Author: KRidwyn

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momentous events Random thoughts

Once an addict, always an addict…

Hello. My name is Ceridwyn and I am an addict. I’m addicted to gambling. Especially BlackJack.

Last night I went to Brisbane. Attended my first ‘live’ Uni class in over 15 years. Thanks, btw, Katherine – it was a great one! But being in Brisbane – and alone, with no distractions of husband, kids, etc – presented an opportunity that was sorely tempting. You see, I absolutely LOOOOOOOVE the Brisbane casino. (And when I say ‘love’, I mean overpowering desire. Which I guess is probably more of a ‘lust’ thing. But anyway…)

I was in Brisbane, alone, the class had finished early so I had an hour before anyone suspected I was somewhere other than where I said I would be, and the Casino was right there. And so I was tempted. Very tempted. Just one thought was all it took, and suddenly every fibre of my being wanted to go those extra few blocks, walk through that grand entrance and up to a table, place my hand on that soft felt and place my first bet.

It would have been my first bet in years. Count them – seventeen of them. Yes, I’m an addict, but I haven’t stepped inside a casino since I was 20. And yes, that desire is still so powerful. Maybe it will never leave.

I resisted. And this morning, I’m glad. For the past fortnight, ever since I realised I was headed to Brisbane, I haven’t stopped thinking about the feel of the chips in my hand, the sight of the cards being flipped over, the rush of winning. Nor have I stopped remembering the times – ever so long ago now, but it’s amazing how strong some memories can be – when I would enter that Casino on a very regular basis, and come out half an hour later with $100 after entering with $50. Sure, that’s not a huge amount. Maybe that’s what got me addicted in the first place. Double your money as much as twice a week, and it’s pretty incredible what you mind can tell you you can do. So I had kept an open mind regarding what I would do. And when it got to crunch time, I took myself in hand and walked straight to my car. Yay me! I’m still swamped with the thoughts, the memories, the ‘what ifs’, but perhaps they’ll recede again…

So thanks for the memories, Brisbane – and here’s hoping that memories is what they will remain.

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Random thoughts Technology

One down and five to go

Boy oh boy, Uni’s getting busy! Six deliverables in three weeks! And drafts spread across Hubby’s Toshiba dinosaur and my gorgeous Macbook Pro which still has an unreliable internet connection. Arrgghh!!!

I’m so glad my life’s not boring…

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Random thoughts Technology

Like leaving a cult…

I’m not particularly enamoured of Telstra at the moment. Which is quite a turnaround since March 7, when I was ecstatic with my purchase, a Telstra “Ultimate” USB Modem. The modem which I have since discovered is NOT compatible with my gorgeous new Macbook Pro.

And it’s not a case of ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’. I’ve been spending quite a bit of time with Telstra employees recently. Hours and hours and hours worth, actually. On the phone with easily a dozen different people (the one called Nicole hung up on me, which I was pretty disgusted about. I don’t think I’ve ever been hung up on before… ever!) plus face to face with Dave at Caloundra (lovely person but unable to help) and then again with Casey and another young man – Mac owner, even! – at Morayfield yesterday.

The long and the short of it – I’ve been referred to yet another phone number. This one’s a 1800 number for Customer Relations, apparently. And it’s the only way I can actually start the process to cancel my Telstra contract.

The way  I see it: I signed up to a 24 month contract under the proviso that the USB modem would be compatible with the Mac I would be buying. And it’s not. So, in my opinion, I shouldn’t be forced to continue upholding my end of the contract, when they broke it first. I think that’s reasonable. And it’s only taken about 18 hours to get to this point. But I guess I need to keep fighting for what I want – to get out from this contract.

Ridiculous, really. All I wanted was a device that would do what it said it would do. And instead of spending upward s of 18 hours sorting out a compatability issue, I would have really appreciated only spending two minutes installing it, and then connecting to the net so I could keep on working. But no. And now I’m going to spend yet more time – time I can’t afford cos those Uni assignments are looming very fast! – on the phone with Telstra trying to sort out a problem which shouldn’t have even existed in the first place. yay.

