The Scrolls

Archive for the ‘Rants’ Category

The Bane of My Existance

Business hours. Seriously. Screw you “9 to 5.”

I mean, I don’t want to run on those hours anyway but, even if I did, my insomnia would stop me but for the rest of the world, those who do work business hours, when are they supposed to get their shit done when they’re working? It just.. doesn’t make sense. But for me, the only time I’m awake during those hours, I’m dead tired because my body and mind won’t let me have a normal schedule. It’s not safe to drive nor am I thinking clearly. Bleh.

I am definitely missing living in a larger city where things were open a little later.

This post is brought to you by the letter “I” for “I need to go to the post office and bank.”

Things I Like and Others I Don’t

I am enjoying the new WordPress dashboard. It’s sleeker, prettier. It seems to load faster and the updated admin bar is much more useful.

I am not enjoying the heat. It’s not even that hot here but my room is the warmest in the house. I wake up sweating and, if I want to do anything more than sit on the couch (and even just to do that, really) I have to turn on the air conditioning. We have a single “window” unit built into the wall. Unfortunately, the roommate doesn’t ever get hot so she’s always turning it off, not understanding the concept is not just to cool you off when you’re in a room but to reduce the overall temperature over time.

I enjoyed a very busy Thursday through Saturday with friends and family and now I’m enjoying having time to myself. As I’ve caught up with most of the television shows that I watch and there aren’t any new movies for me to procure, I have more time for putzing online, entering giveaways, reading and playing games on my devices. It’s much more relaxed.

I seriously dislike stupid article rewrite requests. Lately, I feel as though people who have never used the Internet or a computer before are editing my tech beta articles. If we have to assume that the reader has a basic grasp of the subject, I would think we can assume the same of the editors but, nope. I am constantly explaining things that they should know before they even accept an article to review. It seems like they expect it to be easy but they’re wasting my time and theirs.

I am super excited over my recent giveaways at Reviews by Cole. My giveaway for the Medium Next Door was moderately successful, compared to previous giveaways but my Bath and Body Works giveaway hasn’t even been up a day and I have almost three dozen entries. It’s fantastic. I recently won a giveaway myself so that’s also exciting.

I’m frustrated at Goliath for constantly scratching at carpet next to my bedroom door. I don’t know why he does it but I do know that sprays don’t help. I have covered the area with paper and duct tape — duct tape — but he still tries to get at it. It’s stupidly frustrating and I hate being angry with him. Perhaps it’s time to try Soft Paws again..

And to end this on a positive note, I’ve had very good luck shopping for new clothes and finding clothes that fit. I feel pretty confident in that area and with my weight loss, even though I haven’t been pursuing it that actively. It’s reassuring either way.

I’m Not Crying

I’m just sniffling because I think I’m developing allergies and that is something to cry about.

It’s Okay

Things are okay now. They were quite trying for this past week or so. First, there’s that monthly visit that I never know when to expect thanks to my IUD. Then, my computer began acting up at an alarming rate and my attempts to fix it (updating the BIOS, first, then reinstalling Windows) either were no help at all, proved more difficult than intended or actually made things worse. Computer problems really make me worry because a) I spent so much on it and b) I need my computer in order to make money so that I can pay rent and feed the cats and, you know, live. Although my computer is currently performing at a less than ideal state, it’s workable so there’s that. I’ll be enlisting the help of one of my geeky friends to completely reformat and re-do the partitions on Thursday so, hopefully, that’ll cover everything.

Then there’s taxes.. which I really put off because I was afraid of how much I was going to have to pay. Such is the life of a freelance writer. Self employment kind of sucks in that way. So I stressed over making the appointment, which they then had to change, so I stressed for a few more days. Luckily, it’s all over with (except for the envelope that I have to mail to the state) and the total was less than anticipated. But, wow! The fees I paid to H&R block were just ridiculous. Sure, they’ll file your federal return for free but I paid over $235 because of my self employment. Eesh. =/ It definitely helped me to pay less for taxes so it’s worth it but it’s an outstanding amount nonetheless.

Besides those really big things that have had me on edge, I’ve had some unexpected issues arise. Last night I went to grab my earbuds to listen to my music and–lo and behold!–I grabbed pieces of them. Literally. One of the cats chewed them them completely in multiple spots. Now, if you’ve been following my review blog, you’ll see I’ve purchased quite a few sets already this year due to cats as well as shorting out. Today, I had the opportunity to purchase my seventh pair in three months.

To add to my frustration, the chain to my favorite necklace is missing. It as last on the bathroom counter and I suspect that some furry one knocked it down the drain. This isn’t an end of the world situation but I find myself frequently having to replace necklace chains. It’s hard for me to find one that I like because the ones I like are just the basic chains that come with pendants. They’re not really meant to be sold. The chain from this necklace, specifically, was an antique and a bit heavier than you tend to find these days as well.

