Quick updates

PS3 is still out of commission. We have not received word on its status.

Computer is running minimally with a new hard drive. Still do not know what original problem was that caused computer failure. It has Internet and looks like Herr has installed my Adobe CS2 package. Monitors are still a bit wonky, but they are both functional now.

No data has been recovered from the destroyed hard drive. We have both tried to access it, my IT folk at work have tried, and a friend who used to do repairs took a quick look to no avail. Estimated cost for professional is between $2-3k. I’m still in denial.

Herr’s job isn’t going over very well. He had a rough start with two classes, so he was pulled to wait for some less advanced classes to become available. In the meantime, he is brushing up on linguistics and grammar.

Received enormous utility bill in the mail. We put 300 euro a month (yes, it is about 475 dollars) for gas, electricity, and water. For the last 4 months, they are claiming we used about 2300 euro worth (with 1700 euro unpaid) of aforementioned services. On Wednesday, they took 2600 dollars out of my account without my consent, and they increased my monthly bill to 336 euro. Only option at the moment: have the company that is overcharging us send a guy over to check the meters. If he says there’s nothing wrong with them we owe them another 150 euro. Does anyone else smell something funny with this situation?

My job is moving forward. The Web site redesign is taking shape, and I am pushing very hard to get things done. I am gathering people from all libraries in the system (about 30) to actively participate, and I now have two people on my Web Team. I am aiming for an October launch.

Herr has a small fever about 100.6 this morning. He started feeling very ill last night and was in the bathroom most of the time. I am also not feeling well, but it is not extreme. Better sick now than on the plane next week.

Dogs are progressing slowly. Ruby is still shy around people and not at all friendly with other dogs (aside from Tommy). She was sick a few days ago, which meant a lot of disgusting indoor clean up. Tommy has started “escaping” the yard and likes to use the couch while we are not around. This is, of course, unacceptable, and he is aware of that. Biggest problem is he scratches the cushions, and with leather, that is not a happy thing. We’ll be putting up a second fence using something like chicken wire to keep the dogs inside (our neighbor’s boys destroyed the fence playing soccer, so both dogs can get through).

Next week we leave for the States on an eight day trip. It is Herr’s belief that driving from Minnesota to Michigan (approximately 13 hours one way) isn’t going to be a problem. I think he’s insane. We’ll see how far we make it now that I’m broke (see the utility bill update…). Even my vacation isn’t going to be a vacation!

I need a break from my life… a weekend trip to Pisa for gelatto sounds good. 😛