The Raging Tech

Alzheimer’s Hurts More than Alzheimer’s Patients

Two Days to Pay Day

Man, this month stung pretty hard financially speaking. I had to pay for a $300 appraisal on this house I’m living in. I had to pay rent weekly to Marq & Melissa while waiting to close on the house. I had to pay for a U-Haul and supplies for cleaning / moving out of the old house (including buying food to feed my friends that came to help). I bought gas for many trips back and forth between the old house and new.

I know I was eating out more times than I care to think about (foolish thing to correct this coming month). One of the people I lived with in Virginia wanted me to pay off an old debt I’d forgotten about before he would sign one of the papers saying I lived with him, which I needed to get the house. Regular bills, and random items for the new house that I needed like a cheap set of pots and pans and paper products also ate into my paycheck.

There’s probably more stuff I paid for, I just know my bank account is sitting at literal pennies right now.

God is so good though, because I got money from working on computers on the side, and the last of my PayPal money from blog sponsors kept me in the black. I even got some work from my realtor (Thanks Mona & Leslie!)

Thursday is pay day; I only wish it were sooner! Kylara’s birthday is around the corner, and I need to decide what she’s getting for her birthday present. I also want to get the kittens some cat toys, and buy the book I need for class, and pay for the class. I also could use some groceries, the cupboard is kinda bare right now. I’m not starving, don’t worry (Mom). August is going to be easier, because no rent or mortgage to pay, but that just means I need to adjust to being more frugal and try to leave some extra for next month. Plus, an inheritance check is coming my way, and that should mean new Apple stuff and some debt paid off completely!

Well Piss on Me

Last night, I was laying in bed watching TV, and my two adorable kittens climbed up on the bed like they’ve been known to do. They were purring and getting petted and all that. I picked up each one of them and laid them on their backs and rubbed their bellies. The second one (don’t remember which one I had, they both look very similar still) let out a little kitten fart and I let out a “Oh! My! Gosh! You are a smelly cat,” and I put it on the floor.

A few minutes later, the kittens were up on the bed again climbing over my legs and walking around the comforter, and one of the kittens peed on the comforter, the fitted sheet, and as a result, it ran down to my back. My kitten has officially lost about 50% cuteness for a few days.

Now I know my kittens aren’t malicious in nature (not to be confused with the fact that cats are evil), and I’ve read that kittens pee in places that are inappropriate because they want to communicate with you or they want to mark their territories. Still, they’re my kittens, and I’m hoping they won’t do that again. I’m nervous today because I’ll be gone all day, and if they do pee again, it’s going to have all day to soak into whatever they pee on.

If this sort of behavior becomes regular, I may have to close them off in the spare bedroom at night, and keep my bedroom door shut during the day. That’ll at least minimize the damage they can do when I’m not home.

Which Apple Should I Get?

Last night after work, I had an appointment with a new Raging Tech customer (my in-person consultation & services business) about 20 minutes out of town from where I work (in the opposite direction of my home). They ended up being some of the nicest clients I’ve had so far.

I was able to resolve their issue with their Macbook and Airport Base Station and printer, and I gotta say: I really like the feel of the Macbook laptop. The interface is nice (the screen is a bit small though), it’s speedy, and the airport is nifty as well. I really like that you can print wirelessly or hook-up a USB hard drive (like ad-hoc Network Attached Storage!). I always though the airport was kind of gimmicky, but now that I’ve seen one, they’re not too bad.

With that said, I also really like the iMac. I use one everyday at work with an extra screen attached. But the downside to that is, my computer is in my office at home, and I hardly go in there because that’s where my unpacked boxes are, and it’s too depressing!

So, while a laptop would be really nice, I like the size of the screen and the graphics processor of the iMac. Then there’s also the Macbook Air, the really thin computer you may have seen on TV that Apple sells that will fit inside a manilla office envelope. I think that’d be really nice to have, something light-weight and not a huge burden to tote.

Finally, there’s the Mac Pro (I’m not even considering the Mac Mini this go round), which is hecka expensive unless I buy one refurbished. But they do have 8 cores, lots of memory slots (very upgradeable), room for several hard drives, and nice video cards.

I look to you, readers: Which Mac should I get if I decide to get one? Leave me a message in the comments.

Three Things #1

I heard a guy on the radio (WNOX - Knoxville’s Talker) say this morning that you should start your day off like it’s a blank slate, and think of three things for which you’re thankful. Apparently, it’s not just new-agey inspirational stuff, it’s psychologically good for you.

So here goes, three things (in no particular ranking order) for which I’m thankful:

1. My Family: I love my late father, mom, sister, both grandmas, cousins, aunts, uncles, and everyone who has helped me grow up to be who I am. They’ve supported and encouraged me in their different ways, and like any loving family, they’d do anything they could for my betterment. In fact, my mom and sister are coming up in September to help me paint and get new furniture.

2. My Friends: I’ve met a lot of people that have pretended to be my friend while it was convenient, but I’m so very thankful for the people that have shown me they love me by their words and their actions. The friends that give up their time, money, energy, strength, and anything else without hesitation for me, and know I’d do the same in any way possible. These are friends who have stuck by me through tough and good times, and rally behind me when I need strength.

3. My House: I never dreamed I’d own a home and have a mortgage at 25. It’s not terribly uncommon, I just didn’t think I’d be at a point where I could do it now. God is good, and his love endures forever! My house is in pretty good shape, and I have plans to rennovate over the years to come, and it may not be the house I live in forever. But for now, it’s mine, and that’s a huge accomplishment to me.

So I do feel a little better, and I’m sure there’s no “rules” to any of this, so I’m going to list a couple more in brief: I’m starting grad school, I have a wonderful girlfriend and even though she’s moving away I’ve enjoyed our time together so much, I’m employed full-time with a salary and benefits, I have a big screen TV and a nice car (half-way paid for!), my boss gave me a compliment this morning on an e-mail response I sent to a user, and I’ve got two adorable black kittens at home that play and explore and in general amuse me greatly. I have to scoop their poop up from a litter box, but that’s a small price to pay.

Liked this? Try it out yourself! Have some tips of your own on how to start off your day happy and healthy? Leave it in the comments!