And so, I’ve spent the last few days being grumpy physically uncomfortable, anxiety-ridden and probably not much fun to be around. I really wanted to blog about it but I guess I didn’t want to ruin my “winning” streak. You see, it’s become important to me that others see me as happy, that I see myself as happy and sometimes I feel like setbacks such as this past week mean I have completely and utterly failed and to speak of them would make that failure real and I would have to accept that I just can’t do this (“this” meaning being happy and well adjusted) and I should just resign myself to a life of misery. Spelled out like that, I know it’s pretty silly. I also know that resisting the fact that I’m feeling unhappy also makes me feel worse. Sometimes I just need someone to tell me that I can feel like that, sometimes, and it doesn’t equate to unequivocal failure. But sometimes I need people to be able to read my mind to tell me that because, obviously, if talking about the negative is what’s bothering me, I can’t do that.

The good news is that, while some days every happy thing seems to come with a bad thing, the worst has blown over. I listened to some music. I feel better. I am confident everything will work out and less stressed about everything. Some of my issues are already resolved and I’m not in such a dire position that I cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel. I just hope I reach it sooner rather than later.

On Valentine’s Day

It’s my first Valentine’s Day as a single girl. I guess last year sort of counts but this year it counts completely. I remember, when I was a teenager, how it hurt to be single on this one day a year. It may have been difficult on other days but, on this day, it was the worst and it was almost unbearable to watch when it seems like everyone but me was in a happy and healthy relationship. All the candy and flower selling at school only added insult to injury as I failed to receive things from my friends. Not only was I single but I wasn’t winning the popularity contest, either.

This year is different, however. I may not have someone to be my valentine (or do I?) but I have hope and I have happiness, regardless of my relationship status. Therefore, when people complain about how stupid Valentine’s Day is, I cannot help but roll my eyes. It is commercialized? Absolutely. Is it ridiculous to think that everyone wants or needs or wants to buy a piece of jewelry or a box of chocolates? Of course. Is the very nature of this commercialism what makes this holiday classist? You bet. And these are all legitimate reasons to dislike this or any holiday..

It’s not like some good doesn’t come from Valentine’s Day. Like any special day, it helps those who are not extraordinarily romantic to express their emotions. It makes time for those who are otherwise busy and who doesn’t enjoy having something to look forward to?

..but the whole “I hate it and I’m going to pretend it’s not because I’m single” thing? Is getting old. I’d rather you cry and whine about being single than have to put up with that bullshit. Can we just call a spade a spade? Yea, an overly publicized day that focuses on romance and relationships sucks when you don’t have the above-mentioned but do you really have to rain on someone else’s parade because of that? Or worse yet, do you have to make the day even more difficult for other singles with your bitching and moaning?

And this is exactly why I am wishing you all a happy Valentine’s Day.. because I wouldn’t want anyone to be thinking “God, I wish she’s just shut the fuck up and quit bitching about February 14th” like I will surely do today.

Ill

I finally fell ill this last weekend. It was later than expected. I thought I might even be out of the water. I was wrong. Since then, I have developed some thoughts on this situation.

Things that suck about being sick:

• Smell medicine that tastes awful
• Blowing a hole straight through the tissues
• Coughing so hard you vomit
• Aching in parts you never knew you had
• Unsatisfying sneezes
• Tickles in yuor throat that you cannot get rid of, no matter what
• Snot bubbles
• Watery eyes

But do not fret, here’s a list of things that rock about being sick:

• The point when you realize that you haven’t blown your nose 100 times today
• Extra kitty lovings
• Not having to leave the house
• Or get dressed
• Puffs
• Satisfying sneezes (the ones that remind you what it’s like to be alive)
• Being able to make fun of the person who got you sick
• Getting better

Can’t Live With ‘Em

nor can you live without them. Depending on your sexual orientation, you may think I am talking about men and/or women. I could be but I’m actually talking about computers!

I caught a trojan the other day and I have been battling ever since. It was stupid that I got it in the first place because Avast did warn me but I didn’t respond in a very.. cautious way and got infected. Since then, I’ve run over a dozen programs (at least!). Things have gotten better but not perfect. At first, I had horrible, fake Windows alerts and a pseudo-antivirus program that wanted me to download crap. I managed to get rid of the pop ups and fake program but I kept getting Google results hijacked and my comp was lagging like hell.

Now, the lag seems to be minimal (it is eight years old, after all!) but my results are still, sometimes hijacked. It’s annoying but not completely debilitating. I’m still running daily scans. The frustrating thing is, many programs have caught something but it’s obvious this thing has opened a back door and keeps letting more in anyway.

Like last time, Dez has been a great help coming up with suggestions but I’m pretty close to just buying some protection software.