The Day the Music *Ahem* My Computer Died

Well hello there. I’m actually astounded and amazed that you stuck around. Seriously. I know I usually don’t hang around if a blogger pulls a trip down the rabbit hole like I have been. Thank you. You have my love, gratitude, and all that good jazz.

So…beyond telling you that my life has become just as busy as everyone else’s (and much busier than I’m accustomed to) I’m not going to give out many excuses. See, now this is how much I love you – I’m explaining myself at all. Trust me folks, I don’t explain myself or my actions to anyone very often.

I will, however, for the sake of having something to get started saying, let you know what’s going on in my corner of the world. I have to start somewhere lest the pressure cooker of ideas that my head has become just explodes into a vast, messy, pink goo covered internet space. That actually didn’t make sense to me either…so you’re better off not asking at this point. This is what happens when I stop writing. When I start up again, it comes out in a hot mess of confusion. There’s just too much going on in there.

Let us start at the beginning. I think I stopped writing just before I went to Hyderabad. I think. I brought my computer along with the intention of working and blogging while we were on vacation, but I got lost in the glorious eating, and sleeping, and general hanging around that happens when we go visit my inlaws. It was indeed glorious. My mother in law is an amazing cook and we always eat and sleep way too much. Think afternoon naps. Many, many blessed naps. I loved it. Unfortunately, I didn’t do much of anything productive. At the end of our trip, my computer decided it was a good Gawd (Holla Chicago!) Damned day to die.

Like many others of my own and younger generations, I am not only dependent on my computer for my work and my daily connections with others, I’m pretty much addicted. I’ve been hooked on Lenovos for my last couple of laptops. Unfortunately, Lenovos (at least the ones that I’ve had!) have a nasty penchant for not lasting all that long before fans fail, motors overheat and fry and screens randomly don’t work. I’ve finally become marginally smarter than the system and backed up all my stuff on one of the 2 hard drives that Daddy G had a field day making fun of me for buying. Who’s laughing now smarty pants? Who is not spending all my time reloading CDs into itunes, freaking out that I lost all my important bloggy and other documents, and freaking out that we lost the girls’ baby pictures? Not this girl, that’s who. 

Fortunately, we have a backup laptop at home that Daddy G bought last time he went to the states. We kind of view it as the ugly step child laptop at our house, because it just doesn’t work the same as my old faithful. I am, at the moment, super thankful for it though. I am able to work at my job, blogging, and my side projects and stay connected to the world. We’re hoping to be able to get it fixed as I think it’s a screen problem and not a fan problem – yet. That is, we’ll get it fixed whenever Daddy G finds the time/incentive/nagging insufferable and gets it fixed.

Other than that drama, I have been swamped with my job. One of them anyways.  It’s been good making the money, but it’s been darn hard keeping up with it along with all of the other fun flying around.

In more good news, I now have 5 students coming to my house to learn the piano. The further I get into this project, the more fun it becomes. As of lately, Daddy G and I have been in some pretty serious discussions on the direction we want to take in life and more specifically, whether I should pursue a job at a company (such as the one he works for that rhymes with Farget) or whether we should go full time in pursuing the business of opening and running a music school in Bangalore. I’m pretty much gung ho about being an entrepreneur, but it does have some pretty serious implications for our family. Many of them have to do with whether or not we stay in India on a very long term basis (which would be the case if we opened a music school) or head back to the US (which would mean it would be a good idea to do my best to get a corporate job before hand). As these discussions are of a serious nature, versus a hypothetical, daydreamish type discussion, it’s both thrilling and terrifying. I’m not exactly sure what I want from life or where I want to live it. As it stands right now, I really want it both ways, which I’m aware is not possible.

On a tragic note, I do not have access to my Outlook. This means I haven’t been able to follow most of the eleventy billion blogs I usually read every day. It also means that I don’t have any clue what day it is unless my house is full of people, which usually means it is Saturday or Sunday. I am indeed lost without my calendar.

So my loyal readers, don’t despair. I will be back to read all of your outrageously talented material and leave inane comments just as soon as I track down all your blogs again and stick them in a different feed reader. Anyone have any suggestions? Preferably that won’t wreak havoc on my reading habits should my computer decide to host a not so civil protest at being overused and underpaid?

