Gone and done it

Oi. I'm a bit ashamed I used Shania Twain lyrics for my post title, but it's what popped into my head as I contemplated the contents of this post.

Anyway, what did I go and do? I went and bought a new laptop! Yes, after a year of thinking about it and complaining about my old laptop and even going a few months without a computer of my own before my old laptop decided it was a zombie, I finally bit the bullet and invested in a new computer.

I did plenty of research on my own and relied heavily on the input of family members who know far more about these things than I, and in the end I decided to stick with the Toshiba brand. I basically got a much newer, much faster, much better version of the laptop I have been using for the last 5+ years. If you are curious, I bought this. Also, in case you are curious, I paid a lot less than what it says it normally costs.

The touch pad is much different than what I am used to. Similarly, so is the keyboard and general layout, but I am sure it won't take me long to get used to. With Justin's help I have already gotten it massive protected with various anti-virus/anti-spyware/anti-whatever programs. Surprisingly, the computer was not loaded down with a whole bunch of unnecessary programs, so cleaning up the system did not take that long. From this point forward it is more a matter of figuring out what I don't have versus figuring out what I don't need. I also need to get used to Windows 7 since my old system is running XP Home and I never dealt much with Vista.

So far I'm happy with the purchase. I'm glad I was able to hold out for as long as I did, but I no longer wanted to deal with a computer that would randomly shut down with no warning and that would refuse to boot Windows, if it attempted to boot at all.

Other than the computer there is not much newsworthy going on in my life. I did buy a new set of sheets last week. I was actually pretty proud of that particular transaction, since I got a set of 400 thread count "luxury" sheets for $28, marked down from $110. Talk about being in the right store at the right time looking for the right item. And to top it off they are even pretty!

Work continues to simply be work, although recently I have been given a lot more responsibility over a particular aspect of our store. Our store is only one of 30 in the entire company that carries both the missy and plus lines in the same location. I have been given responsibility of the plus line... everything from coming up with ways to market it to setting sales goals to monitoring new item arrivals online and being the most knowledgeable person in the store about the plus line. It's nice to have my own niche and truly feel like I am a productive and meaningful member of the team and not just someone who puts in the hours to get the paycheck.

It is unbelievable to me how quickly this year seems to be going. I don't update my blog very much lately and feel there are two reasons for it. First, I really don't feel like I have much, if anything, to write about. Second, time passes by so quickly I don't realize three weeks have gone by since I made a new post. I suppose it's better to be busy than not.

On that note, the rest of the week is shaping up to be pretty hectic, which means actually sticking to a somewhat reasonable sleep schedule. I need to head to bed even though it means I can't play with my new laptop any longer tonight. Sad face.

Love!

~g