POSITIVE SURPRISING NEWS

My Laptop Died!

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FVCK! My laptop died this evening! Windows did its whole automatic update thing, which in turn decided it would be a sensational idea to delete all my files [which I had all backed up on an external HD, thank gawd!], and now the laptop refuses to open at all... after logging in, the screen just goes black, and that's it!

I'm typing this on my Tablet using the Bluetooth keyboard, but it's such a ridiculously slow machine (seriously, it has taken me 45-minutes to write this!!) and the screen is so small, and my #MS Fingers simply do not work on the whole touch-screen thing... I am lost without a laptop and mouse... f-you, MS!

I can't seem to access my external HD's or mouse on either the Tablet or the Android phone. Fvck! Whinge whinge, First World Problems, I know!

I have been getting so much successful editing on my blog complete as well, too... that's nearly impossible to do anything like that, using fingers that do not work on a Touch Screen! And then there's the whole keeping myself in social contact with my Twitter friends... I feel socially isolated as it is already!

I ain't got the $$$ spare to even get myself a cheap 2nd-hand lappie either, FUCK! Frustrated? Uh huh.

I am feeling really flat and agitated now, after having such a good few days... my middle son celebrated his 25th birthday yesterday, and I spent some brilliant quality time with my brother today.

I will try to sleep on it (it's like 2.30 in the morning right now!), the angst of the whole issue won't make sleep come easily.

I apologise for this post, but really just needed to AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! Frustrated? Oh yeah (understatement!)

So yeah, I'll have to ring my local computer repair guy on Monday and see what he says, f-it! I know it's just a Windows problem, but it's wholly beyond fixing for me.

► NOTE: UPDATE POST (12 hours later)

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Peas be with ewe 
Mal

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Popping Out to the Shops

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I wish the local supermarkets/etc had online shopping and home delivery here, but alas it is not so - one of the joys of living in a rural Australian town. Just dropping into the shops to pick up some daily bits and pieces - something I had to never think about before MS - now feels like executing a large planned battle strategy, to get me out the door and back. It's not just about not having my own personal transport at the moment (plus the buses into town do run every c.30 minutes almost outside my door, and taxis are fairly cheap).

A big hurdle for me these days... Sometimes it's not knowing if one or any combination of my medical stuff will kick-in unexpectedly, while I'm downtown... and they have, four times so far. It's a very humiliating experience.... and you do not want to know the details, I assure you...

That's frustrating for me, as a huge part of my psyche is very 'spontaneous'... so, having to plan things in advance can often feel to suck the joy out of it for me. It's funny little things like this I've found, on my MS journey!

But I can't complain (I'm not, really - more of an observation, really) - my #MS is not as active nor debilitating as a lot of other peoples, but I can wholly empathise with them in their situation.

Thanks to fellow online MSer "Dizzy the Donkey" - I went to write a comment on her latest blog post, and ended-up writing the basic bones of this post as a result [laffs]. Thanks also to the many good, friendly, caring, understanding and like-minded fellow MSers on Twitter as well - you have kept me going thru some rough times very recently, and I am hugely appreciative of your online invisible friendship.

STOP PRESS: Altho I had been told Woolworths don't home deliver groceries here - they actually DO! Whoo hoo! There's a hurdle overcome!

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Peas be with ewe 
Mal

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After a year - I finally have my own car again!

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After a year of lots of great walking (which I'm not going to stop!), buses, taxis, or scrounging lifts from friends... I finally have a car of my own again, to be able to get around! Yay!

It's a "definitely pre-loved" 1990 Ford Telstar TX-5 Ghia - and it runs really really well. Included TEN months registration + new tyres + new battery.

Here's a positive as well... I ended-up selling my previous car (at a huge loss) for $300 in Warwick... THIS car has cost me $290 incl. transferring the registration. So, in a funny way, I'm actually ahead of the raw deal I received with my previous car up in Warwick!

A HUGE thank you to Peter Drew at Rosconi Bros in Bathurst, for the amazing deal. Seriously - thank you! I feel encouraged and appreciated.

Having access to a car again basically means that I can see my sons a whole lot more often than I have been able to (until now), that I have transport for work prospects (this has been a huge hurdle), that I can start performing live music again (transporting gear etc), and I might even get re-involved with sailing out at Carcoar Dam... but we'll see about that one (for now).

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Peas be with ewe 
Mal

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Friday, here we go

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I'm feeling a little anxious and nervous today (butterflies in the stomach etc etc...), as I'm in the process of "working some things out" this afternoon. That's all I can say here at the moment. Stay tuned...

