be stuck at home until the school term lets out. This is not my original plan. Nowhere near it. My family has been struggling with money issues for a while. With a two year old and our current situation, a real sitter is out of the question. Just like before, when I finally do get time enough to get out and look for a job, I get stuck with other obligations. I hardly ever have that free time for myself, much less for job searching. This is a conundrum. I don't have a job. I should have all the free time in the world to find a new one. Instead, I'm busier now than I was at my old job, when I was averaging 50+ hours a week. Again, ruts are not fun.

Ouch, yo.

So, yesterday, I was hanging with my brother and his band while they were practicing. Now, my brother likes to show off while he's playing guitar. He tends to flail around, and kick, and the like, while he's playing. Yesterday, while I was watching, he did something I didn't really expect. He thrust his guitar over his shoulder, head first. I didn't know he was going to do that. In other words, I got bashed in the face with the pointy end of a guitar (Lots of pointed edges on his guitars). I was hit on the right corner of my right eye. There's a small cut on my eyelid from the guitar. Had I been standing just a quarter of an inch to my right, the guitar would have hit me dead in the eye, and I would likely be missing one. Because of the cut, and the tears (Tear, in this case. Singular.) that naturally well up when one gets struck in the face with a guitar, everyone thought I really had lost an eye. It didn't really hurt as much as it apparently looked like it had. The damage, like I mentioned before, was minimal. Everyone was amazed that I took the blow without falling over or screaming my head off. My only response was a quick shout from just the surprise of the hit. The only tear was from the initial blow (I think I felt the edge of the guitar go in to my eye socket).

The singer for the band ran off immediately to grab some ice. It was a good thing he did, or else it would have swollen up much more than it has (Bruised even), and the cut would have looked much, much worse. As it is now, my eye is only slightly swollen on the far right side, and the cut is a little hard to see. The swelling causes a little discomfort when I look around, but that's nothing. I've taken hits much worse than that one with even less of a reaction. Examples: accidental self-laceration on a major artery on my ankle, 50 lb. weight dropped onto my neck, getting flung from a bike headfirst into a tree (Truth be told, that one knocked me unconscious and left me with a concussion. Didn't really hurt, though), and other injuries like that. Contemplating such things made me realize that I haven't broken a bone yet. I hope I haven't jinxed myself saying that.

My state tax return has already come in, and it's already gone. It was only around $150, so it didn't last very long. If the state has come in, then the federal shouldn't be too far off. Which is a relief. With it, I can finally get my Jeep back on the road. Anyone notice that my paragraphs get shorter as my entries carry on?

Addendum

Barely got everything filed through that efile business with less than five minutes to spare. If everything goes smoothly, I should be getting a small return in about two weeks. Crisis averted, it seems. :D

Trouble

Today, I'm in a state of near panic. Why? I haven't turned in my taxes yet. I don't think I've even started. What makes this super important is that, last year, I completely forgot to file. I need to file this year or I may be in some real trouble. Here's the kicker: I think I've lost the W-2 that I was supposed to file last year. I have the two from '06, but not the one from '05. I need to get in gear, but I still have to watch the little brother until 3 pm. Leaving less than two hours after that to get all of it filed. Wish me luck. I have to dive headfirst into this.

Groan

I've been trying to come up with something to put in here, these past four days. I still have nothing, so this entry's purpose is mainly to state that I've apparently run out of any sort of inspiration. Under normal circumstances, I can rattle on about absolutely nothing. Technically, this is the same thing. I can't think of anything else, though. Feels as though I've been running in circles, lately. I need to get out of that, but my hands are tied right now. This is getting pretty frustrating...

Symmetrical?

Well, this week seemed to be sailng along smoothly until today. For some reason, today was filled with indirect badness. Sort of beyond description. If anything, I'd describe it as a bad day for no good reason. Well, it might have had something to do with the fact that my little brother, the one I babysit everyday, somehow shoved some small pins into my mom's printer some time ago, and messed it up real bad-like. I didn't know he'd done that until that printer was turned on, which just happened to be today. It wasn't new, by any means. They've had it for a year. I got yelled at because I didn't notice he had put those pins in there. I just thought he'd managed to climb onto the desk. But, whatever. What's done is done. Two year olds always manage to get into things when you're not looking (though, I admit I was preoccupied with something else). Printer is working again, by the way.

