Microsoft Fatigue & Alternatives

I have been a solid Windows customer ever since I started using computers - you know back when dinosaurs roamed the land... Whenever family members tried to talk up their Apple products, I would remind them that my computer could access and use more software than their snooty Macs. Also, even when I was making good money, I refused to spend so much on a computer. These days, Windows computers are seriously the only thing near my price range. But to paraphrase an INXS song, here lately, I look around and wonder what I'm doing. Maybe I need to look at another kind of computer in the Used category?

In the past several weeks, every damn time I turn around, there's a problem with Windows. I had to actually have someone go into my PC and have it stop automatically downloading the updates because even if you use Settings to delay them, they still download if you shut down your PC. I don't want updates just forcing their way onto my system. I want to know what kind of issues they cause before they get onto my computer. I'm running 3 different malware and virus programs because I don't trust Windows Defender...

Apparently, I am not the only one complaining about the quality of Microsoft of late. It looks like these challenges are starting to look bad for the company. I have lost count of the patches and fixes for all the recent updates. There's helpful info online about how to handle some of the issues but I don't have the brainpower to apply the suggested "fixes". Besides, I shouldn't have to constantly be working on fixing Microsoft's problems. Not to mention that I've been unhappy for a long time with the way Microsoft holds Office users hostage to the $70/year subscriptions. You can use Office for free online, but that's very limiting. You can also get Office for a one-time charge but if you want updates, cloud storage, or anything beyond the $150 you spend for the standalone software you are going to pay and pay and pay. As if Bill and Melinda need any more freaking money to spend in the next five lifetimes...



So. I have been looking for something to replace Office. Now, I hate change and I dread the idea of having to learn something new right now, but I'm getting desperate. If I end up stuck with Office, it will only be because my brain is not great at picking up anything new. However, there are a lot of articles listing alternatives so I can't be the only one getting sick of Microsofts charging so much to use their software. This is some of what I have found and will be checking out:

ZOHO - This looks to be best for the professional/office/business user. It's actually called Zoho CRM and I had to look that up to know it stands for Customer Relationship Management - "A system or strategy for managing client interactions, dealing with future and current customers, optimizing and systematizing relationships." Okay then.

Here's a pricing plan page, but I have seen info about a free version. I think I need something tailored specifically toward home users.

This article has some suggestions as follows along with why:

FreeOffice Best Microsoft Office alternative overall
Google’s G Suite/Google Apps Best web-based option
LibreOffice Best full-featured option
**WPS Office Best Microsoft Office clone
iWork Best Mac option

**This article also included WPS and makes me want to take a closer look at it. A huge positive is that it includes 1GB cloud storage (and I haven't found that with anyone else for free) and is called an Office 'clone'. A huge negative is that the free version is ad-supported and I'd have to pay to get rid of the ads. However, it's only $30/yr to get rid of ads vs the $70/yr for Office. Because I'm kind of pissed at Microsoft right now, I think I'd rather give the money to a smaller service.

I am already giving LibreOffice and FreeOffice a try and I will do an update to let you know how that is going. For your own perusal, here are some articles discussing some other alternatives to Office 365:

• G Suite vs Office 365 (2019)
• 7 alternatives to Office Suite (2018)
• This lists some of the previous alternatives with different pros/cons (2019)

As far as possibly switching to a Mac, I would have to sell at least one of my bad kidneys to afford one but I have been checking out the pros and cons. In my next post, I will talk about some alternatives to the Windows operating system.

Peace
--Free

For music, this, because I argued with someone recently that Jon Farris was hotter than Michael Hutchence. He's still hotter than a jalapeno. And the songs are still great.

Writing About Writing

As you may have noticed, I spend a lot of time posting updates about the collection of stories I'm working on. I call it "writing about writing". It's not the most productive way to spend my time when I'm trying to get the collection done, but posting gives me a break from the hard work of writing fiction.

