Mikey D

These will come a lot less frequently when school starts up for me again, trust me.

Item: ‘Make a back-up CD of my entire music collection so when my computer crashes I am better prepared.’ With my computer having just recently kicked the can, this is fresh on my mind because I lost all of my music. It’s my own fault too, because I could have easily made a back-up CD and saved it all. With my new computer up and running I am trying to recreate the vast library of songs I had saved up previously. It’s a tough task because I had a lot of songs. I am working on getting the basics re-downloaded, like Guster, Copeland, Stars, Umbrellas, Tegan and Sara, Owl City, PlayRadioPlay!, and so on. ***Update*** I have just finished my downloading and have made two discs full of music. This makes me happy. These 300 “essential” songs are the basis for my music collection and will never have to be downloaded again. Well, unless the data discs get destroyed and my computer dies at the same time.

Item: ‘Get rid of old computer tower’. I called a company that is less than 10 miles from my house that specializes in the recycling of old electronics and “absolute destruction of your sensitive data” (They give you a certificate saying as much, too! No Joke.). This seemed like the perfect place for me to go to, as I was worried about my old data being accessed. When I called, however, the receptionist immediately told me I’d be better off going to a place like Best Buy because their company charges a $250 fee for their recycling. What employee of a company tells a potentially interested client to go elsewhere within the first 30 seconds of a phone conversation? I’d be pissed if I was her supervisor. Anyway, I checked out Best Buy, and it’s the way to go. They require you take out the hard drive, so my personal information is with me, and they’ll take the rest, free of charge. So I’ve taken out the hard drive already, and Saturday will be drop off day. I do wonder if Grace will allow me to check it off my list if I still have the hard drive. I’m going to guess yes, as the main goal of the item was to make room in the closet by getting rid of an unused computer tower. But women are unpredictable, so who knows.

Item: ‘Close bank account in Maryland and open a new one with a bank that is not 30 miles away from you’. So I did a location search in hopes that my bank that is 30 miles away might have opened up a new location closer to me (it’s been 2 years since I’ve gone to this bank, mind you) so I could go in and close my account, and low and behold, a new branch opened up a mere 15 miles from me! What luck! So I drove down there only to discover that no such location existed. I drove all around the supposed address of the place and it wasn’t there. I drove back home and checked my Mapquest directions and the bank should have been right where I drove. Sigh…whatever. So I called and the customer service represented said I could send a letter requesting my account be closed, and then they would send me a check for the money left in my account ($3.47- yes!). With the letter mailed out, I can now focus on finding a new bank that is closer, will charge me nothing for transfer fees, and let me keep a $0 minimum balance. This could be tricky…

Item: ‘Organize CD collection by getting rid of CDs that are scratched and basically far past their prime’. 10 inches. I had a 10 inch stack of CDs that were basically scratched and deformed to the point that not only could they no longer play music, they could be barely classified as CDs. I feel bad just tossing them in the trash, though. I have recycling on the brain today, and I feel like there has to be some way to recycle these bad boys. I am going to check the recycling program our county has to find out. Not only did I get rid of my scratched CDs, I actually organized part of my collection by placing about 50 CDs that were loose in the box into their correct cases. Now when you open the box there’s actual order. If I wanted to find a CD, I could. Mission accomplished. Check mark number two. And on another positive note, I also found my old fart machine, which I was able to disgust Grace with as well as intrigue the cats for a good fifteen minutes while making Grace laugh hysterically. Good times.

Item: ‘Put WD40 on hinges in master bedroom’. Grace was right. The can of WD40 does not spray. I was thinking the nozzle might be jammed and just needed a little loosening to get back in working order, but no dice. From experimenting, the nozzle pushes down with ease, which leads me to believe there must be some connection problem on the inside. I’m not giving up hope (yet); there must be a way to save this perfectly good can of WD40. And I hope I figure it out soon, because those hinges are fucking annoying at 4 in the morning when you’re trying to sleep.

~Mikey D