Plus we're down to a single-car family, now - it's a good thing, for sure. I do miss having my faithful and reliable little blue car to chug around in, tho!

Peace out.

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Peas be with ewe 
Mal

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More Spring

More guitar playing fun for me today... two 90-minute-plus sessions, running thru a lot of the bands' material, and then smoothing-out three original song ideas I wanna introduce to the band for the album.

Here's my Les Paul guitar, which I've been playing thru my Ephiphone amp... and it sounds really gorgeous. It's really nice to actually be able to use a guitar and amp that are really good... by the time you turn 44, you should have nice equipment - it's about bloody time.

Yes yes, I'm boasting! Muwahahahaa!

I even washed my car this morning! I'd forgotten what it looked like clean! This glorious Spring sunshine fills me with lots of refreshment... and is making every green growing thing go slightly bezerk after a very dry winter! No no, that's not the contents of my fridge I'm talking about...

Oh, I found this pic I took of myself (I'd forgotten all about it, to be honest), from back in June... fiddling with "The Thing", headphones on. This is what I've been looking like while I've been doing all the mixing for the band demo, you know...

Peas be with ewe

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24 Hours

The hilarious things you inadvertently overhear in a public place!

I'm sitting quietly, chomping on a sandwich downtown, when the young couple sitting almost right next to me... her phone goes off. I couldn't help but overhear her side of the albeit short conversation...

"Well, there goes our inheritance! I'll have to call you back..."

(Turns and speaks to her boyfriend/partner): "I don't believe it... my dad just got himself engaged... to a girl younger than I am...!"

I had to get up and walk away... it was so hysterically funny. You can't make stuff like that up!

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It's amazing what a difference 24-hours makes weather-wise. Today has been sunny, warm and almost windless... not a wisp of snow-clouds in sight. Almost a gloriously-Spring day in some respects.

Alas and alack, it's gonna be cold here overnight tho... they're predicting -3 / 25f ! But no snow in sight.

My ancient ugh boots have yet to make an appearance yet, tho... thankfully!

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I ended-up going for a short drive in the glorious sunshine this arvo... about 30kms / 18 miles in each direction, out on a beautiful country road leading NE out of town, towards a locale called Limekilns. I haven't been out that way in many a year. There's nothing out there, as such. Just a few assorted remote farm houses and sheds. It was just the drive that made it so enjoyable, on a lovely paved winding quiet country road.

I love living out here!

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Today I'm listening to:

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Great T-Shirts - one of my absolute favs!

Peas be with ewe

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Feeling a WHOLE lot better

Thursday and Friday saw me driving just over 800kms / 500 miles across the beautiful NSW rural countryside. It'd been too long since I just bit the bullet and went for a really long drive in the countryside, just to unwind and recharge a lot. Like a mini-mobile holiday.

Now I've come home feeling really refreshed, recharged and re-energized - albeit somewhat travel-tired as well, but content.

I managed to have a really lovely casual chat-and-cuppa with a fellow blogger whilst on the road (sincerely, thank you once again for your hospitality, Ma'am), and found yet another bloggers' place of residence nearby - but I didn't assume to be impolite enough just to drop in unannounced (he prefers his privacy - no problem).

Gorgeously almost-clear endless and bottomless deep blue skies stretched across distant horizons in every direction. The Upper Hunter Valley and the Liverpool Plains of NSW are simply beautiful. So refreshingly, majestically expansive.


Seeing the boys tomorrow morning briefly, sailing at lunchtime with Mr Hoon's family (again), having a quick one-on-one music jam in the evening with Matt. Then Sunday sees us having a long-awaited electric jam together as a three-piece (possibly four?)... first for the year. Yes, I'm really rather looking forward to it.

Plus I've yet to write about my fantastic day from last week. Stay tuned... I'm looking forward to writing and reliving it (in my own little way).

Yes yes, things are getting kinda back to "normal" (tho I'm yet to be convinced exactly what 'normal' is, apart from a setting on a washing machine...).

I'll just try to forget the first three days of this week ever happened. But yeah... life is what happens while you're busy making other plans.

Peas be with ewe

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Meme Madness

Sunday, May 15, 2006

1. Do you listen to the radio, or a CD, when you're driving in your car/truck/SUV? About 85% of the time a 48-CD mix I burnt from all my CD's last June/July! I never run out of random music to listen to that way. Like a huge CD collection of mp3's! heh heh The rest of the time would be local radio, for new/weather/road conditions etc.