I was talking to my best friend today and had to tell her how I am almost literally eating and sleeping this book. Well, at least I sleep with it...

Presenting the "boudoir-office":

I don't like my living room messy so...

Seriously. I can't risk jump starting my brain back to task every day so I just leave my notes and copies of the manuscript in place every night. Last week, after taking my meds, I almost got sick on one of my notebooks. That was an especially bad day. Still, I sleep with my work spread out from one day to the next.

See, I have this cognitive issue that make it hard for me to focus. When I am able to focus on a task, I struggle with a lot of fatigue and confusion. The first draft of my book was done to the point of polishing up a proof copy. There were major problems with that proof though so I ended up almost reworking the entire manuscript. And then my move happened.

When you have almost constant "brain fog", it's hard to work on any project. With fiction writing there is the issue of continuity. When I was moving to this new location, I had to shelve the book. Once I got settled in the new place, my laptop went into a coma. Ask me how fun it's been to retrieve files from my online storage cloud. None of my work is as familiar to me as it should be.

Long story short (or shortened), I am back working on the collection. What I mean by that is, I am piecing all my completed files together and trying to flesh out a couple of unfinished stories. Sometimes, I feel like I'm swimming through an avalanche of words. There are days when I have cried and wanted to give up on the whole project. But I won't because my writing is the one good and uplifting thing going on in my life.

So.

I am going to finish this book if it kills me. And it might,

Peace
--Free

Writing in Recovery Mode

This dang book! You know - the one I've been working on for forever and 10 days...

Writing is difficult enough, then there's the whole sarc-brain thing I have going on. Then I've had to take more than a few 'pauses' in the writing process. Let's see - there was getting ready to move, making the move, getting to a new town and, finally, getting set up in the new apartment.

So I am settled (mostly) in the new place. Then my laptop fell apart. I mean, this thing literally fell apart!

The TSA people were a little suspicious of me!

 Talking about "She's come undone"!

Believe it or not, laptop STILL works!

My beautiful computer, which was a gift from one grown nephew (and was dropped, TWICE) by my younger nephew. finally gave up even trying to hold together. Let me tell you something though: if you can afford one, get a Toshiba. Talk about taking a licking and still ticking... After all the damage inflicted by a 5 year old (and an inattentive auntie), the computer still works. The only problem is that the touchscreen is no longer functioning. That didn't faze me. The worst thing was this:

And it's NOT a flip type PC

So yeah. I will be trying to find someone to repair this one because it's too good of a computer. And it was a gift. In the meantime, I had to get back to work on the book.

~sigh~

I managed to scrape together enough of a balance on one of my cards and got a refurbed replacement laptop. Thank God I found a great price and used the perks of my credit card to get an even better deal. I couldn't afford another Toshiba Satellite ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ but this ASUS is okay, I guess. On the Plus side, it has a ton of disk space, The big downside? It lacks in speed. I've been told that's an easy fix but it costs and I'm not spending another unnecessary nickel that doesn't have to to with food or shelter!

Back in the day, I'd have had to spend a lot of time transferring files to the new PC. Luckily, I learned how to use cloud services so I only had to do a little bit of downloading.

And... I said all that to say that I'm back to work - finally, right? - on the book. The book that I blogged about here, here, here, here, and way back here when I first set out on the project.

This book:

For anyone out there, rolling their eyes and thinking about how long this book is taking, well, what can I tell you. Writing is hard work. It probably doesn't help that I work best by doing first drafts by hand.

This time, I'm not going to jinx myself by setting a publication date. I'm just going to get back to work - RIGHT NOW.  And I'll keep you posted, of course.

 ( ͡ᵔ ͜ʖ ͡ᵔ )

Peace
--Free

Writing Status & Killing Time

The title of the post should actually be - Writing Status: Holding and Waiting, Not Procrastinating. By the way, excuse any rambling. I'm dealing with some brain fog today. However, to make up for it, I am including links at the bottom of the post. Have fun.


