Want to suggest a name for my business?

Due to the utter lack of inspiring job opportunities in this location at the moment, I'm considering paying $50 to legally be a small business and do on-site computer repair. A rent-a-geek kind of thing (except I'm sure Rent-A-Geek is already taken). In order to fill out the paperwork, I need to come up with a name for myself as a business. If you have a clever idea (or even a silly one) feel free to post it, or I'll probably end up being something bland like Computer Fix-It.

Quote of the Week

"Happy Birthday, Sis. I hope you like the new administration we got you. If not, you can trade it in 4 years."

--my brother (yes, I share my birthday with inauguration day)

Quote of the Week

"We need a thing, a device--we'll just visualize a Jell-o mold and go from there."

--Robert Gonzales

I liked this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us-TVg40ExM

Ouch.

Woke up this morning and couldn't really stand up, I was in so much pain. I think it's kind of a combination of having seriously knotted muscles from the car accident and the move, and having somehow slept on them wrong. Two naproxen and two hours in a hot bath later, I'm able to move and sit well enough that I sat down and did the revisions on my resume. Now I'm letting them gel. I'll fight with a new wireless router tomorrow and probably start the job hunt then, too.

Of course, my job hunting may be limited by the fact that the state of NY won't allow me to register my car without several kinds of fancy statement from my lienholder that I actually own it. And my lienholder just doesn't feel my urgency--they seem to think that the best they can do is fifteen days (more like 12 or 13 now). Good thing there's a grocery store within walking distance. The laundromat would be walkable if there weren't so much slush on the ground and I didn't hurt so much. I'm still working on what to do about this. I know there's a bus, but if I have to roll the laundry along in a suitcase anyway, I'd much rather roll it along sidewalks than haul the suitcase up bus steps.

I need to find a really good massage therapist, pronto.

Quote of the Week

"CYA* . . . what weak, small-minded people do when they should be doing the right thing instead.

--from "Do You Have a Dysfunctional Workplace?" by Steve Tobak and Peter Galuszka

* stands for Cover Your A#!, of course

We're here . . .

. . . and online. Cable went in yesterday, but RH's wireless router seems to have gone belly-up, so we had to get a new one today. And I still don't get reliable signal where I've parked my computer in the back bedroom unless the wireless router is on top of the bed, not behind it. (I think I can wall-mount it. I'll check tomorrow).

We can actually find some of our kitchen and about half of our living room floor, and the furniture seems to have found its permanent locations. More unpacking of boxes will probably occur this weekend, along with the obligatory trip to the DMV. I've found a laundromat I can live with, and if the slum-lord (or would that be slum-lady?) from the moldy place would just give us our deposit back, life'd be peachy.

Most folks in this situation would either fold and give us our money back or stop talking to us and let it go to court. This back-and-forth business is really peculiar: Her current offer is half our deposit. When RH told her this wasn't acceptable, and that the problems she'd experienced in the unit were not our problem, she apparently decided to consult her lawyer. And that's the most recent we've heard. I'm glad she's consulting her lawyer. I hope s/he's reliable and gives her good information. 'Cause based on all the code violations, she's probably got a real stinker on her hands if it goes to court.

I haven't even looked at my e-mail, yet, so if I owe you a response, I apologize. It was such a bear to get the wireless going that I think I'll probably hold off until tomorrow.

Binghamton, NY - well, sorta

We arrived in Binghamton on Wednesday, to a filthy apartment with a wrecked bathroom and black mold growing in a number of places. Black mold is the toxic stuff, for those of you who aren't up on your molds (I know I wasn't). We ended up in a motel. After a day of arguing with the landlady, we just weren't sure that she could (or intended to) fix the problem before we had to remove the moving truck. What's more, the crew she summoned up to begin cleaning and painting (who were also appalled at the mold) were also tenants of hers. After talking with them, it became very clear that this sort of behind-the-eightball behavior and last-minute crap is par for the course with her.

We told her we couldn't take the risk of not having an apartment before the truck rental ran out and needed our deposit back, since the place wasn't habitable. (We're still arguing about this. We'll take her to court if we need to. She seems to be in violation of rather a lot of health codes and tenant rights). We have found another apartment, much nicer, and with a landlord we like. We move in tomorrow.

So we've spent too much money on hotel rooms and we'll have to spend more on a mover to help RH with the furniture (my lift limit still isn't high enough after the car accident, though physical therapy is improving it vastly).

I was going to post pictures of the mold, but RH's laptop doesn't have quite the right hookup for my memory stick and my camera cable is packed someplace in the moving van. Our internet will now be delayed until Wednesday for the new address, so you won't hear from me for awhile. And I have almost no minutes on my little pre-pay phone. I want a particular cell phone, locally, and AT&T had to have one shipped in from another store, so I won't really have a phone for some days. In other words, I'm about to fall off the face of the earth, but don't worry--I'll be back. :)