Becky

Lions and Exes and Jism. Oh My.

Listening to: Rock You Like a Hurricane – Scorpions

Mood: It’s a Monday, so surprisingly good considering.

I think Snoop Dog has finally smoked too much pot. He’s gone off the deep end of the fruit basket. Really Snoop? Snoop Lion? The Raggae I can get behind. I understand that after so many years of producing entertaining rap music for the masses it may be time to change it up. But this Snoop Lion…I dunno dog.  It sounds a l bit like a little boy calling himself Mr. Bob to feel grown up. Think about it – everyone knows who you are. I would venture to say that your fans will support you without the corny name change. That never seems to work out well – see Prince and Puff Daddy. Stick with the good thing you got. The reincarnation of Bob Marley? I call bullshit. That’s not a religious revelation – it’s a shameless marketing schtick. Marley is probably spinning in his grave.

Everybody loves a good “crazy ex” story. I got one.  When I was almost 13, my family moved to the Florida keys for my father’s job and because he hated sitting still in one place for a long time. This being a time before child services was on top of children being at home alone, my brother and I were quite used to running around without supervision.  Being an angry rebellious 13 year old, scoping out the new boys was obviously on top of my list of things to do. Being an excellent judge of character, I was immediately drawn to a guy who wasn’t worth my time and was immediately pressured to go WAY further than I wanted. I put up with his assholery for a little while and then broke up with him. Thank goodness I had a little bit of sense and self worth back then. Well, thanks to my best stalker tool Google, I just found out he’s in jail for identity fraud. Don’t get me wrong – I couldn’t be less interested if I ever talk to him again, I just wanted to see what he was up to and if he was in jail. Because I totally called that outcome years ago. Turns out my spidey sense was correct. Don’t tell my mom though. She’ll get way too much perverse pleasure in saying I told you so to me. She hated that guy.

Blogher12 – what the hell? Why did you wait til I moved out to come to NYC??? We could have been good together. Oh well, hopefully we’ll hook up next year in Chi-town.

Bollywood – how is naming a non-porno “Jism” a good idea? Was it really so good we needed Jism 2? Don’t get me wrong, the music was great, but seriously? Why?? I can’t take anything related to ejaculation seriously. Especially things named after cheesy slang for cum. If you’re going to write an erotic  thriller and have people take it seriously and not as a porn, it’s best if you don’t use hard core titles.  Yeah, and how did Dirty Picture cause tons of backlash and this didn’t? I’m lost here. I also have this strange desire to go watch some porn. No idea where that came from.

 Becky

God Save the Queen

Mood: Meh, it’s Monday

Listening to: Black – Pearl Jam

Happy Monday Internets. Well, as happy as Monday gets.  When I had to get up at 7 am this morning, I was decidedly less than thrilled that I could not continue my weekend laziness. Such is life. 2 cups of coffee and half a day later and I've managed to mostly get my violent tendencies from sleep deprivation under control. This post has absolutely nothing to do with the Queen. Or drag queens. You've been warned.

This morning at 8 am, some bugger was screaming at the top of his lungs out in the courtyard. I counted to 30 in my very sleepy mind in an attempt to not get up and chuck heavy objects at him. Have some decency! I don't want to hear your angry tirade any time! At 8 am, it just turns into a control exercise so I don't go stab you. You're welcome for my years of practice, you douche canoe. It turns out, the guy who was doing this is the sports coach for the kids in our complex and he was threatening to jump off his balcony. He wasn't suicidal, just mad about something; it makes no sense to me either. I am super glad my kiddos lost interest in that class a few months back. I hate this type of drama and I don't want them anywhere near it. That being said, if you start that shit again before 10 am, I will go push you off that balcony myself.

If anyone has any tips about getting rid of ants (why yes, it is still that same bloomin onion ant problem that I’ve been battling since we returned from Sri Lanka) or fruit flies, please be a dear and post a comment. There are few things in life that can make me aggravated as quickly as walking into a cloud of fruit flies. I really don’t get it. I don’t even have any fruit hanging around on the counters – it’s all in the fridge. They’re not particularly fast fliers or expert ninjas at blending in like the mosquitoes here, but those guys have orgies every 2.5 minutes (ok, so this is an exaggeration, but not by much. Remember Freshmen biology?) so no matter how many you kill, there are always some hiding that then reproduce.

