Yup. All the signs of flu.

At about 10:15, I couldn’t take it any more. If I didn’t go home soon, I’d end up throwing up in the garbage can. They have quite enough of that with our patients– they don’t need it with the employees! So I called my supervisor, who was kind enough to take over for me.

Anyway. I shall spare you all the gory details. It must have been a 24-hour bug , because I was feeling much better yesterday, but not well enough to come back in. It was that stage where, while you’re laying down, you feel almost completely normal, and you wonder if you’re just milking it and should just suck it up and do something productive. Then you actually get up and realize that, no, there’s still something seriously wrong with you.

Anyway, I’m back at work today, but still not feeling quite 100%. This being-vertical thing is going to take some getting used to.

I did use the horizontal time semi-productively, though– I got about halfway through Mansfield Park (which is the only Austen novel I don’t tend to pick up and read at least once a year– I think I’ve only read it 4 times, tops, and two of those readings were for classes– and is therefore the one I’m least familiar with), and found that I’m enjoying it more this time last previous readings. Maybe I’m getting used to it.

In the meantime, my 4-year Dell Complete Care/Warranty has now paid for itself. My USB ports on Ginevra suddenly stopped working a few weeks ago. I thought at first that it was just my laptop mouse that had died, but then my camera wouldn’t connect either. I finally got on Dell’s support chat, and after going through several pointless driver updates and diagnostics, they agreed with me that they were simply fried and agreed to send a tech out to replace my motherboard. Which he did, on Saturday. And they worked again! For about an hour. I’d reconnected my mouse and left the room for a moment, only to come in and find my laptop turned off. When I got it booted up again, the USB ports were not working. AGAIN. My dad realized that there must be a short in my laptop mouse that was causing the USB power supply to overheat. In any case, they were fried again. This time I sent Dell an e-mail, and they called back, and I managed to make my needs understood through the language barrier (I’m sure the rep on the other end was very intelligent, but his accent was quite thick), and he agreed to replace the motherboard again. The Dell tech came again last night, and I refrained from using my mouse (I’m going to buy a new one), and aside from a slight scare that probably can be blamed on my camera’s battery being low, it seems all is right with Ginevra. Now I can back her up and reinstall XP, which I’ve been wanting to do for months.

But, yeah. Two new motherboards in 5 days. The warranty is definitely worth it.

Wanna see my pretty 100% alpaca yarn that I splurged on at the Great Basin Fiber Arts Fair on Saturday? No? Oh, well. I’m linking it anyway.

It’s a Nikon Coolpix P2, and it’s awesome! I’m selling my old digital camera to my sister (it’s still a perfectly adequate camera, just not quite what I need right now), and using the money I’ll get for my birthday to make up the difference. I suppose I should have waited until, you know, it was actually my birthday, but it was on sale this weekend, so I decided not to wait.

It’s small and cute and has a metal body and is really easy to use and has WIFI capability!!!

Here’s one of the first pics I’ve taken with it, transferred to my laptop wirelessly! So cool. Anyway, the quality isn’t superb because it’s a snapshot of my TV screen, but I needed to get a record of the haircut I want to get, since I have an appointment with my stylist on Wednesday.

Kathryn Knudsen, as she appeared on What Not to Wear after Carmindy and Nick got done with her.

Won’t I look adorable? I don’t want it to be quite that messy-looking; she’s an artist and it suits her, but I need a slightly more polished look. Still, it’s the general idea. I hope Ashlee can reproduce it.

In the meantime I’ve having trouble adjusting to typing on a full-sized keyboard again.

Yay for new computers.

My computer has shipped! We finally decided on building one and reusing some of my components. Luckily I’ve got a dad who understands these things. For those who actually understand this stuff, specs are as follows:

Case: Antec Solution SLK1650 Beige Steel ATX Mini Tower Computer Case 350W Power Supply

Motherboard: ASUS A8N-VM CSM Socket 939 NVIDIA GeForce 6150 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard (this one has an integrated video and sound card, which saves some money)

Processor: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice 1GHz FSB 512KB L2 Cache Socket 939 Processor

Memory: CORSAIR XMS 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit System Memory

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 SATA NCQ 3Gb/s ST3160812AS 160GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

DVD player/writer: PLEXTOR Beige 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 4X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2M Cache IDE DVD Burner

No, it’s not a super computer. It’s not even a darn sweet computer. Instead it’s a perfectly adequate, bottom-of-the-line-while-still-getting-decent-quality computer. I think it’ll suit me just fine, as it’s about a million times better than what I have at the moment (a 500 MHz Pentium III with 512 MB RAM and a 20 GB Hard Drive) and isn’t going to break the bank. Pretty soon Harry II will be up and running!

