Faith pays off.....

I went to the mailbox today to find a package from Microsoft. They did it! They sent me the Microsoft Word Program. Exactly like the counterfeit one I had purchased except, of course.....THIS one isn't counterfeit. Boy I sure hope they catch those crooks!

In the meantime I'm soooooo happy to have my Word program back.....I have really felt lost without it....even though Open Office is darn close. I'm just used to using Word after all these years and that's what we use at work.

I have really been neglectful but there hasn't been much going on. My daughter and her whole family got sick with a variation of the flu called "echo virus". I have stayed away from them all this time because I don't want to get exposed to it.....its miserable.

Its 45 here now and raining pretty good. It's supposed to do it all night long. The guy who does my leaves showed up tonight and got them all picked up. He just beat the rain which is a good thing. With 26 trees in my yard, most of them oak, you can just imagine how many leaves there were.....they were mid-calf deep on me.

I have my turkey in the freezer.....actually its two turkey breasts. No one in my family cares for dark meat so buying a whole turkey is wasteful. Making two turkey breasts suits us perfectly and there is no waste. I keep one and give my daughter the other one. They both fit nicely into my large roasting pan. If its stopped raining by tomorrow, I may go and get the rest of the fixings for our dinner. My co-worker is on vacation that week and I will have to work the day before Thanksgiving. I wonder if we will have snow.

Hope everything is ok in your corners of the world. I'll be back in a couple days......in the meantime, keep smilin'.

Around and around we go.....

I called the first number to Microsoft and talked to a man with a slight accent....of what kind I'm not sure. He was either Tad or Ted but he was very nice. He took all the information I had to give, even saying that eBay would work with them in this case. Glad to know. I want this thief caught! Then he gave me another number to call about getting a replacement. He didn't know anything much about that but kept saying I could buy another software package from them.

I had to laugh at Glen's comment about getting "John" from India because that's precisely what happened. Although "John" was super nice....friendly, compassionate and probably knowledgeable, I could only understand about 1/3 of what he was saying. Never have I said "pardon me" so many times. I even had him wait for a minute so I could change to my other phone which has a volume control on it. Why is it that when we have a hard time understanding due to an accent, we think that if we can hear it at a more intense volume, that we will be able to decipher it better? It did not help, by the way. I finally was able to understand where to find the form I needed to fill out in order to report piracy and also to "have a chance" at getting replacement software once I sent them my discs and documentation. So, I will send that off tomorrow or the next day.....insured and certified. Its up to them to decide whether I deserve replacement software and if they decide in my favor, it will take a month to get it. I was referred to yet another number (thank goodness for toll-free).

This was in reference to my Windows XP, which is not what its supposed to be either. About all I was getting out of that is that I can purchase a new set of discs. Forget the fact that this would involve wiping my entire hard drive and starting over from scratch. What happens to all my stuff? Why....for a price, they can store it online for you while you do this. XP is no longer for sale, so I would have to buy Windows 7, which may not be compatible with my existing programs. Yet another number was given to me to find out if my programs would work. This guy also gave me the impression that I was some sort of moron for buying a computer at an auction and also for buying the Word program for $139 when it sells for nearly $500.....and that should have raised some flags. Well, no....it didn't. I was buying software that had already been upgraded to a newer version (2010) and I thought that the older version (2007) would be less money because of that. I decided I wasn't in the mood to be belittled, so I said I would research buying new software and let him go. He was condescending and not very friendly.

So, now I wait. Yes, I have learned a lesson. Buy computers and computer software from well-known establishments, ones that can prove they are authorized Microsoft dealers. Check your PC's and laptops to make sure you have your certificate of authenticity on the side or bottom. If not.....you likely have illegal copies. But of course the certificate of authenticity could be counterfeit (as what happened to me). I think Microsoft needs to come up with a better way.

Sometimes it pays....

to put off cleaning out files. I am so excited. After hours of hunting, I have found my receipt for the Office program I bought. You know....the one I talk about in the previous post....the one that is counterfeit. (leaves a bad taste in my mouth to even type it)

Do you know how exceptional this is? I bought it last December.....and I have found the receipt! Woo hoo. Martha, eat your heart out. Tomorrow I call Microsoft and see what they say. Wish me luck.

Timely meanderings.....

I was doing some computer bill paying earlier today when I happened to come out of my fog to glance at the clock in the lower part of my monitor. Hmmm.....not as late as I thought. No, Wait! I glanced at the clock on the wall.....an hour's difference! Oh no. Here we go again. Daylight savings time. How could I have forgotten? I was just about ready to start changing all my clocks when something told me to double check.

I googled it online and sure enough.....we don't have to change our clocks until the first Sunday in November, that being November 4. WHY do they keep messing with us? Who dictates this garbage? Is there a group of mean-spirited gnomes sitting around somewhere slapping each other on the back, laughing their butts off at all the confusion about to be unleashed this weekend? How come Microsoft, in their infinite wisdom, did not release a patch that would have made our computer clocks correspond with the "real time", whatever that may be? Is this a conspiracy to drive us all nuts? Scratch that last thought.....sometimes I get carried away. (although it DOES make one wonder).

I have never really understood "daylight savings time". It doesn't really "save" anything, not even your sanity. They need to just LEAVE. THE. TIME. ALONE. One hour backward or forward is not saving us enough of anything to justify the confusion caused, not to mention our inner clocks being thrown all out of kilter.

They should split the difference to make everyone happy and then LEAVE IT ALONE. So, on January 1, I promote that they put the time AHEAD one half hour and then leave it alone forever. Let time go on, unhindered, and let us get used to something stable in our lives.

Plus that, now all the Halloween trick or treaters will be begging in the DAYLIGHT and what the heck is SCARY about THAT!!! If I were a kid again I would be protesting this big time. Where is the ACLU when you need them.