Computer Crash!!!

So what's worse than having your computer crash? How about having your computer crash while living in a foreign country? Well, ladies and gentlemen, Saturday night I experienced my first (and I'm guessing not my last) mental and emotional breakdown on Korean soil. A week of bum pokes, lax Christmas cheer, and trip-planning stress (while forcing myself to truck through The Notebook in hopes of finding just an ounce of literary genius) brought me to the brink...my brand new Dell laptop dying a fast and inexplicable death was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.

It had been my intentions all week to use the weekend solely for preparing an agenda for my upcoming week in Japan. I allowed myself one night out of the apartment for "Girls' Night In" with Kelly. Saturday morning I went on a wild goose chase for a travel pack, ending my expedition at my apartment around 5:00 pm, empty-handed and exhausted, but ready to hit the internet.

While beginning my search, I was asked by a pop-up on my task bar to upgrade to Windows Service Pack 2. Regrettably, I complied, my computer froze, I had to halt the installation...and the rest is history. Apparently, in the process, most of my drivers and utilities were deleted, I could no longer access the internet, and thirteen files had been infected with some worm. Service Pack, my ass!

So I did what any self-respecting woman would do...I tried to repair the problems, realized I was only making things worse, broke down in a "poor me" sobfest, and called my dad. Daddy to the rescue!!! He made some calls, talked to someone at Dell, and hooked me up with a number to call for assistance (seeing as I can't call 1-800 numbers from a prepaid calling card...whose Nazi idea was that, anyway?!).

Before hanging up with me that night, my dad gave me the following advice: "You need to go to sleep now, and Mom says that as soon as you're done out there you need to COME BACK HOME!" It's so hard to admit when your parents are right!

Sunday morning was spent working on the computer. I managed to break free from my studio's confines to embark on another fruitless quest for the perfect backpack. I finally came home, cracked my fingers and neck, and got to work rebuilding my computer. I had to completely reinstall Windows, all the drivers and utilities, and finally my programs. Internet still wasn't working, but after today's visit from the handy internet guy, it's up and running!

So that was my weekend...absolutely nothing accomplished except for discovering that I'm pretty good at feeling sorry for myself. Oh yeah, and if you want to call it an accomplishment, I finished reading The Notebook...and nope, no literary genius there at all. Oh how I want to forget this past week ever happened!!!

A rainy day from my balcony...I know, it has nothing to do with my computer crashing, but a depressing blog deserves a depressing picture!