From Sea To Shining Sea, or How Laura Quit Her Job

My freshman year of college, I needed a job.  On a whim, I applied to work at our Help Desk since fixing computers seemed much more interesting than washing dishes in the cafeteria.  Several years later, graduation rolled around and I was still working there, and through a strange set of circumstances it became apparent that I should stay.  So I began a new and unexpected chapter in my life as a fulltime computer technician.

It wasn’t my longterm goal – my degree is in social work, and my passions lie with engaging people more fully with God, community, and themselves.  Computers are just an amusing hobby on the side.  But when an amusing hobby happens to pay more than any of the other job options available, and when you just graduated with more debt than you can really comprehend, you head in directions you never planned.

Since graduating two and a half years ago, I’ve been very blessed.  I’ve worked with amazing people, both in the department and around the campus, and I’ve built some treasured relationships.  I’ve grown leaps and bounds personally and professionally, and I wouldn’t trade the time I’ve spent here for anything.

However, all chapters come to a close, and this one has as well.  God’s been opening some unexpected doors and leading my heart down a path I didn’t plan.  That brings me to the reason for this post:

I have just put in my resignation at the Help Desk, and my last day of work will be Friday, July 17th.  It’s a bittersweet decision, but I know it’s the right one.

Immediately after joining the ranks of the shiftlessly unemployed, I’ll be leaving with my dear friend Allyson on an uberawesome road trip.  Leaving July 21st, we’ll be driving across the ENTIRE United States, out to the Atlantic Ocean, then to the Pacific, and back to Kentucky. I’ve always wanted to travel and never had the chance…so I’m taking this splendid opportunity to do so.

Our current itinerary includes Outer Banks, DC, Boulder, Grand Canyon, Vegas, San Diego, LA, San Francisco, Redwood Forest, Yosemite, Salt Lake City, Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore, and Chicago.

When I return in late August, God willing, I’ll be refreshed, rejuvenated, and perhaps have a better sense of direction. Being unemployed, I’ll actually have time and energy to pour into the job hunt, as I really feel like I need to pursue something more closely related to my degree. As a contingency plan, I have enough savings to comfortably live at least through the end of the year, or even a part-time job would keep me going indefinitely. If all else fails, as my mom said, “The worst that could happen is that you run out of money and have to move back to Texas and live with us. And that would be WONDERFUL. So PLEASE run out of money and come back to see me!!”

I’m so amazingly excited for my adventures over the next month.  It’s a big leap, but one I’m looking forward to.  I’ll miss everyone I’m leaving behind, but there’s a big world ahead of me and I want to live in it for all it’s worth.

Love,

Laura

Christian Spam, Redux

What happens when Nigerian scammers find Jesus…  Consider this a sequel to the last time I posted amusing spam:

Dearest in Christ,

I am Mrs Vivian Noel from Kuwait . I am married to Mr. Jerry Noel who worked with Kuwait embassy in Ivory Coast for nine years before he died in the year 2002.We were married for eleven years without a child. He died after a brief illness that lasted for only four days.Before his death we were both born again Christian.

Since his death I decided not to remarry or get a child outside my matrimonial home which the Bible is against. When my late husband was alive hedeposited the sum of US$4.5million dollars in a Bank here in Abidjan Cote d’Ivoire.Presently, this money is still in bank.

Recently, my Doctor told me that I would not last for the next Eight months due to cancer problem. The one that disturbs me most is my stroke sickness. Having known my condition I decided to donate this fund to a church that will utilize this money the way I am going to instruct herein. I want a church that will use this fund for orphanages,widows, propagating the word of God and to endeavorthat the house of God is maintained.

The Bible made usto understand that “Blessed is the hand that giveth”.I took this decision because I don’t have any child that will inherit this money and my husband relatives are not Christians and I don’t want my husband’s efforts to be used by unbelievers. I don’t want a situation where this money will be used in an ungodly way. This is why I am taking this decision. I am not afraid of death hence

I know where I am going. I know that I am going to be in the bosom of the Lord. Exodus 14 VS 14 says that “the lord will fight my case and I shall hold my peace”. I don’t need any telephone communication in this regard because of my health hence the presence of my husband’s relatives around me always. I don’t want them to know about this development.With God all things are possible.

As soon as I receive your reply I shall give you the contact of the Bank here in Abidjan Cote d’Ivoire . I will also issue you an authority letter that will prove you the present beneficiary of this fund. I want you and the church to always pray for me because the lord is my shephard. My happiness is that I lived a life of a worthy Christian. Whoever that Wants to serve the Lord must serve him in spirit and Truth.

Please always be prayerful all through your life.Contact me on the this e mail address: v14noel@marafiki.com: any delay in your reply will give me room in sourcing another church for this same purpose. Please assure me that you will act accordingly as I Stated herein.

Hoping to receive your reply.

Remain blessed in the Lord.
Yours in Christ,
Mrs.Vivian Noel.

Women’s Hair

Guys take note.  Scott Adams (creator of Dilbert) provides brilliant insight on women’s changing hairstyles:

Most women change their hair all the time. You might not notice, but a woman is very aware of these small deviations in everything from highlights to length to fluffiness. I’m probably not using the official hairdresser terms, but you get the idea. It’s different every day, at least according to the woman who owns the hair. To me, hair is either brown or it isn’t, and you either have some or you don’t. The rest is beneath my radar.

