Julie's Web Journal

Karen's been blogging about doing the right thing. I have a slightly different take on that today. A year ago we transferred our balance to a different charge card with a lower interest rate. One of the things they warned us about was getting hit with the extra high rate if we missed a payment. No problem. I've been diligent to a fault.

The operative word, of course, is "fault." One month I made a payment after the due date, but before the account closed for the month. I didn't realize that was even possible, much less that I had done it until I opened the bill this month and realized we'd been hit with the usurious interest rate. The upshot was that I got credited with two payments one month and one the next. We got it straightened out, but dang, pay two days early, and what do you get? Yep, a bite in the bum.

What little time I've had to do other than work or run to the doctor has been interesting, to say the least. I think that by the time this summer is over I'll have booked more clinic hours than House has in the past five years. That's what comes from being a sandwich generation adult. And one day I can inflict the same on my own kid. Bwah! No, I really hope it doesn't come to that.

But I was talking about other stuff. Wedensday, as both of you readers know, is bowling day. This is my time to get away, talk with adults, and throw a ball at ten wooden sticks. I bowl at a smoke-free center, which means I can relax and generally not have to worry about sucking on inhaler. I can only think of one bowling center that allows smoking in which I could stay long enough to bowl. That center has a ventilation system that is so amazing that I can sit in the smoking area and breathe.

But I digress. Again.

This summer has been bizarre on the bowling front. In my morning league I have a 191 average. I'm lucky to hold a 170. 160-165 is more my speed. I really don't know what's gotten into me this summer, and yesterday was all over the map. I got there late, stepped in some gum, and stuck on the lane. Once I recovered from that episode I discovered that I couldn't find a line into the pocket. No matter what I did I still got too much of the head pin. Near the end of the second game I found a line. My first game was 169. Not a 191, but more like I usually bowl. Once I found a good line in the second game I went bonkers, and ended up with a 203. The third game? Oh, nothing much. I spared the first two frames, struck 3-9, spared and struck in the 10th for a 255.

You read that right: 255. Seven strikes in a row. I am stunned.

Of course, there's always something to take away that high, and I got it last night when I went to put my ipaq on the charger. The screen was cracked. Murphy bites again. It had been out on the living room table all night, and I picked it up yesterday morning, put it in the case, and slipped it in my purse as usual. I didn't look at it again until about 9:00 last night. Long story short: The screen cracked from the inside. Paul did some research, and apparently it has happened to this model. One guy had it happen to an ipaq he keeps in his desk drawer. Yeah, that's abuse. Paul took it apart and couldn't find anything to indicate stress. He's ordered a screen so hopefully next week I'll be back in business.

I hate being without it. It's like having a piece of my brain missing. Years ago, I used to carry a Day Runner with all my addresses, calendar, notes and the like. I got the first Casio handheld to hit the market and haven't looked back. My ipaq does a lot: I can play games, music, and videos, not to mention the whole calendar and contacts thing. It really is an extension of my brain.

Last night I fumbled through typing the next two weeks worth of appointments into my cell phone so I'd at least know what was going on. There's another odd thing: I discovered that I can move contacts to my cell phone using Bluetooth, but I can't move calendar events. What good is that? Perhaps the next firmware update will fix that.

Now if I can just get some sleep. Paul found and fixed a problem with the bed frame yesterday. Once I got to sleep last night it was great. But I still owe a lot to the old sleep bank, so I suppose I should get some sleep tonight.

This afternoon I finally settled in to do some work. On the way into the office I stopped to turn the ceiling fan in the living room on because it was kind of warm. I happened to glance up at the fan in the office and discovered it was running backwards. That setting is fine for the winter, but this room gets so warm even in the winter that I can't imagine ever putting it on the suck the cold air out of the room setting. I flipped the switch, and bliss! Will that help the A/C bills? I don't know. But Murphy sure bit me in the bum again, huh?

Okay. I'm spent. No picture today, but I'll try and have a kitty picture for Feline Friday tomorrow. First, I have to get through my annual checkup. This should be fun. Not. Tags: Life, Technology, Bowling