Unshelved by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum
comic strip overdue media

Friday, January 22, 2010

The good, the bad, and the just plain weird

The bad:

1) I spent 3 hours last night trying to upgrade my computer's memory and graphics card to no avail. I did what I was supposed to do, was careful, etc., but the BIOS didn't recognise the memory and the although the computer recognised the graphics card and the drivers were installed, the monitor remained blank. I have two old VGA monitors. Neither worked. (Hey, it was worth a try.)

2) I was late to work at the hospital today. My phone alarm somehow got switched so it repeated just on Thursday. Unfortunately it is Friday, so it didn't go off. Although the other alarms went off, and I actually got up and worked on the computer some more, I'd gone back to sleep for about 45 minutes and relied on my phone to wake up by. Needless to say, that didn't work.

3) Because I was running late, I didn't manage to pick up my glipizide, one of my diabetes meds, and really can't until Monday.

4) We didn't manage to get the truck order put away tonight at the gas station. We'll probably catch hell for it tomorrow, but it came an hour late and was pretty big. I stayed an extra hour to help.

The good:

1) At least I managed to get the computer back to its normal state. Plus, Best Buy gives a full refund regardless of whether you open the package and try to place it in a computer. I'll take the card back Monday. The memory was cannibalised from another computer that someone I know had, so it is not an issue in terms of money. I traded out my monitors so I have my smaller one hooked up, but it's brighter, and I can see videos better, have better contrast, and generally see truer colours.

2) I got to the gas station early because a security guard at the hospital gave me a ride on his way to the bank.

3) I called the pharmacy and they'll hold the glipizide for Monday rather than restocking it, plus they'll fill my Lamictal as well.

4) We got free pizza (eaten quickly) because our carryout order took an hour to get ready. [The wife of one of my co-workers waited over there all that time.] This is why I don't care for Pizza Hut. The two times I have ordered from them there's been a huge delay. Last time they couldn't find us and we're across the street from them. I really do prefer Papa John's.

The weird:

Yesterday I met a woman waiting for the bus. At first I thought she'd done a few too many drugs during the 60s. Then I decided it was a combination of that and her being just plain batty. When I gave her my seat, she offered me her hat so I wouldn't get cold. She said smoking was a way to stay warm. I explained I was fine and that I'd just been sitting down to get a rock out of my shoe. She said I should have kept it because it was good luck and I could have named it and talked to it. She was really disoriented about the bus because she had not been on one in years. Nothing really odd about that, but she got hot and took off her jacket and a sweatshirt, and in order to do so she removed her hat, a white knitted beret. Inside it was lined with tin foil. Yes, really, as in thwart-the-CIA-or-aliens-who-are-spying-on-me aluminum. I kind of felt sorry for her. She said someone stole all her money from her account after she sold her car and she was going to the Salvation Army to find a place to stay and something to eat. But I couldn't help wondering if I were being played, because she had the money for cigarettes. She thought maybe you could still write a postdated cheque to the YMCA for a place to stay. I'm pretty sure that's not the case anymore. I explained bus transfers to her and she got one, but she got off before we got to the transit centre to get something from Subway (again, she said she had just $2) and basically wasted the transfer. Anyway, it was rather odd. I do hope she found what she was looking for, whatever that really was.

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