So. I expected to be able to review a bunch of samples today and yesterday. My plan for my day off yesterday and today was to sit down happily with some tea and play my new copy of old-skool Riven.
That did not happen.
You see – work before play – I decided to first update some Ops forms I created for work and print off more. We absolutely need some for Tuesday. Which was the point when I discovered that the ENTIRE Microsoft Office Suite had mysteriously vanished from our computer.
My sister – in a stunningly self-centered move – uninstalled it because of a minor, annoying, Word-related prompt that appears at start-up. (This is left over from a tech-stupid, failed attempt on our part to install a more complete language pack to Windows.) My sister – who is disabled and does not work or go to school, unlike the rest of the family – somehow decided, “No one uses this, anyway,” and deleted Word, Excel, Powerpoint…
So I spent all of yesterday trying to System Restore and whatnot to fix it. De nada. We are now stuck with no working word processing/spreadsheet programs except crappy free ones. So unless we can borrow old installation discs off someone, we will probably need a new computer. Like we can afford that. Oh, and in the process of trying to fix that, I temporarily couldn’t get Riven to work, either. What a day. I had to vent, guys.
But my 52teas order came today! That’s such an improvement over yesterday, seriously. Just that. Huge improvement.
I decided to try this one first. When I cracked open the bag, wow, what a great smell! It’s very lemon-y on top, but there’s definitely something like butter and cake underneath that. Very promising.
I steeped this up – about 12oz worth with a scant teaspoon of rock sugar – and…the taste is…the taste is… Hmm. Um.
I’m not sure what this tastes like. I’m not sure what it’s supposed to taste like. Does cake taste like this? It’s pleasant enough, but I don’t get “cake.” It’s quite lemon-y.
Overall, it’s pleasant, but I wasn’t sure what to think of it. There’s a quality to it that’s almost like a tiny bit of sourness or astringency, and a tiny note of bitterness. I decided to add just a touch more sugar (white sugar, so that it would dissolve) and some milk. My instinct was that the milk would mellow this one out.
Wow! Did the milk ever help! I’m not so sure about the sugar because I can really taste it; but mellowed with milk, the better notes of this tea really shine through. It’s got a nice balance of lemon and sweet to it. I definitely think I taste something closer to “cake” at the bottom of the sip now (not the back, mind you, the bottom, let’s be specific here), but…damn that white sugar! Seems to be killing things. Man, why did I ever put this nasty stuff in my tea?! Never again, I swear. I’ll just suffer through it not being as sweet! Blech!
VERY nice with a bit of sugar and milk, anyway. Definitely has a “comfort food” factor to it, a good gaming tea!
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You can order them pretty cheap or download which is less than a new computer. ALTHOUGH, I do like my HP all in one a lot!
Many schools have a program where you can download the MS Office suite for much cheaper (under $50) if you are a student. Also, at the very least, buying the software from Microsoft should surely be cheaper than buying a new computer! Then again, if it was a legit copy to begin with, there must be some way for Microsoft support to help you restore or replace it. (Or maybe there are backup discs that came with your computer, if it was pre-installed?) Bottom line is if you owned the software there’s no reason you should have to buy it again just because it was uninstalled. You still have rights to it, as I understand it.
ps – as crappy word-processing software goes, Google Docs is ok and easy to use. It’s web-based, so there’s no software to download, and it’s tied to a password-protected Google account, so no one should be able to delete your stuff.
@Janefan – Thank you for the suggestion! I found Google Docs earlier today, will set it up now that I have a testimonial.
We borrowed the installation discs from my aunt (who owned them but had never used them). We gave them back, apparently, and she is a hoarder (it runs in my family) and while her place is livable it is hard to find stuff in there. She may never find those discs again. :(
I was under the impression that we could download the programs! But my mother insisted we would need to buy a computer with them pre-installed, and that what you download is only the access code. None of us are tech-savvy! I will talk to them again.
