Winter in the Ghetto

I came home from work today and it was about 65 degrees in my apartment and the windows were all iced over on the inside. :( I have asked repeatedly to have the heat fixed and they have done nothing. Oh sorry they have replaced the thermostat. Now I will say that it is currently nice and toasty warm in my living room at least. I have a wonderful space heater that is really pumping out the heat at the moment. Too bad I can't really leave it on indefinitely. Something about being a fire hazard and all. But it's nice for now.... and has melted all the ice from the window... not sure about the bedroom. I don't think I will be as lucky there... too much space for one little heater to work it's magic. But I do have 2 blankets and my duvet already.... and can grab more blankets if I really need them. Ahhh warmth.... here in the ghetto

What am I Paying for?

The other day I was out running errands. Like to get them done before my days off. The guy from Cogeco called... Not the tech support guy but from their CR department or corporate or whatever. He asked me how I was doing and my response was, "I'd be doing better if my cable was working." Alan was under the impression that they had resolved the issue when they were out back on the 9th. He was a little surprised to discover that they had come out twice and given me the same answer that they gave me almost two years ago... that it was a problem between my apartment and the 8th floor. Well it's one thing to tell me that... but they did nothing about it. No follow-up or anything. I just hadn't gotten around to calling and harassing them yet. So I was promised an answer within 48 hours.

Low and behold tech support calls me the next day. First she explains that it's a problem with damaged cable between my apartment and the 8th floor. I know that already. So then she launches into this long winded explanation of how they will likely have to re-wire it and how they're not sure how they will get that done... as if I'm inconveniencing them. I pay $120 month for cable and internet... Really I just want what I am paying for. It's not like I damaged the cables or caused this. So yes I am sorry that it means extra work for you but it's not my problem. So then she had to arrange a time for a repair guy and the supervisor to come out to "assess it." So that means I have to make sure that I am off my call and home as soon as possible. It means that I have to be home all morning... So they're not the only ones that are inconvenienced. And I already know that this won't be the end of it. They still have to identify exactly what needs to be done in order to rectify it. Then come back and do it.

I highly doubt that they are even going to offer any type of compensation over the whole thing. Likely I will have to fight them for it. At least that's what I am predicting. I don't like fighting all that much... especially in a case like this where the compensation should be automatic. First, and foremost though, I'd like it to be fixed... so I can watch all the channels that I am paying for and record all my shows.

Aggravation, Part 2

I left out some important when describing my wonderful evening. I was putting the original components back in so that it would be ready to take in to Future Shop. Steve was staring over my shoulder and then just took over. I felt really insulted by it. I know what I am doing when it comes to computers. I can take them apart and put them back together. I have built a few systems. So it really bothers me that he acts like that... it's not the first time. Hell, the fact that he seemed to believe I needed his help to troubleshoot is pretty insulting. He's not God. I can do it. In fact I had practically isolated it to hardware before he even got there. I just needed a USB keyboard to confirm. So why it took 2 hours is beyond me.

It gets more aggravating though. He stopped by today and dropped the computer off for reasons I'll get into momentarily. He also dropped off a USB keyboard and 2 mice stating that I need them. For one, I really don't need any more mice. I think I have 4 currently. I have used the wireless keyboard during the boot before... to go into the Bios, to reinstall the OS. So I don't think it was the keyboard that was an issue.

So then he drove me to the chiropractor where I had to reschedule. Charlene had to leave early. I thought I had updated my phone number with them but apparently not. It was a minor irritation... but had I known that Steve wouldn't have been stopping by and I wouldn't have left my house. I did get pizza for dinner but I could've cooked dinner.

Then I got home and decided to test the system. It did power up initially so that was a good sign. I decided to put the components back in and then got a message about the boot sequence. The new USB keyboard wouldn't allow me into the Bios or continue on with the startup. I adjusted some cables and still couldn't get past that screen. I even connected the keyboard as a PS2 keyboard and it still wouldn't work. Then I cleared the CMOS and got a CHECKSUM error, along with the boot sequence message. Put the CMOS jumper back and it would start up as soon as the power cable was connected without even needing to press the power button. Can't start up to the CD either. So now that we are back to a hardware failure... hmm... didn't I say that yesterday? So much for Steve's amazing troubleshooting abilities. But now I just wasted another 2.5 hours fucking around with the system. Not only that but it also means that Steve will have to stop by to pick up the computer again. Maybe I should tell him to pick it up on the weekend... when I won't even be here.

