Computer virus

My Computer Caught a Virus - by Jessica Bryan

Twitter skedaddled, and Facebook erased,
Linked-in disconnected and My Space un-spaced.

My network disbanded--no I M or Tweet;
No dings, thumps or whistles; no friends there to greet.

With my calendar blank and my radio mute;
My computer was silent and I could not reboot.

Oh loathsome virus I caught yesterday;
No cure or containment and no other way:

I reached for the lifeline I'd traced to the plug;
With quivering hands I gave it a tug.

A murderous moment was stalled by a shout;
"Wait! I have found it. Don't pull the plug out."

My spouse had a program (he was pretty darn sure)
It'd search and destroy to bring me a cure.

Back up to my office with a leap and a bound;
CD in his hand with a fix that he'd found.

Hours went by as I paced to and fro;
Then the announcement: was it "Yes?" was it "No?"

"It looks pretty bleak, the prognosis is bad;
I worked hard to fix it with all that I had."

"It might take some time," he said with a sigh;
"We'll wipe it all clean then give it a try."

Three days went by as I watched from the hall;
My husband had ‘Techies’ on remote conference call.

At last the door opened, he was finally done;
Man vs. machine...I wonder who'd won.

Like a war-weary soldier; with the report he must give--
Four infamous words: "Your computer will live!"

Building a custom home

I have just spent three hours of my precious time trying to post links for our Time Magazine review of the Lindal Cedar Home design by Joel Turkel. It got rated among the top architectural designs in their last top 100's review. The homes are, without a doubt, absolutely gorgeous! But...I want to finish editing my new book so I can get the manuscript out there to publishers. I want to bake bread. I want to go shopping. I want to call my friend to see how she is doing. I want to do some laundry (not really!). So...why am I still sitting at the computer? Because every time I try to do something on the various sites something goes wrong. Either I need Skip's password (and he is playing golf right now!) or the site is not working, or it won't accept a photo....etc. AURGH!

I am going to call my client now. Maybe she won't need my password.

Chapel Hill - A great place to live!

Okay...admittedly I am a real estate broker selling homes here and want everyone to believe that this is the best place in the world to live. It's just that I truly believe it! In the midst of the gloom and doom everywhere we turn, the bright spot is Chapel Hill especially during basketball tournament time. Before I moved here I was not a big fan of basketball but once I discovered how a small college town 'does' basketball; I couldn't resist jumping on the Tar Heel Fan train. Last night we stayed up until 1:00 enjoying the post game interviews and watching the Carolina fans going nuts on Franklin Street. It was the final game and when our team (UNC--for those who live on a different planet) won I was sorry to see the tournament come to an end. What now? Will we have to return to boring day to day doldrums? Not at all! Now we can find time to do a little yard work, discover the gorgeous world outside away from the television and take in some of the culture that is part of the ambiance around here. Don't forget about golf. The Master's tournament will draw us right back to our TV sets. Ah, sports!

Today, in the afterglow of the National Championship win, everyone is walking on clouds and smiling at everyone else. Will tomorrow be any different? No! That's the great thing about living here. There is always something to be happy about. This month we look forward to Clydefest, Earth Day celebrations, and green homes tours. Next month it will be time for the various graduation and Mother's Day festivities. When summer hits we will be grateful for the month-long sale at Southern Seasons. Oh Boy--can't wait! Then there will be endless parties with famous Carolina Bar-b-que. There will be the outdoor concerts, the plays the book-signings, the cocktail parties, the art crawls, the street festivals...Oh the list goes on and on...Well you get the idea! I am a a zealous convert. I sometimes even say "Y'All" and mean it!