Kate S. is walking her dog, so I'm sneaking onto the internets to kill time. I'm using her sister's new computer, which is running Vista. It's very clunky. Some of it is nicer (it looks smoother) but some of it just doesn't seem to work. Like changing the resolution of the monitor. And programs keep crashing on me. Also IE7's pop up blocker sucks.

Just in case I wasn't sure that the laptop I'm getting is going to be a Mac, this seals it.

Today was attack of the People Without Cruise Control on the Mass Pike. I get that not every car comes equipped with such a fine feature, but if it does... the highway is the perfect place to use it. So when I'm going 80 and you come up behind me at 90, then weave to pass me, I don't have to pass you again two minutes later when you're doing 70. WTF, people, WTF.

Edit: Aaand IE7's pop up blocker continues to eat my windows. And AIM Express insists on popping up every new incoming IM, thus forcing me to type the wrong things to the wrong people. Who the hell is this stuff designed for?

Around the time when Pablo (Badge #MP273) asked me if I had any friends with Windows XP CDs, I decided that Gateway Tech Support is on The List.

"No," I replied, "no one gets XP CDs anymore, because manufacturers are doing this thing called a recovery partition."

"Heh heh," Pablo (Badge #MP273) said sheepishly, probably realizing the error of asking someone with a flawed recovery partition if any of her friends had XP CDs.

Of course, the fact that I didn't back up my information is my fault and therefore I'll have to pay to retrieve it.

"So," I asked, "my 'failure' to back up my information every ten seconds somehow means that you're not liable for your failure to make a machine that works properly?"

Apparently. Stupid warranties.

Stupid me. I must do something that screws with my systems. In this case it was that I thought I knew more than I really did. So I ran that stupid wrong system restore and BAM problem. Idiot idiot idiot, I should have just sat on the goddamned phone with tech support and let them try 900 things that don't fix the problem. But, no, I was trying to save myself time.

Great.

So they're sending a new hard drive, and someone to install it and take away the old one, and Pablo (Badge #MP273) was in such a rush to get off the phone with me (not that I blame him) that he almost forgot to tell me when they'd be coming (until I reminded him). The answer, of course, is "maybe in three days, but they'll call." Neat.

Pablo (Badge #MP273) was a jerk. Granted, I was being a jerk to him, but the guy this morning handled it much better. He also hit on me a little, but hey. Whatever. (Remember that sexy-voiced tech woman from HP? I do. Rrrowr.)

Anyway, I started the computer in safe mode (no thanks to Pablo (Badge #MP273)) and can't seem to find any of the important folders that I'd actually want to have backed up, while running a "system restore with backup." You know, the My Documents files. With the 4000 songs. But, wow, it saved the old Windows folder that didn't work anyway. Awesome!

When Pablo (Badge #MP273) suggested that I take out the hard drive in the Gateway and run it as a slave in an older desktop (something which I was told by Gateway when I bought the system can't even be done with the new type of hard drives they use), it reminded me that I actually have an old, workable computer. Pablo (Badge #MP273) was good for something. So that's what I'm on now, and most (though not all) of my music is here. That's most of what I'm worried about, because it's the hardest collection to rebuild (my pictures are all on flickr).

Of course, thanks to the DMCA, I can't just move my songs from my iPod back onto my computer. But, hey, piracy is bad for America.

Then, of course, there are always the things I don't even remember to worry about. That's gonna suck.

All in all, this whole computer thing could have gone better.

Pablo (Badge #MP273) was relieved that I had "some way" of "maybe recovering" my files. I'm so glad that Pablo (Badge #MP273) is relieved. I was worried he wouldn't sleep well tonight because I lost my files.

Thank you, Pablo (Badge #MP273). Thank you.

So let's recap.

Yesterday, I didn't get to record All My Children because I'm an idiot about TiVo Season Passes.

Today, my internet doesn't work. I think it's my network card, so don't bother calling Comcast; I called Gateway. Gateway (after I'm on hold) decides it's an issue with Comcast (after I had to explain to the woman that you can, actually, connect to the internet without a phone line). I insist that she's wrong, but that's fine. She won't do anything else for me, anyway; she refuses.

I call Comcast and am on hold for 15-20 minutes. The first step the tech support woman wants me to take is to uninstall my network card from the device manager. I do so. I'm unable to reinstall it, which she says is really strange (she tells me later, before she abandons me, that it's the first time she's ever seen that in her "many" years of tech supporting). Since she's not allowed to stay on the phone with me while I download a driver from another site (this was after I spent 20 minutes searching for my discs, which I know are here somewhere), I pretend I'm not downloading it (on my laptop, which is stealing wireless from who knows where) and take a ridiculously long time to switch the network cable from my desktop to my laptop.

We fix the problem and, lo, my laptop connects to the internet. It is obviously, then, a problem with the desktop. Gee, I"m glad I wasted all my time then. Go Gateway (for the record I have the full warranty plan with them, including on-site service).

Since by that time it was about 2pm and I had yet to eat or shower, I decided to watch South of Nowhere and eat lunch, because food and cute teenage girls in love with each other make me happy. Apparently my room mate, who never watched TV, decided to watch TV last night during South of Nowhere. So I made it through 15 minutes. Great. So much for that mood improver. Not that I begrudge him TV time, I just wish I'd checked last night 'cause I could've TiVoed another showing and still been able to see it today. Now I'll have to wait 'til I get back.

And, really, that's the only thing that's keeping me from having a breakdown (yes yes, small issues... but my issues): this time tomorrow I"ll be well on my way to Hawaii. Whew. If I can't fix my desltop today, I can wait 'til I'm back. And though it's not something I want to deal with returning to, it's something I don't have to worry about for the next 8 days.

That's all. Now I think I'm going to go take a shower, and then try with Gateway again.

(Oh, I think someone just went into the bathroom. Cool. Hopefully not to shower. That would suck for me.)