When I posted about getting settled in the apartment, a casual online friend asked if I was now back to working on the book(s).

Well, let's see...

This is my chair and desk.

All. Those. Pieces. Yikes!

As you can see, the chair is assembled - because it was a "Look Ma, no tools required" kind of thing. That desk... I broke down in tears of frustration just trying to identify all the parts and pieces.

Yeah, so, this is my current writing station:

Makeshift desk & my busted computer

At least I put on part of the un-assembled desk to good use.

When I said that I had gotten things in the apartment put together. I meant that I had managed to get myself to put things together enough so that I have somewhere to sit and sleep. For now, I am concentrating on recovering from the move. My energy was at rock-bottom levels for the past couple of weeks. I'm hoping that I'll be feeling better now that I've finally had my (overdue) infusion.
This
Not only do I still need the desk assembled, I have to hunt around for an affordable bedroom dresser. And there are still my unpacked boxes to deal with...

While I'm waiting for my energy to power back up, I have been checking out some great websites.

"Wrote a song about it. Like t'hear it? Here it goes."
In Living Color (David Alan Grier)

• Lifehacker is just fun. It's a nice resource (sometimes) for writers
• WonderHowTo is for when you wonder how to. See what I did there?
• This video/GIF just because it nausates and fascinates me. 
• Unsplash for free photos. I actually just like looking at them, but you are free to use them.
• This is for when I need to let my brain just breathe. Good for when you feel overwhelmed and hyper.
• AlternativeTo is for when you are either broke or cheap and need an alternative to paid apps/programs. Maybe, like me you are both broke and cheap!
• Text Faces is just that. (ᵔᴥᵔ) See?
• Lifewire has the name that makes me think of Motley Crue, but a motto I like: Tech Untangled. 
• CamelCamelCamel is for Amazon addicts (me!) who like to price track (me!)
• WhichBook helps you choose a book to read.
• Have not checked out Instaread yet. Not sure if it will make me happy or sad...
• So, GeoCron is an interactive history atlas.

So, I'm not back working on the writing projects yet. There is no procrastination involved though. Trust me, I can't wait to get back into my writing. When I do, you will hear my whoops of joy!

Peace
--Free

Fatigue & Relief

So I have mostly finished getting set up here in my new town. The apartment is awesome, the neighbors are great, and I only wish I had more energy to get back to the book.

I have had my appointment with my new rheumatologist here. While he does not seem very familiar with sarcoidosis, he is a kind and attentive doctor who seems like he will be watching things carefully. The second time I saw him, I forgot to take my BP meds pre-appointment and ended up spending a few hours in the ER. (See, my other docs knew me well enough. If I forgot my meds, they made sure I took them right away and everything would settle down.) I guess I should be thankful that my new doc refuses to take chances. And I bet I won't ever, EVER forget to take my meds pre-appointment, no matter how early I have to be there.

This weekend is not the best. it would be awesome if I felt better, There is live music at the park that I can hear from my open window; the weather has cooled down to the right side of enjoyable; and I don't have my writing desk set up to do anything yet. I should be strolling down to the green to enjoy the music. Instead, I'm stuck inside, watching videos, reading, and blogging. I'm too drained to make the 2-block walk. Thankfully, I made it to the store earlier this morning before this fatigue sunk in. I'm pretty sure the problem is that I haven't had my regularly scheduled infusion. By the time I get it next week, I will be over 2 weeks behind. I never realized how much the infusions helped some of my symptoms.

I guess that, instead of complaining, I should be talking the positives. After all, even though I can't get to the park, I did make it outside for a while to enjoy the beautiful weather. And it really is a spectacular day out. Just a while ago, I went out and fed bread ends to the birds and squirrels! I'm still fascinated by the little creatures who are so friendly with us humans. Remember the friends I made while in the courtyard at my brother's apartment?




