It's a sad, sad day in the house of Evanescing. A very sad day. ::sigh::
The only upside is - I was right. Very poor comfort. Poor comfort indeed.

Here's the situation. Last June, I bought a laptop from Dell. It has worked beautifully for me for the past year. Now, as you know, standard warranties are for a year from purchase date. June 9, 2004 - June 9, 2005, the laptop worked perfectly fine. Of course it did. Come the end of June - it stopped recognizing the power adapter. Would only run on battery power. My mother had recently purchased a Dell laptop. So I go to mom's and try her power adapter. My laptop complained it wasn't the correct power adapter - but it worked. Charged the battery and ran on AC power. And my laptop's power adapter ran my mother's computer. Weird - but it worked.

I visited my mother at the end of July - and it stopped working. My laptop would not see her power adapter. Hers will recognize mine still, though we get the message 'the power adapter isn't correct and the battery will not charge.' But the laptop will draw on the AC power.

Conclusion? My power adapter works fine - there's something else wrong.

What happened when I contacted Dell about the problem?

Dell: The power adapter is faulty and needs to be replaced.
Me: My mother's Dell laptop runs on the old adapter.
Dell: The problem is with the power adapter. I'll transfer you to Sales so you can order a new one.
Me: Fine. I'll do it your way.

So I do. And does it work? Hell no. ::sigh::

*I* was right, stupid Dell tech support on email were wrong. Very cold comfort indeed.

I called tech support this evening - as I received the new adapter today - and talked to a very nice young man named Brett. He was very helpful - though I basically managed to stump the poor boy.

His bottom line was that there was a problem not with the port where the adapter plugs in, but with the motherboard itself. Most likely a short in the wiring. Lovely. What does that mean for me? New motherboard is 800 dollars. Why? It's no longer under warranty. Stopped working abotu three weeks after warranty expired. Now, he also said I could buy a new warranty, which could cost up to 300 dollars depending on the warranty I purchase, but the system would have to be recertified first. That runs 300 dollars.

In short - I can spend 600 dollars or 800 dollars for them to replace the motherboard, and that's most likely still not a guarantee.

How much is a new laptop these days? Yes, you know it, barely more than that.

Congratulations to me! I am the proud owner of an 1100 dollar, 11lb paperweight.
HORRAY! I'm so EXCITED!

(If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go sulk . . . . )

So, those of you that visit me on IRC (ha, I don't think any of you do. XD) - you know it's not been exactly a good week for me so far. I've been moody and pissy, generally just not fun to be around.

Or - maybe you just didn't notice at all. I tend to get like that. All the 'MEH' stays inside and things are just 'fine'. Most of y'all know where I am on this one. I'm sure you do.

But - anyway. I took the day off from IRC, to wallow in my self-pity. Hey. Vacation is over. I'm allowed. Besides, once school starts, I won't have time. (;

Then, as is bizarrely normal in my life, reality called. No, really. It called me on the phone. In the form of my Sis. Yes, my Sis. I love her to death, but she NEVER calls me. Ever. She rarely sends me an IM. So - getting a phone call from Sis at all was weird.

So - picture this. I'm lounging on the sofa, watching MASH. No, not in my pajamas. I *DID* at least get dressed today. Pffft. As if I'd wallow in self-pity in my pajamas. (Okay, okay. I refuse to go get the mail in my pajamas, so I had to get dressed.) Just lounging around with the cat. Sis calls. And it goes a little something like this.

Me: Hey?
Sis: Hey. So - uh - what are you doing, like, today or tomorrow?
(At this point, I'm wondering if she's in town and wants food or something. My family does weird stuff like that.)
Me: I don't know, why?
Sis: Mom got fired.
Me: SAY WHAT?! *eye phone with strange, disbelieving stare*
Sis: Mom got fired from work.
Me: What the hell for?
Sis: Surfing on the internet.
(Okay, let me break in again to say that Mom is not your standard office jockey. She's not a secretary. She's an RN/CCRN currently working in an office on OTHER things. I don't remember the details exactly. I believe she was originally hired to oversee some education classes for the staff.)
Me: You are KIDDING, right?
Sis: No. She was looking up travel stuff for her trip.
Me: Freakin' Christ.

Anyway. There was more, but - jesus god. If there is ANYTHING I know, it's that my mother would not need to be FIRED over that. For the love of Christ, she is the hardest working person I know. I mean, you'd think they'd WARN her. When I was working as a temp - a FUCKING TEMP - I got the warning when I got caught. (In my defense, I wasn't 'surfing' so much as trying to get my favorite radio station to stream while I worked. But it's hard to tell the lady who just tapped on your shoulder that. It creeps you out to get that tap.)

So - those of you who know me well know there's a trip SOUTH in my immediate future. I don't think Mom has been fired in her LIFE. Resigned, quit - yes. Fired? Never. (To my knowledge.)

This is not right. Course, they've really been looking for a reason to fire her. But - honestly. This has got to be the STUPIDEST thing I have EVER heard in my life. EVERYone should get the 'dont' do that at work' lecture before they get fired. And if it was her LUNCH HOUR - who the FUCK cares? GAH.

So - yeah.

Self-pity: 0
Reality: 40000000000000

Score is exaggerated - but, seriously, when I start to sink into the morass of my petty problems, life generally gives me that kick that says, you IDIOT. Your life is NOT that bad.

Mom and Dad celebrated their 29th wedding anniversary yesterday. And how did they do it? family dinner with me and Bro. Sis didn't have the decency to come home after work. Pain in the ass. Mom made me go get her a cake to celebrate her birthday. Guess who had to leave without getting any birthday cake? You got it. Me. Meh. I was looking forward to that cake. ::comforts self with chocolate milk::

Anyway. A couple days with Mom and Dad to celebrate their happy day. They just like seeing me. And I like seeing them too. It's a good time for all, really. (=

I'll probably do it again soon. Good stuff for all.

So, I got together with Roomie yesterday. SlushieMan had to work, so it was just us. (Yes, some people work on Sundays. We *DO* live outside the Nation's Capital. *snort*) It was good for both of us.

We went out to lunch at a new place down where I live. It masquerades as an Irish pub on the outside, but it really isn't. I was disappointed. The food wasn't bad. I had a Ceasar Salad for lunch. Roomie had some house specialty salad that had cranberries in it. (Ew.)

After lunch, movie time. Woo. I haven't been to a movie in freakin' forever. Went to see "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". I was withholding judgement because I loved the original - but this one was fantastic. I should never doubt Tim Burton and Johnny Depp. Not to mention, it so didn't look like Johnny Depp at ALL. It was really creepy. You got an occasional glimpse of him, but overall - phew. Amazing. The movie was very well done. Very much worth my matinee price of $6.50. (*goes into old lady mode* I remember when the matinee price was $3 dollars . . . )

Overall - I think yesterday was exactly what the doctor ordered for both Roomie and for me. We had a good time and I want to do it again soon. Hopefully, SlushieMan won't have to work.