Humble Apple Pie

Pete Here---

So this entry has little or nothing to do with life or living in Glasgow.  In fact it could just have easily happened over the previous three years in Buffalo.  But anywho first the background to my little story.

About a week ago, I was pressuring Jess to update her computer as we had gone all summer without, because our backup drive never got hooked up.  Once here with internet in the flat and such we finally get around to backing up our computers and proceeding with the update portion of the show.  Mine went fine, nice and easy.  Jess' did not.  It slowed down her computer to the point of a lack of function.  With the help of mi amigo Ahren back in the states and the good people at skype for their handy mobile phone, I was able to get Jess' computer back.  It required erasing everything and starting anew.  We had the backups so no data was lost, except for internet browser bookmarks.

For 24 hours all was happy in the land of Pete and Jess Computing.

Following our grace period, one morning I was at home surfing the web, and I closed the lid on my MacBook Pro to take the dog for a walk in the morning.  Upon returning from our 40 minute sojourn to the park, playing a little "chase me and sniff my butt" with the Lexi, our dog pal (Chase enjoys this more than I) we came back to find my computer had passed.  Despite my best efforts for the past three days we have been unable to resuscitate it.  I am certain it felt no pain as it appears to have died from natural causes.  Not a few hours ago I discovered it is more or less unrepairable.

Now for the ironic part.....

Flash back to a day or two before Jess MacBook went on the fritz.  I applied for and was invited to a group interview at the apple retail store not far from our flat.  The interview was odd, it was about enthusiasm, not knowledge.  All in attendance, including the manager giving the interview bought their first macs because they thought they were pretty and couldn't resist the impulse buy.  1000£ on an impulse buy, keep these people away from the American car dealers, they will be eaten alive, "This one has a flux capacitor for only 8,000 extra dollars, ... I'll take it!!!"  

But I digress...

The floor manager who gave the interview had extensive retail experience at Tesco (a supermarket), but admittedly did not know what RAM stood for, my chances were not good.  They said we would hear back in a week, I found out in two days they were not interested.  Shite.  Then the computer problems start.  I decide to make an appointment with an Apple Genius, though they are all booked, it says to check in the store.

My triumphant return to the Apple Retail Experience.

I swear to god, I was very polite the whole time, and was in no way trying to be assy in the least, or at least not too assy.  So I go to the store, dead laptop in tow.  I step inside and two feet away is the floor manager from last week's interview.  She is staring at me like she recognizes me from somewhere but can't remember where, or like my fly is down.  She approaches, I tell her that I interviewed last week, she looks appalled at the awkwardness of our situation, so I assure her no hard feelings, I have found work elsewhere in the mean time.  Then she smiles, "what can I do for you"  I explain the situation about the genius bar, being a manager she attempts to help out.  What is wrong with your computer she says.  

I launch into the diagnosis that Ahren and I have come up with.  "It seems that I am in need of replacing the left I/O magsafe board and the lower shell for my 2007 2GB MacBook Pro, and I was wondering if I could get a quote for a repair, or even for just the parts?"  She retorts to my question with a look of horror.  Either the Hamster that is her brain has just fallen off the wheel or she realizes, that I probably could have handled the rigors of an Apple job.  

Anywho the verdict was that I would be best helped by calling Apple customer service in California and talking to a Genius (I know!!) at the next available time, which she promptly scheduled for me from a big white 3 ring binder.  The appointment was this AM it went better.

Anywho, thats my Apple Story, Cheers everyone, Happy Halloween

The Flat

Hiya-Jess here. Sorry, we're a bit behind on posts. We finally just got broadband in our place so I'll try to update as much as possible over the next few days.

As many of you already know, Pete and I (and Chase) are comfortably settled into our new flat (see video below for a tour). Strangely enough we ended up choosing a place that is right across the street from the Holiday Inn we were staying in. It definitely made the move-in quite easy and convenient!

So far we love our place and the location. We’re about a 3-minute walk from the hustle and bustle of great restaurants, pubs, and theaters. We also live about 5 minutes from the largest public park in the UK, the Glasgow Green. Needless to say Chase loves this. Dogs can be let off leash and there is plenty of space to play Frisbee. Also, on the corner of the park there is this really, really sweet brewery in an historic building. Dogs are allowed in the pub and there is an outdoor fenced in area for dogs to play together. What a brilliant idea….you can walk your dog after work to the brewery, let the dog burn off some steam, and chat with neighborhood friends, all while drinking an amazing pint of locally brewed beer. I have got to get a job with these people…even if it’s just scooping up doggy poo. ☺

The awesome things about renting a furnished flat?

1) I love the idea of creating less waste and reusing stuff. I mean really, do your plates and cutlery have to be a reflection of you as an individual, or can they just be a means to eating without being a total barbarian?

2) Renting a furnished place made it way easier to move in and we didn’t have to spend a ton of money on new stuff…brilliant. It came complete with dishes, furniture, lamps, etc.

3) We didn’t have to carry any heavy couches up three flights of stairs.

The not-so-awesome things about renting a furnished flat?

1) Exhibit A: This is the result of cleaning out our couch. Notice how big the pile is (Pete’s foot for reference) and notice the diversity of items…chap stick, cigarette, a French fry, a piece of chapatti, pens, etc.

Exhibit A: Couch Contents.

2) Using the toaster that comes preloaded with disgusting crumbs and toast bits from all previous tenets

3) The toilet bowl brush cleaner thing. Thanks, but no thanks. I don’t really want to use the same toilet brush that the last guy used to clean his little poo particles off the inside of toilet bowl. I will spend a few pounds on a new one of those.

5) The little toothbrush holder cups. Again, nice thought to include those, but even if I bleached them three times or dunked them in boiling water, I still can’t bear to put my wet toothbrush where some stranger’s toothbrush has lived.

4) And as for the used bedding, complete with sheets, pillows, duvets, and blankets. I really want to be a good re-user and use what was provided in our place, but I can’t. I just can’t. Something about those items touching someone else’s body night after night just really grosses me out. I know I should just wash them and be done with it, but nope, no can do. Not to mention they smell horrific.