Speaking of peaceful, here is a shot of the very peaceful morning on Main:

That's from when I walked over to pick up some foodstuffs.  For a minute, I wondered if something was wrong, then I remembered. Sunday morning. It was so quiet that all I could hear was bird song. Did I mention that this is a "church" town? Sunday mornings are for worship and family. I think that there are about 4 churches in a 6-block radius of my building!

So, yeah, it sucks that I'm stuck inside on a pretty day but, on the other hand, I could be stuck inside and miserable. All in all, I realized how blessed I am. Hopefully, after the infusion I'll feel so much better.

Once I am feeling a bit more up to speed, I will be getting back to work on the book!

Peace
--Free

**UPDATE** The Book *is* Coming (Really!)

Because I announced having finished my first short story collection, I thought I should explain why there has been a delay in the Amazon release.

First, let me say that I truly appreciate the existence of CreateSpace for self-publishing creatives. It's really a beautiful thing.

However...

There is a bit of a learning curve for first-time users.

I'm a slow learner.

Actually, I'm proud of myself for having gotten as far in the process as I have. I have on my bookshelf a first proof copy of  Love and Madness.

The cover looks better than this photo shows...

I'm holding back on publishing because I am adding to the book. I don't feel right releasing it with only the stories I'd included in the proof. Also, I have completed a few more stories that fit the mood of Love and Madness and really want them as part of it.

One thing that I find tedious about CreateSpace is using their templates. Of course, that's a better option than not using them. Unless there is a fairy who will fix the margins and  any other formatting. (If any of you are friends with such a being, please schedule me an introduction.)

I read the forums, so I know I'm not the only writer who has problems with formatting and cover issues. Now that I have finished additional stories for the book, I am having to start from scratch with the template. Once that's done, Love and Madness will be hitting the market. Trust me, I will be shouting the news from every rooftop I can.

For now, keep me in your prayers. If I don't finish this first book soon I will either be losing all the rest of my mind or taking up drinking as a serious pursuit.

In the meantime,

Peace
--Free

**REVIEW** Black Opal True Color Foundation

Cue the singing of angels!

I have found yet another reasonably priced foundation in a shade I love. It's not hard to find a good foundation. I've checked many brands at the drugstores that feel good on the skin, have a great look (if it matches the wearer's shade), and doesn't break the bank.

My problem is my darker-than-"deep" shade. I love how all the darkest shades near where I live stop somewhere between Mocha and Cafe Au lait. It's as if someone decided that most black women are actual sisters of  Beyonce, Mariah, or Alicia Keyes. I might find something real close to a Jennifer Hudson shade every now and then, but those usually go wrong just enough to leave me looking ashy or chalky. That's just what happened with this Revlon 2-in-1 foundation and concealer I recently tried in "Cappucino"...

NOT the reviewed product!!!

That certainly looks like if would work for me. If anything, from the photo, it looks like it might be perfect.

It's not.

First of all, it's only that dark in the photo. Second of all, even though the actual product was dark enough to fool me when I saw it at the store, it's not that dark when applied. It's more of a Cappucino with a dose of cream. When I applied it, it worked so well that I could have gotten away with wearing it if no one looked past my jawline, In other words, I looked like a black kabuki-painted chick. If there is such a thing, I mean. (No offense intended to any cultures.)

~sigh~

I was disappointed until I found this:

This is the Ebony Brown shade of Black Opal's True Color Pore Perfecting Liquid Foundation.

Since I first spotted it online, I was a bit worried about the shade match to my skin.  Thankfully, some sweet lady had lots of photos in different types of lighting. That made it easier for me to take a chance and try this one.

I'm going to pause now to share some photos in different lighting. Sort of a pay-it-forward thing since I didn't get the name or site of the lady who helped me out.

The TOP (darker) photos are the truest to color.
The BOTTOM photos make the liquid look lighter than it actually is

Most of you should have an idea of what shade my complexion is by now. One thing I learned long ago from a beauty consultant was to always test new shades to the neck or jawline. I don't know how good this photo is, but I can tell you that this foundation in Ebony Brown is just about a super match to my skin tone.

