This started out as a short post... :^)
Oct. 10th, 2002 08:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alexpgpA very quiet day.
I began the day in a very good mood. Right now, I'm a little disappointed with myself because I cannot bring myself to go into the next room to do another round of the paper chase. I feel like I'm wading in a sea of molasses as far as that task is concerned, despite the fact that intellectually, I realize that it is vital.
However, in the end, I will persevere. I know it, though I wonder if I can apply for another extension?
To make up for my lack of enthusiasm, I proceeded further with the translation for client T than I had intended. I'm not at all sure it will make much difference in the end, but the activity at least assuaged me. I also need to take care of a bunch of routine things, such as (horror!) invoicing El Humungo, finding out about the insurance check I am expecting soon, and other fine things.
* * * I did manage to do something about my half-busted cell phone, though. A few days ago, I went by the (pseudo) Radio Shack that's in the same center as the store, to find out about upgrading my phone, which runs on the Verizon network. For the nonce, Pagosa cell providers run analog networks, which eat battery power and provide some pretty ratty comm at times. The word on the street has been, for some time, that digital service is coming Real Soon Now.
When that happens, my analog StarTAC will only work so long as the analog service is available, and then I'll have to get a digital phone. The prices I saw for the new digital phones are pretty high, and since I'm an existing customer, there are none of the great "deals" available (though the upgrade price is not as high as if I were to buy a new phone outright). The Radio Shack had some new StarTAC phones available that will work in either analog or digital settings, and I figured that as long as I have two batteries and several chargers that I use with my current StarTAC, I may as well save some money and get a phone that can use all that stuff.
The Radio Shack in town is not a "real" one, just an affiliate. That means they carry a bunch of Radio Shack products, but don't offer the occasional good deals that you'll see in the advertising circulars (I saw one a few months ago, for a CCTV system with 3 or 4 cameras, on sale for less than $100, but wasn't able - and was not motivated - to drive to Durango to get it).
Unlike many RS stores, where the more apt advertising slogan might be "You have questions, we have blank stares," this one is staffed with some people who actually know their product line. The store is also a major video rental locale (indeed, it killed the video rentals from our store back before we bought it).
* * * While I was there to pick up the phone today, I saw a display of miniature radio-controlled cars I'd read about on Slashdot. They're called "ZipZaps," and seeing as how they were reasonably priced, I picked one up. These toys are actually pretty neat. There's a modicum of assembly required (it gives the customer something to do and saves on production costs), but the kicker is that the internal battery takes about 40 seconds to reach a full charge off the control unit, after which you can - as advertised - "drive" the car (which is about an inch tall, an inch wide, and about 2 1/2 inches long) using the controller. The effective range of the transmitter is less than 10 feet, but it's still a neat toy.
* * * Drew and Shannon dropped Huntur off for about two hours after work while they went to hang out with friends. We did put a tape of Disney's Fantasia on the tube for entertainment, but Huntur was not terribly interested in it, as I expected. Instead, we let the music from the film play as I produced some paper and some pencils to let Huntur "draw." Eventually, when she tired of that game, I did something I have probably not done in decades: I folded a paper airplane.
How Huntur loved that plane! I'd toss it and it would fly - kind of - for a few feet, at which point Huntur would run to the plane, pick it up, and then run back to me and hold it out for me to take and toss again. She really had a lot of fun, and I made sure she had it when she went home a little while ago.
* * * I tried to take a nap this afternoon, but could not fall asleep. (Actually just as I was about to fall asleep - after nearly an hour of trying - the phone rang, after which I was fully alert.) During the time I was trying to doze off, I half-watched something on cable based on La femme Nikita, and the only thing I can remember about it is that I felt I knew the plot of all the episodes from having watched the first 10 minutes of this one.
I'm going to try to fall asleep again Real Soon Now.
Cheers...
I began the day in a very good mood. Right now, I'm a little disappointed with myself because I cannot bring myself to go into the next room to do another round of the paper chase. I feel like I'm wading in a sea of molasses as far as that task is concerned, despite the fact that intellectually, I realize that it is vital.
However, in the end, I will persevere. I know it, though I wonder if I can apply for another extension?
To make up for my lack of enthusiasm, I proceeded further with the translation for client T than I had intended. I'm not at all sure it will make much difference in the end, but the activity at least assuaged me. I also need to take care of a bunch of routine things, such as (horror!) invoicing El Humungo, finding out about the insurance check I am expecting soon, and other fine things.
When that happens, my analog StarTAC will only work so long as the analog service is available, and then I'll have to get a digital phone. The prices I saw for the new digital phones are pretty high, and since I'm an existing customer, there are none of the great "deals" available (though the upgrade price is not as high as if I were to buy a new phone outright). The Radio Shack had some new StarTAC phones available that will work in either analog or digital settings, and I figured that as long as I have two batteries and several chargers that I use with my current StarTAC, I may as well save some money and get a phone that can use all that stuff.
The Radio Shack in town is not a "real" one, just an affiliate. That means they carry a bunch of Radio Shack products, but don't offer the occasional good deals that you'll see in the advertising circulars (I saw one a few months ago, for a CCTV system with 3 or 4 cameras, on sale for less than $100, but wasn't able - and was not motivated - to drive to Durango to get it).
Unlike many RS stores, where the more apt advertising slogan might be "You have questions, we have blank stares," this one is staffed with some people who actually know their product line. The store is also a major video rental locale (indeed, it killed the video rentals from our store back before we bought it).
How Huntur loved that plane! I'd toss it and it would fly - kind of - for a few feet, at which point Huntur would run to the plane, pick it up, and then run back to me and hold it out for me to take and toss again. She really had a lot of fun, and I made sure she had it when she went home a little while ago.
I'm going to try to fall asleep again Real Soon Now.
Cheers...
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2002-10-10 08:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2002-10-11 09:16 pm (UTC)Cheers...
no subject
Date: 2002-10-11 06:34 pm (UTC)About the cell phones... I do highly recommend looking on Amazon. I wound up getting a Motorola v60, which sells for about $250. But because I picked up the phone and the service off Amazon, I'm eligible for rebates for that entire amount. I'm very happy with my phone, and wiht my T-Mobile service. Check it out and see what service plans are available in your area.
no subject
Date: 2002-10-11 09:22 pm (UTC)Thanks for the info on the cell phones. One of the problems I faced with my decision (do I stay, or switch to the other carrier in town?) was the fact that I've been using my cell phone as my business phone. If I change carriers, my cell number changes, and I'm not at all sure I want to do that... and if I do, I want it to happen just once and be done with it forever.
On the other hand, since I am already a customer, my present supplier only goes so far in offering an upgrade deal for a new phone. As it turns out, Motorola doesn't make the StarTAC anymore (at least not in my configuration), so by picking up the model I did, I get to use the batteries and charger that I acquired to use with the old phone, plus a new battery and a new charger.
Cheers...