Friday, August 12, 2005

Breakdown Blues

This also deserves the subtitle "Crash Cries". Our home PC decided to crash two days ago. The extent of the damage has not yet been confirmed, as my brother the computer doctor (among other things) has not been around to check it yet, but I fear the worst. All the documents that have not been backed up; all the photos that have not been burned to a CD-ROM; ahh the thought of loss is enough to make me cry.

All around me things seem to be falling apart, breaking down, or just simply behaving unnaturally. I joined Lingkod office more than a week ago and all of a sudden, the LAN had problems, one printer ran out of ink, another printer gave up on life altogether, the cordless phone forgot how to charge itself when placed on its cradle, some light bulbs (three, as of last count) refused to work, and the radio would not turn on. My brothers/sisters/officemates said that it is simply the equipment's way of welcoming me to my new job. But these things do not hinder me from going to work excitedly every morning and smiling the whole day. What are a few machine breakdowns to me who is finally home? I am learning to dance around the problems and after a few days, they are one by one responding to me positively. The equipment, I mean. The people, well I'm working with really passionate, dedicated, selfless and beautiful people so I don't feel bothered much by the challenges. Of course, since we are using old computers and gadgets, these things are bound to happen. Perhaps I could help find the solution by praying for, and actually procuring through God's providence, new and better equipment! I wish.

At the home front our two cars are still acting up. I have been getting to know our other car who welcomed me with a flat tire, a dead battery, and a busted alternator, and so far things are looking up. Our other car which is scheduled for sale soon is also letting me know that it doesn't approve of my favoritism, for it used to be my companion day and night before I was given custody of the automatic car. The dear Lancer's aircon got busted last week and it triggered other problems which forced me to have it serviced to the max. Normally car problems give me headaches, but thanks to my brother's help and a growing detachment from driving (as much by circumstance as by choice), I am not as bothered as I used to be.

So now I'm using the computer at the office that cooperates with me - meaning it allows me to access the Internet (whereas the other two simply refuse to budge when I try to open Explorer or Chikka) - and I took some time to update my blog which has been neglected for a few days. I thought only people reacted negatively to change. Now I have seen how consistently our surroundings also reflect the confusion that change brings about. Still I am hopeful about the future and thankful about the present. I'm learning a lot from having to work around things that are way below optimal in terms of efficiency. As my sister would say, what doesn't kill you would only make you stronger.

I still pray that our hard disks at home are intact, though. Wish me the best!