There is ZERO makeup below my jaw. I actually did one side of my face and left the other side bare this morning, but the match is too close for my camera to show you the difference. Looking in the mirror, it looked as if I had "blurred" or put BB cream on the side with the makeup. There's just a smoothing and evening-out effect that I love. Doesn't do much for the 5 decades worth of wrinkles around my eyes, but I still love the effects. 

Good thing that I didn't see this part of the box before I bought this makeup or I would have passed. From the picture below, this would seem way too light for me:

Here's the crazy thing: when I compare the bottle of this Ebony Brown to the (now returned/refunded) Revlon Cappucino cream foundation, they look like exact matches. But, oh, nay nay.

There is one interesting thing that I noticed when I was checking the label. There's this part about the product being "alcohol-free"...







































...that sounded good until I looked at the ingredients:

Am I missing something - or is something that has "Cetyl Alcohol" in it considered free of, well, alcohol? Apparently, yes, I am missing something. I guess it's not only important to read a label but to also know the games played with them.

Because I assume the alcohol is meant to keep down the shine, I'm a tiny bit disappointed that I do get shine with this product. I have discovered that it best to blot this really well to remedy that. Also, even when I did blot after applying, after a few hours in the car (on a warm day), I had to tissue my face again. If you don't blot (or re-blot), this makeup transfers to everything that you touch. (Side note: my optometrist was probably hating me when she had to clean all her testing machines after my exam today.) My NARS and BH foundations are much better non-shine/non-transfer products, but the coverage is lighter than with this foundation. (I will have to review the NARS one day soon.)

Aside from the (not really) alcohol-free and the other issues, I do love this foundation. I'm going to be checking with Black Opal to see if they send out samples. I'd love to check the Black Walnut shade in the product.

One day, I will have to do a post comparing all the different brands and shades I've still got laying around. For now -

Peace
--Free



P.S.: I do want to give credit to Revlon for having a shade as dark as Cappucino. At least they are offering some shade variety. By the way, if you can wear their 2-in-1 product I mentioned, it's some great stuff and I'd tell you to give it a try. Can't wait to find a cream-to-powder that works for my skin shade.

**RESOURCES** For Writers and Students

As I've been working on (or juggling the work on) three different books, I've been OneNoting some resources to share with you guys. Here are the latest links I culled from my notebooks. Here we go....

Visualizing Words

• Visuwords (very helpful) read the About page
• Visual Dictionary Online (example for clothing) 
• The Visual Dictionary (not my fave)

Dictation Software

• Braina (Scary good dictation software, but be careful of the Pro trial. It's not totally free... Also, not expensive)
• Speechnotes (So easy to use, but no download as far as I know. It's all online, then copy or share to other utilities.)

(I use it on my phone and if I could ever get something as good as S Voice for my computer, I'd be one happy heffa!)

Other Lang & Slang

• Urban Dictionary (Good resource for us "geezers". Go look that up!)
• Online Slang Dictionary (I've not used it yet. Looks good.)
• DARE (for regional English)
• AlphaDictionary.com (you have to just go see this one. So good.)
• No Slang (Love it. To translate all the text & internet slang. Even has a "swear filter".)
• ESL Slang (I find it very cool that this is out there. Yay, Internet.)

What & Where in Time

• Time Maps
• African-American History Timeline (1900-2000) (from BlackPast.org which is a fave site of mine)
• TikiToki (a timeline creator for various uses) I linked to the FAQs
• The People History (I went to research music & saw how much else they cover)
• My Birthday Facts (Not just my birthday, but yours - or any day. Useful & fun.))
• dMarie Time Capsule (Great or details - like price of food & gas, etc. on a  certain date. I've used this site for years now!)

Too Good to Leave Out

• Site map for BlackPast.org
• Country Culture Index
• Fashion Era (site a bit old/info still good)

Enjoy & Peace

--Free