Saturday, July 25, 2009

Writing Again


















It seems like I've spent all my time lately trying to get a (any) computer to work.

It's been a QUEST. As Clark W. Griswold would say. Not a quest to find Marty Moose, but nevertheless a quest to just get things to WORK.

My "main" computer died. I haven't buried it yet, but I'm seriously thinking of taking a hammer to it, because that would make me feel a whole lot better.

My backup computer, well, it's a backup computer. What can I say? I got dang tired of the limitations of Windows ME (yes, Windows ME; that's how old the computer is), so I thought, hey, I've still got my installation disk for Windows XP. Let's try that! Surprisingly, after clicking through countless error messages, I actually got it to load!

Then, unfortunately, my computer didn't recognize my sound card. What the heck was I going to do without being able to listen to audio? So, I did a Google search and found a program that repairs stuff such as this, and again I was pleasantly surprised, because it worked.

Now, however, it won't read my external hard drive, so I'm faced with the dauntless task of re-adding all my music back onto my computer (yea, like THAT'S going to happen). It kind of makes one a bit more picky about their music. I'm currently loading Merle Haggard.

While I was messing with all this (because it tends to be time-consuming), I worked on a few songs. Four, to be exact.

I'm a gal who likes to multi-task, so why go with one song when you can work on FOUR?

The sad part (to me) is, they're sitting somewhere on my external hard drive, which my current computer doesn't seem to recognize, but I think I've got them seared into my memory anyway, so I haven't actually lost them.

And, it seems, I'm working my way through the middle part of the alphabet, because here are my current songs:

F - Fireworks Stand
G - Get Back To It
H - Hello, Old Friend
I - I Will Never Forget You

This whole computer mess has somehow allowed me to be more creative. Maybe it's because when one part of the brain is severely irritated, another part of the brain takes over. I think it keeps one from going insane. It's a defense mechanism.

I wonder what people in the olden days (before computers) did to become enraged. Surely, there must have been something. Maybe the old wringer washing machine broke down.

If the new millenium teaches us anything, it's that life is a series of frustrations. Just when you think things are going good, life smacks you upside the head, to let you know who's actually in charge.

But I've got the last laugh. Because I've got FOUR, count 'em, FOUR new songs. And, if only two of them turn out to be keepers, well, there you go. That's two more than I had before. So, Bill Gates, thanks for everything.

I am now loading George Strait onto my computer. Dwight will be next.

Starting from scratch is actually kind of liberating. It's like a do-over. I have now purged all the extraneous songs from my computer that I sort of, kind of liked.....one time. And now I can be a bit more selective.

And it has definitely liberated my creativity. So, the glass is half-full. Unfortunately, not half-full with wine, which I could really use right now.

And then I could drink a toast to creativity (yea, that's the excuse!).

~~~

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