The Farmer Takes A Wife....

Well, I must say "Farmer In The..." got my laptop back to me very quick. It was gone for a total of 68 hours. I kid you not. It left home at 2pm on Tuesday and was back by 10am on Friday.

During that 68 hours, my laptop got some cosmetic surgery done on it's spa trip. I have a functioning mouse button again. The screws on a loose hinge for the monitor were tightened. The stuck hard drive was removed and re-inserted to be removable. It had a diagnostics check done. And it came home with a note telling me all about it's trip.

The only downside about it's trip - it needed a brain transplant. I got the laptop back with the old hard drive in it. The note that came back told me that diagnostics showed the hard drive needed replacing due to it being defective. Fortunately, since I haven't had this laptop for long, I didn't have any photos or anything of the sort stored on it. So I got the new hard drive delivered, and performed the transplant surgery yesterday. It went well. Only minimal blood loss of some email addresses and favorites links. Little by little, those will get replenished. It's sort of nice to have very few items in my favorites folders. Sort of like spring cleaning without the dust!

Anyone have some extra Valium?

My laptop is gone. I told my laptop it was going to a computer spa for a tiny amount of cosmetic surgery. I hope it comes home soon. I'm now cheating on it with my old flame - the desktop. The desktop might be slow, but it still works.

After my incident of not being able to get the hard drive out, I spoke with some hilarious technicians that dress in white shirts with skinny black ties and floods. They work out of a store where Frodo and I found the lights of the first word burned out, so the store just said "BUY". We still laugh about that. I was telling them of my predicament. They told me they weren't surprised as that particular computer company has a reputation for horrible customer support. (Next time, I will splurge for the protection package that will allow me to get my computer fixed locally.) They told me to try and get this company (which from here on out, I shall refer to as *Farmer In The....*) to send me the part and they could fix it for me in a day. For a small fee of course. I was willing to pay that fee, so I went home to place a phone call.

This time, I didn't catch the name of the gentleman (I use the term loosely) on the phone. He was a bit short with me. Whatever. Basically, he ended the conversation telling me they cannot send the part and to send the laptop in with the hard drive still installed. (Pass more Valium!)

The next day, I get a phone call from a different technician with Farmer In The.... I think he was sent to smooth things over. He assured me he was going to be the only technician dealing with this "case" from here on out. On my laptop, I have an email with his name in it. Of course, my laptop is away for it's little spa vacation, so I have no clue who this person is. He said he would be keeping an eye on my computer for me through the repair and return process. He used some phrase about "taking ownership". Sounds like someone has been to a lot of business classes.... I'll take it, as canned as it sounds. It's nice knowing I have ONE person to deal with. Besides, they gave me someone who's accent isn't as thick so I can actually understand him. (Do you think they got my surveys? LOL.)

So I password protected my computer and sent it on it's little vacation on Tuesday. I wonder if it will bring back a t-shirt for me?

New Year, New Look

Not too terribly exciting, as I am not of the artsy kind and therefore cannot make myself any sort of masthead that isn't a template. I just thought I'd do a little rearranging is all. Now to tackle the living room!

Or not.

It's only the 7th of January, and it already seems like we should be facing February about now. All the fog outdoors has fogged my brain. All the Christmas decorations are down and stowed for another year. I didn't make any new year's resolutions because I just don't do resolutions. I always flop at them, so years ago, I decided I wasn't going to set myself up for failure anymore. And I like it like that. Besides, it's a crappy time of year to try and motivate me to do much of anything, let alone get me to start exercising or eating healthier or anything not fun like that.

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I've spent some quality time the past couple weeks with the customer and technical support folks at the company that made my laptop. You see, I love this laptop soooo much, I've gone and worn out the left mouse button. It's still covered under warranty, so I started with the online chat option for technical support. I logged in. The pop up window told me the average wait time was about 28 minutes. Whatever. I did other things for 28 minutes.

A chat window pops up saying "Balraj" was the "Agent" who would be chatting with me. Two seconds later, the session closes on it's own. Grrr. I open another request for a chat. Another 28 minute wait.

Next chat that opens for me is with "Agent Santosh". (Do you think maybe this company outsources their tech support?) I spend TWO HOURS online with "Santosh" getting him to understand that this wasn't a software issue, but a hardware issue. The button is broken. The touchpad works fine. Everything else works fine. It's just a broken button. All I want to do is get it fixed under my warranty!

Finally, I think he gets it. I am informed I will receive a box over the next few days in which I will pack my laptop to ship it for repair. (Oh my goodness! I'm already having a panic attack over the concept of being separated from my computer!) I am also informed I will have to REMOVE my hard drive before shipment to keep it safe. (Pass me the paper bag! I need help breathing!) I'm usually a handy person, but I draw the line at messing with my computer. He tells me detailed instructions will come with the package, telling me how to remove the hard drive and he assures me it's quite easy.

Fast forward to today. I have the box. I decide it's time to get the repair done. I get out the instructions for removing the hard drive. The two screws holding the cover on are removed. I set the cover to the side. The instructions tell me to slide the drive to the left, then pull up on the tab to lift it out. I try to slide. It won't budge. I try and try and try. It won't budge. I'm wondering if I can use the screwdriver as a lever to move it? I'm too afraid to try. I don't want to break my 'puter!

There is a phone number on the instruction sheet telling me if I experience any problems, I am to call that number. So I do.

I get through to someone on the phone much faster than I did online! On the phone, I got "Usha". Usha asked me all sort of questions such as, "Are you looking at the front or the back of the computer?" and "Did you remove the two screws from the cover?" I keep my composure the best I can because I know she has to ask these questions since not everyone will do those obvious things. After almost an hour of discussion with "Usha", she comes to the conclusion that maybe I need to find a local technician to help me get the hard drive out. I thanked her for her time and hung up.

I think I'll have a local technician just fix my computer. I fired off an email asking if they could just send me the part. I'm waiting to hear back.

Wow, was that a rant and a half.... Sorry.