Back Up and Running

It goes without saying that a computer is important to a writer. Gone are the days of banging on the keys of a typewriter. Everything is done with technology today from drafts to revisions to submissions to promotion to sales.

So when my computer died last week, it wasn't good. I knew this day was coming. My computer is old. It's been in and out of The Geek Squad (LOVE those guys!) at Best Buy on a regular basis for some time. Last summer when I brought it in, the initial diagnosis was the mother board was gone. As it turned out, it was just the power supply, but the guy warned me that my computer would not be long for this world.

Even so, we trudged on with it. Around Christmas the CD/DVD drive broke. We managed without it, but it was quite inconvenient. In the ensuing months, endless windows would pop up. (You know, the ones that never close and keep multiplying until you force the computer to shut down?) And let me tell you that molasses in January are faster than the time it took our poor old computer to do tasks.

Finally, one day last week when I shut down the computer to get rid of those annoying multiplying windows...alas...it never turned on again. The time had come to lay it to rest.

We ordered a new one immediately and it was delivered last Wednesday. In the meantime, I did what I could to keep current with e-mail and blogs at school, and I finished my first round of edits for This Feels Like Home on my laptop. Luckily I was working off of a flash drive. So we got by. But when you're used to 24/7 access to a computer and you don't have it...it's definitely a disruption to routine. Just little things like, "Oh, I'll check that on line..." Ooops, never mind, can't do that. It was definitely a game-changer.

On Wednesday then, I was going to reinstall my anti-virus and realized my new computer has Windows 8 (Which I'm still getting familiar with. The first night I couldn't figure out how to turn the thing off.) and my software was compatible with 7 and Vista. So I headed over to The Geek Squad and the very nice boy not only installed the new version, but made sure all of the proper updates were up and running too. Of course I spent two hours there, but it saved me a lot of swearing and wanted to throw things.

Now it's all about making new lists of favorites, reloading software, and transferring documents and pictures from my external hard drive. (Now that was a smart investment!) Let's just say it's a work in progress and will get there eventually. It's a good time to weed out all of those old documents that I'll never need to look at again. I also need to figure out how to adjust my time zone. I seem to be on Pacific Time. And the hubby is looking forward to smashing the old hard drive with a sledge hammer.

So at least for the next ten minutes, before it changes and something new and faster and better is invented, my technology is all up to date and running!

Until next time,

Happy Reading!

Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com