One of the great things about working for a college is the extended break we get during the winter holidays. However, the time leading up to, and leading away from, that break are when we campus techs work the hardest. There are classrooms to reconfigure, reinstall, and re-image, in addition to new equipment to be deployed and at least one server rebuild or removal as well. We work our hineys off in long hours during that time, so that when classes start back up, classrooms are all ready to go.
But I still had that ten days off in the middle there, and I had hoped to make good use of it. Like catching up on my sleep, taking naps, watching mindless television, that sort of thing. What I did instead was make the mistake of giving everyone technology for Christmas, which means I spent most of my break time installing, updating, connecting, and wiring up everyone’s gadgets. My hubby got a new desktop computer, my daughter got a netbook, my step-mom got a new desktop, and everyone had a camera and/or MP3 player that needed attention. And then there’s the “what do we do with the old computers” dilemma that was going to take up even more time.
Christmas day I spent the better part of three hours getting both the new desktop and netbook (running XP) up and running, including the downloading and installation of all of the required updates, installation of programs they wanted installed, removing bloatware, and making sure they were safe from viruses. I could have made them wait the next day to play with their new toys, but then I’d have had to put up with all the whining, so it was easier just to do it and be done with it.
In the ensuing two days I performed clean installs on the two departing desktops and listed them for sale along with all their parts. One machine gave me a bit of trouble and took a whole day by itself. Then I worked on my step mom’s new machine, and “while you’re at it can you look at mine, too” for my dad’s, which is running fine but is a bit slow now that he sees how fast his wife’s new machine is. I ordered RAM for him, upgraded his Office installs, and removed some clunking software he wasn’t using, and made him happy too.
By then, it was time to go back to work. That big photo-scanning project I had earmarked to do over the break did not get done; in fact the feed-scanner I purchased in November for this particular task is still in its box under my desk waiting for installation.
A geek’s work is never done, I suppose. I still have one old desktop here that needs to be re-imaged for sale, but I’m going to wait. Right now, I’m tired of messing with machines! This Christmas, I will buy no technology! Of course, I say that every year, and then I break my own promise, and end up with something monstrous to install and/or connect.
Now I know what my dad felt like when we all got new bikes (“some assembly required”) for Christmas!