Year: 2004

I wasn’t without a computer due to the lost cables – my computer of choice is actually the Dell Latitude, which I moved in my car and had all the pieces handy for it. The other computer is the one that Jason uses for games, and I use for the web when I don’t feel like powering up the laptop to get online.

Tonight, in a flash of brilliance, I glanced at the large box in the gameroom marked “Games”. It was one of the last boxes to be packed. It occurred to me that that one didn’t get checked last night – so I cut open the tape, unpacked a few games, and there were the ziploc bags that Mike had so carefully packed with all of the computer cables. Yeah!

On a separate but equally frustrating note, I have finally – after hours of stress – gotten my Tivo and stereo system hooked back up. I had it hooked up earlier, but I couldn’t get a live TV picture. I could see things I had previously recorded just fine (Ohhhh… new Queer Eyes AND Average Joe: Adam Returns!), but I couldn’t see The Apprentice! Gah! I finally gave up, plugged the cable from the wall jack straight in to the TV, and watched the show. Afterwards, I tried about 83 more configuration changes (well, no, not really – but it feels like that!) and I *finally* found the problem – I had the Tivo configured to use S Video, and I was using one of the red/white/yellow audio-video cable thingies. Ah ha! After I made the configuration change, everything is working smoothly!

It still feels strange. Good, but strange. Our house. Our new fridge (it’s soooo pretty!), our new washing machine. Our new dryer is coming on Saturday (they were all out of gas ones so it is being delivered later for free). Ours. It doesn’t belong to an apartment complex. It belongs to us. That still amazes me.

The cable man just left – and of course, before I even plugged in the Tivo, I had to check and see if the cable modem was working ok! Whoo hoo! I’m back online! I survived the 36 hours offline without getting the shakes or anything. Amazing!

The move went well, the apartment still needs to be cleaned up and a few things are left to move out. I’ve unpacked a bunch of kitchen boxes this morning while waiting for the cable guy. So far the only thing I have lost is the cables for the computer – and along with those the cord to plug in the router. Oops! They will show up soon though, I am sure of that. For now I am just tethered to the wall in the study. I’m online – so I don’t care!

The closing went really well. Quite smooth, after some of the horror stories I had heard about them. Afterwards we went and bought the essentials – a washer, dryer and fridge. They will be delivered on Thursday. The cable will be turned on on Thursday too. We should have power tomorrow at the house, and I believe the phone was turned on today – I have to check that tomorrow.

Now the packing is nearly done, and it’s time to take the computer system offline. I probably won’t be online again until Thursday when the cable modem is set back up. That works out ok – with the movers coming tomorrow morning, there isn’t time to be online anyways.

Wow. Just think – the next time I get online, I’ll be at the new house. Amazing! See you there!

House closing today at 1:00. I’m in quite a freaked out state of mind right now. Just in case you wondered.

Good news – originally they had until Wednesday to be out of the house, as a courtesy so they could overlap closings. However, we got the call yesterday that they are already out. We got to wander around last night, take measurements, and dream about what colors the rooms will be painted when we are done and where all the furniture will be placed.

Bad news – we didn’t find this out until Sunday afternoon. The light company needs 3 business days to turn on power. Our appointment was set for Thursday, but the earliest they could move it to was Wednesday. Cable won’t be on until Tuesday afternoon. Rescheduling with the phone company now.

Within hours, I’ll have a new address and a new phone number. How terrifying exciting is that?

Yesterday, when we arrived in Austin, we heard that Robert Duvall was at the Omni. Pretty cool, maybe I could see a star in person, right?

Well, today I saw someone that I personally found much more exciting. I believe my geek quotient went up a few points today too. Because not only did I get to meet Eric Meyer, I also got to take a Picture Yourself style photo with him (which I quickly dedicated to Kristine with a K for all of her amazing CSS powers and being my inspiration), he autographed my CSS handbook full of knowledge for me, and to top it all off – I brought up last year’s “CSS makes my eyes bleed” comment and we discussed it further. He kindly pointed out that not only does my CSS book have a glossy cover, the pages have a smooth sheen. According to him, that makes it easy “to clean the blood off – but be careful, otherwise you will smudge the text if you rub too hard.”

I was giddy for the rest of the afternoon. Forget about Robert Duvall – I had an actual conversation with Eric Meyer! And I have a phototgraph!

I am completely inspired, and as soon as I have time to sit and study, I will devour my CSS book. I will understand CSS once and for all, no matter what it takes! Who knows, maybe after I finish Eric Meyer on CSS, I might just pick up a copy of O’Reilly’s Definitive Guide and the latest CSS 2.0 guide!