Christmas 2018

Christmas 2018 has passed by. As per usual, I spent it in Guelph with my mother and brother. There was some talk of a larger gathering, but conflicting schedules didn't let it happen

Big gift to me this year was a slow cooker. I've been curious about those things for awhile. My first impression was that they seemed counter intuitive, because why would you bother with a device that intentionally forces the preparation process to take longer than it has to? But I kept hearing that a slow cooker is an essential for people who want quality home-cooked meals but don't have a ton of time to prepare them. The thought behind this being, the slow cooker doesn't require active attention, unlike more standard preparation. I'll probably try it out tomorrow while I'm still on vacation.

It also came with a smaller device called the Little Dipper, for preparing dips and fondue.

This year, we agreed we wouldn't do a big gift exchange. However, my mother's laptop broke shortly before Christmas, so like...

...I put in an order for a laptop. Unfortunately, Canada Post is on a rotating strike and deliveries have been delayed. I'm sure they time the strike that way to put the company under pressure. Won't judge, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, but as a result of the strike, I didn't have a gift for my mother on Christmas day.

Aaaand... the day before I left for Guelph, my own laptop broke. It was really young, too, only about three months.

So I had a broken laptop, and was left waiting for a laptop that I had ordered for someone else.

My brother did some Frankenstein-like operation on my computer though, where he dug out the hard drive of one of my old devices and installed it into my current laptop. It works passably. The hard drive he used was from a tablet though, so it offers a touch screen option even though my current laptop doesn't have a touch screen.

My mother managed to revive another one of my old laptops, too. The only one capable of functioning, and also the oldest in my laptop graveyard. During its run, it lasted a mighty six years before developing an issue where it would scream and shut down when you tried to power it on. Turns out it only needed a rest, and after a six year reprieve, it is capable of running again. This is a twelve year old laptop, and although it is too outdated to do many things, my mother was able to update her adblock, and she can go on her email, Facebook, and Reddit.

However, I really want her to have a new laptop. I owned that computer between the ages of 17-23 and never thought anyone else would have access to it. She promised she wouldn't snoop around but... I can't say I remember everything I put on that thing, during those sensitive years of my life, and I don't know if I want my mother stumbling across them.

Between the revival of a new laptop, and successfully harvesting of an old hard drive from another one, really validates me keeping a laptop graveyard.

Before Christmas, I was a little concerned over my funds. Remember during the summer, when one of my Summer Program cheques failed to come through? I broke out my piggy bank and counted over $500 worth of change. The agency fixed their mistake though, I got paid before rent was due, and I didn't bother to deposit my change. Since then, I've used some of it on laundry, but still had about $300. Taking out the piggy bank again, I came to around $400. That means that, in total, I wound up going to the bank with a sack of coin rolls totaling over $700. That's a new personal record for coin collecting!