Freed's policy on stolen laptops

[Posted to Xanga 11/30/10]

"I understand that any incidents of loss, theft or accidental damage must be reported to the University  IKnow Help Desk as soon as possible, but no later than 48 hours after the incident, or the incident may not be covered by insurance. All repairs must be authorized and/or performed by the University iKnow Help Desk. In the event of accidental damage to the iKnow System, I acknowledge that I am responsible for the cost of needed repairs not covered by warranty or insurance up to $250. In the case of theft, I acknowledge that I will be responsible for the first $550 ($875 MacBook Pro) of the replacement cost of a new iKnow System (a copy of the police report must be provided within 1 week of the theft). I acknowledge that in the case of a lost or destroyed iKnow System, I will be assessed a fee equivalent to the full cost of a new iKnow System. If a theft is reported to the University iKnow Help Desk but a police report is not provided within 1 week of the theft then it will be considered a lost system."

Dear whoever stole my bag,

 [Posted to Xanga 11/30/10]

If you were trying to feed or shelter yourself or your family, I forgive you.

But you took from me the material possession most important to me.

That's the MOST detached way I can state it.

Let me put it like this.

You took from me a very dear friend. You took from me my constant companion, the one who's always by my side, the one who can always listen to everything I have to say, the one that keeps me connected to the outside world, keeps me from feeling completely alone. The one that lets me talk to my friends, the one that represents everything my parents ever took from me when I lived at home. You took from me the purest symbol of my freedom. You took from me a component of my very self, because that was what Calliope was to me.

Not only that, but you took my teddy bear, which was given to me by a dear friend of mine.

If you didn't truly NEED my laptop for the money, and if you don't truly spend the money in a necessary way, then I sincerely hope that you will suffer until you feel pain equal to the pain I'm feeling right now.

I'm in mourning.

Not only did I lose my laptop, my friend, my companion, but I also lost music. I lost journal entries. A month of journal entries that can never, ever be replaced. I lost chat logs. I lost stories. I lost my NaNoWriMo novel, which I had never backed up, except for the first two chapters, which I sent to my aunt a while back. I lost thousands and thousands of pictures. I lost videos.

I will never see those things again. I will never see my Calliope again. Calliope, I'm sorry. I love you.

Home, / let me come home, / home is wherever I'm with you. / Oh, home, / let me come ho-o-ome, / home is where I'm alone with you...

Guess what?

[Posted to Xanga 11/26/10]

 After two weeks of Nuvigil...I want to revise a previous statement.

It actually IS a miraculous change.

I just thought it would feel different or something. Like I'd suddenly feel like Superman, like I'd suddenly have the awareness that I could do anything I set my mind to.

I don't really feel any different inside my head. But there's been a huge difference in my actions. Suddenly, my work is getting done. For the first time all semester last week I was DONE with schoolwork instead of procrastinating schoolwork or skipping schoolwork. And I don't understand why it should be different, why I should suddenly be able to concentrate and apply effort the way I have been, but there's been a dramatic difference in what's gotten done. It's amazing.

For instance, while taking Nuvigil, I constructed most of this website for my Web Design project, writing it from scratch in HTML and CSS to look like the mockups my partner created in Photoshop: http://webdesign.fhu.edu/~mmcclish/project2/index.html

The last two links in the navigation bar won't work, but that's only because I haven't been given the mockups for those pages yet. I completed each page except the first one on the day it was given to me. The first one took me a couple of days, because developing the default CSS for the site takes longer than making things after that, and because my CSS has gotten better during the course of this project.

But my point is, this is unheard of for me. Getting something done that fast. And truly done, not just sort-of done.

Today I'm out of Nuvigil. It's been two weeks. My mom said she would get me a ninety-day supply if my psych nurse approved, and she approves as far as I can tell. I can only hope it pans out and I get some more. Because this is wonderful.