Another Revolting Development

The world of computers can be SO complicated and confusing sometimes.  Why is it that some people just go thru their life never having to give their computer, or what they do on it, a second thought and yet it seems that I am always in a jam, of sorts?

A month ago, I was delighted to be changing over from DSL with my phone company to WildBlue Satellite Internet service.  It was a package deal with DirectTV and the end result is that we are saving $50 a month.  The part about replacing Dish Network with Direct has been awesome.  The thing with WildBlue??  Not so much. 

Now, trust me when I say, I research the living crap out of things before I make any changes or decisions or buy much of ANYthing.  So......yes, I read that WildBlue has limited bandwidth usage {due to fed regs regarding satellite usage..blah, blah} but I was getting the Pro Plan, which has the highest speeds and usage, so surely little ol me wasn't gonna come close to the limits and certainly not exceed them,  right??  Wrong!  Oh, I was so very wrong.  I hit my download limit in a week!  They gave me a one time courtesy reset back to 40%.  I watched my usage like a hawk and it mysteriously creeps back up daily.  As we speak, I am at 99% which means that before the day is over, I will be on "dial-up speed" until my usage drops. *Sigh*  A lot "should" drop off today, or tonight, or whenever.  It's on a 30 day roll over thingy.  At the end of your 1st 30 days, they take an average of your usage for the last 30 days and adjust your totals accordingly....every day.  So, 30 days ago today I downloaded {in my ignorant wisdom} 2,997,738 KB which is 2,927.47 MBs.  My limit for MB downloading is 17,000 MB {which I NOW know is freaking unbelievable!}so at some point, in the next 24 hours, my level will drop and free up some space. 

Most of that 3 GBs was from downloading a trial of PhotoShop Elements 9.  I was, at that time, totally ignorant of the 'rules'.  I download programs all the time.  No big deal, right?  Order a disc for 'just in case' and go on about my business.  Won't be doing that much anymore!  I love the new version of PS 9, tho' and can't wait until I have enough bandwidth so I can watch the tutorial videos....ahem.

The 1st thing I found that I can no longer use, is my beloved Carbonite for online backup.  I love Carbonite and it has been a God send on 3 or 4 occasions!  But, my last back up was 41 GBs.  SO....even tho my daily backups of whatever pictures and documents I might have would still be doable, there's no way I would ever be able to restore my backup!  Had to go buy an external hard drive for backing up everything and I don't trust those.  I had a defective one once and lost everything, which is when I switched to Carbonite.  And of course, I just paid my annual membership a couple months ago :(.

So I am now suffering from BSD {Bandwidth Stress Disorder}.  Not reading emails, not reading blogs (there are 233 unread blogs in my Google Reader....eeeep), not looking things up at random, not doing much of ANY thing!  I'm afraid that every little thing is going to put me over the edge! 

I guess I can't even watch the TV shows on my computer that I have recorded on our new DVR from Direct!  But I'm not SURE because I don't wanna waste the usage to research it!!  I know I could call, but I feel really stupid asking.  Not sure why.  I am thinking that since it is all tied together via my router, that it wouldn't actually be 'downloading'  and therefore not using any bandwidth, but if it counts as 'file sharing', then it will.  AGHHHHHHHHH. 

So, Chuck saves $50 a month and is pleased as hell with his TV and I am totally screwed with my computer!  And, no, I haven't told him about all this yet.  I'm pretty sure his head would explode if I tried to explain it and the explosion would be followed by a reprimand for not checking it out more carefully.  {Like I haven't beat myself up enough over it!}

Oh, yes.....one more thing.  Please DO beware of contracting BSD {Bandwidth Stress Disorder}.  It seems that it causes an unnatural craving for Skittles, which leads to a serious addiction.  It's BAD, people.  Very, very bad!!

Revolting Development #2

This isn't exactly what I had in mind for my RD entries, but it's pretty revolting, none the less.

I, once again, have another bout of Bronchitis and a sinus infection. It hit me hard on Sunday as we were taking down the X-Mas tree and decorations. Considering my allergies to all things green and outdoorsy, I assumed it was my allergies flaring up from rustling around in the X-Mas tree, but by Monday I knew better and Tuesday, it was off to the DR. So I have caught it quicker this time than I did in October, when I spent 2 weeks convinced that it was allergies before I gave in and went to see the DR. I've been pretty miserable the last 2 days, but I just know that today will be better.....damn it!!

