So, it is official. The internal hard drive on our new (used, but new to us) computer has crashed. Guyana - 2, Broken Computers – 0. We think there could be two possible reasons for the crash this time around. Possibly one of the ants that decided to swarm the computer last week and crawl in and out of the USB ports got stuck in there and is mucking things up. Or it could have been that when we were at MST and there was a blackout, the computer got fried with dirty current. Presently we are running off of an external hard drive, so we are basically on life support again. The lessons we have learned this latest edition in a continuous stream of computer problems are many; keep backups, and backups of backups (because we did this, we didn't lose any of our stuff), only plug computers into a surge protector, keep computer in a case when not in use so bugs don't decide to move in, and finally, PATIENCE.
Tim and I have had to battle with a lot of frustrations recently. The computer situation compounds with a sick kitty (see prior post about a cat on a minibus) and a broken refrigerator. When we got back to our house after our vacay to the US we found our fridge no longer got cold, and isn't that the whole point of a refrigerator! After many heated conversations with our landlady, we finally compromised and agreed she would get it fixed. That was almost a month ago. Still no fridge. Now, I don't want to seem like I am complaining too much. We learned that we can actually live and eat without a fridge, we just can't make too much food and store leftovers like we like to do. No big deal. Some PCVs go their whole service without refrigeration, so what is a month, really? I just think that if I were living in the bush I would be more acceptant of that fact. Here in my urban site, however, we have a different standard of living so I get pissy when it isn't being upheld.
The point of the blog wasn't supposed to be a whine-fest. In fact, I wanted to brag a little about how well Tim and I have been coping with all these frustrations. Yesterday, I had a realization as I cut into what I thought was a beautiful, ripe pineapple, and found it squishy, mushy and spoiled. We are choosing to let things go. Instead of dwelling on the negative, we have managed to stay pretty happy. We are being zen and letting all our anger and discomfort just roll away. We haven't liked feeling negative, and surprisingly, letting go of negativity is easier than we thought when we put our minds to it. We don't trivialize difficult situations nor do we naively say that everything is peachy when it isn't. We are just getting better at seeing a negative situation for what it is, acknowledging it, trying to find a solution and then moving on. I could have chosen to be angry and sad about not having a yummy pine to eat, but why choose that? So we just let go and tossed the thing into the compost. The end. Ta-DA!
Right now I am grooving to the album 19, by Adele and enjoying my day. I am working from home, blogging, doing my trimester report for PC and writing up my work plan for the next (and final) 10 months of my Peace Corps service. In addition to working to make my projects sustainable, I have some other neat things to look forward to: Tim and my 2 year wedding anniversary (June 7), a cool trip for a workshop in the savannahs of Region 9, my 26th birthday (August 26), Dad and Lisa's wedding (September). So many things to be positive about! So fried ants and dirty power, broken fridges and squishy pines, I say to you, “Y'all got nothin on me! I'm still gonna smile, so bring it!”
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