Joyness Journal: Thursday

Today, it has been even harder to find joy.

I took this picture in the parking lot after a storm.

It’s not a boring day; it’s been stressful and frustrating. Mainly because for one of my classes, our assignment for the week doesn’t make any sense. No one really understands what we’re supposed to do, but we’re not getting any answers and it’s due Saturday and Sunday. And most of all, for my Adobe InDesign class today, I opened the program prepared to export my project as a PDF and turn it in, only to find that all my numerous copies had completely vanished, including my workspaces and preferences. It was as if I’d never used the program before. I’ve already gotten a few gray hairs and driven Brian crazy with all the frustrations I’ve had with the program, but after hours of labor my project was done, only to be sucked into the black hole of technological errors. To make it worse, the help desk was not being very helpful! I got the run-around, and then the issue was submitted as a “case” for a group to work on, and they replied:

Summary:
	user “my files” missing
Solution:
	The user’s AFS volume was created on 9-Aug-2010, and there is no evidence that files have ever been stored in the directory since its creation (nothing in backups). There is no system problem for us to resolve.

Your support case has been resolved. If you are still experiencing difficulty, please call us at (480) 965-6500 or send an email tohelpdesk@asu.edu to re-open the case

So, it’s back to the drawing board. I admit, I cried quite a bit over it. Like, grabbed a box of tissues and lay on the bed and wept. This is the second time I’ve had to re-create the whole thing, because the first time I was stupid and wasn’t saving it, and I joggled the computer and  unplugged it. Maybe it will just get better with every re-do!

There is something to be happy about though: I emailed my professor right away, and she made an exception for me and extended the due date. I really, really appreciate that. It’s teachers like that that make college bearable.

Then on the way home from work, Brian called me with some news. They’re moving him to a different position, “temporarily.” Basically, they’re desperate and need a shop foreman. He’ll have to get up at 4:30 and stay till 4:00 p.m. Brian was very close to completing a project that the company had been waiting on for quite a while, and they took that away from him and gave it to someone else. I started crying all over again, and for the first time since we moved, I wanted to go back to Iowa.

But, after Brian got home and we talked about it some more, I’ve come to the conclusion that it could be a really neat opportunity for him. He is intuitively good at managing, and exceptionally good at interpersonal relationships, which is exactly what the shop needs. He doesn’t have the required 5 years of experience, but he works very hard and learns quickly. So, we’ll see how it goes!

So, joy. I think this week has been a test of my resolve to find joy every day. I haven’t given up yet! Here’s a few more for today:

• Yesterday I discovered that Blogger has a “Stats” tab, right up with “Monetize,” that tracks how many people look at your blog, how they found it, and what posts they viewed. Not in a creepy way, like all I know is that 35 people viewed my blog today by following my facebook link, and if I was really interested, I could see what country they were from and what operating system they used. I was blown away by how many people view my blog! That is really encouraging to me, even though I know it’s not all about the numbers. 
• My mother-in-law helped me get my wedding pictures ordered today! 
• Last night I registered online at Better Homes and Gardens, and I’m still in awe at the sheer volume of decorating ideas. I could makeover my lamp in 50 different ways!
• Today I get to pack to go to California tomorrow!