Still don't know what's gonna be going on tomorrow. Weather is only slightly better. Still nothing on the job front. I still haven't filed my taxes either (that's gonna be loads of fun). Lately, I haven't been able to find many of my friends. Got me a little weirded out. I need to get to sleep.

Lemon-lime

I'm still absolutely dumbfounded by how quickly the weather has changed. As I type this, it's only 14 degrees outside, and this window isn't very well insulated. If I throw on a jacket, or even a sweater, I'll probably get warm enough to the point where I'll fall asleep again. I definitely need it, but I have a two year old to watch. So that'll have to wait until later today.

After taking a look at the inner workings of my computer, I've concluded that it's simply filled with enough dust and such that it prevents air flow, causing it to overheat so easily. However, there isn't much I can do about it, at the moment. I would have to open the whole thing to get in there, but opening the whole thing would likely be very hard, Not only to open, but to get it back together. Harder than a normal computer, that is. See, mine is an old iMac. Very old. I mean 1999 old. Well, very old in technology terms. It's almost like a safe. But, I can manage with it, so I'm in no hurry to clean it out.

As far as I can tell, there isn't anything planned for the Easter weekend, at the moment. If there is, I haven't heard anything about it. It appears to be too cold to have an egg hunt for the little ones. They can probably just have it indoors, though. Anyone else have any plans for this weekend?

Profiles and other odds and ends.

Wow, that's a weird title. I don't know where that one came from, just to let you know. One thing I've noticed about other's pages, whether it be here, on Myspace, or other places like that, most everyone has highly personalized pages. Some look pretty good. Some are a little too stylized. Some are just plain awful. With all of them, it shows how much time they put into it (some put in more than others). As you've noticed, mine is quite simple compared to most others. All I've done was change the font and adjust the colors a bit. Now, with each of my accounts that has customizations such as the one's here, I always have aspirations to make it much more complex. When it comes down to it, however, I usually end up just sticking with the first look that works. That one would also be the most simplistic, most of the time. Not exactly sure why that is. Note: I would use more red colors, usually, but they kind of hurt your eyes after a while. I usually just stick with blues, more often than not.

This creates a problem with some of the ideas I have floating around. I've always had trouble drawing what I see. Some of the ideas I have are almost hopelessly complex when compared to my limited abilities. Which is why I haven't drawn any of them out. Wait, I've explained that before...

Weather is suddenly cold again. As little as two weeks ago, there were temps in the upper 60's and low 70's (great stuff). Now it's back below freezing, and there's snow and ice again. With the way the weather's been progressing, however, this should be the last time it does this until late autumn. No one can precisely predict the weather, though. So there is still room for surprises.

Normally, I would put an update about things going on with me here. Update-free, this time. Yeah, that little is going on.

Speadsheets or stretchblankets?

Late night, last night. Didn't get home until after 3 a.m., yet I woke up at 7:45, as always. Despite the fact that I got home so late, and woke up so early, I'm not tired at all. This hasn't happened to me very often. Now, like anyone else, under normal conditions I would feel lethargic and slow after so little sleep. Not the case today. This could be due to any of a large number of reasons, though I think that it has something to do with the sheer amount of caffiene-based drinks I downed last night (Somewhere in the 11-16 range of 12 oz. cans of pop/soda or whatever it's called, plus a cup or two of coffee).

Either way, the sleep seems to have slowed or ridden the effects of all of that caffeine, save for me being fully alert. No jitters, no nerves, just what appears to be rest. With that in mind, does caffeine before sleep increase rest for shorter periods of sleep? Probably not. In fact, I don't think there's any sort of evidence to back that, if it can even be proven. If it can be proven, maybe I should do that more often.... Kidding, of course, but it would be interesting.