A quick run through

Just a quick run through what's been going on lately.

First up, we've got a new tablet.  No, not that one.  It's a NEW new tablet.  After having it less than two week, in between activities, I picked up the tablet, pushed the button in the corner to "wake" it, and nothing happened.

Push and hold.

Nothing.

Push and hold longer.

Still nothing.

Plug the USB into the computer.

Can't view it.  It was as if it wasn't there.

The next day I took it back to the store.  While chatting with the salesperson about it, describing what happened, he tried the press and hold thing, too.  After about half a minute, just as he was about to let go because it obviously wasn't going to do anything, it suddenly started to reboot!  Once up and running, it was fine.  Because it was so recently purchased, however, they would to a straight exchange for me.  It shouldn't have shut off on its own like that (shutting it down requires a prompt as well as pressing and holding the button, so there's no way I'd shut it off by accident).  They didn't have one in stock, though.  They ordered one in from another store, telling me it would be in the next day.  They would phone me when it was in.  Meanwhile, I took what I had home again.

Next day, no phone call.

Second day, no phone call.  In the evening, Dh called the store for me.  He was told it wasn't in (though they had plenty of a model with less memory) and might not be in for a week or something like that.  The person he spoke to had no clue what he was talking about.  Dh was not pleased.

I went back in person the next day.  One of the managers had to go digging in the back somewhere, but she found it.  Complete with my name and phone number taped to the box!  A quick check of the old one to make sure all the parts and pieces were there, a signature on some paperwork, and I had a new tablet.  Eldest had come along with me, so we walked over to a nearby Second Cup, where they have free wi-fi, to test it out.  I had to plug it in to turn it on, since the battery had no juice in it, but it worked fine.  I had some apps to reload, but things like my calender were backed up online, so those simply reset themselves.  Handy.

So now we have a working tablet again, and I'm really liking it.  Eldest hasn't been using it, but Youngest has.  Lately she's been using it to go online and practise the written test to get her learners permit.

Yes, unlike her sister, Youngest wants her license and is eager to drive.

Taking the written test... well, the computer based multiple choice test... costs less than $20 and has a minimum 80% pass requirement.  Youngest has been consistently getting in the 80-81% range, but she wants to do better on the practise tests before she takes the formal one.  Once she passes that, she'll be able to get behind the wheel legally, during the day and with either myself or Dh in the vehicle with her.  This will give us a chance to take her somewhere where she can practise.  She has to have the learners for at least 1 yr before she can get the next graduated license, and then another 2 years before she can get her full license.

Things sure have changed from when I got mine!  I got my beginners at 15 1/2, then could take the driver's test at age 16.  It took me two tries, but I got my full license at 16.  Granted, that was in another province, but my home province has the graduated license now, too. 

Meanwhile, Eldest has a part time job working in receiving at a Michaels.  Not the closer one she had applied for, but not the farthest away, either.  Her shifts start before the buses run, so I've been driving her to work in the mornings.  It's a pleasant thing to do, giving us a chance to chat.  My sleep patterns have been increasingly all over the place, though, and it's not going to be getting better any time soon!

Eldest has talked me into doing NaNoWriMo this year.  It officially started last night.  I stayed up until midnight for the official kick off.  The goal is 50,000 words in the month of November.  Daily goals are 1666 words.  Last night I verified my word count and finished at 3033 words.  I could have kept writing, but I wanted to get at least an hour of sleep before driving Eldest to her 6 am shift.  The buses start running at 5:30 and it takes her 2 buses and about 1 1/2 hours to get there, so even a 6 am shift requires a ride.  Our city has made some noises about starting 24 hour bus service - it was even supposed to start up this past summer, but got cancelled for some reason.  Considering how much traffic and activity we see in the wee hours of the morning, I think we've reached the point where it's a needed service.

Along with that, I've got other writing to do (including the blogs, which are falling woefully behind), crafting and writing about crafting. *L*  I've got a commissioned scoodie to make that's taking longer than it should, the Christmas crafts to do, some patterns to write, my instructors course to finish, and new classes to start teaching.  Oh, and some charity crafts to finish, too. 

With all this on my plate, I've pulled back on a lot of things.   For the next while, I'm focusing and writing and crafting and very little else. 

Except kittens.  We have a kitten.  Sort of.  Some strays have started visiting our balcony.  One of them was a pregnant female.  We can't keep them, but have been trying to adopt them out.  Meanwhile, the female had her litter somewhere.  As the temperatures have been dropping, we worried about the little ones.  We'd made a shelter out of our pet carrier in hopes she would have her litter there, but she didn't.  Then suddenly there was a kitten!  I don't know when she brought it in, but I'm glad she did.  I'd found someone who works at a vet's office that offered to take the mama, but she had her litter before that could be arranged.  Now that we have her and her kitten (I'm guessing a lone survivor), I'm hoping this person is still willing to take them in.  We're not allowed to have more than 2 cats, but if we can't adopt them out, I might have to see if we'll be allowed to bend the rules a bit. 

Well, that's where we are right now.  I'm sure there's plenty I'm forgetting, but I have to move on to the next item on my to-do list.  With writing being on my list of priorities, though, I'm hoping to have posts up more frequently.