In other news, I can’t spell exaggeration and of course spell check can never figure out my butchery so I have to ask the Google wizard every.single.last.time. It gets old. Egsaduration, exaduration, eggodamnit, where’s my thesaurus that won’t help me because I can’t spell it in the first place.

I have obtained another young mind to practice my musical sorcery on. Ok, so it’s piano lessons, but that sounds way cooler. I’m stoked. At the rate my students are going, I get at least 1 (and it’s usually not the same one each week – go figure) that actually practices on any given week. Hopefully this will up my odds for productive lessons. Nothing is more painful for a teacher than sitting through a lesson in which the student looks at the music like it just sprouted donkey tails and they have most definitely never seen any of this before. Ever. Even though they swear they practiced. Mental face-palm. Hopefully once I put up some posters I can get even more kids (read crazy parents) to sign up and make life even more interesting.

I am still nagging Daddy G to get busy on the car buying business. After 3 painful run ins with taxis/auto rickshaws this weekend, I’m about done with this nonsense.  Look, if you’re going to give me an outrageous rate for taking me from one place to another and then ask me how much I’ll pay when I laugh at you, don’t try and make me feel bad because I offered you what it was worth at less than half and you accepted. I won’t pay you anymore because you quoted so high in the first place, you ridiculous clown, so just let it go instead of trying to make me feel guilty. It ain’t happening. Screaming to your auto rickshaw friend who is driving next to us all the way across town will just make me not tip you. Seriously – that is beyond ridiculous. By the way, we do understand enough Kannada to know that you guys were talking about how much you scammed both of us for. It was SO tempting to kidney sucker punch you. Good thing I’m trying to not teach my daughter’s that particularly useful trick until they’re a bit older.

One more question for those who are much more knowledgeable than me. Why does Itunes fuck around with my music folders?? If I rename things or move them, Itunes moves them again, back where I had them. What's up with this? I'm really nutty about organization and having things labeled correctly. This kind of thing makes me want to go pull out my hair, one strand at a time. Is there anything that makes this process easier?

Becky

Chick Fil Who the Hell Cares.

Mood: Calm

Listening to: Hindi music videos

Disclaimer: I am whipping out my soap box for this post.

So. Unless you pull ostrich moves for a living, you’ve probably been unable to get away from this entirely ridiculous chest thumping and grandstanding about Chick Fil A. I almost left this issue lie; but then again, sometimes I can’t help myself. Sigh. I do occasionally fall for troll issues. I hate jumping on moving trains of opinions that people have already gotten moving and jumped on en masse – it just seems…like you need attention. That’s not my motive here. I’m sick of hearing about Chick Fil A. What I’m even sicker of is hearing every god damned opinion on earth about whether Dan Cathy is a hero or a douche canoe.

You know what folks? It really doesn’t matter. He’s neither. He’s a man who happens to have an opinion on something. Just like every other Tom, Dick, Jessica, and Heather in the country. The fact that he runs a restaurant chain is also irrelevant. That doesn't make you a moral compass for anything. It's an economic choice a person made. The choice not to operate on Sunday is also not something to get in a lather about. If Chick Fil A see the loss of Sunday sales as a reasonable price for a principal they have, so be it. Since Mr. Cathy started the company, he can base it on whatever principals he deems to be correct. That’s his right as an American; he's not violating any laws with his opinion.

The genius of America (even if it is painful for those who don’t agree) is that you are free to think whatever you want. For the most part, you can say whatever you want. You are free to believe whatever religion/philosophy you want.  A bigger part of this genius is the capitalistic system. I know that some people say that it’s impersonal, soulless, and dangerous, but that’s simply not true.  Your dollars are the only true power you have to change anything in the US. Realistically, you can vote, but you will not change the system through voting.  If you so choose that you don’t like a business, just don’t go there. If enough people feel the same way, the business will go out of business. If not, you can use your dollars to support other things you do believe in or feel strongly about.