So here’s the tip. When you see a woman who you haven’t seen for a few weeks, you can pay her this compliment, and it works every time. Say, “You’ve done something with your hair. I like it.”

The woman will feel flattered that you noticed anything beyond her hair’s very existence and its degree of brownness. She might even wonder if you can be her new gay friend. But she will confirm that something is indeed different and offer many details about how it got there. You can use that time to think about your hobbies.

Viruses and Spyware For Dummies

Public Service Announcement:

If you or anyone you love, or like, or even tolerate is in need of rescue from a nasty computer bug, send them thisaway… I’ve dedicated an entire page to just one subject – a beginner’s guide to removing viruses and spyware from your computer.  Go to the Viruses link at the top of this blog, print it off, and follow the instructions.

After years of friends and family asking me for help removing viruses from their computers, I’ve decided to empower the masses.  Now instead of having to explain what to do a hundred different times to a hundred different people, I can just say, “Go to my blog and click on the word Viruses”.  And simplifying my life is a very good thing.

I’ll do my best to keep the page updated as programs change or I find other techniques that are easy to explain in a straightforward way.  I appreciate feedback – I may attempt to expand it as questions come in, but probably won’t be available for individual consultation on every issue (especially if I’ve never met you before…no offense, but you should ask your nearest geeky relative or friend instead).

Cheers,

Laura

You Know You’re Tired When…

You know you’re tired when you sit down at your computer and attempt to log in, only to realize you just typed a password you haven’t used in over three years.

Genuine Belief

Excerpt from God’s Debris by Scott Adams [full text available here]

“Look,” I said, “four billion people believe in some sort of God and free will. They can’t all be wrong.”

“Very few people believe in God,” he replied.

I didn’t see how he could deny the obvious. “Of course they do. Billions of people believe in God.”

The old man leaned toward me, resting a blanketed elbow on the arm of his rocker.

“Four billion people say they believe in God, but few genuinely believe. If people believed in God, they would live every minute of their lives in support of that belief. Rich people would give their wealth to the needy. Everyone would be frantic to determine which religion was the true one. No one could be comfortable in the thought that they might have picked the wrong religion and blundered into eternal damnation, or bad reincarnation, or some other unthinkable consequence. People would dedicate their lives to converting others to their religions. A belief in God would demand one hundred percent obsessive devotion, influencing every waking moment of this brief life on earth. But your four billion so-called believers do not live their lives in that fashion, except for a few. The majority believe in the usefulness of their beliefs — an earthly and practical utility — but they do not believe in the underlying reality.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “If you asked them, they’d say they believe.”

“They say that they believe because pretending to believe is necessary to get the benefits of religion. They tell other people that they believe and they do believer-like things, like praying and reading holy books. But they don’t do the things that a true believer would do, the things a true believer would have to do. If you believe a truck is coming toward you, you will jump out of the way. That is belief in the reality of the truck. If you tell people you fear the truck but do nothing to get out of the way, that is not belief in the truck. Likewise, it is not belief to say God exists and then continue sinning and hoarding your wealth while innocent people die of starvation. When belief does not control your most important decisions, it is not belief in the underlying reality, it is belief in the usefulness of believing.”

Windows 7 Remote Server Administration Tools Released

Well, back in the good ol’ days of 2007, I wrote a post that quickly skyrocketed my blog traffic from a few hits a day to a few hundred.  Two years later, I’m still getting over 50 hits a day on my walkthrough of how to get the Administration Tools Pack for Server 2003 up and running (eg, install the Active Directory Users and Computers tools, among a gazillion other things).  It involved using an XP installer and manually registering some DLLs to get basic functionality.  About a year overdue, Microsoft finally released a Vista-compatible Remote Server Administration Tools and my post became obsolete.

Well, time moves on and operating systems change, and now we find ourselves tinkering with the Windows 7 beta.  I’ve been marvelously impressed thus far with the changes Microsoft has made.  And, most amazingly of all, Microsoft released the Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 7 only days after it went beta.

Download it here. Note that it doesn’t show up automatically after install; you’ll have to enable by going to Control Panel, Programs, and click “Turn Windows features on or off.”  The Remote Server Administration Tools will be listed – just check the appropriate boxes for the snap-ins you wish to install and click OK.  They’ll now be available under Administrative Tools just like in XP and Vista.

Happy administrating!

The Sky Is Falling The Sky Is Falling!

You’ll probably want your tinfoil hats for this one…  I’ve concluded that the world is definitively ending in 2012 – looks like those good ol’ Mayans were right.

In February of 2006, a mysterious burst of light appeared in space.  Astronomers couldn’t explain it.  NASA didn’t report it until 3 years later. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/science/hst_img_20090106.html

In January of 2009, a mysterious roar was heard in space.  Astronomers couldn’t explain it. NASA reported it one day after the previous news was released. http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2009/arcade_balloon.html

First the light…then the sound…then 3 years later comes a cosmic shockwave to end the world as we know it.  Just remember, folks, you heard it here first