Where've You Been?

I've been noticeably derelict in attending to this blog, but I have my excuses. Hey, no matter what the situation, I have my excuses. Justification is an art form with me. Anyway, I've been exploring new ground. Okay, here's the scenario.

I logged onto Microsoft's website to check for program updates and was informed that [they] were no longer supporting Windows ME. Damn! Now I had to upgrade to Windows XP. I had considered it before, but was put off by the cost of the upgrade ...almost a hundred bucks.

So, since it's been out for some time, I started looking around for a bargain on the cost of the upgrade. I found one, but it was at eBay. Now I've been long aware of eBay, but was never tempted to do the "bidding on items" thing. But I found this to be the place for the best prices for this software ...and also Office 98, an older version of the Microsoft software that would allow me to run Excel on my Mac laptop running OS X. My old version of Excel (v4.0) couldn't make the transition from my older Mac to the newer one.

So, I signed up on eBay and started studying all the intricacies of the process. This bidding thing is really cool ...knowing when and how to bid to assure that you win the bid while still getting the item(s) for the best possible price.

I've since purchased a few items using this process, trying not to go overboard like I'm want to do with anything new. I've even considered this platform as a possible "garage sale" I might utilize to unload some of the stuff I've accumulated over the years ...stuff I have absolute no use for but somebody else might want.

	So far, I bought the Windows XP upgrade -- (installing new Windows software is always a great big pain in the ass);
	I bought Microsoft's Office 98 -- (I didn't need the whole Office suite, but twenty bucks was a cheap price to get a version of Excel that would run on my laptop.)
	I got a refurbished printer -- (one that has serial, parallel, and USB interfaces, allowing me to use it with all three of my computers [MacG3 w/OS 8.1; Pentium PC w/Windows XP; iBook G4 w/OS 10.3.9] ...at the same time);
	I found a [used-but-in-pristine-condition] copy of Irene Kral's "Kral Space"-- (an out-of-print CD for which I've been many years searching);
	I found hard cover copies of David Eddings' Belgariad Parts 1 & 2, one of my favorite fantasy sagas -- (I have the trade paperback versions of the five individual novels that make up this saga and I have the softcover versions of parts 1 & 2 (of the complete saga in two parts), but I've always preferred books in hard cover format with intact dust jackets. These copies were brand new, never-been read);
	And finally, I was able to get hard covers of two other Eddings' novels (one to replace a soft cover and one I didn't have). With these, I now have the full collection of Eddings' works. I'm really big on sets and complete collections of things.

Anyway that's what I've been up to. Now that the passion of the "new experience" is dying down, I can quell my shopping urges. The last thing I need is to get carried away in adding more stuff to all the stuff I already have.