Yahoo! Groups

Since starting this process, I have been joining more and more chat groups to give myself some exposure, since I am a new author. And also to see what others are doing. Right now I am the proud member of 32 groups related to my writing and I feel alone in the crowd.

I was about to press the Join button again to participate in an organized chat, and I just couldn't do it. I am tired of going around to all these groups. How do people do this on a daily basis? Do authors really need to join all these groups?

I also find that for the most part I don't enjoy these chats. I do like doing the blogging and reading some of my favorite blogs (Amarinda Jones, Lyn Taylor, Barbara Huffert). But trying to do the Yahoo! chats are draining. I find I forget that I'm even doing it because I'm writing or doing something else.

Yes, I know I'm antisocial. But who really cares. I have come to realize not everyone gets me, or even understands when I say things. It is much harder to express yourself in these chats, because people do not have enough time to get your quirkiness. Also, my genre is not interesting to a lot of people and I refuse to force it down anyone's throat. I also know some people might take exception to this blog entry, but as I tell my friends all the time. People will hate for the act of breathing. You really don't have to do anything to inspire hate in a person's heart. Sad but true.

Am I bashing Yahoo! Groups? Of course not. I think it can be a wonderful tool. I first became aware of it during the hurricane season some years ago. Our family from all over the world were freaked out because Florida was hit and they didn't know what was happening. Trying to call everyone was becoming too difficult so we created a group for our family. We were able to get information to everyone at the same time and that was how it was born.

So will I press the Join button? I don't really know. Only time will tell. But be aware, this button for this particular group has presented itself to me a number of times over the past couple of months and I have resisted the urge. Hopefully, I can hold out for the rest of the day. Cross your fingers, and wish me luck.

Home Troubles . . .

When I got home from work today, I thought I had an intruder. There was a jingle and a jangle going on. My damn AC was making a major racket, it was going absolutely crazy. The long and short of the situation is that the damn thing was basically dying.

I had to call the AC doctor, who promptly came to the rescue, five hours later. By this time, I'm tired and want to sleep . . . it is late at night.

Anyway, he then proceeded to prod, poke, and put-put around (all legitimate and technical terms) with the AC unit. He oohed and aahed and oh-noed. And an hour and a half later, the AC is working again, and I am poorer for it.

That job I hate sure is looking prettier tonight. So how was your night?

MORE WOES . . .

So after recovering from my whining and anxiety debacle on Wednesday, I shutdown my computer and went to bed, ready to face a new day.

Thursday morning arrives and everything is going well. I pack up my laptop and get my things, heading to the daily grind. At work, I boot up my office PC and set up my laptop, booting that up as well. No new mail, well that's strange, then I realize I'm not online.

Oh well, the office WiFi must be down. So I proceed through my day, doing my work without a care in the world. At around three in the afternoon, I check again, still not connected. Hmm, something must be terribly wrong and office IT are not aware of the problem.

So helpful person that I am, I promptly contacted them to make them aware that the WiFi isn't working. Lo and behold, the WiFi is working.

This is where the meltdown begins, proceed at your own risk.

My internal wireless card isn't working. For a computer that is less than a year old.

So I try everything I know, but nothing is working. So I decided to get in touch with customer service, actually I contacted my brother, Kevin (I probably shouldn't refer to him as such :-). Try this, try that, he tells me. But it still doesn't work. Okay, call me when you get home and we will troubleshoot the problem until we fix it, he says.

Fine, I'm somewhat comfortable with the thought that this problem will be resolved by the end of the day. At home, I get Kevin on the phone again. But nothing we try works. So finally he tells me to plug the laptop directly into the adapter using the cable.

SUCCESS!

I can go online. I did all the updates, and searched for a fix for my wireless problem. Mind you, I'm standing in the kitchen where the adapter is situated to perform these tasks. After doing everything I'm supposed to do, the wireless starts working again. This is around 1:00am Friday morning.

Thank you Kevin everything works again.

So the process starts again. Go to bed. Go to work. Boot everything up. Whew! Everything still works. Until about midday Friday. The wireless can't find any networks . . . again. I feel myself beginning to well up. Frustration is setting in.

WHAT!!!

This time I text Kevin, I can't even bring myself to say the words. The damn thing stopped working again. His reply: then it must be really bad. By this time, I'm actually going into withdrawal. The shakes are starting. No Internet for about five hours.

Okay, so what are my options. Well, you can contact HP and they will want you to ship the laptop to them so they can fix the wireless card. Ha Ha Ha. That's going to work! I can't even go one day without Internet. How am going to be without my laptop for an indeterminate amount of time?

NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN!!!

Your other option, he tells me, is to get a wireless USB adapter. It will be small, easy to carry, and get you online easily. Yes that, I want that option. Do that then. So Kevin buys me a USB adapter, and performs all the necessary steps to install it on my computer.

So now its Saturday evening, and I'm back online again. I still have most of my hair, and I'm n0t too too drunk . . .

YET . . .

CRISIS AVERTED! SANITY RESTORED!

Woe is Me . . .

So I've been going through my woe is me stage lately. A highly annoying time in my life that occurs when I'm feeling particularly stressed. Boo Hoo. Nothing is going my way. Life is so hard. I hate my job. Etc. Etc. Etc.

Today, the whining got so loud and so horrendous, I just wanted to slap myself upside the head.

Instead, I visited a friend of mine and unloaded . . . everything. Or at least what I thought was everything. When I was done and I finally went back to my office, it occurred to me. The closer it gets to the release date for my book, the more anxious I get.

I have been so nervous and unable to focus lately that I haven't been able to write anything or enjoy any of my normal hobbies. It, also, doesn't help that I'm going through some serious family issues at the moment. The stress is weighing heavily on me, making me feel sad.

I never really know how I will respond to pressure at any given moment. Sometimes, I thrive whenever I am pressed, but other times I feel the strain. However, today it dawned on me, if I I figure out what my pressure is I am able to get passed it and and start thriving again.

So even though I'm not sure I'm ready to write again, I'm more clearheaded and less stressed now than I have been the passed few days. Whew!

I hope to be myself again in no time. And I promise no more whining for a very long time.