2. Do you have one of those GPS systems in your vehicle? Nope. No point. I use old school navigation - MAPS!

3. About how many miles do you put on your vehicle in a month? About 400km's.

4. Do you have your oil changed regularly? Sure do. Just had my car serviced last month.

5. Do you take your vehicle to a car wash or do you wash it at home? I need to wash it... maybe I should go to the carwash, as it's only 4c/39f outside at the moment - too cold to be splashing about with water! Gagh!

6. How often do you have the inside of your vehicle cleaned? Do you do it yourself or do you pay someone to do it? I'll grab the vaccume and a damp cloth every few months... not often enough tho. The majority of the grunge lays at my feet, usually after going out to the Sailing Club [grass, dirt, pebbles etc]

7. What is the color of your vehicle? Dark blue!

Here's my car

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Week 228
I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Riding :: for the Disabled
2. Actress :: Pratfall
3. Flowers :: Icehouse
4. Making :: Movies
5. Robot :: Plastic metallic sheen
6. Enjoy :: yourself, it's the only kife you've got
7. Identify :: Indemnify
8. 22 :: Catch
9. Busy :: as a Sloth
10. Forward :: Fast

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1. Do you download music not from the popular genres of Top 40, pop, rock, rap, dance, R&B, or country? Normally I'd download out-of-print 1960's psychadelic stuff - and enjoy it.

2. Are there any musicians for whom you've downloaded a significant amount of their material yet own few or none of their albums? Hmmm... Gene Clark? The Byrds?

3. Have you ever enjoyed a downloaded album so much that you went and bought the physical album? Yes yes! Crowded House's new album! (well, it's on order - not released until next month).

4. How many different ways of playing music do you own (such as radio, stereo system, computer, Walkman/Discman, mp3 player, mp3-ready phone, etc.)? Hmmm... bedside clock/radio, bedroom stereo CD/cassette/radio, loungeroom CD/cassette/radio, sometimes I listen to some music on my desktop puter if I'm downloading something, but not always.

5. Do you still have and/or play a favorite vinyl album, cassette tape, or 8-track tape? I've got some old band rehersals for like 20 years ago on tape I pull out now and again, but I've transferred the majority of my old favourite cassettes onto CD thesedays.

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Wednesday Mind Hump

1. Who? Bob Dylan
2. What? "Bringing It All Back Home" CD album
3. Where? Sitting on the desk right in front of me
4. Song "Subterranean Homesick Blues"
5. Food - bangers and mash
6. Animal - my goldfish "Thoon"

It will be up to you to interpret what to do with each of the above words.

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Top 5 On Friday - Week 129

Top 5 songs that mention things in the sky in the title. (This could be anything...stars, planes, birds, clouds....etc)

1] Lucky in the Sky With Diamonds
2] Sky Pilot [The Animals] - a truely horrific song!
3] High Flyin' Bird [Country Joe and the Fish, 1967]
4] Head in the Clouds [Surprise, 1989]
5] Blowing in the Wind [Bob Dylan]

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1. Have you ever talked to your doctor about stress levels in your life? Yes I have... my GP [doctor] is easy to talk to about things like that. Unfortunately - and it's nobody's fault but mine - I don't do it often enough :(

2. How likely are you to “let go” of something that stresses you out? It's hard to say... sometimes I take things too personally and to heart when I just shouldn't, and other times I can just shrug off things I shouldn't either!

3. Does your family or your work cause the most stress in your life? Do you think your family members or co-workers realize how much stress they generate? My family... I'm not working at the moment, which is stress enough in itself.

4. Take the quiz: Will You Live to 100?

Chance You'll Live to 100: 33%

Okay, so living until you're 100 is a long shot... But who knows how good medicine will get in the future. Take a little better care of your body, and you'll might actually see the triple digits.

5. When you think that you are at the breaking point, are you more likely to have an angry blow-up, a self-contained meltdown, or something in between? When was the last time you had such a moment? A self- contained meltdown, which internalises until it affects my health - all subconscious, of course! Actually, last Suday i just turned around and walked away from what could have been an explosive moment. I was rather happy that i did it too... and avoided saying something I may later regret.

6. When you’re stressed out, what is the first clue someone who knows you well is likely to pick up on? Quiet, sullen, moody, non-talkative.

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Oh the noes! They're at it again!!!

