Back to moan mode

[lady_schrapnell]

... with a healthy dose of growling thrown in. Woke up for the first day of six without a massive, drug-defying headache, to find the emotional equivalent had set in instead. So, planning to be downright Louisa May Alcott-ish about feeling so down and worthless and fed up (but not Little Women LMA-ish!), I set out to get a lot of study done, as more visitors arrived today and I need to have everything well covered before my last tutorial - on the Ultimate Essay-from-Hell, which will end my course, and (fingers crossed) also my BA. (There will be more moaning about this essay, be warned).

First, it seemed wise to try to sort out the printer problem, to verify with Apple whether it was indeed impossible to set up wirelessly and therefore needed returning. This Should Not have been a Major Problem beyond the capability of tech support, really! But after much time on hold and in the tender hands of tech support, I was told not only was there no possibility of getting the printer working wirelessly (by Canon), but it was also not even Mac compatible (by Apple). And I was shown the web-site list of Mac compatible printers, so I could choose another one. Only, a little bit of desperate perusing later, I realised that this was the US Mac support site, and the models weren't even the ones on sale round these parts. (Why - why - was I the one who had to figure this out??) A bit more snooping and I found that my Canon model is on sale from the Irish Apple Store - kind of indicates that it works with Apples, no? But not showing wireless ability, so I phone the shop whence I bought the blessed machine, to be told that I might be able to exchange it for something else, or get credit note, but the only Canon (all they sell) which works wirelessly is €120 more than mine, and is only a printer instead of a 3-in-1. Then the manager phones back and tells me that for another €135, I can buy a wireless network printer server which will solve all my problems with this machine, and no worries about lack of compatibility, etc. But 3-4 weeks to order. So I check with Apple (not believing anything I'm told about lack of worries at this stage), they don't sell them, but have a long chat, going through everything about the printer, the OS I'm running, the Airport Express etc - no idea if this thing will work. Finally ring O2 on Grafton St to see if they sell this device, and am told that they don't, but that what I need is an Airport Express Station - which I say I have, and then am told everything everyone has said to me is nonsense, because the printer plugs into a USB port on the AE base station anyway. I gasp out disbelief about Apple Tech. Support and am told you never get anyone good if you go through the menu! Told what buttons to push when ringing instead, and get someone who solves the problem. Admittedly it takes a while, but he knew all along it was going to be solved and everyone else is tech support (Apple and Canon) is RUBBISH.

Whole bloody thing took about three hours, (hopefully my phone bill won't equal the cost of the useless device, which wouldn't have solved anything anyway!), and decided me that I should forget about degrees and academic life (if not books altogether), and get a job with Apple Tech Support, as I clearly already know a bit more than the Absolute Zero amount of knowledge required to work there. And I could probably even occasionally solve people's problems and feel good about it!

Enough moaning on my own behalf! Yesterday I went looking for Sherwood Smith's Inda, which was out in mid-July, and should be well available by now, right? Probably arrive from across the pond so I wouldn't have to resist for too long before end of course, even. Except - no. Not available on Amazon, no copies anywhere to be found - just still the tempting reviews and still saying July publication. I didn't think I could have missed it if sartorias had said something about it, but went and checked. Nothing - until finally I checked her web-site and saw an extraordinarily calm comment about its having turned out too long at the last minute, so had been re-done and sent back, and no firm date yet. Let me say - my admiration for your (if you read this) restraint is enormous - I can't imagine anything more frustrating at that point especially. Frustrating for your fans too, if it helps in the slightest bit to hear that!

Currently reading Jasper Fforde's The Big Over Easy, which took a bit longer to get into than the Thursday Next books for me, but which I'm now enjoying.

Comments

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

Thank you for your interest. Actually it has me biting my nails down to my elbows in anxiety--but what can I do except wait for them to get around to reading it, and get it back into the pub schedule?

[lady-schrapnell.livejournal.com]

Not that it would do any more good than the nail-biting, but you could be ranting about it non-stop! Unbelievably hard for you.

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

Oh, I rant, but inside my head. *pained g*