I Love the Internet

I feel like I've said this before. My memoir has half a chapter devoted to my adoration of the internet, so I suppose it only makes sense that I'd talk about it here.

Yesterday I tried to find an adapter for my AlphaSmart but the man at the store said they don't exist. "In this store, or in Zihua?" I asked, since most salesclerks are not that helpful and would rather you just leave than make them work.

"Zihua," he confirmed, so off to the internet I went!

Two minutes after googling serial to USB adapter I found many many stores that not only have the adapter I need, they'll ship it to me. Here in Mexico! Well golly gee. Granted it costs $35 to ship a $4 piece of equipment, but since the AS was free, don't mind spending a bit to make it work. I'm sure this won't be the last time I'll need such an adapter anyway.

I was beginning to worry that my new toy would be banished to the closet but now the day draws nearer where I can write (type) wherever my heart pleases.

About That AlphaSmart

I just realized my AlphaSmart has been in my home for almost two weeks and I still haven't talked about it. I was waiting to give it a test drive until my friend left, so a couple days ago I fed him and parked on the sofa.

After setting the time and date - silly thing thought it was March 2000, but the time was eerily accurate - I wrote what I thought would be yesterday's blog post. I didn't write much because I still hadn't tested the whole transfer thing. Good thing, because I never looked closely at the cables and this thing comes with one of those round plugs with pins. A 10-pin, maybe? Not sure. Anyway, my computer doesn't have a compatible hole so now I need to find an adapter. It's really not a huge deal and I'm fairly confident I can find one - we might even have one hidden away in our Box of Cables & Plugs. Even if I have to buy one that's a small price for a FREE AlphaSmart.

I'll post that entry as soon as I get things rolling.

As for my first impression, the keyboard will take a little getting used to but overall I think it'll be a good tool for me. Much better than being trapped inside, especially now that the hot season is on its way.

Pictures!

Guess who has new batteries for the camera?

First, here are my new flip flops. See how my nail polish matches so nicely? I swear it had nothing to do with my purchase...



Next, a candy wrapper purse I bought last Friday night. I didn't mention it before but figured I may as well throw in it there while I'm taking pictures.




And finally. The moment you've all been waiting for... my AlphaSmart!

Hooray!

I'll post some pictures either later today or tomorrow, but I have my AlphaSmart! It's so cute and light and portable and I'm very excited to put it to work. It's the Quick Pad version, whatever that means, and a couple names have come to mind, but nothing has stuck yet.

Any suggestions?

I'm Getting a Sally!

I'm not sure if I mentioned but we have another Chicago friend coming to visit this Tuesday. She's staying for a full week, which will be nice because I won't feel like we're trying to cram everything into a long weekend. There really isn't that much to see here but it's amazing how quickly the time flew with my friends last month.

In addition to our friend coming to visit, she's playing courier pigeon. My cousin Jenna discovered that I've been jealous of my friend Janna and her fancy schmancy AlphaSmart, and offered to send me her old one, gratis. We looked up shipping costs from Michigan to Mexico and the cheapest I could find was around $80. Yowza! Something about international rates and it being an electronic device really jacked up the price.

Right about then Ms. Chicago Friend emailed to tell me she booked her trip for this week and the courier plan was put into action. Jenna sent her the AS via Priority Mail and it will arrive at Zihuatanejo International in two days. Yay!

Jenna named hers Sally and my friend Jes named hers Flor, so I've a couple days to name my new friend.