Finally got my MacBook Pro back from the Apple Store. I think I mentioned how the graphics card or something somehow caused the logicboard to fry, and the whole thing had to be replaced? Yeah, but at least it was part of a "program" where they knew about these defective boards, so I didn't have to pay a dime. Looks like it may have been partially related to my battery issues, too, as my battery life seems to have improved a bit. I only bought the new battery back in December, so there's no reason why it should be horribly unhealthy by now (even with the fact that I use it every day and leave it on A LOT... but in Sleep mode, mostly, and almost always plugged in, too).

I also finally got the annoying issue with getting a self-assigned IP resolved. None of the usual fixes (renewing the DHCP license, turning the AirPort wireless card on and off, restarting the computer, switching to Ethernet, etc.) were working, but I dug around in the Apple Discussion forums (on the old iMac and at school) and found a fix: switching the Firewall to "Allow all incoming connections." Ta-da! Of course, I'm hoping to switch back to my more selective mode, but in the meanwhile, this'll do. Now just to see if it works at home, too.

ETA: It does, but at school, it doesn't. V. annoying.

I was also having issues with the computer just generally being slow, and I don't know if it's time for me to see if I can upgrade the memory in this to 4GB. This is an older model MBP, so I don't even know if it CAN hold that much. Plus, it'll cost (lots of) money, and with the way my previous attempts at installing additional memory have gone, I'd rather do it at the Apple Store-- pay for for the Apple Certified stuff and get the product warranty and in-store customer service that comes with it.

Firefox is still apparently a memory hog, but it doesn't help that I'm one of those people that has hundreds of tabs open (some of them duplicates). I tried to close a bunch down today, write them down if I need to, and bookmark a bunch of others. Hopefully it'll help some. I'm also testing out Firefox 3.5 beta 4 because I wanted to play with Weave, a project from Mozilla Labs that allows for TAB SYNCING. I never thought I'd need it, but geez it'll be nice to open up my tabs on my now-slow MacBook Pro on the speedy Windows (eeeeew) machines at work. Mayhap I can get more done that way.... Now, I wonder if there's something that can sync extensions?

This entry's actually been sitting here for a few days; I just didn't post it. I have a lot more to say, but it seems like it ought to go in a separate entry some other time...maybe after finals or at least after tomorrow, when I have my Table Appointments (read: table setting) quiz in my Contemporary Issues in Nutrition class and my Yoga final (physical and written). I'm kind of nervous about the physical Yoga final, because even with a class of 30+ people, last week the professor said she WOULD be working with us one-on-one, which has me thinking she'll be sitting there and go "okay, get into X pose!" and I'll just blank and forget how to do it!

...My Time Machine external HD is mounted, but it won't back up, even if I manually tell it to. When I go into Time Machine preferences, it says the back-up drive cannot be located. WTF!?

So, I haven't updated in what seems like ages (that HSM post doesn't count, because I'd written that more than a week ago and just saved it, hoping for a time when I COULD post it) because The Powers That Be were conspiring against me or something, and Murphy's law was in full effect-- all that jazz. So I decided to start doing something about it.

( Keyboard Mayhem! )

( Michael Moore is hard to find )

( A little lost memory card and some movies )

( Noconnectlink )

( An HTC Dream G1 deferred )

( MELTING, MELTING! and other problems )

( Fics that like to f*ck with your brain )

And that, as they say, is that. For now, anyway.

I don't know whether it's me or just the state of American society (retail society? The industry as a whole?) today, but I've just had some pretty horrid experiences both with customer service and with just plain ol' shitty shopping.

First, my household has recently switched to Time-Warner Cable's "All The Best" package, which includes the cable service we've had for years, digital phone service, and Internet. We switched from AT&T because, frankly, they were ripping us off.

The first problem was in the install-- we have two rooms with TVs in this house, and only one of them is an HDTV with a digital HD box. For some reason, the technician that came in and did the install decided that, for whatever reason, he couldn't put the cable in to the rec room (though from phone calls to their tech support, it seems like he wouldn't have needed to; he just needed a new set-top box), and therefore the cable modem couldn't be left in there, the way it's been (or at least the broadband modem from AT&T was) for years. So it got moved to the den. Since the modem wasn't a router, I attached my $175-AirPort Extreme Base Station to it, and for a while, all was well.

