My horrible November

[Camping Coxes]

Hello everyone.  In my ongoing effort to make you feel better about your life, I'm going to share with you my tale of woe, things that could only happen to me.  You know that old saying, "If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all."
 
The month started off well, with my husband having a birthday, and then the following day it went south.  I have a laptop for work and I also use it for some things at church.  I took it to church on Tuesday like I always do, and put it in the back section of my van inside its case, which is inside a tote bag, like I always do.  And when I got home, I opened up the back lift door of my Aerostar to retrieve it, like I always do.  However, this time the tote bag had fallen over with its opening up against the door, so that when I lifted the door, the laptop slid out of the bag, hitting right on a corner of the case on the concrete driveway.   I took it inside and plugged it in immediately, and it would only turn on and get to the first boot-up screen.  Fortunately I was pretty caught up with my work that was on there; unfortunately I had not backed it up yet onto disk as I just got back to work mid-September after taking the summer off and hadn't gotten enough things on there to worry about backing up yet.
 
I called Toshiba and they recommended a repair facility.  DH took it there for me that afternoon on his way to the orthodontist with DS.  They said they'd have it done probably by the end of the week.  (Rule #1 - never believe a repair facility's estimated fix time).  I started calling them the end of the week for a status, and they said I broke the mother board and they could get me a Toshiba brand for an arm and a leg, or for just a leg I could get a generic brand.  I gave up a leg and got the generic.  More days go by.  The board isn't coming in.  I'm still waiting and calling them daily for updates.
 
The Friday after the Tuesday computer disaster, my van starts running weird.  It's jerking and sputtering and stalling.  It's kind of bad on the way to work, really bad on the way home, and downright scary by the time I have to pick up DD from school and drive to DS's last water polo game.  By the time we take it in to the shop that evening, I'm frustrated, I'm scared, I'm hysterical and basically having a nervous breakdown, much to my husband's chagrin because he has to put up with me!  Saturday our mechanic calls (who I threatened, by the way, when we dropped it off that he better not say one more time "We can rebuild it!") and says it's time to stop all life support and declare the van dead.  So off DH and I go, and the good part of this story is in three hours we picked out a car and I have a new car now.  That's my one saving grace to this whole story.  And it has a real trunk so the laptop can't slide out of it!
 
This past Friday (10 days after the dropping incident) I'm checking the status of the laptop.  The generic motherboard is not working.  They've ordered a Toshiba (but they're letting me keep my arm and only charging me the leg still) motherboard and expect it in anytime, and if they finish with the laptop by 7:00 PM they'll call me so I can pick it up.  No call Friday evening.   Okay.  I'll get it Monday for sure.
 
I go to work Monday, have a great depo with a wonderful client I like working with.  I have lunch with a good friend.  I get on the freeway and decide to check on my laptop.  I call, and the tech assigned to my laptop answers his phone on the first ring, and it's actually him.  That's not the norm.  I tell him I'm calling about my laptop, and he informs me they had a break-in Sunday evening, and 30-40 laptops were stolen, mine included.  Noooooooo!  I kept asking him if he was joking, repeating that he can't be serious.  I almost pulled over and lost my cookies on the freeway.  I panicked and kept repeating myself and really wasn't hearing what he was saying to me.  The plan is, they're going to replace my laptop with a refurbished one of the same brand, the same or better capabilities than I have.  I'm luckier, however, than the 39 other people in that they had removed my hard drive, suspecting there was damage there as well, and the thieves left it, so they may be able to recover my data, and if not they'll send it out to a data recovery company.  My ever-optimistic DH keeps reminding me that maybe I'll get a better laptop, a newer laptop, and I'll probably get to keep my arm and my leg they were going to charge me since the repaired laptop is gone.  Now I have to forage through my tax files and find my receipt so they can be sure to give me at least what I originally had.
 
So now I'm waiting for the next crisis.  If it weren't for my family (and sometimes I'm ready to trade the kids in, believe me, for new improved models!) and my faith, I'd be having a nervous breakdown about now.  And the work that was on the laptop had gotten to the clients before I dropped it except for one, and I still have the original data on that and it has been reproduced on my desktop, so that will be to the client soon.  At least there was nothing that couldn't be reproduced that was lost.    
 
So, how is your November going?   :eyecrazy:

[ForestCreature]

Holy Cow woman !! You have earned yourself a few    :!
 
 Compared to your Nov, mine is great!
 

[debbiedee1957]

Wow!!!

[tlhdoc]

I hope you have a much better December. :yikes:

[Starryart]

Funny you should ask..... DH and I decided to go camping two weeks ago. Unfortunately, the CG we go to had all of the electric sites booked with YmCA and Boyscout troops (again! Remember this happened in Oct too!!!) so we said to ourselves, "Selves, we will just grab a water only-non elctric site! The weather is going to be cool but beautiful so we will run the lights off battery and all will be well."
Oops! I forgot the battery was beyond dead, so I send DH to buy a new one at Interstate Batteries and he installed it.
Off we go to the CG, we set up the trailer and turn on the lights...... NOTHING! No juice is coming thru. DH checked the battery with a meter and it is just fine so ??
Oh well, after checking everything possible, we decide we will use portable battery lights and also .... darn - No furnance heat for the 40 degree cold at night...HHHMMM
Now I'm glad I brought the sleeping bags to lay on the beds. Next day, we notice a slight gas smell down around the furnace which is off and the gas switch is off in back, but we had the propane tank open for the gas stove inside the camper so turn that off real quick.
Now camper has been in the shop for two weeks and we hope all is fixed and done by Friday when we are supposed to go camp for this weekend. Gotta call them tomorrow. Praying all is fixed quick!
     As a side note, my BIL took his 12 yr old daughter and left Friday to go deer hunting 3 hrs drive away. SIL stayed home with son who had to play in the band at high school football game.
BIL stopped at a Wal mart and he and DD went inside to get a bag of ice. Gone 5 min tops. 30 min down the road he notices that his bag of clothes is gone along with his digital binocs, digital camera, allergy meds, and ammunition.
Someone broke the lock on the back door of his quad cab truck in that 5 mins. He turned around and went back to W.M. and called the police.
Maybe they will have luck when the police take a look at the security cameras perched on top of the Wal Mart building. Lets hope the guys get caught.
 Of course there is no hope of getting back his stuff, but at least they didn't take his DD's bag or the two rifles laying on the back floor board covered with blankets. HHmmm...
An interesting November indeed... :eyecrazy:

[OC Campers]

Hang in there Trina.  Things have to get better.  By the way is David still in a cast?  Don't forget the skateboard incident too.  (Fortunately, I think that was October:yikes: )

Jacqui

[Camping Coxes]

Hang in there Trina. Things have to get better. By the way is David still in a cast? Don't forget the skateboard incident too. (Fortunately, I think that was October:yikes: )
 
Jacqui

Oh, that was actually the end of September, and he was casted for five weeks.  It's off and he's back on track.  I call to find out if I have a laptop or not tomorrow.  I'm almost afraid to call them.  Then again, maybe they'll tell me it was all a nightmare and they've been waiting for me to pick it up.  One can wish.

[jpreiser]

wow what a month..... December has to be better...( I dont think it could get much worse!!:)

[6Quigs]

I'm jealous Trina,
a new laptop and a new car all in the same month!!


Hope Chrismas is a better month.