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Crazy as a Loom

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

OOPS.

Can I just say that I am not a big fan of Florida?
There are so many reasons.
It might just be that I was born in the north country, as we refer to the Adirondacks.  I like mountains all around.  In the Adirondacks, beauty abounds just about everywhere.
Florida, not so much.
It's flat, folks.   FLAT.  And there is way too much cement and blacktop.  And traffic.

Who would do this???   Gravel for your front yard, your back yard, your entire yard???




We did take a ride over into the middle of the state, to Myakka City.   I sent some loopers there, and the name fascinated me.  So one day when we were out and about, we drove out there.
It is definitely more picturesque, more interesting, less congested.
But it is the other end of extreme.  There is NOTHING there.......for convenience purposes.

Ah, I guess that in spite of the dreary, cold, icy, bitter, snowy winters in upstate NY, it is still a pretty nice place to live.
There are mountains to hike, pristine ponds to paddle on, back roads to explore, farm land, forests, everything a country girl could want.  But still there are small towns, small cities, places to eat, and shop, if that's what you need to do.

Just don't be there in January and February, because it's nasty.



I am, however, grateful for the sunshine and warm temperatures in the south.   This is where two years of misery were left on the side of the road.  This is where my headache lost its control of me, and my own new normal beckoned with waving arms.

It is  where I got my groove back.  I know it.  I feel it. And it's good stuff.
I will always remember Florida as the place that something huge  happened to me.

Now, there is some leftover disturbance...... stuff............ from having three surgeries on your head.  Or it could be age, or it could be a combination of the two.  But I am clumsy sometimes.  I drop things.  I break things.  I have lost that ease of movement that I used to have.  It causes me occasional distress.

So the other day, when I was having breakfast, I spilled cereal on my MacPro laptop.   Yes, I did.  Oh, the horrors.
I wiped it off almost immediately, and sighed BIG.....it seemed ok.

Then about 20 minutes later, a screen popped up, said turn your monitor off, then blackness.   Oh, my.
No matter how many times I tried to turn it on, it would not come on.  It did beep.

I need my laptop, folks.  Bad.   For my business, for NETFLIX, for my blog, for my sanity, for my google map addiction.
So I did what any faithful Mac snob would do, I found and called the Apple store, made an appointment for 1pm that day.
It was only 15 miles away, and we went to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch, which is always good, and I had the tempura battered fish tacos.  So, so yummy.   Put me in such a good mood, I imagined getting my laptop tweaked and heading out with it as good as new.

Then on to the Apple store, which was mobbed.   I sat and waited for a while, and finally a tech came to help me.  He tried this, and he tried that, and then said he would take it in the back to pop it open, and would be right back.

About 5 minutes later, he appeared, put his elbows on the counter, looked at me over his glasses, eye to eye, and said one word.
"MILK".

gulp.


Yes, it's true, I have been the beneficiary of an expensive lesson this week.  He pulled the hard drive, which was spared, and I will buy an external enclosure for it, so all my data/pictures/etc are saved.
But the rest of it, history.  It is presently on Ebay being sold for parts.  Wish me luck.



I opted for a smaller, lighter, otherwise identical version, with the 13" screen.  And to optimize my Netflix experience when I get home, I bought Apple TV.

For some people, this would be the kind of thing that would ruin your day.  But I just looked at it for what it was, decided what I was going to do, and chose not to waste another minute on it. 

It's all about perspective, and mine has had an almost complete overhaul.
Amen.







20 comments:

Vicky said...

So what I needed to read today… thank you. So glad to hear of your overhaul- it seems its exactly the kind of word I need to embrace :)

Denise at Autumn Sky said...

I keep the plastic shields on my computer keyboards for that very reason.

Susan said...

You will love the Apple TV... we have had it over a year now and love it!

I recently bought a new laptop, an HP... and started shifting my data over. Now I'm between two computers. One is dying and the new one sucks. Really... I hate it. So I'm back looking again... and maybe will make the shift to Apple there too.

Its sunny and green here where we are on Vancouver Island...winter passed us by this year.

Hugs Susan

Theresa said...

Well, I have to agree with you on Florida, it's unappealing to this old Yankee too and too freakin hot to boot. But I'm still liking cold snowy winters, so ignore me
on that.
You might try signing up for a few restorative yoga classes to help with gaining new body awareness or even Tai Chi if you can find a morning group, but please, do check with your MD before starting up any of these.
When you hitting the road to home?

A Brit in Tennessee said...

I'm not a fan of flat and brown, although oceans are the scenery of Florida so they have those azure blues to enjoy :)
Sorry to read about your laptop, I hope some needy e-Bayer would be tickled to have it's spare bits.
I'm so glad to read your headaches have gone, you've been through the mill my friend.
Hugs,
~Jo

messymimi said...