Another Hardware Failure

As good as I might be at troubleshooting computers my own seem to be my nemesis. Fortunately, my MacBook Pro is still working fine. My PC on the other hand is now sick. The funny part is that I had not been using it at all. I just left it on and checked my email periodically. I just had an issue with one of my serial ATA drives. I had to have it replaced. Of course, it was the one that I was storing all my files on. So I lost all of my data. Most of it I had backed up but not everything. I hadn't even got the hard drive back yet when the computer started booting to the blue screen of death. It would be on for about 10 minutes. I didn't back up my data and I really should've. I left it off for about a week... shows how much I need it.... When it turned it back on it wouldn't even reach the desktop before it restarted. Today I knew Steve was coming by to troubleshoot it so I got a headstart. I took out all the added hardware. Still nothing. I couldn't try safe mode because my keyboard wasn't being recognized. It wouldn't let me start up to the restore disk either for the same reason.

Steve got here at 9:30 and as soon as he got here I was automatically irritated. I was extremely exhausted all day and really didn't want to be trying to have a conversation, at least not with him. He was in a bad mood and complained about the wireless keyboard. He had to go home to get another keyboard. He really should have known to bring one since we've been through this many times. Got back around 10:00. Immediately he heads out to the balcony for a smoke. I start up to the restore disk but I couldn't select the option to restore. Try with a different hard drive... same thing. Steve kept pounding on the keys as if it's going to make a difference. Took the drive out and backed up the data. Then tried again to restore it. No luck. Somehow it took about 2 hours to get to that point. I spent most of the time watching the baseball game and just trying to avoid conversation. Since the error message I was getting was "Machine Check" which IS a hardware failure... and I had already removed everything that had been added... how did it take until midnight to get rid of him?

So now I am in a bad mood. It took me until 1:00 to finally be able to watch the series finale of Queer as Folk. More importantly, I have a new hardware failure and now the computer has to go into FutureShop. And then there is Steve. He always puts me in a bad mood.

But then it's sad that my favourite time of day is bed time. I'm that tired all the time. All I want to do is sleep. Now that they have ruled out the platelet count I have no idea what is causing the extreme fatigue. Maybe it is the Fibromyalgia... or the insomnia... or a vitamin deficiency... or any of the 101 other causes for fatigue. I just wish it wouldn't interfere with my life as much as it does. Maybe one of these days I'll finally have an answer.

New Home

So I have now lived here for almost a month. Overall I love it here. I really feel like I am home. And I don't have to worry about a roommate. It's all my space. But building management doesn't exactly seem to work too hard on maintenance requests. For instance, just after I moved in I told them the thermostat doesn't work and it was about 90 degrees in here. They have yet to come by and fix it. And right now I am unable to unlock the balcony door. So while I have an air conditioner that mainly keeps my room cold. Right now it's about 73 degrees in here. It's better then it was but I would like it fixed... especially since it counteracts the air conditioner. The cold air forces the heat to be increased so the air conditioner isn't as effective as it could be. They also have not given me a buzzer code so after a month I still cannot let anyone into the building. I gave them my phone number about 3 weeks ago. So now I have a few things that I want to be taken care of but I'm starting to feel it's a lost cause. I'm hoping I can get someone else to fix the balcony door and the screen door. They are easy fixes (I think). Of course if I am waiting for Steve to do it then it might take as long as the superintendent. He was supposed to install blinds and that hasn't happened. He's also supposed to be getting me a toilet tank since I managed to break the one I currently have. Relying on him isn't a good idea. The move took longer then it was supposed to... and then he was slow at removing the boxes. And he hasn't followed through on his promise of blinds. I think when I drop off my rent I will also ask them about the thermostat again... and being added to the buzzer system.