Author Archives: Kara

Ten on Tuesday

Posted in Ten on Tuesday by

1. Mac or Windows? (Or Linux for you super geeks!)

At home I use Windows, and I think that’s my OS of choice. At work I use a Mac, and it’s old and slow. In fact, every Mac I’ve ever used has been old and/or slow, so I’m a little jaded I guess. Maybe if I used a hipper version (Snow Leopard? Liger?) my mind would be changed.

2. What drew you to that operating system?

Tried and true! My first home computer had good ol’ Windows ’95. My grandparents had a computer with Windows ’93 and DOS. Yes, DOS.

3. Mice – Wireless or Wired? Mouse pad or none?

Wireless! My mouse is always everywhere. Coffee table – couch arm, where ever! I love me some wirelessness. And no to the mouse pad too. At work my mouse “pad” is a piece of scrap paper.

4. Other than the Internet – What do you use your computer most for?

Typing, typing, typing! I’m a freelance and I work at a newspaper, so all I do it Word it up.

5. What’s one computer-related thing you wish you were best at? (CSS, Photoshop, Excel, etc.)

Definitely CSS or web design. My blog desperately needs a face lift. Everytime I do it myself I’m never satisfied with the end result. I just need to bite the bullet one day and hire someone to do it.

6. Describe the first time you ever used a computer.

I think I was in Grade 1 or 2 and our classroom had an Apple computer in it. We could play spelling games with good ol’ 8″ floppy disks. (Remember those things? What’s a floppy disk, you say?) Ah, those were the days.

7. How often do you upgrade to a new operating system?

Only when I buy a new computer and it’s loaded with the hottest, latest thing. I have Windows Vista right now and haven’t bothered to upgrade to Windows 7. Really, I haven’t had any problems with Vista. I don’t know why people hate on it so much. At my old job my Mac “Tiger” OS was upgraded to “Snow Leopard” and it was the most amazing thing ever.

8. Are you a short-cutter (CTRL+C) or a right-clicker?

Definitely a short-cutter.

9. Is computer-use a constant thing in your life (such as using it both at work and home) or do you get a break (because you don’t use them at work)?

I’m constantly on a computer for the majority of the day. I use it at home to do freelance work and to blog (duh!) and at work to do my work. (Duh duh!) Sometimes it’s nice to just unplug for a day though. It really helps my (seemingly) rapidly deteriorating eyesight, I’m sure.

10. Where do you think the world would be if personal computers did not exist?

Definitely. I don’t think we’d be as aware of global issues. The term “Global community” comes to mind. We’d be much more disconnected from people across the world. A major event, like the tsunami in Japan or the famine in Somalia, wouldn’t have as great an impact because we cannot see them for ourselves on our own terms. Sure, the media would project the issues to us, but with personal computers, we can explore them on our own. Ya know?

Now go participate, link up on Chelsea’s page, and thank her for posting the above ToT questions – brought to you by yours truly!

Home Reno’s: And. We’re. DONE!

Posted in House and Home, Kara and Kyle, Renovations by

After three weeks of the upstairs of our townhouse being an absolute war zone, our man cave/computer room/future baby room (no, we’re not expecting, FYI rumour starters!) is DONE!

Two weeks ago we got the flooring put in. (Luxurious dark bamboo hardwood laminate!) Last week we got the door and trim painted and put up (or down I guess for the baseboards). It has been such hard work – and not even for me – for Kyle. I have done pretty much nothing in that room, not that I’m complaining. Kyle has been awesome making that room look fabulous. I’m not even going to take any credit for it, except for the caulking around the baseboards – that was alllll me! I’m a master caulker. (Insert dirty joke here)

Anyway – Pictures pictures!

(View the “Before” and “After Paint” photos here)

So, after the caulking had dried we went out and bought a new TV stand and a new desk for Kyle and voila – the room is done and Kyle is happy to have his “Man Cave” back in running order.

Now we just need to have new windows installed and hang new curtains. I swear reno’s never end. Next up is the spare bedroom when our bank account replenishes itself a little bit.

Do reno’s every really end? Really?

Newly Wed/Newly Weds: Verb or Noun?

Posted in Life, Marriage by

I pondered this question the other day and wondered, “Am I just newly wed or am I a newly wed?”

Confused? I don’t blame you.

Let me break it down for you: For example, Kyle and I just got married a couple months ago, therefore we’re newly wed (the verb). But – are we newly weds (the noun)?

I don’t really picture us as being the noun. The noun screams to me as couples who haven’t been together for an extended period of time before getting hitched and who still have issues and learn new things about each other after they get married.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking those who dated for two year and then got engaged. Old Kara – the Kara who still wasn’t engaged after being with the same guy for eight years and who would hate on people getting engaged – would hiss at those people in a jealous rage. New Kara – the Kara who’s finally married to her boyfriend of nearly nine years – now wonders and hopes that those people are really ready to take the plunge into newly wed-dome (the noun). Regardless of what our age would’ve been (18 years old, to be exact), at two years of dating we certainly were not ready to get married. We still didn’t know each other inside and out. We still didn’t know what buttons to push to make each other angry, happy, or swoon. It took us at least five or six years of being together to figure all of this out, and even now that we now each other really damn well, we still have the odd pissing match.

I think people are almost disappointed when they ask me “How’s newly wed life? Have things changed?” and I respond with, “It’s good and not really.” Nothing more, nothing less. The only thing that has changes is that I love him a little bit more than I used to, our finances have combined and my last name is different. We haven’t uncovered any skeletons from our past all of a sudden or fight about life-changing decisions. We argued about all of that way before getting married. Long story short: Marriage didn’t really change us.

So – with all this being said – I think Kyle and I are just the verb more than the noun. We hashed out all those nitty-gritty details way before we actually said “I do.”

Questions:
What do you think makes a “newly wed?”
If you’re married, how long did you date before you got married? Did that length of time affect your marriage?
If you’re not married, do you think you’ll be the noun or the verb?