Oh boy.  What a year!  And, I'll create a list of everything I've done this year...

• Served lunch/dinner at two successful Shrine Circuses in January and Febuary.
• Installed as Queen of Makere Temple No 99 in March.
• Had a successful GoEx for OES in May.
• Had a Nile Ceremonial in May.
• Went to my THIRD Supreme Session in June.  Met so many cool people and added them all to Facebook.
• Nile Picnic in July!
• Turned 30.
• Successful Supreme Queen Visit in August.
• Interviews in May, August, and September.
• Second interview with Chrysler in September.
• JOB OFFER IN SEPTEMBER!!!! (RGBSI at Chrysler.)
• Alpena Nile Visit first weekend of October.
• Moved to hotel in Auburn Hills in October.
• Went to first CHC in October (haven't been back because I've been busy).
• Thanksgiving.
• MOVED to new apartment same weekend as Thanksgiving.
• Power went out the following week.  :-(
• Power restored after two days; Cable and internet installed week following.
• Work.
• Work.
• Work.
• Christmas.
• Happy New Year!!!

I go back to work on the third.  I'm looking forward to it.  :)  I've met so many cool people at work and on the internet, I really can't complain.

What I wish for 2012:

• To keep my job.  This might not sound like a lot, but shit.  I've worked my ass off for various places and they usually dump me after I've done a decent job and hit all their rīdiculus deadlines and stretched myself.
• Keep on keepin' on.
• Create something for NaNoWriMo in November.
• Finish my Holmes fanfic.
• Watch more films.
• Read.
• Read.
• Read.
• Work.
• Write.

That's pretty much it.  Simple list, huh?

I've been looking at computers again.

This is a bad idea, as I find all kinds of stuff that's awesome.

So yeah.

Lenovo is having a sale on their Thinkpads right now, and I've seen Thinkpads and I'm enamoured with them right now.  They look functional and simple and can hide a bunch of power inside.  The only bad thing?  I have to buy it with a bloody Windows license.

System 76 has a great desktop machine that I'm looking at, but their smallest laptop is 14" and that's a little big for a secondary couch-surfing system.  I just want something about 12" that will run Ubuntu and is (preferably) under $600.  It has to be portable and it has to fit in a bag and be easy to carry around to coffee shops and easy to take home for a weekend.  Also, battery life.  Please be more than 4 hours on a charge...

I think I've got a pipe dream here.  ZaReason has an awesome laptop that's 13" and has a lot of the things I want, but it's closer to $800.

I don't know exactly what to do, but I'll figure something out.  I'm not planning on pulling the trigger on any of these systems til well after the new year... closer to March maybe.  

You might be asking what I'm looking for in a desktop...  Well, here we go:

• At least an i5 processor.
• 6-8 gb of RAM.
• 500+ gb hard drive.
• nVidia card... 1 gb thing that's on S76.  I don't know what it's called.
• Decent cooling.
• Low power usage.

Same with a laptop:

• Battery life; at least 4-8 hours worth.
• 12" screen is optimal; I'll go to 13" or 11" if I have to.
• Decent keyboard.
• 2-4 gb of RAM.
• 100+ GB hard drive.
• i3 processor (or equilivent).
• 3 USB ports.

Both of the machines MUST be able to run Ubuntu with MINIMUM of fuss.  If I have to fight with it, I don't want any part of dealing with it.  The desktop must run Windows 7 as a secondary OS with minimum of fuss.

I just want my stuff to work without a problem.  An OS shouldn't get in my way of what I want to do, and both Ubuntu and Windows 7 are at those points.

Maybe I'm picky.  Who knows.

Let me just say "yay" for a moment.

I've had a lot more activity on my Tumblr blog, only because there's a massive community on there that I reblog from.

So.

I have my cable and internet turned on.

My office is (somewhat) set up.  I have the desk set up, my computer on it, and the cabling taken care of.  Desk lamp, printer, all that jazz... BUT, I still have to organize some stuff that I haven't gotten to yet.

The TV stuff is set up.  My kitchen is set up.  My bedroom is set up.

It's perfect.

I just need some artwork to put on the walls, and I'm thinking of buying some more canvases and painting them so I have something to hang.  Some stuff with color, and abstract.  But that's a lot of work right now... maybe after things settle.  I can work on them over my week break for the holidays, maybe.

Pictures will be forthcoming once I get the office settled more and my artwork done.

Whoo-hoo!  I've waited for this for a long time.