Finally! All the bugs are worked out....(I hope)

One month and a day since I ordered my new laptop and today, finally, I think I have the worst of the issues resolved. I really like Dell and have had good luck with all the models we've owned over the years and which is why I chose an XPS over an Apple, but I've spent more time on the phone with them this last month than in the last ten years combined. I think part of the problems were self inflicted-they told me today I had a virus, but I think it really might have had something to do with Firefox and transfering files over from my desktop. It took them two hours today to diagnose and fix the problem by remote from India or where ever...but they were good-they did it.And now I can access my blog, it shows up so I can see it, I have Internet Explorer AND Firefox and I am a happy camper. Onward and upward! (corn-nee!)

More writing contests coming up. A real biggie with Writer's Digest-due in late April or early May, I think. Also a small just for fun- again with WD due April 10, and the Writer's Weekly 24 hour contest on April 24. Now that my machine is fixed, I have no more excuses, and have got to get back on the horse.

Which is where I'm-a headin' right now....Yee-ha!!(OMG I think I've been taking too much cough syrup these last few days--I'm way loopier than usual.)

Query letters

I had a conversation with someone today who, like so many, is out of work and looking for a job. He told me that he thought his resume was really good and that he had a lot to offer to potential employers, yet couldn't understand why he wasn't getting any interviews, or even responses like "Thanks, but you can take a hike". He had been receiving unemployment compensation and apparently the state thought he needed a kick in the butt, so they offered him the option to polish up his resume by taking some classes or stop receiving his checks. Nice choice, but I guess they need to do something to try and weed out the freeloaders. Anyway, the resume he thought was so wonderful, really wasn't, and the classes and his mentor helped him to clean it up to make him more saleable. But what he said has really done the trick is that he now includes a cover letter tailored to each job. It's made all the difference in the world, and he's now getting phone calls with a few "Thanks,but...." as well as some interviews. The conversation reminded me of the importance of a good query letter and how it needs to be informative, yet concise. When I worked in the advertising department of a newspaper, we were told that a reader generally scans ads on a page for a brief five seconds, so the ad better offer something to grab attention before the page is turned. In my humble opinion, the query letter is very much the same. It has to have that LOOK AT ME!!!!! quality in order to capture enough attention to invite further reading. Not an easy task but definitely worth the effort.

Before I lose more time...

I wanted to post a quick entry. I didn't get here last night because I went to my writer's group but I'm beginning to question if I should continue attending. The last three meetings have consisted of three of us, which doesn't allow for much feedback. The coordinator also has copies of articles that she passes around and we all take turns reading paragraphs. I can read on my own. I'm looking for help writing. I'll give it another couple of weeks and see if more people join or come back, and if not, I might look elsewhere...

Meetup.com is a website I checked out in search of other area writing groups. It offers a huge array of interests for those looking in their community and surrounding areas. I found a couple of other writing groups in nearby towns and if things don't improve, I may check them out.

I'm having a tough time tonight. I'm writing this on the laptop, so I'm on Firefox and this is so small, I can hardly see it. Plus, my modem and router are f-ed up and I keep losing my internet connection. I think I'm going to call it a night.

I'm back

***Note*** I created the following post last night (3/16)...wrote, reviewed, edited...etc., etc. until I was satisfied enough to punch the "publish" button. When I did-nothing happened...The little circle timer thingie on my computer was going round and round until finally, an ERROR message showed up. I couldn't post the damn thing. My unedited post came back. I have no idea where everything else went. It was even stranger when I found the edited version on Google Reader, exactly as I wanted it to be. Went back to my blog. Nothing. And this morning, it's disappeared from Google reader as well. So following is the mostly unedited version of my work from last night....is someone trying to tell me something????


This is bad. I haven't been here since March 1 and today's the 16th. The frustration with my laptop was subsiding until just now, when --oh, never mind. I'll get it. I did figure out that the reason I can't get my page to look the way I want on the screen is due to Firefox. It won't give me full screen viewing which kind of screws me because I transferred all of the stuff I wanted from the desk to my laptop, and almost all of it was done on Firefox. When I finally concluded the program might be the problem, I removed it from the computer, but then none of my stuff would open. Now I need to figure out a way to get everything from Internet Explorer so I can see the full view. It's so time consuming...

My poor blog...the longer I stayed away, the harder it was to come back. (Hmmm-sounds like what I hear in the rooms of AA after someone "goes out." I'm sure a shrink would tell me there's a connection there someplace.) It was like I was afraid. One night I was rearranging and trying to organize files on the laptop desktop (??!!) and there was my Fledgling Author icon staring me in the face, but I tried not to look at it. I could almost hear it calling me..."Come baaaaaack, come baaaaack...." Well. I'm here. It took me a few weeks but I'm ready to get going again.

I need to get going again because while I was away, something REALLY GOOD HAPPENED. And it won't happen again if I don't keep practicing. Let me explain. In January, I entered a writing contest through Writer's Weekly. They give you 24 hours to come up with a story after they send out a mass prompt. Then you wait six weeks for them to get back to you. Not you, personally, but to receive the mass email naming winners. And...of all the contestants, I received an honorable mention!! I was PSYCHED!!!! It felt so good to see my name on that list. So what if I didn't get first, second or third prize? MY NAME WAS ON THE HONORABLE MENTION LIST!! WHAHOO! Could it have had something to do with writing on a regular basis? Maybe, and now I have the first thing I can put on my resume....