But then the Internet started to cut out intermittently, even though the modem said it was still sending/receiving, and the AirPort said it was still broadcasting just fine. Tech support said I needed to get the modem replaced, but then when the technician came out, he said, if it ain't broke, he can't fix it-- and won't replace it. So it happens again after a few days of decent connectivity, and when I call and mention this, the agent says that we're not marked as a "wireless" household, and that it involves a separate installation from the first one, along with a $49.95 FEE! WTF!?

Apparently, they'd replace the modem with a modem/router combo, but I said I already had my own which I like better-- better security, more compatibility with other devices, etc. That's why I paid the price I did for the Base Station-- it's better than any of the included routers that come with Internet packages these days. But then the guy said that they can only guarantee service for their own equipment (probably because of liability issues, which I can understand... it still pisses me off, though).

To top it off, I have to wait until the cable guy comes on Wednesday to get the rec room set up like he should have the first time he came before I can request anyone to come in and change our modem out for the wireless one. I'll pay the fee myself if I have to; I'm just sick of having to reset the modem every damn day. I'm sure there'll be a workaround for using the Base Station anyway-- I want to be here for the installation so they don't jerk my grandparents around like they've done with the past two technician visits. I'm the one that knows tech, I'm the one that deals with equipment, bills, tech support calls, etc. I'm not going to be fooled into thinking these idiots get a four-hour period of time in which to come here UNPREPARED. I wish I could be here for the Wednesday install, but Wednesday is my busiest day. :(

Anyway, to add to the mayhem, Baba saw an ad for some cheap topsoil at K-Mart today. So Grandpa and I go, even though part of me is grumbling that cheaper isn't always better and that they have this terrible tendency of buying things just because they were cheap-- whether or not we actually NEED the damn things. Well, we get to the store and park near the Lawn & Garden section entrance but noooooo, not only is it unmanned, but the door is LOCKED. My grandpa's 86 years old-- he couldn't walk all the way to the other entrance! So we had to put up with the hassle of going back to the car and re-parking. Another (probably older) lady had also arrived and saw us trying to get in, and said "Well, they lost a customer" and drove off.

We went in through the whole store, but when we finally got to the L&G department, it was in TERRIBLE shape. Bags of soil were opened everywhere, everything was caked in dried mud, and maybe 1/4 of the stuff there had a price tag on it. It was no surprise there was no other customers in the area; the stock itself was horrid. We managed to find some cheap topsoil, but it was only after trying to get three or so bags that we got some that DIDN'T immediately rip open. When we finally got back into the regular area of the store, intending to tell a K-Mart person about the mess, the guy we encountered pretty much ignored what we said and tried to sell us some home "estimates" for retrofitting cabinets and the like. (I am so proud of my grandpa for playing the "I'm 86 years old young man, and I don't need your services" card.) Then, the lines (only 3 were open) were at least 10 people long EACH! Even other portions of the store were falling apart, unmanned, or were horribly messy.

Seriously, I am never shopping at K-Mart again.

We tried to pull a similar thing with TWC, telling them we'd switch back to AT&T if this was all the hassle we had to go through with them for the sake of supposed "convenience" (for having everything "All-In-One"), and Grandpa hung up on them, saying they could have a supervisor call HIM back when they got things straightened out. Needless to say, they didn't call back. Maybe I'm just a pansy or a pushover in this respect (tech), but I don't see any other way of getting around the fee, or the fact that this wasn't explained before. Just gotta live and let live, and try and use my own smarts to get around it, I guess. Doesn't make it any less stressful or less of a pain in the ass, though.

*sigh*

Greetings from Japan (again). My 'Net in my room still isn't hooked up yet, but I did get the complicated application sent out; hopefully work won't be necessary (I think the phone jack is round), but they have yet to email me with the status of my application.

I apologize for not having any pictures or anything up yet, but I can't really MySpace, IM, Google, or much of anything on these school-networked computers, and that includes uploading things to my LJ Scrapbook. Actually what I'm considering doing is creating a new subdomain on my site that includes pictures and journal entries I've created in iWeb when I haven't had genuine Net access to update here.

On Saturday, all the exchange students went out with their tutors (3 to each person, so 8-9 people per group). We got off our bus in Ueno, then took the train to Asakusa, the historical/nostalgic suburb. We went to the famous temple with the 'Thunder Gate' that everyone sees in pictures; we got our fortunes told and then I offered a quick prayer to one of the local Daibutsu for Scott's safe trip to Turkmenistan later this week.