It feels like breaking a contract with Telstra is like leaving a cult. And I know. I’ve been there before.

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momentous events Random thoughts Technology

Pride to the winds…

Today is going to be HUGE. Really, really, really HUGE! You know, one of those days that you’ve already invested so much of your time and effort in, even though it hasn’t yet arrived, kind of huge.

Today is photo day.

My new(ish?! Started Feb 14 this year) job is marketing St Paul’s Lutheran Primary School, Caboolture. And I ABSOLUTELY love it – it’s the best job in the world! And today is photo day. Today’s the day we get a Library of shots done by the best photographer I know. So I’ve been planning this thing for what feels like non-stop, for what feels like ages. (But is actually instead more like for several hours per day for the last three weeks.)

So we have a cast of close to 60, from 4 year olds to those well into their 50’s (actually, more like 60’s but I’m not entirely sure). We have close to 20 locations. We have props. We have costume changes (which in reality will look more like uniform changes, but that image doesn’t fit with my metaphor here, okay?!). And of course we have cameras and all their associated paraphenalia. And we have a LOT of work to do in a very constrained time period. So…

It’s Monday, 28th of March, and I’m off and running on what is quite likely going to be a strong contender for the prize of ‘Busiest Day of My Year’. Running as fast as I can with no thought to my technique or my looks – running with my pride to the winds.

Wish me luck – it’s a distinct possibility that I’m going to be needing it!

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momentous events Random thoughts Technology

WOOHOO!!!!!

I’m blogging from my Mac! I’m SOOOO ecstatic right now!!!! Thank you, God! Thank you Vodafone and a HUGE thank you to Daemon Singer from Footprint IT (already valued due to his prestigious standing as a member of goodoldtalk.com – but now heading towards that ‘priceless’ status that American Express likes to call themselves) due to his succinct and ACCURATE diagnostics. (Yup, the 2011 Telstra Ultimate is not compatible with the 2011 Macbook Pro.) And his donation of a USB case to contain my old Vodafone SIM, which (strangely enough!!!) works out to actually BE compatible with the 2011 Macbook Pro that I’m currently typing on (this keyboard will take a little getting used to, BTW!)

So THANKS, Daemon, AppleCare, Vodafone etc etc. And thanks in advance to Telstra for letting me out of the contract that I’ve just signed with you – even though you don’t know that you’re about to do that yet! But I can’t see how your ‘Ultimate Mobile Broadband USB Modem’ (which says on the box that it will operate on the Mac OS X 10.5 or later!) is actually all that ‘ultimate’ when it actually does NOT work on my computer. So thanks for that, too!

Here endeth today’s post. Now I’m off to play!

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Technology

It’s a fine line between furious and depressed, don’t you think?

And I’m walking that line right now. It’s pretty insane the rollercoaster ride of emotions I’ve been on over the last day.

I am now the proud (I think!) owner of a 13inch Macbook Pro. I am also the owner of a two week old, top of the range, Telstra Ultimate Mobile Broadband USB modem.

And who would have thunk it – the two ain’t compatible. And it’s taken over TWELVE (insert the worst expletive you can think of) HOURS of sitting on the phone to close to ten ‘consultants’ between the two companies. Plus the hour I spent sitting in the Caloundra Telstra shop today, getting their version of Tech Support. BTW there is absolutely no comparison between f2f and phone support. I was my usual polite self, but Nicole from 133933 must obviously have felt that hanging up on me was an appropriate way to treat a customer. I happen to disagree.

So now I’m on the downward slope. Heading towards depression. The best Telstra can do is offer me Tech Support with someone ‘who knows Macs’. Thursday of next week. The best Mac can offer is an appointment at their Chermside Genius Bar; Wednesday of next week.

Yay.

I wonder if I’ll ever actually blog from my own computer ever again?

blah.

Sorry for venting. And thanks for reading. I appreciate thinking that someone out there may actually care about the crappiness that I find myself in.

