La Suite...

So the other day it was all dark and gloomy and today here I am with a little ray of sunshine poking out from behind that cloud (although it is dark outside now).

After posting about thinking of getting a spanking new computer (and doing no work incidentally) I tootled down and had a wee chat with some colleagues about the old laptop and apparently we are all coveting the idea of an AppleMac or Sony Vaio, but I was advised to speak to one in the know. So I went to the see the Server Guy and his boss. Only the boss was there and as I rushed through my explanation of doom and gloom he began giving me this withering look. I left his office feeling well and truly spanked. “It’s only three years old,” he told me. “It shouldn’t be screwed and even if it is a problem with the hard disk a new one is fifty euros...” It went on, but I left after having firmly promised that I would drag the thing in today and he would look at it.

So today I completed my feat of weight lifting and squeezed onto the metro with it, hauled it through the park and then reached the refuge of the staffroom needing a cup of tea. Luckily the boss was there, so he took it off my hands before any further lugging was needed. Then this afternoon I went back for the verdict.

I sat down, all hunched up in my autumn coat (why is it twelve degrees in January? But that’s for another post).

“Well V.” He started. “There is a lot of shit on your computer, but there’s nothing wrong with it really.”

“Really?” My face lit up.

“No, in terms of hardware there is no problem, but in the way it’s been built there is a problem.” He explained patiently how the feet at the back of the computer had worn away so that the air wasn’t circulating properly and that’s why the computer kept shutting down.

“Oh! Is that it?”

So, on Monday I’m going to lug it back. Well, I couldn’t go a weekend without blogging or writing or finding out the results of the Silent Grey competition. Anyway he’s going to restore it to factory settings (after backing up everything that I haven’t – that’s another resolution I have to add to my list: back up more regularly) and he’s going to add bigger feet to the computer. Right now, it’s propped on my chopping board and seems to be working fine! So the old thing WILL be fixed by Wednesday... hurrah.

And just to add to my good news I then got an e mail from France Telecom, otherwise known as the bane of my life. Having received all the bloody paperwork they demanded off me they are reimbursing me the month I didn’t have internet, I don’t have to pay the reconnection fee (which I hadn’t paid anyway) and I get a whopping 21€ off my next bill. It turns out that it was Free who stole my line, which is a wee bit screwy because I’m now thinking of going with them, but should I go with the nasty line stealers who caused me all the problems in the first place? Mmm.

Anyway, I am now hoping that I can turn my attention to all things fictional and creative and have nothing to do with the real world this weekend.