Category Archives: events

Death of a Computer…

Posted by on 22 June 2008 2 comments

A few days ago, my massive computer crashed. I think back to when I originally purchased the pieces, knowing that overheating would be a serious problem. My brother refused to put together a system using water cooling (very effective and not as risky as it used to be), so I have multiple fans and a monster heat sink working overtime. All for naught. My computer fried its hard drive.

Let’s recap what is on said hard drive. All my and Herr’s photography (allllll of it). All my Web design work. All my writing. All the programs I need to do everything already mentioned. Much more that would be hard to replace. Okay, now we get an idea of the severity of the situation…

So I began all recovery options. All have failed. I am now to the point of narrowing the scope of the problem. Is it the entire hard drive? Are files recoverable? Can I fix it if I can access it like a storage device? Where the heck is all the heat coming from? (I am guessing the answer to that last question is a combination: dog dander and fur, flashing lights on the case, location, and Internet Explorer 7.)

Productivity and motivation have plummeted through the floor. We still have a laptop, but it barely gets me through the basics. While I was looking for a way to regulate my time spent on my computer, this wasn’t one of the options I envisioned. I hope both my PS3 and computer come back working optimally, but we’ll see what the jury decides.

A Day in the Life…

Posted by on 15 June 2008 2 comments

Saturday was the big furniture shipment day. The movers arrived around 9:30 a.m. The movers behaved oddly, in my opinion, but we eventually got them out. The day will be shown in pictures! So follow along… ;-)

The Living Room
The Living Room
The couch comes whole, but the chairs require some assembly. The dogs are good about the new furniture.

Assembled
Assembled
The couch and chairs still are covered in case doggies are interested in them, but so far so good.

Testing the Chairs
Chairs
Herr tests the swivel chairs while petting Ruby.

Ruby
Ruby Watching
Ruby watches us try out the new chairs.

Tommy eats Plastic
Tommy Hamming it Up
Okay, not eats it, but he chews on it. Anything he can fit in his mouth… *sigh* No, he doesn’t swallow it, or else we wouldn’t let him play with it.

Bookshelves in Boxes
The boxes arrive
Now up to the library. The living room arrangement will have to wait. The library has been acting as a warehouse until now.

Tommy Watches the Construction
Tommy Watching
I constructed a little barricade to keep the dogs out while Herr puts together the most complex bookshelf.

Putting it together
Second shelf up
Shelves are starting to come together. Looking good, Herr!

Ruby Lounges with Me in the Hall
Ruby Waiting
We all watched Herr from the hall. My turn was coming up.

The Library
The Library
Herr built the fourth bookshelf in the hall while I shelved the books. Some sections still need work, but at least they are off the floor!

The Library
The Library
The chairs are in, the carpet is down, now we just need the paintings on the wall! Oh, we are still missing the last bookshelf piece, but looks like we can manage for now. ;-)

Oh, Sunday morning the dogs were actually playing together!! This is the first we have seen them do this, so we’re very happy. Up until now, Tommy has been less tolerant of Ruby by growling or stealing attention. They both try to steal attention now, but at least they recognize each other! Yay! :D Still having issues with dogs making messes at night, so we’re going to give them longer yard time for the last call of the night. Hopefully I don’t have to clean up poo or pee tomorrow morning. *sigh*

Yay for new furniture though! I’ll take more pictures when we have the living room put together. We have to rearrange and move the temporary furniture out of the way. We have ideas how to arrange it, but we have to try it out now. Time to take the dogs for a walk.

They’re here! :D

Posted by on 5 June 2008 4 comments

And what a story… Tuesday night we were up after 11:30 p.m., then quarter to midnight receive a call. Someone speaking rapid high-pitched German to Herr as he tried to make out what she was saying. The dogs were in Frankfurt. A day earlier than we thought.

Neither of us slept well that night because the lady’s phone went dead and we had no way to find out what was going on. We called the lady who inspected our house at 1 in the morning, who told us not to worry and contact the lady from the airport in the morning. Thankfully, the airport contact was able to bring both with her back to her dorf (small town/village).

After a rough day at work, Herr picked me up an hour early to navigate him to the dorf an hour and a half away. Got a little lost, but the dogs were outside when we pulled up. Tommy is a ham and pushy for attention (not too bad). Ruby is reserved but wants attention too. The next thing we noticed was Tommy is still intact… this will need to be “fixed” soon. :P I know, bad joke…

On the way back, Tommy was very good with the kennel and laid down. Ruby insisted on standing though, causing massive sliding with every turn. After only a few blocks, I went back and let them out. Tommy jumped on the seat and plopped right next to me. Ruby was less sure but still wanted me to pet her. Thank goodness a co-worker let us borrow her van!!

The dogs were extremely dirty. We were going to wait until today to wash them, but it was very bad. I am very happy we have a spa room now! Tommy was first, and didn’t mind at all. Shaved, washed, and brushed. Ruby, on the other hand, does not like loud noises and ended up with a few shaved “spots” that will grow back I hope. :P Herr took scissors to her instead, which she tolerated. Both have many ticks and, I believe, fleas. We are getting flea collars today and will attempt tick extraction when I get home. I tried last night, but the dogs are a bit energetic.

Aside from those issues (I am very itchy, so I am certain they have fleas… I am going to need several hot baths the next few days), they appear to be housebroken and have some understanding of commands. They both go to their kennels, and after ten minutes of howling, we all went to sleep. :P

Amusing pictures to come! Tommy is a bit funny (I think he was cross bred with a brown poodle or something), but Ruby is fairly purebred English cocker spaniel. Once she’s less shy, I’ll get some good pictures.

Big News!

Posted by on 29 May 2008 4 comments

Herr accepted a job yesterday! He will be working freelance teaching English at Berlitz. He needs to attend two weeks of training in June before he can start teaching, so he doesn’t really start for a while yet. Herr has frequently spoke about a desire to teach, so now is his chance!

We should be getting our furniture in the next week or two as well. I have spent several thousand dollars on furniture I have yet to see… scary, I know. So, we will have a couch, two new chairs, and a floor lamp for the living room, and bookshelves for our library. I can’t wait to have the library put together (all the books are in piles on the floor…).

And for the last big piece of news: we have adopted two English cocker spaniels, Tommy (male) and Rubia (female). We are not certain if the names will stay. We are rescuing them from Spain, where virtually no laws exist to protect pets from abuse or neglect. They are both approximately one year old and get along. From what we know, they should be flown to Frankfurt next Wednesday… we need to confirm the flight still. Tomorrow will be a doggy shopping trip. :P

Meet Rubia and Tommy!

Rubia
Tommy