A Time For Everything

I broke down and bought a new laptop. The old one has been with me since...I can't really remember, but a long time. I'm not one to buy new for the sake of new, but I had a little issue while on my writers retreat and when DH ran a few diagnostics, he was of the opinion that the hard drive had some bad sectors and might be in danger of failing. The battery had lost all it's charge years ago and I always have to be plugged in, which isn't usually a problem. Couple that with its age, especially its technological age, and, well, time for a new one.

Sadly, new devices come with so much added bloatware--all those programs you really have no need of (until maybe you try them) put on there by the manufacturer itself or by third parties who pay for the real estate.

There's no such thing as a PC with just an operating system loaded on it, allowing you to load the things you want / need and only the things you want / need. *sigh* But I have an IT company in my back pocket, so anything that could and should be removed was.

New devices are such a pain in the patootie, not only for that reason, but when it's been that long since one has had a new device, the user interfaces have changed a bit too and take some getting used to.

But the new laptop and I are making friends and I should be ready for my next trip in plenty of time. That and I won't always have to be tethered to electricity. Yay!

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Update to Friday's post: Sad to say, the Islanders lost to Tampa Bay and the Lightning are making a return trip to the Stanley Cup Final. Let's go Habs.

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Hope you had a great weekend and here's to a great week...

In an upset that no one in the hockey world expected--the Montreal Canadiens advance to the Stanley Cup Final.

Last night, the Habs, as they're sometimes called, beat the Vegas Golden Knights in seven games. The Knights were one of three odds-on favorites to go all the way and win.

The Canadiens, on the other hand, finished 18th in the NHL at the end of the regular season (behind my Dallas Stars) but 4th in their division and earning themselves a spot in the playoffs.

Once making the playoffs, they took down the Toronto Maple Leafs, the League's 6th best team (by points) and then swept the Winnipeg Jets (only 14th best).

 This is their first trip to the Final since 1993--that's twenty-eight years!

After tonight, we'll know who they'll be playing--last year's Stanley Cup champs (the Tampa Bay Lightning) or the New York Islanders, who themselves haven't made the Finals since 1984. They've made the playoffs plenty of times, as have the Habs, but neither team has gotten to the Final in decades.

Despite losing $15 on my Stanley Cup Final wagers--$5 when the Stars didn't make it to the post-season, $5 when the Colorado Avalanche lost to the Golden Knights, and then last night when the Golden Knights lost to the Canadiens--I'm tickled red, white, and blue for the Habs.

LET'S GO HABS!

As always, have a great weekend. :0)

Mental Health is a thing...not one I suffer from except on a very generic basis like the doldrums. But I'm aware of my mental health and I try to do things that keep me up and avoid the things that bring me down.

Stephen Johns logging miles at Notre Dame where he attended school and played hockey.

Photo credit to Jeff Toates.

It's not so easy for millions of people. Partly because of the nature of their particular circumstance and partly because of the stigma associated with mental health issues. Mental health care should be as much a part of society's routine and lifestyle as standard medical, dental, and vision care.

Mental health issues come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. They happen for all kinds of reasons.

Once such reason is injury, especially prevalent in sports. Which gets us to the reason for my post...

A former Dallas Star, Stephen Johns, has been forced to retire from hockey after a hit in March of 2018 that was fatal to his career. As a result of that hit, he's suffered post-traumatic headaches ever since. He was off fans' radars for a good year and half while he tried to recover and tried to find answers. He's recovered enough in that he doesn't need to stay cocooned in darkened rooms any longer to keep the pain bearable. But there have been no answers as to how a normal hockey hit triggered something that Stephen will have to live with forever.

As a result of the pain and anguish for multiple reasons, including having to give up one the things he most loved--his hockey career--he fell into a deep depression. In a few interviews, he's confessed that suicidal thoughts were not uncommon in the darkest days. What's a guy to do when it hurts in myriad ways just to be alive? When the one thing you worked for your whole life is taken away by a fluke of nature?

But Stephen has found a new purpose (at least temporarily)--he's currently inline skating across America from his hometown in Pennsylvania to the Oregon coast in an effort to bring awareness to the importance of mental health.

If you care to follow his journey and/or to signal boost his endeavors, follow him on social media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/stjohns28

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/s_johns28/

His trip is being documented by Jeff Toates, good friend of Stephen's as well as former Dallas Stars media guy (photographer and videographer).

As Robin Williams sadly prophetically said, "Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always,"

Image Courtesy of Wikipedia.

In case you missed it, President Biden signed the bill yesterday to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. I'm all about another mandated day off work. But we're not implementing it until next year. Maybe...

It appears as though we're not required by law to honor every single federal holiday with paid time off. As an employer, we honor six of ten and add in Black Friday. We also usually only work half or two-thirds of a day on Christmas and New Years eves. So maybe we're not adding it to the list of paid holidays...

Have a great weekend!

It's been longer than intended since I posted last, but my life really is unexciting right now. Even I was bored with myself.

But I celebrated my birthday this past Saturday while on a writers retreat with some lovely ladies and fellow writers.

We stayed at a lovely house in Granbury located on one of the small canals off the lake. Here are some pics of the lovely yard.

From the back porch...

Taken from a seating area just off the back porch... There's a small dock just below where that squirrel is.

Another seating area under the shade of three large oak trees. Even mid-afternoon it was pleasant as long as there was a breeze...

And Saturday...in the neighbors yard, as seen from the seating area above...

I also saw a goose family floating down the canal. A parent on each end and three goslings in the middle. :0)

It was a lovely weekend and I got a huge writing/editing task taken care of along with a little brainstorming help from the other ladies.

Hope you're well. Take care.