And my poor sick PC is still sitting in the back seat of my Tahoe {buckled in, of course} waiting to go visit DR. Geek Squad. I have spent about a week screwing around with that, trying to get it running right when Tuesday AM I finally got on line with the Geek Squad (with whom I have a Protection Plan). The guy did the old 'remote access' thing, found a couple of things that 'concerned' him and told me to take it in. I had planned to do that before or after my DR appt, but that didn't happen. Maybe today.

So there, in a nut shell, are my 2 RDs.

On a lighter note, my kitty, Murphy, squeaks in her sleep

I'm not sure if that means she is dreaming of chasing mice in the garage or if she has a little kitty tummy ache. I guess I'll never know.

Revolting Developments

One of my Mom's favorite expressions that was suitable for numerous and a wide variety of occurrences, was "Now isn't that a revolting development!?" or some similar context of the phrase. Having grown up, hearing that all of my life, it often slips into my vocabulary as well. I was just thinking of something that happened New Years Eve that fell into that category and have decided to make it a regular theme in my blog. The occasional Revolting Development! Yeah.... I like it :)

The way things go for me, they will all most likely be more of a series of Unfortunate Events, but I'll stick with "RD" {revolting Developments} in honor of my Mom. Even tho' I'm pretty sure that she thought blogging could be a life threatening past time {and on occasion, I would have to agree with her}, I still think it would tickle her that I am using it.

The 1st RD that I shall write about will actually be my last RD of 2010, since it occurred on New Years Eve.

In all of our 40 plus years together, Chuck and I have only gone out on New Years Eve once. And that was about......40 years ago! This year my BFF, Victoria, conned us really wanted us to attend the New Years Eve party at the Elks Club {she is the Exalted Ruler, BTW}. So Chuck bought tickets and that included a catered diner and hors d'oeuvres, 2 champagne toasts, a band and breakfast. We hadn't planned on staying until midnight, but we did. The evening went fairly quickly.

The band was a really good one. They mostly play Blues, of which I am not a big fan but they were good. I found myself wanting to dance. Alot of the members dance and it was fun to watch, but I wanted to play, too! Chuck and I used to dance all the time, but it's been years. Chuck really is a good dancer and slow dancing with him isn't necessarily "slow". Anyway, most of you know that I still have my limitations since my surgery, as far as the use of my legs under certain circumstances, so I wasn't sure I could do it, but I wanted to try!

I need to interject that another "first" of the evening was the wearing of heels, which I haven't worn for well over 2 years (but used to all the time). So, here we are on the dance floor and I'm not doing so well. There was just enough of a twisting motion that it bothered my lower back and legs. I figured I'd kick my shoes off and see if that helped because, quite honestly, I never ever used to dance at all with my shoes on. {panty hosed feet slide much more easily on a dance floor, LOL}. So I ran over to our table, kicked my shoes off and went back to Chuck to resume my position.........and that's when it hit me! My final Revolting Development of 2010!! When he took me in his arms, I was looking directly into his shoulder. Not OVER his shoulder, like I used. Not with my cheek resting on his shoulder, like I used to.....but rather right into his shoulder! I almost had a melt down, but managed to get a grip.

You see, Chuck is 5'10" and I USED to be 5'8". Because of the deterioration and surgery on my back, I am now 5'4 1/2". I tend to forget that on the average day but has a very rude reminder that night!! Now THAT'S what I call a Revolting Development!!!

Once I got over the shock of my new dancing position, I tried to become accustomed to it and we actually danced several times. I was hurting a bit after the 1st time, but was determined to keep trying. I was pretty much using muscles in areas and ways that I have not used for awhile, so I kept dancing. And yeah, I could barely walk the next day and yesterday but I've GOT to do this stuff! As long as I can make myself do it and can keep doing it, then I will! It's just what I need to do!

I also need to get going back to the Wellness Center and exercising on the machines I was using there because I am not using the muscles or strengthening my legs if I don't.

So, there you have it. The 1st in a series of Revolting Developments :)