First day of class today. It went well. I think I’m going to love the class. Great teacher, great classmates, and great subject matter. I mean, any class where we get to read Byron and Austen (Persuasion, yay!) and watch The Madness of King George is a-ok by me.

As far as the computers, they’ve got a deal with Dell, which I’ve already been looking at. On closer inspection of my case, dad has decided it might not work (it’s an HP Pavilion 8525, and is short and wide) because the modern motherboards and stuff need more vertical space than horizontal. So that ups the price a bit for a home-built model. Then he decided that the motherboard he’d found on NewEgg didn’t get good enough reviews, and so he looked at another one which was both more expensive and didn’t have an integrated video card, which means I’d have to buy one of those too. And the price kept going up and up– and I decided to look at just buying either a pre-built or a custom tower from a reputable company. Since I categorically refuse to shop at Best Buy, especially for a computer that might in some future day need servicing, I’ve been looking at CompUSA and Circuit City. They have a few options, mostly eMachines and HPs. Now, since Harry is an HP (one of the reasons he’s named Harry. :P) and I haven’t had much trouble with him at all, I’d be willing to get another one. On the other hand, I’ve never had an eMachine and don’t know what kind of ratings they get. And they all looking to be about the same price as a Dell.

I’ve so far been quite satisfied with Ginevra– the services I’ve needed have been mostly my own fault (I broke the enter key on the keyboard, and I simply overused my adapter) rather than inherent defects in the machines, and the service itself has been fine. I got my new keyboard the day after I requested it, and my laptop adapter came this morning (yay!). It’s all been covered under warranty. If I’m going to go with a pre-built computer, I’d rather go with Dell, I think, because I trust them to provide a quality product and a reasonable level of service.

So at the moment I’m looking at the Dell E510. Rather than getting a monitor (since I already have a flat panel), I’ll upgrade the hard drive to 160GB (that’s 8 times larger than Harry’s current disk!), and with the BYU discount and the free shipping and all, it’ll cost me about $650. And that’ll include the OS and WordPerfect (not the whole office, but I can install my copy that came with Ginevra on both machines and stay within the license). I need to order today if I want to get the free upgrade to 512MB of memory, though. And I’ll need to get a new printer, I think, because mine is nearly 8 years old and uses an LPT port, and I don’t think the Dell has one. But they’ve got some good back-to-school deals at the Bookstore for those– a new HP Photosmart one is only $69, for instance. Still it looks like this is the best deal: it has everything I want, but nothing I don’t really need.

Now I get to figure out how to spend the rest of my day. I think I’ll do thesis research for a bit, and then do some knitting, and maybe attempt to rearrange all the books on my bookshelf into some semblance of order.

In the meantime, I’m using Harry. Harry runs on Windows 2000, which is pretty stable but which takes forever to boot. He also has a bit of bad memory installed, which causes programs like Firefox to close at inopportune moments (in the middle of chats with Dell Customer Care, for instance). His sound card is whacked.

But he’s got a flat-screen monitor, good keyboard and mouse, and the case is actually in good enough shape and convenience that we can probably reuse it in building a new computer. That way I can keep my floppy drive, which is nice, I can keep my CD-RW (although I’d like to get a CD-RW/DVD combo drive, if it’s not too expensive), and we won’t need a new chassis or power supply, which is also nice. I’ll need a new motherboard (probably one with sound card and video card built-in), hard drive, some more USB ports (Harry’s only got 2 and they’re both often full), and a new OS. But my sister just got a new copy of XP Pro for her laptop, which means her copy of XP Home is now unused. And that would help. I’ll need a new Norton Anti-Virus as well, as mine hasn’t had virus updates since 2004. Eek.

My head hurts thinking about backing up all the stuff that’s accumulated on this thing in the past 6 years, but having a squeaky clean new computer is also a very nice feeling. I’ll keep you updated (especially wolf550e and all the other assorted geeks on my flist) as to exactly what we end up with.

And, since it’s a new year and all, let’s see 2005 in review:

1. What did you do in 2005 that you’d never done before?

Hmm. Attended a sibling’s wedding, finished a year of grad school, threw up on an airplane, wrote a thesis prospectus.

2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

Not really, no. I mean to do better next year.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

I have several new first-and-second cousins, and a niece or nephew on the way.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Not this year, thank goodness. I had enough of that last year.

5. What countries did you visit?

Is Texas considered a separate country?

6. What would you like to have in 2006 that you lacked in 2005?

An MA in English. A boyfriend. 30 or so fewer pounds.

