iBook dead....again

My long-time readers may remember that about a year ago this time, my iBook's hard drive failed. From that I learned the lesson, always always back up your data.

Oh wait, no I didn't. Because my iBook just died two nights ago, and still won't restart, and I didn't ever back up anything.

The difference this time is that I no longer have an Apple Store anywhere nearby where I can make a free appointment at the Genius Bar. The other difference this time is that I have no money.

Luckily, my non-attachment runs deep enough at this point that I am not worrying too much about all my emails, photos, documents, receipts, and other data that I may never see again. But hopefully, like last time, a cheap data recovery service will save some of that stuff for me.

Whatever will be, will be.

Learning to draw

I have my beloved iBook back and the wonderful people at the Seattle Mac Store even recovered most of my data, which makes me not even mind their dreadful customer service. They weren't the ones having to suffer through using the ancient computers at the neighborhood library so I guess they didn't see the urgency. What's important is that I have it back and I can now rejoin the human race.

Of other significance is that I have finally gotten used to the idea that it's OK to not be working. I spent the first couple of weeks of my unemployment looking for part-time jobs, thinking I should really bring in some money. The fact that the Seattle Mac Store had my computer for so long is probably largly responsible for this shift in thinking since I was unable to look or apply for jobs without a decent computer and my resumes. Thanks again, Seattle Mac Store, for helping me to realize that I deserve a little vacation time after eight long years of soul-sucking software work.

So what to do instead? I decided to go to the art supply store, which happens to be right next to the Seattle Mac Store, to look for inspiration. And I found some! There on the shelf was a copy of Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, by Betty Edwards. Three people in the same week recommended this book to me, all saying that if I really want to learn how to draw, I should take a class and not read any of the drawing books out there, unless it's this one. So I picked up a copy along with all the required materials I will need to complete the lessons.

So far, I have only done the preliminary pre-course self-portrait. I had no intention of ever letting anyone see it but actually it's not too bad for a girl with absolutely no artistic training and no experience drawing anything better than cartoon-like pictures. Expect more (and hopefully better) drawings to follow.

My dad called the other day to ask what I was up to now that I am a "woman of leisure". I said I was learning how to draw and he responded, in a slightly disapproving tone, "What, you're gonna be an artist now?" No, Dad, it just sounded like fun.

Raw food dish of the week - Broccoli with Cheese and Spicey Jicama Fries

This tasted ok. Not terrific.



Cheese sauce: pine nuts, macadamia nuts, sunflower seeds, red bell pepper, lemon juice, Celtic sea salt.
Poured over cut broccoli and dehydrated at 105 degrees for 5-6 hours.

Spicey Jicama Fries: Jicama marinated in olive oil, agave nectar, Celtic sea salt, cayenne, and chili powder.

I hate computers and other positive thoughts for the new year

One of the best parts of my job was having a really great laptop with tons of power, disk space, and a team of people ready to fix anything that went wrong with it Monday through Friday.

My beloved iBook has been a modest but trusted friend for over three years now. Over the last few months it has gotten slow and crabby. Programs hang and webpages take so long to load that it is sometimes completely unusable. But what did I care? I had my work laptop to fall back on. No longer.

After arguing with my iBook for a good two hours this morning, I finally decided to reboot. Now it won't even start up. It really showed me a thing or two with that one.

So here I am, at home with nothing but free time to do whatever I want. And no computer. No computer??? There was a time when that was just normal life. Now I can't imagine a single thing I would want to do that doesn't involve using a computer for something. Maybe this is a blessing in disguise. Hating computers while at the same time being totally addicted to them isn't the healthiest of combinations.

This post was going to be about my list of New Year's resolutions, so I will prove to myself that I can continue to live life even without my beloved iBook by posting them, as planned. Here they are:

1. Make one new raw food recipe every week
2. Fast for at least 24 hours once per month
3. Travel to two new places this year
4. If SideCar sells it, buy it there
5. Stop eating when I'm full

Not sure how I'll buy plane tickets to travel to new places, find out how to fast without killing myself, or check the bus schedule to get to SideCar without the all-knowing, all-seeing internet, but I'll have to muddle through.

Wishing you a happy and healthy 2007!