Back to the Salt Mines

Work began again yesterday.  I was actually not ready to return. I was getting into the pattern of being a holidayer.  But, I guess that too has to end.  It was a good day, although not as productive as I had hoped. A colleague and myself are doing a presentation at a downtown hotel this week one day, so after all the meetings and professional development program we settled in to see if our presentations would work. Why? Because we have two miserable computers between us, and my wonderful MAC as the gem.  The last time we tried to do a presentation with the MAC, it connected, but we could not get it to display on the projection monitor. Now, after my holiday, I had actually visited a little genius of MACs in JB who showed me how to configure the settings on the computer. Ta Da, we have the technology.  Our other machines are useless. Mine occasionally turns on and works, while his usually requires a few thumps on the back of the machine, the air blue with cursing, and the occasional opening of the inner parts and waving of the air around this if he wants to use his.  As much as he enjoys teasing me about the MAC, he sticks closely to me because he also knows it is our only hope.   Now all we have to worry about is the power source at the hotel.

I discovered a little trick at the house regarding internet.  Not always cooperating, but it does give hope. I still await the home wireless system. The neighbours all crowd around behind me still and cheer me on with my communications with various parts of the Malaysian hierarchy regarding government and service providers.  But the other day, I took my computer up to my bedroom and stood by the window, holding it facing east and I connected. I had not found a connection for two days otherwise.  Now all I have to do (when the gods of internet want me to have this service) is  stand on one foot, blink rapidly three times, hold a gecko in my left hand, and wave at the sunrise from my bedroom window to get  internet to connect.  I see why the internet provider thinks I am asking for a service that I really do not need. Can't you?  Other than that, life seems to be sorting out well. I am the owner of two printers.  I had to replace the original gem I bought when I landed here. A fine 3 in 1 job figured out how to cease operation just after I purchased a new set of ink cartridges (which I of course opened - so can't return). That was very timely. Only one day after the one year warranty expired.  The other one is a replacement because the ink cartridges put me in the poor house with all the printing I do for my mentees. So, I discovered some sort of external ink well configuration that saves tons of money and shopping trips.  However, it does not come without a price.  It seems to want my companionship, so, each time I print, I have to crawl down to the floor beside the computer desk and gently hold each piece of paper that is going through the printer and release it gently with encouragement as it disappears. Otherwise, the whole thing shuts down and says 'no, I won't print'.  I have to keep both, because the second printer is just a printer. The first one is a printer, copier, scanner. I no longer have a copier option, but the scanner is a tool that is regularly used. So, now when I scan I must plug in the old dinosaur, configure the scanner and once completed, I have no option to save my document. I did discover it just saves it to my desktop, (usually the desktop) but I can also find the finished document elsewhere on the computer. Yay technology in Malaysia.  Good thing the house is big.  With this sort of planned obsolescence, one needs lots of space to house all the tools of work here.  I think it is the incredible humidity that does everything in here. 


Yes, speaking of humidity, I have begun using the air conditioner in my bedroom - not sure it really works. I set it to cool, fan, and dry at various times and the result is usually less humidity in the bedroom if I close the door. Also set the temperature to about 28 or 30, but not really sure that works either.  I have nothing to gauge that except when I open the bedroom door in the morning and feel a blast of wet muggy air hit me from the rooms beyond.  So something is working.  I think it is the 'dry' cycle.  Hey, maybe I have invented a clothes dryer here! I never leave that machine on all night - it drives me crazy with the noise, and I always am freezing due to the extreme difference of every day life and then this mechanical fake air.  I also have to slather my lips with a heavy layer of lip gloss due to the drying quality of this machine.  Yes, I am now convinced that I have discovered the dry cycle.  


Well, the gecko is squirming. I think he wants to go find breakfast, so I better let him go and get on with his day.  Adios for now. The internet will likely disappear once he is out of reach. Besides, I am getting tired of standing on one foot and the dawn is taking forever to break.