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"Let's Get Philosophical"

1. Do you think that people are inherently good or evil? Goodness spoilt by evil.
2. Is having a child important to make your life complete? Yes - my three sons satisfy me in a way nothing else ever could, can or will.
3. Is it true that first love never dies? Yes... MJD is a case in point. I still enjoy have positive feelings about her.
4. After forgiving, can you really forget? You forget the sharpness of the incident, but you don't forget the experience.
5. In the long run, do you believe that married couples are happier than single people? Yes, absolutely. They have someone to share their thoughts with, bounce ideas off, and just have someone else to hang out with. The problem is - they forget that and take each other for granted, hence why a lot of married couples seem unhappy.

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(*) Metronome Ice Water Kisses

Ahmed Ahmed Ahmed - my old buddy! I can't respond to your emails because they keep bouncing back to me with the message "No such user"!!! What is your email address?!?

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Good timing... my secondhand laptop I've had for a few months seems to have died at last. Luckily I transfered all the info on it to my desktop last month, huh? I'd been having some weird power problems lately, and it worked fine last night. This morning I was going to try to send the above email to Ahemd using the laptop (to see if tyhat might make some sort of weird difference...), but it wouldn't even load Windows today... oh well. I'll leave it alone for a while and try again... I can't complain tho. The laptop was a bargain second-hand thing anyways! It's been running perfectly until recently. Oh well. It happens. No dramas.

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Yesterday I went out to CDSC for a few hours, with the primary aim of checking on my other little boat (which was fine). I ended-up not moving or adjusting any of the covering over it yet, as in another month or so I'll be back out there to put it back on the trailer and store it for the winter! Gagh! End of the sailing season already...? Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!

Mr Hoon and I arranged to meet there at about 11 o'clock to do a bit of two-hands-needed-work on one of the motorboats... even with two hands we couldn't change the propeller-guard without the aide of some more powerful drilling tools! Gagh! I don't have anyhting like that myself, but Mr Hoon sure has... we'll get back and finish that small 5-minute-job-that-took-one-hour soon. But afterwards I was able to sit out there on my own and enjoy my snack-lunch sitting under a tree overlooking the dam... ahhh, not a bad way to go!

Mr Hoon appeared with yet another boat on the back of a trailer... an old 'Vagabond' that's in need of much TLC... I have no idea if the Sailing Club want it as a family training boat... if not Mr Hoon says he'll buy it himself and keep it! Her's got a regular small flotilla of small sailing dinghies sitting in his assorted sheds on his small out-of-town property... must be about five-or-so! What made me smile was his comment, "My wife will not be impressed to see me arrive with yet another boat...", because I can still hear my own mum saying exactly the same thing about my dad! hahahahaaa!

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Afterwards is did my fortnightly shopping at "Aldi" - do you have a preferred supermarket or shopping place that use use? I like it because it's got everything I basically need at a great price, it's quick simple and easy (must be a 'male' supermarket, huh? heh heh).

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After I got home yesterday I burnt myself a copy of a whole lot of Beatles tracks from various CDs I already own... like a compelation to use in the car. Yeah, I know, I burnt like 35 CDs for the car a few months ago, but I realised in a flash of inspiration yesterday that I hadn't taken anything off these particular CDs, for some bizarre unknown reason! Basically they're just uptempo rock'n'roll Beatles stuff from their early years. From their studio albums, anthology and BBD CDs - yay! Something to sing along with and play air-drums to whilst driving... shhusshhh! Don't tell anyone I play 'air-drums' whilst driving, OK?! hahahaaa

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Poor Thoon fishie... I had my laptop with its screen in the 'up' position sitting on the table in front of him this morning (which is not where I normally put it), trying to get the laptop to do something (unsuccessfully... but not a huge problem). When I closed it, poor Mr Thoon freaked-out at the sudden revelation of light and tried to burrow his way out of the back wall of his tank! Gagh! I guess he didn't expect his nice quiet cozy dull world hiding behind a laptop screen to be rudely interuppted! But, he took all of 20 seconds to recover... then I fed him, and it's like nothing had happened! hahahaha.

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Random thought... this post of Zinnia's reminded me of it... the other week I was driving down the road, when all of a sudden I had to pull over *hard* to the left (ie. that's the correct-side of the road here! heh heh), as an on-coming car thought it would be a good idea to drive exactly down the MIDDLE of the road! As the little yellow Corolla dawdled past, sure enough... a tiny little-old-lady - literally all I could see of her was the very top of her head poking out above the dashboard!!! - was driving extermely conservatively - but straight down the middle of the road!!! Gagh! She drove on, totally oblivious...

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Ooooh... I literally just got an email letting me know... end-of-term parent-teacher interview nights for SJ and Ix (my two younger sons) are coming up! Oooohhh! I always enjoy those.

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