To buy the software directly from Microsoft (you download the program from their website and install it yourself; it’s really not much different from using the discs) starts at $120 http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/buy/ or if you are “verified” as a student (not sure what that entails), $100: http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msstore/pd/productID.229301900
But seriously I would try your school first if you are full time or even part time student, call the IT helpdesk and ask if they offer MS Office for student use at a discount. When I was in college (granted, 10 yrs ago) it was only about $20 or $25.
oh! Microsoft now has “MS Office Web Apps” which I think is a free online version (trying to compete with Google Docs?). I don’t know what the “catch” is (I think you at least need a hotmail or microsoft email account), but may also be worth looking into. http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/web-apps/office-web-apps-FX101860442.aspx
Ok I’ll stop bombarding you with info now. PM me if you have questions. Disclaimer, I’m not a tech expert, just a technical writer/editor and grad student who uses this stuff a lot. I know just enough to be dangerous!
Forget Microsoft. You can install Open Office for absolutely free. It has the same array of programs, and although some of it looks slightly different it can do the same things. It can also open MS Office files and you can save in MS file format by default if you prefer to do that. I made the switch to OO many many years ago and haven’t looked back since.
You can also look into LibreOffice, which I believe is an off-shoot of the OO project. They’re open source.
My aunt might still have the installation discs after all! Crisis probably averted!
Thanks for your kind comments and help, everyone! I will keep everything in mind for the future.
You can order them pretty cheap or download which is less than a new computer. ALTHOUGH, I do like my HP all in one a lot!
Many schools have a program where you can download the MS Office suite for much cheaper (under $50) if you are a student. Also, at the very least, buying the software from Microsoft should surely be cheaper than buying a new computer! Then again, if it was a legit copy to begin with, there must be some way for Microsoft support to help you restore or replace it. (Or maybe there are backup discs that came with your computer, if it was pre-installed?) Bottom line is if you owned the software there’s no reason you should have to buy it again just because it was uninstalled. You still have rights to it, as I understand it.
ps – as crappy word-processing software goes, Google Docs is ok and easy to use. It’s web-based, so there’s no software to download, and it’s tied to a password-protected Google account, so no one should be able to delete your stuff.
@Janefan – Thank you for the suggestion! I found Google Docs earlier today, will set it up now that I have a testimonial.
We borrowed the installation discs from my aunt (who owned them but had never used them). We gave them back, apparently, and she is a hoarder (it runs in my family) and while her place is livable it is hard to find stuff in there. She may never find those discs again. :(
I was under the impression that we could download the programs! But my mother insisted we would need to buy a computer with them pre-installed, and that what you download is only the access code. None of us are tech-savvy! I will talk to them again.
To buy the software directly from Microsoft (you download the program from their website and install it yourself; it’s really not much different from using the discs) starts at $120 http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/buy/ or if you are “verified” as a student (not sure what that entails), $100: http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msstore/pd/productID.229301900
But seriously I would try your school first if you are full time or even part time student, call the IT helpdesk and ask if they offer MS Office for student use at a discount. When I was in college (granted, 10 yrs ago) it was only about $20 or $25.
oh! Microsoft now has “MS Office Web Apps” which I think is a free online version (trying to compete with Google Docs?). I don’t know what the “catch” is (I think you at least need a hotmail or microsoft email account), but may also be worth looking into. http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/web-apps/office-web-apps-FX101860442.aspx
Ok I’ll stop bombarding you with info now. PM me if you have questions. Disclaimer, I’m not a tech expert, just a technical writer/editor and grad student who uses this stuff a lot. I know just enough to be dangerous!
Forget Microsoft. You can install Open Office for absolutely free. It has the same array of programs, and although some of it looks slightly different it can do the same things. It can also open MS Office files and you can save in MS file format by default if you prefer to do that. I made the switch to OO many many years ago and haven’t looked back since.
You can also look into LibreOffice, which I believe is an off-shoot of the OO project. They’re open source.
My aunt might still have the installation discs after all! Crisis probably averted!
Thanks for your kind comments and help, everyone! I will keep everything in mind for the future.