Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Oops!

I made a very big (and costly) mistake Saturday evening.  I have never been happy with the location of our "office".  Our desk, computer, files, etc. are all set up in an open area between the dining room and the family room.  There are so many people in and out of the house all day and we must always make sure not to leave bills or important documents out on the desk or the computer opened to anything personal.  I thought it would be better to have everything located in a room so we could just close the doors if we had company or workmen in the house.  


So, Saturday afternoon, Kevin helped me to relocate everything to the front room (also used as our tv and exercise room).  In re-connecting all of our electronic devices, I inadvertently plugged our computer directly into the wall socket.  I heard two very loud "pops" and saw so much smoke that I went to look for the fire extinguisher.  I literally blew the computer up.  Ugh!  Fortunately, I was able to track down an English-speaking computer whiz who came to the house and picked up the computer yesterday morning.  While he told me the damage to the computer was quite extensive and it couldn't be repaired, he was pretty confident he would be able to recover the data stored on our hard drive.  Keep your fingers crossed!  


I ordered a new computer last night and hope to receive it by the middle of February.  Until we receive the replacement, we are stuck with my 6+ year old laptop.  It is very slow but very reliable and we are lucky to have a backup.  We are continuing with another Dell System.  As much as I want to (and the kids want me to), I just can't make the jump to a Mac yet.  Soon though.  The computer tech told me how technology has improved so much and Apple has changed some of the hardware so everything you can do on a PC, you can now do on a Mac with very little fuss.  


Christopher had his first BBSA (Bangkok Baseball & Softball Association) game Friday night and his team won 10 - 4.  He pitched two innings and played shortstop and first base.  He was two of four at bat with a double and a single.  His team won again on Sunday so they are definitely off to a successful start.  On Sunday, he made his debut at catcher - I think that is the hardest position physically and playing in 90 degree heat with 90% humidity does not help at all.  He did well though and plans to learn some more skills for that position.


Caitlynne's softball team (with Kevin as their head coach) won their first game on Sunday night, 16-6.  Her team is made up of girls from 6th grade all the way through 12th grade so there is a wide range of experience and maturity.  This is the first time Caitlynne has played softball and BBSA's softball rules are very different than baseball so it is definitely a learning experience for Kevin.  


Friday night Christopher participated in a "Habitat for Humanity" fundraiser at school called "Sleep In A Box".  Essentially, each child paid for the privilege to spend the night at ISB and sleep in a box in the mosquito-infested, non-air conditioned gym.  Good times.  


Off to get Caitlynne to softball practice!


Have a great Tuesday!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I very much enjoy reading your blog! My family will be moving to Bangkok and I am trying to gather some information about the traffic. How long does it take from Nichada to downtown Bangkok? Are there times of the day that are better than others?

Thanks!

Kristen said...

Hi! Thank you for the kind words about my blog! I always allow myself at least an hour to get from Nichada to downtown - any day at any time of day. The traffic is always bad in that there isn't a true rush hour - the roads are very busy and crowded all of the time. It is worse in the morning and evening but not by much compared to other times. The only time you are guaranteed to get to or from downtown is if you leave at or before 5:55 am. It has taken us ninety minutes to get home on a Sunday afternoon and I have made it downtown in less than 45 minutes on a Tuesday morning at 8:30 am. So, I guess I am telling you that it is all over the place! Good luck with your planning and let me know if you need any help.

Kristen said...

I am going to add that my husband left the Embassy at 4 pm today and just now at 6 pm walked in the door.