Taking time for shiny new stuff

I’m writing this on my new computer. It’s only taken me four days to stop tip-toeing around it, get it out of the cartons, connect everything and turn it on. I’m worse than the cats with something strange and different, honestly! (Yes, the bunny had started to nibble the cartons.)

I’m about 90% ported over, so far. The major software is installed–InDesign, Paint Shop Pro, both e-mail clients–and I copied all my data files and e-mail files from the back-up flash drives. I still have a lot of little things to catch up with, most of it having to be downloaded. I just installed Quicktime Pro and iTunes. I opted for the best available sound card, and I connected the speakers I bought this summer. Man, can this computer play music! Whoa! And the sound card…it’s the first computer I’ve seen with output jacks for subwoofers!

I’ve only really needed my geek hat once so far, manually configuring the port for the wireless printer server. Windows 7 wouldn’t run its installation CD, but I went to the manufacturer’s support forums and found an entry with step-by-step directions for configuring the port. I owe that poster a big debt of gratitude! Thanks to him, it took me less time to get the wireless printer server on board than it did to find the old installation disk of InDesign CS2 so I could prove to Adobe that I’m eligible for the upgrade. *wry look*

So…a lot of new. New keyboard, new monitor, Windows 7 (I’ve been clinging to Windows XP up to now), Office 2007, serious video and audio editing power (I still have to install that software). Lots of “housekeeping,” redoing filters and settings and auto-logins and all that stuff–when you practically live on your computer, online or otherwise, it’s amazing how much you accumulate. It’s not quite as disruptive as moving to a new home would be, but the dynamics are similar.

Meanwhile I’ve been sending out a lot of review copies of books, as I get positive responses to queries I made. That huge multi-day project in which I collected (or started collecting, more accurately) a database of book review blogs is already paying off.

I haven’t been feeling great physically. Every now and then I feel like I’m fighting off a cold. It never actually develops into a full-blown cold, but my sinuses will be raw and I’ll be on the verge of a headache, and mostly, I’ll just feel exhausted, especially when I first get up. I wake up feeling like road kill, and drag through the whole day. I start perking up at sunset, and then I stay up too late because after midnight, I’m hitting my stride. But it seems like everyone is sick, and whatever is out there, I think I’ve run into it, as well. I’m taking extra Vitamin C.

I got home from running a few errands today and was surprised to see a package on the doorstep (the Ninja UPS driver did another phantom run…I think he waits until I leave the house!). I wasn’t expecting anything. When I opened it up, I found a replacement for the Escali scale I sent to the warranty center just two weeks ago! Wow, that was fast. I wish the scale had been more durable, but I sure can’t fault Escali’s customer service!