Oh God, Not Again

Well, my laptop is crapping out again. This time, it's the trackpad that's started to malfunction, a little problem that may well be related to the recalled logic board I just had repaired.

We've done the recommended reset trick on the iBook three times now and yet the trackpad just keeps failing... I've been able to keep working on it thanks to a franken-creation using an external mouse (which I'm using right now), but odds are good that the stupid thing will have to right back into the damn shop to get this latest flaw fixed. This year hasn't done much to convince me of the latest quality control level at Apple. And I remember when having a Mac meant you never had these kinds of problems. Sigh...

But what bugs most is how particularly ill-timed this latest failure is. The swelling in my back has finally started to improve enough for me to sit and type... on a laptop, sort of lying down. I really can't use the hubby's desktop with a back flareup happening because I can't sit in a chair or even at my usual low desk - the legs just aren't working that way yet. So my future is beginning to look like a fairly bleak one for writing or LJ. Again with the sigh.

I'm largely stalled writing-wise anyway. The hubby and I are hitting a very key juncture in our long WIP (which I've so far refrained from begging for more feedback on for fear of sounding too needy, but... what's a five-letter word for "needy"?). He's of course crackling along marvelously. I've been struggling - for some reason, the character voices really aren't speaking to me. I've tried poking away at small pieces instead, trying to divert myself, but none have shaped up to be very good or involving - I'm not really a fiction writer, not like those on my Friends list - which means all I've managed to accomplish is to put my disheartening feelings in awkward print. Can't even begin to attack essay writing or even editing to do new posts for the site, mostly because my feelings about the whole BtVS/AtS franchise are all over the map right now.

Malaise over the end of Angel is settling in, big time. It wasn't so long ago that I'd been terribly excited about the stuff that happened in "Origin" and "Time Bomb," and looking forward to the last few eps, but "The Girl in Question" just kicked a lot of it out of me. It was funny, sure, and entertaining in a way, but it gave me the feel of being placated, the way one would dangle shiny keys in front of a fussy baby. My intelligence, which I used to credit the show with not insulting - although the last couple of years often let me down quite a bit there - felt insulted. And that's hard for me to come back from, that feeling of being told geez, why are you taking this all so serious without complaining about it in a way that makes me feel like the perfect stereotype of a whining fan... and no, I don't appreciate being forced into that role. That kind of attitude, the thou shalt not question authority is kind of what got us into the governmental situation we have now. And no, I'm not happy about that situtation either.

(Edited to mention that I'm staying free of spoilers. It's the only way I can think of to get everything out of this I can. And thanks so much to wisteria_'s spoiler-free icons - lovely.)

State of the Nation, and Why It Scares Me

I've avoided so far discussing the state of the world, but that's obviously too big an issue to ignore anymore. ( Ranting About Politics )