7. What date(s) from 2005 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

January 14– my brother’s wedding. July 16– HBP day!

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Completing this semester, completing the lit project at WGU, submitting my prospectus.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Not losing any weight. Not being accepted to teach.

10. Did you suffer any illness or injury?

Only minor stuff.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Hermione the iPod.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Jo Rowling’s. Those who came to the aid of hurricane victims. Melissa and Emerson.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

Some Harry/Hermione shippers. Those who spent more time complaining about how the hurricane disasters were handled than doing anything to help.

14. Where did most of your money go?

School stuff– tuition, books, gas money.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, of course.

16. What song will always remind you of 2005?

We Are the Champions by Queen, Everybody’s Changing by Keane

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? ‘Bout the same
ii. thinner or fatter? Fatter, alas.
iii. richer or poorer? Once again, about the same.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Exercising.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Procrastinating.

20. How did you spend Christmas?

With my family.

21. Did you fall in love in 2005?

Nope.

22. How many one-night stands?

Same as last year (and evermore): none

23. What was your favorite TV program?

Gilmore Girls

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

I dislike a few people more, but I don’t think I’d use the word hate.

25. What was the best book you read?

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Umm. Either Keane, the new Real Group CD, or Taylor, the Latte Boy.

27. What did you want to get?

I was hoping for a Jane Austen action figure, but did not get one. Woe.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?

Ooh, hard to decide. I’d say it’s a tie between Elizabethtown, Serenity, Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I had dinner with my family, then saw Pirates of Penzance

30. What one thing made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Good friends.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2005?

If it doesn’t make me look fat, I’ll take it.

32. What kept you sane?

Jane Austen, my family, good friends.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Still Orlando Bloom.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?

The Katrina fiasco.

35. Who did you miss?

So many people! My grandpa and great-grandma, my friend Kat, lots of online friends who I hardly see around any more.

36. Who was the best new person you met?

Oh, good grief. I couldn’t possibly decide.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2005:

Procrastination will bite you on the butt eventually– if not in your grades, at least in your level of stress.

In other news, I signed up for a PremiumListener account at Audible, and I qualified for two free books right away. So I downloaded Pride and Prejudice (unabridged, of course) and The Eyre Affair. Got about 30 minutes left on the former, and will start the latter next week. Excellent. They’ve also got a “My next listen” thing which works pretty much like a Netflix queue, so if I haven’t used up my two audiobook credits, it’ll automatically download the next thing on my list. Right now Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell is at the top (unabridged, it’s like 32 hours long. :P), followed by The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy read by Stephen Fry. I think I’ll put The Curse of Chalian and Paladin of Souls on there next. Persuasion and Sense and Sensibility are waiting as well.

Yeah, I love having an iPod.

Saw Corpse Bride tonight. Quite enjoyable.

I’ve been thinking about buying an iPod for a while. I’d intended to get myself one as a graduation present to myself, in April. When I took out my student loan, I included $200 to buy the student edition of the Adobe Creative Suite (you just can’t beat that price, and my version of the software is now 2 versions old). But the last two weeks of driving back and forth with bad radio, sitting in a quiet office while editing, etc., made me change my mind. I’ll get the software as my graduation present.

I bought my iPod today.

It’s a 20 GB color model. I bought it at the BYU Bookstore, because I could get academic pricing there– $30 less than retail. It’s shiny and lovely and I’m naming it Hermione. I figure, I have a Harry (my desktop), three incarnations of Ginny (Ginny I, Ginny II, and Ginevra, all laptops), and I named a pine tree Ron. ‘Bout time I had a Hermione. Can’t wait to listen to Pottercast on her. Maybe, it’ll be while I’m working out on the elliptical.

All joking aside, I’m actually quite pleased with myself at the moment. That’s because I finally finished my Pride and Prejudice custom Live Journal mood theme! Yes, I know I’ve been using it forever, but it was merely functional, not complete. Now there’s a unique picture for every mood. Go, click! It’s good stuff. About half the pics are from my own screencaps; the other half are from an amazing site I found called Longbourn, which has a seriously freaky amount of screencaps from most of the major Austen movies, including 2,187 from P&P. I never would have gotten it done if I had to do the screencaps all on my own.

If any of you fellow Austen fans like it, I’ve made a zip file with all the pictures in it. Feel free to take it, but please download the zip file and upload the images to a server of your own (like a Photobucket account). Do not simply link to the files on my webspace. I pay for that bandwidth.

Maybe this is the first in a string of finishing things I’ve started.

One can only hope.