Good Luck or Bad Luck?

So, on Tuesday at lunch time, I visited Sally's blog. She had a link to another site called Inspire Me Now, a collection of links to really cool products and images. One of the links on that site crashed my browser and about a half-hour later, my computer had a virus.

This virus killed all my applications except for Firefox. I couldn't do any work except read my mail through the web portal. The guys at the help desk tried to run their virus killer to save my machine and even it was affected. The only thing left was to erase the hard drive and start all over. I gathered all my documents I wanted to save into a folder.

Wednesday, I found my work ID. It was where it was supposed to be, in the storage tray in the car, just stuffed down really far so I didn't see it the first four times I looked.

The help desk guy, a guy with some kind of sinus problems, saved my documents to the network and re-imaged my drive, or whatever the technical term is. Wednesday afternoon I had nothing. I did have my messy desk I could clean, my cell phone for a game of solitaire, but I was growing tired of that, and I had a purse I could clean out. So, I did that while Mr. Sniffy Snort brought my PC back to life.

I found an envelope of money I'd forgotten I had. Nice. I found health care receipt I could send in for about $400+ in claims for 2009 before I lose them. I also found another SD card reader. Good haul, I'd say.

I saw my massage therapist in the afternoon and relayed all the happenings. She suggested I buy a lottery ticket, so I did. Fingers crossed.

This morning, I disinfected Mr. Sniffy Snort's germs from my keyboard and mouse. My PC is almost back to life, still need to get him to install some more work applications, but he'll do that remotely.

Hopefully, I'll be back to normal soon. I'm so tired of loading and rebooting and passwords. Yuck.


 

The Last 24 Hours

I had one of those killer headaches yesterday, you know the kind, 800mg of ibuprofen and a 1.5 hour nap wouldn't touch.

I found my card reader, the one I've been looking for for months! Now I can get around to posting those promised pictures. I found it when I was looking for my work ID in the car. So, there's the good news with the bad. Getting through security here at the "reservation" is a royal pain without the ID. First you have to get a Temporary Employee Pass at the guard's shack. But that's just a sticker you're supposed to wear. Then you have to stop at the badge office to get an activated card that'll let you ride the elevators to your floor for that day. The next day, it's the same deal. Bless my husband for waiting for me while I stopped at the guard's shack these mornings.

I have no idea where the work ID is. None. I may have forgotten to take it off Friday, then it fell off somewhere while I was at the mall with the kids Friday night. I hate losing things!

But, now I'm pleased to find my card reader. I've started unloading pictures from my camera cards. I won't overload you with things to look at all at once so I'll just post this time-lapse movie of our recent little snowfall to start with.




 

Whew

Dearest Husband found the ID in the garage on the floor below the driver's door on the Toyota. Thanks again, Hon!

One of those days

My mind's going crazy.

Why this time?

I'm trying to retrace my steps and figure out what I did with my work ID badge. Can't leave home without it.

Well, apparently, I did. I couldn't find it this morning so I had to get a temporary badge today. Which is a pain because I have to stop at the guard's booth first, then go to the badging office to get one to use for the day.

Yesterday I left work. I had it then, I used it at the badge reader to get out of the building.

I went to my massage therapy appointment and I'm pretty sure it was still clipped to my pocket when I left.

I took money to Fern so she could have a snack during tutoring.

I got gas in the rental car.

I went to the dealership to turn in the rental and pick up the Toyota. I could have bought two HD LCD TV's for what the repairs cost. But hey! They gave me a new battery, yes, GAVE. I guess I can't be too mad at them for the other lapses in customer service. Did I tell you they wanted $40 to install two light bulbs? sheesh. Granted, changing an auto light bulb is a smidge more difficult than changing your garden variety household incandescent bulb, but not $40 more difficult. I'm pretty sure I had my ID badge there and hadn't left it in the rental.

I went back to the gas station to put gas in the Toyota.

I went home to wait for Kevin to come home from swim team practice.

I went to pick up Fern from tutoring and took her to softball practice, but it had started raining so it was canceled. Today is the HSA test, the High School Assessment in algebra. I hope all the tutoring "takes" and she does well and she doesn't have to take the class over again. She'll be bored out of her skull if she has to repeat the class. So bored, she probably won't turn in any assignments and get low grades again. sheesh.

I went to the grocery store to buy an EZpass.

I drove home. This is where my mind gets fuzzy. I think I still had my badge on my pocket and told myself to take it off, I didn't need it at home. But did I? Did I take it off? Where did I put it? I normally drive the van, but Dan had been driving it this week while I took care of the repairs on the other car, so at that point I couldn't have put my badge back in the van where I usually keep it because Dan had the van at golf league.

I did some Girl Scout badge sewing and talked to a new client. Her daughter is in a troop in a different service unit from the troops I've been sewing for, which means the mom will spread the word about my service and I'll potentially have more clients from the troops there. My ID never came into question.

So this morning, it's not in my bag, nor in my jacket pocket. It's not clipped to yesterday's clothes pocket. It's not visible on the kitchen counter. Not on the bathroom counter, not on the bed-side table. Not on the sewing table. I'm going nuts, I tell you.

Where did I put the silly thing, the ID with the horrid picture of me?

Two forms of ID

Last Friday I went over to the pea patch to check on the status of my emerald delights. The seedlings were just starting to poke through. Then we loaded the car and headed to OC for the weekend.

Monday on my way to work I reach for my work ID, my credential, as I approach the gate. Nada. Gone. It's not in my usual location in the car, in the cup holder tray. I get my driver's licence and check in at the guards' station to get a temporary pass. I then keep my DL handy because sometimes the guards ask for it too when entering the building with a temp ID. By the time I got to my desk the licence was not in my pocket. Hmm. At lunch time I retrace my steps and cannot find it. No one has turned it in to the guards' stations. All the while I'm racking my brain to remember where my work ID might be. Not in my purse, or tote bag. Not in my coat pockets, not in the car. Where could it be, I didn't go far?

How on earth am I going to get another temporary pass tomorrow if I can't find my licence?

As the day wears on, my panic increases. Then I get a call from some woman who found my licence in the hall. She's in her car on the way out for the day. "Can I bring it to you tomorrow?" Aye yai yai. Well, no. I meet her in the parking lot and get my card. Whew.

Monday evening when I get home from work I walk over to check on my peas—did all that rain on Sunday help any? Any more sprouts? And there is my work ID lying in the wet grass.