This is the DVD drive I lobotomized. It crapped out just after the warranty expired. Notice the components are identical to the innards of your computer drive. Unfortunately, the mounting bracket was different so I had to junk the unit. It was educational and not something I would have attempted a few months back.
Bank machines [ATMs], a concept behind its time. I didn’t lose any sleep over it. In fact, I think my system is trying to make me catch up on all that sleep I lost chasing women for the first 45 years of my life. Okay, ask yourself, who was your first crush? Mine was a blonde babe by the name of Wendy Cottrell. I was in grade two, she was also, but in the Catholic wing of the school. The two areas were not allowed to mingle. I once knocked on her door and asked if we could play, and I was told basically to get lost.
I’ll give you a clue of where this happened. It was around 5,000 miles from Hollywood, Florida. For an idea of the distance scale, here are some locations at that distance. Aberdeen, Scotland. Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. Midway Island, of WWII fame. Tristan de Cunha, in the South Atlantic. Or even in the middle of the Sahara Desert. My second love, hey, I was already 8 years old, was considerably closer. Her name was Sheila Greickol, and she was only 3,000 miles from here. That would be like Easter Island or the Azores. Neither of them knew about my secret love, however. The poor things, they both grew up to be lawyers.Author's note 2015-04-08: I got out my navigation gear and it turns out the "directions" given above are surprisingly accurate, as in within 50 miles. Not bad for what I knew in 2005 and for such round numbers.
There once was a girl from the Azores Whose body was covered with sores When she walked down the street Dogs jumped at the meat That hung down in great gobs from her drawers.
This is a gross poem for your entertainment. Actually, I was checking to see how well the "pre" tags worked, and got so many hits, I left the poem in here. As for the girl? Rumor has it she immigrated from the Azores and eventually married a fireman or two from Orlando . . .
That was the Hippie on the phone just now. His amps are finished, and the cost is $170. That is pretty steep but that is also why I intend to get on the receiving end with computers. I’ll pick them up on the way to school this afternoon. He said something that Victor Borge [a comedian who pokes fun at the English language] would have had fun with, he thanked me in the past tense for something that has not yet occured in the future, “Thanks for picking up my amp.” (And they say English is easy?) He gave me the phone number of the Amp Junkyard, 561-997-7959. I did not need a name, because I already know that 90% of the cash flow businesses in Florida are run by guys named ‘John’.
I should have been studying, I know, but instead I made up a bunch of posters for the Sunbird and Excel lessons. I hate work, see. Anyway, I’m going on my own 2-hour power walk around the neighborhood and putting up all my ads. They seem to bring in far more and better business than newspaper ads, although I have not done any newspapers ads locally. The Hippie says you can make extra cash standing at the post office and getting people to sign referendums.
[Author’s note: the referendum job was valid. Within two years, I would be working beside the man who was running that business. But it is a business with no controls.]
It sounds like a job for a pretty girl, and I doubt it pays in cash [wrong, it pays up to $300 per day at the right location, but I did not know that yet] However, too many of the girls were cheating.
I walk two miles a day, often in one stretch. Today I walked over to Take A Byte, and also put up posters for the car and lessons. It was the big computer store on the south side of Hollywood that gave Marilyn [a former student] my phone number. I went in and thanked them, and dropped off some more advertising. Most of the local computer people recognize the need for a good teacher and they are pretty cool about my advertising on their premises.
The (computer) class is going out for Japanese food on Monday. I’ll stick with the Tempura. Raw seaweed is not my general fare, and as for wasabi, Al Klit [a contemporary employee at Telus that crashed at our house for a few months] used to say, “Food shouldn’t hurt.”
As we walked into class, Angelo pointed out an ad. Someone is offering $30 per hour for anyone nearing completion of the A+ course. It is basically what I do now, drive to people’s house or business and troubleshoot their computer. There is obviously a catch, but again, it may be a catch I can live with. Somehow, I don’t believe people just walk out of a two-month course and start making $60K a year in Florida. They require a car and driver’s license, which I have. Just not Florida. What is the catch? That would make it the highest paying job I’ve ever had by close to half, and double my last job. I do need some practical experience in a hurry. I may give them a call. Mind you, there is another ad on the back wall for the same work that only pays $15 per hour, so something does not tally up. Unemployment pays $6.88 per hour.
Author's note 2015-04-08: At the time these job prospects were getting tossed around, I did not know that my working days were about to end abruptly. Any one of these job options should have represented my peak earning years. I did know know within a year, I'd be writing these tales from a trailer court. And that a third heart attack would put a stop to my walking.
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