This weekend, I seem to have been hit with that old Chinese curse, "May you live in interesting times."
If it was all bad, I would think that I'd been hit with Friday the thirteenth almost a week early, but some of it has been wildly good. I can't even list all the bad things and then all the good things, because they're so intertwined.
Here's a synopsis:
Bad: I've gotten to go the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festivel every year for the last 21 years, but it's this weekend, and this year I'm missing it! I've been bummed out about that.
Bad: The liaison between the apartment building and the residents left early Friday, and I missed her, so I don't know how they want to settle things, and won't know before Tuesday. This might ultimately be either good or bad, but the problem is that I don't know, so I can't plan.
Very Good: My cell phone contract with T-Mobile ran out a while ago. I wanted to replace my phone with a Galaxy Tab (tablet computer, like an Android-based iPad). Friday, it cost $300 up front, with a $100 rebate. On Saturday, though, it was $150 (refurbished). I called them up, and the bottom line was that I paid $45 up front, and I'll be paying $15 more for the next three months (because it lowered my monthly bill: I'll actually be paying $35), after that, my bill will be $20 lower than it is now. I did this by eliminating cell phone service, although I'll still have a home phone through them. So, they'll be shipping out a Galaxy Tab tomorrow, and I should get it on Wednesday or Thursday! I've wanted something like this ever since the iPads came out. I wanted a book reader before that, but this can do that, too! I'm so happy about this!
Very Bad: Today, I woke up and turned on the TV. It happened to be tuned to Syfy, which is having a Eureka marathon, followed by a Warehouse 13 marathon, which would be good news except that my remote wouldn't operate the TiVo properly. It was acting crazy! I replaced the batteries on the remote, and it still didn't work. I unplugged the TiVo and restarted it, but it still wasn't working right. I called TiVo, and they're going to send me another one, right after I return this and they get it. Which means I won't be able to watch TV at all for more than a week! Obviously this is not the end of the world, but still not good news. Now I can't watch Eureka, Warehouse 13 or anything else.
Good and Bad: Immediately after hanging up the phone with the TiVo people, the TiVo died completely. When it died, the buzz got louder, and the lines that have been running across the screen for the past few weeks got much wider and more pronounced. Which may mean that the problem wasn't my TV, and I may not need to replace it! I still want a newer TV, but at least it may mean that I don't have to replace it immediately.
Bad: The TiVo people said they would send me a shipping label. I thought that would be great, because I could have the TiVo all packed up and when the UPS person arrived with it, I could just slap on the label and have them take it with them. But they're not sending me a label, they're sending me an image of a label, via email! Which leads me to the next piece of news.
Bad: I'm out of ink cartridges for my printer, so I can't print the label until I get new cartridges!
Bad: Holly and I planned to go out today and have a nice, fun Mother's Day, and incidentally stop by WalMart, where I intended to get new ink cartridges for my printer, along with some other more needed items. But, right after the TiVo died completely, which was right after I got off the phone with them, Holly called to tell me that her Hummer is infested with stink bugs! She doesn't even want to open the door, let alone try to drive it anywhere, so I won't get to see her today, and won't get to go to WalMart.
Back a while ago, I think it was on their first 4-wheeling trip, but certainly an early one, a few stink bugs got into the Hummer. They've been hiding in the doors, but haven't been a real problem. Once in a while you would see one. But since the warmer weather, they've thrived and multiplied, and now are busy building a whole new stink bug civilization in their new, Hummer universe.
Good: If they can get the infestation out of the vehicle, I'll get to see Holly next week, and we'll get to celebrate Mother's Day then.
Bad: Not only do I need the ink cartridges, there are some really important things that I'm almost out of, so I have to go to WalMart tomorrow! And, since I'll have to do it on the bus, it'll take all day, and I won't be able to send the TiVo off until Tuesday, which will delay getting a new one even more.
Maybe Good, Maybe Bad: I may be able to call UPS and get them to pick up the TiVo on Tuesday, but they might not do it, in which case, I'll have to spend another day on the bus to send it. I won't know until then.
Good: In a fit of minor depression, I ordered a used copy of Charted Knitting Designs from Amazon to make up for not being able to go to the MSWF, and also ordered a used copy of the first part of The Deathly Hallows on DVD. They won't arrive until later this week, though (at the earliest).
Good: Once the Galaxy Tab arrives, I'll order a Nook book copy of the newest Charlain Harris book, Dead Reckoning
. I could order it now. My current smart phone, a G1 already has several Nook books on it, but I currently have some books from the library and other things I want to read in the meantime, so, it's no real sacrafice to wait until I have something to read it on that's a bit bigger than the tiny page on my phone. If I still have any money at that point.Bad: I tried to contact Comcast to see if I could get a decoder box temporaraly, but they don't have business hours on Sunday, so I don't know if there's some way to get to watch TV sometime before next week. I almost don't know how to deal with contacting Comcast over a problem they didn't cause (although it's not impossible that they caused it). I'm so used to them messing up badly all the time.
I'll be back with more updates soon.
In the meantime, I hope you're having an absolutely perfect weekend, not like mine!
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