Rediscovered blogging after a 3-year hiatus. For whatever reason, I don't know for sure. But it seems to coinside with my long term medical condition. I think I'll use the blog for storing personal notes and photos, or maybe just have a personal section that is completely private, and then a public section that I'll tell others about.

Got up at 1000. I'm really late for work... plan on arriving at 1pm or so. Hoping nobody will make issue over it. Blogging this page for 1hr, recalling as much as I can of the last few days' activities.

Tested the Laptop. Battery voltage check ok. AC adapter check ok. Bagged everything to take to Fry's later today.

Jerry from ADP called at 11:45 reminding me to come to work. At work at 1:15pm. Continued blogging.

Went to Fry's to have the laptop fixed. At the repair center, noticed the old "Incredible Universe" building stench: the aquarium-blue and black color scheme, broken neon, busted fake wood trim, the hanging displays of 15-yr-old TV displays; and then the Fry's touch: cyclone fencing, employees wearing fashionably wrinkled white shirt/black pant uniforms and glassy, empty stares - like that of caged animals - who, if freed, would get killed while attempting to cross the freeway, or die from malnutrition...
The repair tech, James, was extremely helpful, informative and had a great attitude. I got an exchange w/ a new laptop. Recommended an extended warranty (2 yrs = $109!). Decided against it due to low cost of purchase. If it were a more expensive unit I might consider it. Came home with a working laptop! Also noticed that the Wifi reception was significantly better than with the previous unit.

Yesterday (9/12):
Up at 0800. Took dog out for 5min walk. At work at 9:15am, slightly late for the staff meeting.
Updated SOWs and left printed copies for Lisa.
Left work at 1pm. Felt really tired. Reason appears to be that I had run out of Adderall the previous day and forgot to refill.
Stopped off at Costco and got refills on Adderall, Ambien and Carbidopa-Levo. While there, I checked out some wall art (prints) - considering buying for the little office I'm in at ADP.
Still really tired. Nadine calls on the cell; says she can't find a cordless drill for under $80.

1730: Visited Nadine. Took Boz with me.
Nadine commented that Boz really shows signs of afffection toward me.
I saw a commercial for gastric bypass surgery. We talked about Caroline's success having had the procedure last year.
I'm considering going on a diet plan where the meals are prepared and issued to me in advance each week. Might work. Note to Dr. Murthy...
Noticed having trouble understanding Nadine's speech. Living room acoustics: dimensions appx 16' x 24' x 9'; wood floor, w/9x12 carpet; couch, loveseat, recliner; TV volume was high-normal, room fan on medium setting. My acoustic perception at that time felt similar to a moderately noisy restaurant. Commented that I believe my hearing loss is linked to my intake of sodium - and my blood pressure.

1900: Went to Fry's. Yes, even after the Laptop debacle. Almost ran out of gas going the long route via Roy Rodgers/Bull Mtn road. Picked up two Seagate 0.5TB drives ($179ea), a cordless drill ($30) and some assorted drive bits ($17). Decided to keep this drill and give Nadine my old one.

Decided that a good day starts off with Ambien and Carbo-Levo the previous night, and then Adderall 1 hour before I start the day.

Tuesday (9/12):
Called Frys tech support (510-683-6249) to resolve the laptop problem.

Product notes: Laptop is "Great Quality" (GQ) ZX-5362, Model number listed as "536S".
Serial number is 96F60W00017Q623000075
Battery is a 14.8v 3600mAh. P/N EM-520P4G (v1.0)
Has a same serial #, and 2nd serial #: T91300M71105Q62111998M L
Battery compartment has another serial tag with two numbers: 15XCPTCLAA150XH01A and L09015419030Q62500115CP
AC adapter is model 0335A1965, output is 19V @ 3.42A.
Adapter has same serial #, plus another number: E82231240190Q62306434LS

Laptop was purchased at Fry's on Aug 15th, along w/ Canon PIXMA iP1600 printer.
Worked fine up until three days ago.

Syptom: won't start up when power button is pressed. Doesn't matter whether or not the charger is attached. Also tried with battery disconnected.
When charger is attached, the Charge indicator is lit for 15 seconds and then goes out.

Support person had thick Indian accent. After 10 minutes of repeatedly explaining the symptoms, he told me to contact SamByte for service (510-249-1800). I also checked www.sambyte.com, under the "eservice" tab. The voice recording told me that, for items under warranty, an RMA will COST $35. The website was not much help. I essentially learned that Fry's is doing as much as possible to steer the customer away from support responsibilities.

Monday (9/11):
1800: Stopped at Guitar Center to exchange the keyboard stand.
2200: Cooked up 3 Costco dogs.
2300: Noticed my hearing quality went south again, worse than normal. Symptoms were elevated tinitus (hissing, both ears but mostly the left) and decended upper frequency sensitivity. Had a hunch that the sudden drop in hearing quality was linked to what how my body was reacting to my food intake. I checked my blood pressure and noted that it was 135/110... 2nd reading: 130/105. A normal reading is about 135/90.
Noted that this elevated reading was several days after I had my BP meds increased.
Decided to throw out the rest of the remaining hot dogs and be careful of my sodium intake from this point forward.

Sunday (9/10):
1600 Visited Dad, was 1hr late. June, Bob, Ann, Alicia was there. Finished mounting the security light.