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momentous events Random thoughts Technology

Hey ho; hey ho! It’s to the store I go…

Today’s the day! Hopefully this will be the last time that I need someone else’s computer to write my blog!

Catch you all soon when my wallet’s a lot lighter! (And yes, Uni assignments… here I come…)

 

Categories
Random thoughts Technology

Any views on Android out there?

I had a long conversation today with someone I respect. Owns a computer shop, but doesn’t sell Macs. And when I mentioned the iPad, I could almost see him recoil. When I pressed him for his opinion, he then offered ‘They’re too easy. They don’t make you think.” A better alternative, in his opinion? An Android.

So, dear readers, what do you think? Used one before? Got one? What’s YOUR opinion on them? I’d love to get your thoughts…

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Random thoughts

Of chocolates and iPads

I absolutely LOVE chocolate. The real stuff though – not a fan of chocolate icecream, chocolate milk drinks, chocolate powder etc, because it just doesn’t taste the same. Dark chocolate doesn’t do much for me either. (Yes, I know it’s supposedly ‘healthier’ – but still!) But dairy milk chocolate – and especially white chocolate (which I know isn’t ‘really’ chocolate at all) is absolutely scrumptious. I’m partial to Turkish Delight, Chomp bars, Caramello Koalas and those yummy red-covered Lindors but my all-time favourite would have to be Raffaello. It is without parallel, in my opinion. That being said though, I’m chocoholic enough to overlook my preferences when there’s chocolate in front of me.

So hubby walking in last night with a HUGE box of ‘Fundraising’ chocolates presented a minor dilemma. Perhaps I should mention that this is the first time in exactly 20 years that I’ve had a box of fundraising chocolates in my house (yep, finished Year 12 in 1991. Who could have believed that two decades have passed that quickly…?) and I’m just a little concerned that I’ll need to pay for the whole box. Soon. (That Caramel Koala was really quite yummy this morning! And it’s only 7.42am as I write. Having enough to actually SELL is not looking too promising…)

Admittedly, I’ve been up since 3.30. Playing with hubby’s iPad for the first time yesterday made me realise that there was a lot in this world that I was missing out on. So I’ve been researching everything “i”, from iPads and iPods to Macbooks (and Macbook Airs and Macbook Pros). And I found out some interesting things doing so. Did you know that as a student in QUT’s MIT(LIS), if I buy a Mac, I can get an iPod Touch free? That sounds cool. And did you know that TechCrunch is giving away an iPad2? So I’ve entered that competition as well. (I might not have WiFi where I live, but I guess I can plan more trips to Caloundra or Caboolture, hey!)

Anyway, here’s hoping. Wish me luck!

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momentous events Random thoughts

Bummed!!!

I blogged the other day about the i-envy that I suspect I have. Hubby had brought home a new phone (no, not an iPhone, but close enough, in comparison with my current one!) and I realised that I was just a little bit envious. I forgot to mention in that blog post that he had also told me he had been given an iPad a few months ago, and it was sitting in the techie’s office at work. Still in the box.

Yes, I screamed at him (mock scream, of course, BTW) and have been nagging at him for the past two days for him to bring it home so I could have a play. Check it out for myself, sort of thing. He had to find it, of course, but I guess my desire must have sunk in, because he brought it home with him tonight. Put it next to the HUGE box of chocolates that he had also brought home today, part of Miss Six’s school fundraising drive.

And you know when I realised that I really had it bad? When I opened the iPad box first. Instead of the chocolates. And I’m a chocoholic. Sad, really.

But the worst bit was? After ALL that excitement? I can’t really use the thing. No internet out here. No WiFi, no connecting to anything. Hence my purchase of the Telstra USB I’m using right now. Which makes it a bit tough to use an iPad!

So. All in all? I’m bummed. What’s the use of being super-excited about the iPad2’s smart cover (sorry, but I feel the need to include the link again, here. It’s just SO cool!) if I can’t even use the darn thing?!! Bummed.

Maybe hubby will agree to move?! LOL! Seriously though. Hmm…