Then we went to have some Okonomiyaki- I got the idea when I searched for videos and I stumbled across my Ranma collection (amazingly still on my HD). I thought of Ukyou, and how I'd never tried Okonomiyaki, and an idea was born. We went to this small place (can't remember where, but it's common for there to be great shops and things down small, narrow alleys), and we had two orders- I shared a grill with my tutor Hiroyasu. The first was an okonomiyaki of my choice, with beef and lots of vegetables. It was SO delicious, and everyone was impressed with my l33t pancake-flipping skills. I can work even without an 'American' spatula! Ukyou-sama would be proud of me (if she existed)! The second okonomiyaki was one with more liquid; you're supposed to dump the semi-dry ingredients on the oiled-up grill, make it into a donut, pour the liquid in the middle, and then fold and flatten it over and over until it's all cooked. We sprinkled cheese (Parmesean or Mozarella, I think) on top and then ate it right off the grill! It was so tasty- as was the special okonomiyaki sauce (by the way, writing messages in that stuff is HARD!).

After that we headed to Kanda and then took a short shinkansen ride to Akihabara (which the locals call 'Akiba'). The original plan was to go to a maid cafe, but we got a little turned around, so we had to stop and ask for directions at an AU kddi cell phone shop. Then when we finally got to the cafe (Japanese elevators are small!), there was a 2 hour wait, so that was out. Actually, I think that was the case for everyone who tried to go to a maid cafe, except a few people got 'maid fortunes' told by maids. Still, we saw lots of maids, cat-maids, and anime cosplayers advertising their cafes.

We went to Taito Amusement Tower, where I'd been with Pop! Japan Travel the last time I came to Japan and Akiba, but this time I had much more fun-- I got a giant Toro stuffed cat from one of the UFO catchers, and he's my new bedroom mascot slash pillow. I have the matching Pez back home in Los Angeles, and Mom has his Pez buddy, Kuro the black cat. We were going to take 'purikura' (print club) pictures; at Taito, you can also cosplay before you take pictures, but there was a super-long wait for that, too. 'Dame datta!' After that we went to Try Amusement Tower, a small hole-in-the-wall game center with something like 7 stories- I think I'd been there before and thought it was dinky, but I didn't know about the upstairs! They had a floor solely dedicated to Bemani games- including DDR 9th Mix, SuperNova! Dez was right in saying that the scoring is a lot tighter. Aside from trying to find songs I liked (I guess organization bv game isn't available anymore), it was pretty fun, and my tutors all thought I was good-- of course, until a Japanese guy came along and pwned me by playing things like Maxx 3000 and so on. :P But I still had great fun, and it was only 100 yen a play!

Most everyone else then went to a discount store, but one of my tutors went with me to Animate (I wanted to go to Tora no Ana, but we were short on time). Apparently 'for ladies' is synonymous with yaoi/shonen-ai, which, as you know, I'm not into. So I guess I'll have to go to the so-called men's store for my smutty romance fix. Actually I wouldn't mind finding some plain old GEN doujinshi...

Interesting thing I found out- yaoi is not a native Japanese word. It looks and sounds like it is, but it's not, and the average Japanese will not associate it with the abbreviation which most fans know it by: 「山なし落ちなし意味なし」 or yama nashi, ochi nashi, imi nashi - usually translated as 'no peak, no point, no meaning.' But it can be translated other ways- like 'nothing mountain, nothing needle, nothing meant.' Thus, you get YAma nashi, Ochi nashi, Imi nashi and then yaoi. They do that sort of abbreviating with other words, but not those words. The joke version of the abbreviation is 'YAmete, Oshiri ga Itai!' or 'Stop it, my ass hurts!' Both of these so-called meanings make sense, but the first one only in English, and the Japanese aren't crude enough to use the second one. The term they used at all the stores I went to was Boys' Love, which encompasses shonen-ai and male smut.

I have no clue about 'yuri' (lily) though and how that came to be associated with female smut.

And that is your Japan update for today... in a few minutes I have to meet with one of my Japanese teachers to plan for the campus open house, and what we (myself, Todd, and Daniel, all of us from CSUN) will be doing to help out.

This morning I gave my laptop to Maeda-san here in the International Center with the hopes that the campus System Engineer would hook me up with wireless internet. I waited all day, all through class, through two more classes, lunch, a nap... all to be told it's no good, they don't understand Macs. I told them earlier that there's Windows on the machines, but obviously she forgot or didn't understand, because she didn't know later when I reminded her.

At least tomorrow I'm going with Jaclyn to the City Office to get a Residency Certificate so I can apply for NTT/Yahoo BB. Unlike everyone else (it seems) I don't plan on waiting to get our Alien card in a few weeks. I'm too sick of this. Midori (My roommate) said she'd help me return the lousy $22 dictionary I got, and hopefully help me fax the forms for NTT as well (which may cost me... I hate faxing). I have a feeling I'll need to be sent equipment (ethernet cable, router/modem, etc) before anything can happen though. Ugh.