Well do i know that sinking feeling when you know you've just toasted some piece of tech.

As for the gravel, that's a person who got just plain sick and tired of mowing grass year 'round.

Country Girl said...

So sorry to hear about your laptop, Hilary. But it all worked out in the end, didn't it?
I lived in Florida for about a year when I was 18. It was fun, but everything was so flat and the summer was too much, and the trees were all the same. I missed the change of seasons back north.
I sure am glad it's making you feel better. Odd about the dropsies, though.

Gayle said...

Oh a Mac person!!! In the early 90s we had Apple 2C then the 2E with the external drive that had a floppy start up disc…….oooo, then came the LCs when they went from Apple to Macintosh. Now I, like you, have a MacBookPro. Am SOOOO sorry to hear about the milk trick. Nice for your happy ending, tho, glad your hard drive was OK. Whew!

Daryl said...

yes .. milk contains sugar and thats what fried it .. you can feel free to spill water or black coffee or tea w/o sugar honey or milk .. you will love apple tv we've had one for a while now and when out dvr died we used apple tv to watch everything!

florida is a good alternative to the cold but its not a nice state ... not only because its flat .. its politics and gun laws ... well lets just say i am happy i have no reason to go there now that my late parents condo is sold

thotlady said...

I like the attitude. Deal with it and move on. Leave the rest in the dust.

Susan said...

You have certainly had a revelation how to deal with the s--- that happens in life. I like it and hope you continue to feel better physically and mentally. XOXO

Karen thisoldhouse2.com said...


Your sentiments about Florida are the same ones that keep us from buying a retirement home there. As much as I b*tch about the cold and snow, I would miss the beauty. When my grandmother moved back up here from Florida years ago.. she said.. oh, how I missed the GREEN and the HILLS!...

Your attitude is what makes you the awesome person that you are, Hilary. It's why you got through your ordeal and are seeing the light on the other side. Amen again.

MarthaVA said...

I certainly hear you about Florida. Been there. It's flat all right. Not at all interesting. However, it is warmer than up here. I'm in Virginia, and I look at the mountains every time we go to town. It's beautiful. I grew up in Upstate NY, near Lake Ontario. I love looking at the water. But the blue sky in your photos is what caught my attention....
I've been battling (and I mean battling) the weather fronts coming through - today bringing rain and wind and storms - they make my head feel like a bowling ball full of snot. Sorry. Too descrpitive? I also have NO focus, no ability to function, when I feel this way. I want to go to bed and pull the covers up.
California. That's where I want to go.....ocean, mountains, blue sky almost all the time, hardly ever any fronts move through there. My cousin lives there, I've visited. Oh, I need to win the lottery first though....
Enjoy your vacation and Yay to gaining back that feeling of everything being okay.
And keep the food/beverages away from your laptop...........as I sit here with ice tea next to mine...I'm a clutz too.
Martha

Sharon said...

I can't do flat either - totally get where you're coming from. I always feel unanchored, somehow adrift. Hard lesson on the computer but happy ending - your data is saved!

thewiildmagnola said...

I would be kissing the Florida earth.

it is good news you are better.

If my MacBook was broken, I would have to visit Apple too.

I hear so many northerner's say how horrible Florida is, and yet, they are here.

I was born and raised in Florida.

mkd said...

Milk? Gulp for sure - sticky sweet milk. Glad there is always an Apple store right around every corner. I used to dislike Florida for all of the reason you say - but as I get older the sun, the beach and the warmth are slowly outweighing the the perks of the cold, cold northeast - at least in the winter!

Thistle Cove Farm said...

Busted! Unfortunately, that was SO funny...I can see the snarky young thing peering at you and uttering his word of damnation...milk!
Yes child, and without people like me you wouldn't have a job.
Think of you and tuck you into prayer; glad to hear your bones are warming in FL.

Rain said...

Oh Hilary - that's too funny!! About how I felt when collecting eggs from my little chicken barn - carefully placed them in my big coat pocket - safe - I forgot my iphone was in there and I later heard/ felt -crack/ crunch..... U know where this leads!!!!
I love being able to ride my bike down here- flat is all I can do!! Keep remembering the hills of Blue Hill Maine and we will be there soon!!
Fondly, Rain :)

Rain said...

Oh Hilary - that's too funny!! About how I felt when collecting eggs from my little chicken barn - carefully placed them in my big coat pocket - safe - I forgot my iphone was in there and I later heard/ felt -crack/ crunch..... U know where this leads!!!!
I love being able to ride my bike down here- flat is all I can do!! Keep remembering the hills of Blue Hill Maine and we will be there soon!!
Fondly, Rain :)

Cupcake Murphy said...

When I visited Florida everything seemed gigantic and orange.

Welcome to my world.

Because every thread counts

Because every thread counts