Testing in Progress

Well I wish I could say I've not written anything in here cos I've been busy having an exciting life....but I haven't :-( More of the same.....pain, pills, boredom!!!!!

I did sign up to beta test the new release of MSN. Downloaded the software yesterday (23 minutes even on cable...can't remember what they said it was on dial-up.....OUCH!) and played with it a little. They have a cute "dahboard" which sits on the right hand side of the screen and allows quick access to e-mail, Messenger and anything else you want....mine is showing the weather in Buffalo and rotating global news....It's nice but I can't work out how to get it on the left of the screen, which is where I really want it. When looking at the screen, my eyes tend to move to the middle and with the browser area to the left I find that I have to keep moving my head....irritating. I can turn it off totally or attach it to the desktop...maybe I'll try that for a while...see if it's any better.

Other than that...the graphics are cute...but I notice my favourites don't automatically transfer over from IE (so I keep popping back in there!) which is a real pain. They do include a pop-up blocker which seems to be working fairly well. And I get to play with Encarta for a few months free of charge...although I tried looking up transtitional vertebrae to see if I could find some usual stuff about my back.....got some nice pictures of spines but nothing really relevant. The homepage is customizable so I've got my horoscope on there and some other things...which I guess is "useful" but I've never been into My Yahoo or any of the other homepage customizations so I'm not sure it's really giving me anything I NEED. Novelty will probably wear off in a day or two.....

Overall, I prefer IE at the moment ......but maybe it's simply a matter of getting used to this? I certainly wouldn't pay the outrageous amount of money they want to use this service...really not worth it!

Went to the chiropractor this morning. Had the usual conversation about the weekend and what plans do I have. Mentioned that there are a couple of dances happening and he gave me this look...as if to say...don't even think about it. Or maybe I could just lie on the floor and watch tv????? Gave me the impression that he thinks I'm overdoing things....."activity to tolerance" please. What does that mean? Somedays I don't even want to get out of bed it aches so much.....

Then went to pay the rent....sort of prompted by the note under my door (and everyone else's) telling me that it's now due by the 3rd (previously the 5th) else there'll be a fee of $35 added on. Ouch!!!!! Chatted with Kristin who manages the apartments...apparently she's been getting rent cheques as late as the 29th and she's getting a bit irritated by that. Hmmmm...now THAT is late.....and, to be honest, I usually am on time. Just been a bad month with all those unexpected bills and things.....STILL waiting for the insurance company to send me money to cover all my mileage.....anyway, rent paid and I didn't have to sell my soul to the devil...came close but managed to save myself in time....phew!!!!!

Still waiting to hear back from the interviews.....thought they might have called me already so now wondering if I'm just gonna get one of those crappy "thank you for your interest, your qualifications are very impressive but" letters......still keeping my fingers crossed....

OK, gotta go get changed. Put shorts and t-shirt on this morning but it's too cold...think the socks might need to make an appearance...guess summer really is over :-(

PS. Made some GREAT beef and barley soup yesterday. OK, that's really wintery but I was in the mood for some. Adapted the recipe a little (used chicken stock instead of beef stock, which sounds weird but makes it more of a "broth"). Tasted great....and got loads for the freezer. Mmmmmmmmmmm..........and it's good for me.....vegetables and fibre and hardly any fat! Left some out for lunch today...can't wait!!!!! :-)