THAT WAS THE WEEK

THAT WAS THE WEEK…
Aside

I must learn to trust my instinct which was to have my computer final health check after Christmas before the five year insurance expired on January 6th.  However he-who-shall-be-blameless prevailed upon me to do it before Christmas.  If only one could just ring the store to make an appointment instead of ringing some number which could be in outer space for all I know, and where you are given 54 options before you get through to the right person who then gives you more options.

Fate smiled upon me and I spoke to someone who I could actually hear and understand, apart from some unintelligible number he asked me for.  After giving him every number I could see in my file it turned out he just wanted my house number – which we don’t have but he had a very peculiar way of saying ‘house.’

I felt a mild frisson when he said the appointment was for Tuesday at 2 pm.  The store is about 35 miles away and normally we allow a whole day to finish the job.  They assured me it would only be one and a half hours and there was nothing really wrong with my five year old computer so I tried to relax.  We turned up early which they were pleased about because the chap who was booked to do it was off sick.  I told the young chap what I would like, asked him to look at the printer which was useless and won’t let me change cartridges, and asked him to throw in a new mouse and keyboard for good measure.

There is a multiplex cinema nearby so we set off for a rare treat.  Love is…going to see ‘Casino Royal’ instead of ‘The Holiday’!  It’s probably the best James Bond film I have seen but I am not a fan.  I don’t know much about Ian Fleming but I suspect he didn’t like women.  He did have a drinking problem and was told if he didn’t cut down he would be dead soon and he should ration himself to one drink a day.  He researched and found the most alcoholic drink was green chartreuse and from thence that was his tipple.

It wasn’t the usual parade of blonde bimbos – the two leading actresses were brunettes who both came to a sticky end and then there was a blonde baddie who had her arm cut off.  Fortunately we didn’t see that – or were my eyes closed?  I have to say Dan is the man, with his perky pecs, craggy face and the bluest eyes.  I thought the end was nigh three times but at the fourth time it was finally over.  The cinema had good clean loos but however are we going to deal with the obesity problem when sweets and cokes are served in buckets?

Back at PC World nothing had happened.  I asked to see the manager, who apologised and told me he knew where I was coming from so I told him where I actually was coming from.  After more conversation he promised faithfully he would phone me later in the evening (which he didn’t) and in any case would phone as soon as it was ready.

The next day we were up early, ready to get it over and done with and at 3.30 pm somewhat enraged (is there a man alive who phones when he says he will?) I rang outer space again.  Eventually after all the options were recited yet again, they rang the store and told me my machine had been finished ten minutes ago.  By now it would have meant two long drives in the dark so that was another day gone and I started to realise how bereft I felt without the computer.

It is now safely back home and up and running but they have managed to lose  all my web addresses on my browser and for a time I couldn’t access my blog and kept being asked my user name and password which never works when I’m stressed.  I bet you have experienced all this and I know it’s like the trauma of giving birth – once it’s over you forget all the pain.

I didn’t get a new mouse and keyboard – wear and tear doesn’t count apparently.  My printer was useless so I now have a brand new HP which does lots of things but all I really needed was to print my Christmas letters which I have done.  There was a hairy moment when everything died as I was installing the printer – but the usual pulling out of plugs and replacing with a prayer, seemed to work.  I just have one wire with Perspex square on the end, spare, and I am not sure where to put it but will leave that just now.  I think I have earned my snifter tonight.  Bottoms up!