Random Chaos

From the first time I ever gave it a shot, every year that I’ve done NaNoWriMo, there has been something to come up and make things complicated. Every time, something bad happens that threatens to derail the entire plan. I thought that it was just bad luck the first time, but I soon discovered that I could almost set my clocks and calendars by it.

The first time, it was being basically booted out of where I was staying—a situation that I’m choosing to call a “constructive eviction” as I really was afraid for my safety. Exactly a year later, things got a little different and I wound up with a computer to work on!

…except it blew up. The hard drive went up in smoke and the smoke damage delicate stuff inside the refurbished machine, and I had to try something else. I didn’t get a darn thing done for Nano that year.

The following year, things seemed to be going well. I had a plan, I had an outline, I had the skeletal first zero-draft from the first place I’d been living, and I had my own apartment.

…I also had a catastrophic injury to my left knee—remember that series of rants and lawsuit? That one—and my computer was somehow lost by my now-ex (not why things ended, but I don’t feel like getting into it. Some of you know the deets already, and some of you don’t, but the burden of an ongoing investigation means that until further notice, my lips are sealed). He arranged for me to borrow a friend’s tiny netbook until he could pay off my PC (I hadn’t even finished paying it off when it happened) and then replace it outright. That year, I finished.

I thought the luck had improved by then, that it wouldn’t happen again, but then—this was last year—my battery crapped out. I had to replace my warranty and then replace the battery. I managed to pull it off—and I managed to win, though the draft wouldn’t be finished for another couple of months.

My third shot in a row comes up in a few weeks. The plan was to back everything up, find my notes, make sure that the batteries and things were working properly, and then get ready to get started by creating the Scrivener project .scrivx files. Nothing going wrong here—

A strange error message popped up and I asked a friend what tests I could do. I wasn’t seeing problems in any of the scans I did, so we went to these tests on a CD-ROM.

The first test didn’t detect my hard drive.

“What is that?” I ask with a face resembling this. –> (O_o)

“I don’t know! I’ve never seen that error code.” Delivered with a “the hell is this” awesomeface sort of look.

“How the HELL does this keep happening to me?” I laugh. The pattern was coming back.

“Okay, we’re gonna try something else then,” Seamus*^{of course the names have been changed to protect the guilty innocent} suggested, and we rebooted to the disc and tried something else.

This time we didn’t get an error message initially. We instead got system beeps. Like…loud, painful, I-actually-shouted-“HELL IS THAT NOISE?!”-beeps.

“I don’t know!”

My computer issues are kind of like patients in a teaching hospital: never a dull moment.

BEEP. Lag. Successful reboot. FREEZE.

“THAT could be the hard drive.”

Flash forward to now: I’m backing up my important data to Skydrive and an external enclosure. It’ll likely take days. A jar near my printer contains the money that I am saving for a new hard disk drive. The documents are currently safe, but backing up obsessively is the way to go. I’m not losing my work…again.

So I think I’ve figured out how I’ve pulled that muscle in my arse. Mainly because I just did it AGAIN.

I finished futzing around with the space bags and let me tell you the space get was A-MAZ-ING. But the compression of size doesn’t do anything for the weight of the stuff. I finished hauling my tiny heavy linens and lay down for a second and a half to get my breath--

*Ka-chr—TICK*

“OW FUCKFLANS!”

Springing right the hell back up? BAD MOVE. Flat again in a beat.

“…great.”

This is the part where I vote in favor of coconut milk and cookies.

Loony Bin, Exeunt II…

Things did not improve after the tea and stabbing session on the 30^th.  The voices came back, and in alarm I tried to contact someone—anyone—on my “if shit goes pearshaped” list.  Not getting any response out of anyone, I called the crisis hotline.  They directed me to a different line—the number I’d been given was for people one state over.  …seriously, why they couldn’t have given me the right number was beyond me.  It was right there.  And I could WALK across to the other state, for shit’s sake.

After I’d mentioned chest pain—probably spasms and nothing worse—I had two choices: call an ambulance or they’d call one for me.  I resisted.  An ambulance was called for me.  The paramedics arrived eventually, and their initial knock sent me to the ceiling.  After I recovered, I opened the door—

A male paramedic veritably speeds toward me.

I bolt.  Apparently dispatch did not tell the paramedics about my condition.  I’m perched on the back of my couch before I know how I got there.  I managed coherence long enough to ask for the lady medic before explaining.  After a bit more difficulty—this time I wound up behind the couch, which is a neat trick since it’s nearly flush against the wall—I get out and am strapped to the stretcher, answering questions, explaining the problem and generally getting ready for the inevitable destination.

Note:  You might see me twice today.  I got writing-related ranting to do later and I’d like to keep the srs (-ish XD) separate from this lolz.

Running errands in the dead( QUICKLY! TO THE RANTMOBILE )

The water is all up.

Posted via LiveJournal app for Android.

So I got a surprise at work today:  before getting clearance from my doctor (who I won’t see before Monday) I got placed on rooms today instead of the usual “Injured Person Busywork” duty.  I survived it and was only slightly late (which might have had something to do with the fact that the morning was INCREDIBLY PAINFUL and I got out of the apartment late).

The only problem?   Now my leg is basically screaming obscenities at me.  Right now, I’m alternating ice and heat on it, but I’m going to need to take a strong muscle relaxant, as the spasms have started up abruptly again.  I tell you, that doctor appointment can’t come fast enough.  The last time the leg behaved THIS badly, the muscle had severe degradation.  And that would be bad.  I’m seriously considering hitting the leg weights BEFORE receiving clearance, but…well, I can’t get up from a kneel without grabbing a bar or a cane, let alone a weight-assisted lunge.

THAT’S the bad news.

The good news is that I’ve got writing ideas again.  Enough that it is incredibly difficult to keep from writing during what is supposed to be my ‘vacation’ from writing.

I’d best get started BEFORE my painkillers kick in and I’m USELESS.

Yes, I have home internet.  So why the bus stop update?  Because I'll probably be here a while.

( Insert Expletives HERE )

Posted via LiveJournal app for Android.

( Story of my life! )