And to add to it all, I seem to have lockjaw or something like it- I know the mosquitos like to nibble on my elbows and ankles, but I don't think I got something from them; still, it hurts on my right side, and I wonder. I hope it's not my wisdom teeth... I don't know about the dental insurance here. I just hope whatever it is goes away by Friday, when we go to Tokyo for a day trip. It hurts to eat and to talk; before, if I kept my mouth closed it was okay, but it's getting sore again, and 400 mg (a pair of pills) of Ibuprofen doesn't seem to do much. Wah!

Apologies to Jimbo, who I've been pestering about activation codes for the software on my computer... the time difference between PDT and here is 17 hours (we're ahead), so it's difficult to find a time when people are awake and available. I try and do texting more than anything else, because I have unlimited texting, and calling is so expensive, and internet access so rare, but if your texting is NOT free, or you never set your phone to silent when you sleep (unlike me), then... yeah, I can understand. But thanks for helping me with everything. It's alleviating the boredom at least a little bit. But I may need to rearrange my room (again) to accomodate whatever stuff I get from NTT.

All the email I've gotten so far (excepting stuff from the Mominator and a few comments) has been junk mail or useless mail. Come on people, talk to me! bored bored bored...

I started my Mass Media and Communication and Criminology classes today; the latter is taught by a German teacher who is... hm, shall we say "energetic"? I look forward to it.

Ja, tsugi o yonde ne!

In about 5 weeks or so, I have to turn in a profile article for Journalism, so I have to consider a subject now. The general idea is finding someone that I find interesting, not just someone that has done something incredible, experienced or survived something amazing, or said something controversial.

Someone would be currently doing or acting a certain way based on their past experiences, to the point where others that are not in that same situation would wonder "Why would that person do that?"

Initially, I was leaning toward my Grandpa, with his WW2 Navy stories, but generally speaking, his past doesn't rule or define him so much these days. So then I thought of someone else -a good friend- and I hope she'll forgive me for being presumptous. guardian_kysra, if you have time and are willing to be a bit self-boasting, would you want to help me out?

If that doesn't pan out, I'm open to nominations-- I think people nominating themselves would be a bit arrogant, but I've read so many LJs and am part of so many people's lives, it'd be insanity to try and think of specific events or circumstances that have made my friends and acquaintances such interesting people. So if you know someone (hopefully that I already know as well) that has an interesting life/backstory, and is currently living or acting in an unusual fashion, let me know. I want to consider all my options. :)

In good news, I got a B- on my last feature story, about ACE Mentor, despite the sheer lack of live reporting (that's what lowered my grade) and Dad not really contributing to the story, even if I got the idea from him. I wish I could revise for a better grade, but as I can't, this is good enough for me.

I do have to think of a topic for my editorial, so I was leaning toward something recent, or perhaps controversial (or both... fandom_wank, anyone? Maybe the whole "fan-published" fanfiction, a.k.a. unauthorized novels?), since I do have "experience" in that area. Other ideas/opinions (I love a good debate) are welcomed! :D

I also updated my LJ with a completely cornball layout from Persnickety Layouts, using kitties a'la Lisa Frank. Do you remember the bright shininess of Lisa Frank, back in your elementary school days? I couldn't resist. I had to bump the header image down to get the nav bar to show, and now the sidebar is still a bit too high up, but it's still mostly readable. That doesn't mean I like the sheer explosion of cute and pink and such, so I'm still open to layout suggestions, pointers to sites or tutorials, or people interested in having me commission them.

And when I get home, I have to try a thing to get my 2wire router to work despite the VPN client. I also have to download a new version of Spybot S&D, because I'm apparently running an ancient version without an interface. It totally screwed up the computer last night, so I had to do a cold reboot this morning, and who knows what happened after that. :P

Ooh, ooh, and I kind of got an idea for WDKY-- but not for 24 (boo). It's for ch. 27-28 or thereabouts, and it involves (Char A) getting into a real fight with (Char B), quite possibly betraying the trust of (C) and (D), and causing (E) to unexpectedly defend both (B) and (D), and (D), who previously was mad at (E) would start to wonder who to trust or believe, what with all the insanity going on (caused by F and Co.)

Heh. Play the guessing game! (It's actually somewhat obvious, if you've been keeping track of my dastardly hints.)