As much as it pains me to say it, Mayor of Boston, cut that shit out. I agree with your sentiment, but the answer to intolerance is not fascism. Boston is an amazing city full of people of all shapes, sizes, colors, etc. Let them vote. If people don’t want that kind of attitude and intolerance, they will vote and the restaurant won’t be able to stay open in Boston. If Chick Fil A feels that making a public stand on a religious/political issue is worth whatever economic backlash/support that comes from it, let economic voting take its course.

There’s absolutely no need to jump on the moral superiority wagon because you have an opinion or believe a certain way. I personally feel that intolerance for difference has no place in the world today, but more than that, I feel that the right to believe/stand up for what you believe in is an innate right. I would never think to tell someone like Dan Cathy that he can’t think that way or say things like that, even if I believe he’s dead wrong. It’s his innate right to have his opinion, no matter what I think of it.

Look folks, for me, the heart of this issue comes down to not being a dick to other people and letting them live life as they see fit. Ever action has a consequence, either good or bad. The misplaced desire to save people from these consequences is not beneficial for anyone. If I am going to go to hell because I believe that marrying someone from outside of my own race (just as an example) is alright, I really don’t need to be convinced I came to that decision wrongly and that I need to be saved. I’m a big enough person to think through my own decisions and take whatever consequences come along. I did not ask you to be a parent figure for my soul. It was not requested and definitely isn’t wanted.

For me, you are welcome to believe whatever you’d like, but that does not excuse you to be a dick to others. I have cousins on Facebook that make me wince every time I log on because they are so abusive in their comments about anyone who doesn’t believe the same that they do. I know that these remarks aren’t aimed personally at me (I’m not even sure if they realize this type thing may be offensive to me), but the vehemence in them bothers me. I respect their right to have a different opinion than mine, but I don’t think it’s ok to be condescending to people who don’t share the same religion/philosophy/political views/opinions on sweet potatoes as you. Everyone finds their own truth. Acting superior because you think yours is the best view or the only correct one isn’t going to convert anyone, it’s just going to make you look like an asshole.

At the risk of sounding like a hippy, live and let live people. If someone’s philosophy on something isn’t harming you, butt the hell out.

Becky

Being Overwhelmed and the Olympics (by which I'm not overwhelmed)

Mood:  Hyper (my coffee must have been strong today) and Irritated (why oh why does the housekeeper feel the need to come at a different time everyday and be here when I have to pick up my youngest from the bus stop???)

Listening to: Blow Ya Mind - Eve and Gwen Stefanie

                                                                                                                                                 

Hello Everybody. I hope you’re all having a lovely week. Things around chez Gainedi have settled back into a steady routine. No, I don’t speak French, but yes, I do like using random foreign words. That’s just how I roll. Anyhow, we’re all just hanging out living life and waiting for our upcoming trip to Hyderabad in a few weeks. Even though my mother in law taught me to cook Indian food, her food still blows mine out of the water and I can’t wait to eat at her house.

If anyone is interested, I’m starting a series over at Following the Masala. It’s called “What the Hell India?” I came up with this after writing an article for the A-Z challenge this past April. You can read it here if you'd like. I've been having a little bit of difficulty coming to terms that the country I’ve chosen to live in has some rather serious human rights problems in spite of this country being also in the 21^st century. So we’ll explore some of the local events and issues that make me shake my head. Should be good fun.

In other news – I’m sick of hearing about the Olympics. There, I said it. Feel free to throw unpatriotic stones at me, I don’t really care. I’m just not interested. I can appreciate the athletics, agility and grace required to do the amazing things they do, I just don’t feel like working myself all up into a lather to watch it. If that’s your cup of tea, drink up, just stop blog/twitter bombing everything with Olympic references. I’m seriously considering taking a Twitter hiatus because of this.

Speaking of taking a hiatus, I have been completely overwhelmed with blogs lately, and it’s not even writing on my own, which I’m sure has been evident. I think I’ve finally reached the upper limit of what I’m willing to read every day. There is simply too much talent on the Internets. Rest assured people, I may not always have the get up and go to comment on every blog I follow, but I am definitely reading them.

I think I’m going to leave it here for now. I’ll hopefully be back tomorrow with a blog post that is more inspired and funny. Right now, I’m all like “just stay on the damn horse, cause god knows if you fall off you may never get back on.” With that being said, have a great day.

Becky