Dell To The Rescue

So it's taken me another three days to recover from the weekend. I'm facing major computer issues, work deadlines (that aren't directly mine but neither here nor there) and the fall-out from an exhausting (but exhilerating) weekend. So cut me some fargin' slack.

The past three days, work-wise, have been all about running around to each of the five boroughs -- Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island -- to file papers with each borough's respective division of the County Clerk. What that means, in plain english, is that we have to file papers on behalf of each property our clients own in the actual boroughs where each property is located. So let's say Client X has a building in the Bronx, another in Queens and two in Manhattan, that means we need to file the respective sets thereof in the Bronx, Queens and in Manhattan. And once everything is filed, served and stamped, copies need to go to the County Clerk in the Supreme Court at 60 Centre.

No biggie -- it's doable. It's crazy, hectic, pressure-packed and tense, but it's doable. So we work extra hours, work harder than normal, and expect to focus on few things other than the deadline -- but we get it done. No different from years past, except now we're streamlined and only making two or three trips to each borough. Last year at this time, my father was in the hospital and we had to do this on our own, so the notion that I'd complain about this or anything else is sort of absurd. It's amazing what almost losing someone I care about so much can do for my outlook, not only the future but vis-a-vis the past as well.

On top of that, I've been dealing with the fallout from the party -- most of it good. There were, all told, about 60 people there from our group, and everyone seemed to have a good time -- although the truth is, if I hit a party and it was god-awful, I'd omit that part of my review from my report back to the host. "Yeah, thanks for inviting me to your shitty party, Boogie, it really sucked and I'll have nightmares for a week." There's only one person that spent more than ten seconds telling me why it wasn't good, and to be honest, I didn't know he was invited, wouldn't have minded if he wasn't invited, and don't plan on seeing him until he approaches me during the next party we throw to complain more about that future party, whenever it is. He's actually not a bad guy, and that's his personality -- and frankly, if people complaining was going to affect me in any way, I would have stopped doing these kinds o' shindigs a long time ago.

So as they in the vernacular: Joke 'em if they can't take a fuck.

I alluded to my PC shitting the bed a week ago; so if you missed it -- my PC shit the bed a week ago. I replaced it with a brand-spanking-new Dell Dimension. I'd give out the specs, but I've not yet crossed over to the land of the Complete Geek. Suffice to say that it's got a 19" flat panel and it's quick. I actually investigated repairing the Dell that went south, but it would have cost me about $700 to do everything I would have had to do to make sure it was truly back in working order. The motherboard (or the power supply) was bad, so it kept eating hard drives like Mama Cass ate ham sammiches. And we all know she died choking on a ham sammich; well, my PC died choking on a Western Digital hard drive. Pooooop.

Anyway, the new machine arrived and it's in good working order. I also considered buying a refurb from Dell. I'm not exactly sure of the link, but if you jet on over to dell.com and look for their outlet, you'll find inventory that is not quite "new." It's not as chintzy as it sounds; most of their "refurb" machines result when a company orders 200 desktops and finds out (after opening all the boxes) that they actually only needed 175. So 25 go back. Most of their refurbs are never even powered on by the customer, and there's nothing necessarily wrong with them. So I wanted to consider getting one.

Except once I did some pricing, I would have saved about $300 by buying an older model with the same basic configuration, and for $300, it just didn't make much sense. Plus I would have had to go and buy Office, a new monitor (or keep the 10-year-old 19" monstrosity I had been using) and a bunch of other stuff. So I finally took the plunge and got the thing ordered.

The boxes are at my place, waiting for my inspection and enjoyment, so I am pleased. Except that knowledge is tempered with the knowledge that now, too, my iPod shit the bed as well. So I've got a fully-functioning PC in boxes and a dead iPod in my hand. The iPod is a leftover of my relationship with my ex, so I am looking forward to tossing it, but the problem is that the new iPod -- the Video iPod -- is not in stores until next week. That means I somehow have to handle taking subways, excavating and exploring the city and going to the gym sans tunes. I've got a small mp3 player that works, so I'll probably use it in the meantime, but not having the iPod handy is a real pain in the ass. The nice thing is that once they arrive in stores, a friend of mine is going to hook me up and give me some sort of discount thereon. But like Tom Petty says, the waiting is the hardest part.

Oh, and last, but certainly not least, I am loving having my other half in NYC. We're both working very hard, but every time I walk through the door and see her for the first time, the smile returns to my face. She's been here a week and it feels like she got in last night...and each morning we wake up together is a good morning. I didn't doubt it, but I still get jazzed thinking about how much I enjoy spending time with her, or even just having her there around me. It's really something, finding someone you want in your life forever. And when it's the right person, and there are no little voices telling you to rethink your decision, and there are no friends or family members tapping you on the shoulder questioning your choice, it's nice. But most importantly, it's nice when the two of us have time together without phones, tv, music, or anything else but eachother.

More news on all fronts...soon.