So. That's the reason I needed and WANTED to get my butt back in this seat. Feels good. I missed being here...

Busy still trying to figure this out.

To anyone who might be reading this-I apologize in advance for my ranting on about this laptop. Right now I'm sitting at my desk-the old desktop is opened to my blog page as I add a post on the laptop. I was hoping by looking at the old computer I could figure out how to get this page to display in the center of the laptop screen and also, how to stretch everything so it fills the screen. I went ahead and spent more money for a bigger screen (15.6" "edge to edge they called it) and it's pretty pointless if anything I look at takes up half or less than the entire LCD display. I've spent more time cruising around this thing trying to figure out how it works than I have writing. Then I get myself all worked up and frustrated and feel like throwing it out the window, so I turn it off and leave.

I have been trying to work on some writing. Due to some major pushing from my husband I wrote a kid's short story-the last thing I ever thought I'd do. I based it on my parakeets and I have someone (an actual real agent---real, real-she's worked with big name writers) who has also been encouraging me and will take a look when it's done. I have NO idea how to submit it-format, pages, anything. I'm trying to learn by Googling. I don't want her to think I'm a COMPLETE idiot when she sees it. So that's where I'm headed next. To edit, rewrite and research.

Uh-oh-trying to make the page fill the screen, I went to Edit/Full Screen and now my address bar and everything else has disappeared. This isn't my idea of fun. I need help.....

Not liking my laptip very nuch tonight

OK. This is not fun. I don't know if it's me, but I'm having a helluva tine getting used to this thing as you can see. Tried doing some work on a story and it was taking me forever. This is like driving a new car. Everything feels different and I'm having trouble figuring out the controls. I feel like I've gone from an automatic to a standard and nobody has shown me how to drive. I feel really frustrated. I keep getting the space bar and touch pad buttons mixed up, I have to go back and forth from one side of the page to the other to scroll...It's GOT to be me.... How hard can this machine be????
Maybe I made a mistake and should have stayed with my old dinosaur desktop....
What was I thinking??? I hate change.....

(Really) Technologically Impaired

O.M.G. That's the only text talk I know-if it's even called text talk, but OH MY GOD...

I feel really out of touch in this fast moving cyber spinning world in which I live. The reason? A simple laptop. I bought one. And now I'm wondering if I'll ever get the hang of it and if I should have invested all the long saved, hard earned money I spent for this sucker.

Let me do a little 'splainin', Lucy. My husband, Dennis, and I will be taking our first, and maybe only, safari to South Africa next October. We're going for three weeks and I'm excited beyond belief. (See the "Countdown" on the right of my page.) It's a long story how we came about going. Suffice it to say we became little overly zealous at a fund raising auction and were suddenly the proud recipients of a one week photo safari. Because it's a once in a lifetime opportunity, and because the flight over is 24 hours, and because we've not had a real vacation in about five years,we decided to really bite the bullet and make the trip three weeks.

We went out and got a digital camera so we can capture the many memorable moments, but we need to learn how to use it. We were told that it'd be a good idea if we had something with us to download all the pix. I'd just gotten serious again about my writing, and thought a neat way to remember along with the pix would be to journal. The more people we spoke with, the more suggested bringing a laptop for both pictures and journaling. So, started saving my money, and here I am eight months later with a Dell XPS-- does- lots- of- stuff- I- know- nothing- about- laptop. I'm using it now, and have to admit, this keyboard is really cool. So soft to the touch. (eww-sounds a little kinky!) But it has no mouse, and someone suggested I could get one, but what 's the point, it's a LAP top. So I spend tons of time, fiddling back and forth, trying to get the friggin' pointer where I want it to go... and forget the scroll bar. That's going to really send me.

I have a lot of reading to do before I understand this thing. And that's something else! A long, long time ago (n0-not American Pie) when a consumer purchased a new gadget, included with said gadget were operating directions. Sometimes it was only one page, sometimes it was a little book. But no matter, it was always there to refer to should a problem arise. But today? Noooooooo. If you want directions more explicit than indicating the on/off button, you have to go online and look them up. And if you are like me, with lots of memory loss due to age as well as previously mentioned overindulgence in substances made to be taken in moderation, the ole memory ain't what it used to be. So I need something I can hold. And refer back to. It gives me comfort. After reading the brief quick start guide of my new toy, I went online as they suggested and downloaded the "Technology Guide." All THREE HUNDRED SEVENTY-FIVE PAGES OF IT. Now come on!! We spend a ton of money on all this stuff, you'd think they could at least include a guide to help us along. OK. Help me along. It's become a do it yourself world, and while I'm all for DIY, and saving the planet by using less paper, I think user manuals are a must. Call me old fashioned. Call me stupid. Or, call me as my daughter does: Technologically impaired.

(If this post looks particularly screwy, or contains many typos-itls het PXSl!!!!)