Anger and Computer Software Issues

[stargazer]

The effect of the following:

(1) having a laptop stolen on which I used Windows XP, Word 2003, and Finale 2007 comfortably;

(2) not realizing what I was up against when the only computers I could rent came with Windows Vista, and the only version of Word that seemed to be available at Microsoft Online was Word 2007, and Finale 2007 turned out to be incompatible with Vista, so I had to upgrade to Finale 2008;

(3) working under deadlines and pressure, having to fail people, cancel things, etc. because of inability to locate files, even after running searches, frequent shut-downs, freezes, loss of work, etc.

is driving me completely out of my mind!!!

No one should upgrade to Vista unless:

(1) you have a lot of time on your hands (which I don't.)

(2) you are for some reason unhappy with XP

(3) you are a computer expert

(4) you work with huge amounts of files and transfers which need to be categorized in different places, and you're not a "small fry" like most of us

I feel like making a huge fist and knocking it through my computer screen. I wonder what the charge would be. "Aggravated Assault on A Flat Panel??"

 

[Into The Light]

vista is just bad news all around, from what i hear. i'm hanging on to what i've got. maybe you could find a second hand computer with xp on it?

 

[stargazer]

Windows Vista is a calculated effort on the part of large corporations to drive the small business person out of business and make us all employees of corporate moguls working for slave wages. End of story.

 

[stargazer]

I was halfway joking above, but I probably ought to be staightforward and serious in order to convey what's going on with me in reality.

I keep alternating between posting in an Anger Management forum, and posting in the forum related to Computers and the Internet, because I am having extreme anger management issues that are related to Computers and the Internet.

I am not having particular anger management issues in any other area of my life right now. I haven't been getting mad at work, or toward friends or family members. I suppose I might become angry at beuracracies if they were in my face, but I haven't let them be.

I am extremely over-worked. I do not have time on my hands to mess around learning new computer programs. I feel resentful because I felt forced to obtain a computer with Windows Vista, because the only computers that I could rent had Vista, and not XP. I also am angry at myself for not anticipating how huge the differences would be, and how unable I would be to learn how to adapt to those difference while under extreme time pressure.

The workshop I mentioned began as a voluntary personal project outside of my employment, but evolved into something larger due to people expressing interest in the project, and I haven't been able to get out of it. This is also frustrating me. I'm stuck with deadlines I can't meet due to constantly losing files, or finding that they are unsaved, and so forth.

It's 6:30 in the morning. I have been up since 5am. I have spent the entire time editing a music notation file, and I just now lost all my work.

I can't keep this up any longer, and I don't know what to do. Not a day goes by when I don't literally feel that I am on the verge of taking the entire computer and hurling it through the nearest window.

This is not a laughing matter. I don't have time on my hands to keep messing around with software that I don't have time to understand.

If I can find a computer with XP somewhere, I'll save all my files and turn this one back in. However, Finale software only allows me to run the disk on two systems, and I will feel like I'm being gypped. Not to mention I only ran the download of Word 2007 on this system, but I hate Word 2007 anyway, and if I can find Word 2003, I'll install it on whatever system I can find that has Windows XP.

And then, I'll run Finale 2007, if they let me. I still have one more system left I can run Finale 2008 on, and since it's compatible with XP, that's the least of my worries.

There was a time when Computers and the Internet was a hobby of mine, which I enjoyed. Now is not that time. I need reliable software in order to function at work, but most of all I need to be able to control my frustrations with software that I am having a hard time with.

I'm not doing this very well, and I really need help. Please understand that this is primarily an anger management issue, and only secondarily a Windows Vista (etc.) issue. So replies related only to the software, and not to my temperature, are not going to be addressing my purpose in posting.

I purposely highlighted references to time, so people will understand how much of my frustration is related to time pressure. If I had time on my hands, I'd sit down at the computer and step-by-step run myself through Vista for Dummies. But I simply do not have time.

And, probably worst of all, my time is not my own. I'm on other people's time, and they're on my time, and I'm back in the "real world" again, and not coping with it very well. So, I just don't want to land back in the Valley, and homeless, and all that. I'm really blowing it.

Thanks for reading and understanding. If you know me, you know my patterns, and you can probably help. I'm really at a loss right now. Thank you.

 

[Daniel E.]

So replies related only to the software, and not to my temperature, are not going to be addressing my purpose in posting.

I understand. Personally, I've thrown a computer monitor to the ground when angry/frustrated, albeit when I was 18 and suicidal.

I'm back in the "real world" again, and not coping with it very well. So, I just don't want to land back in the Valley, and homeless, and all that. I'm really blowing it.

Are you still under the auspices of the Social Security Administration? In any case, it certainly seems anything that can help you relax will be helpful in both the short and long term. I would recommend going back to running if you haven't already. Just 5 minutes can be helpful. Or hot baths/showers, etc.

I have spent the entire time editing a music notation file, and I just now lost all my work.

Did you save it to disk and now can't find it? If so, I would recommend trying Google Desktop Search.

 

[stargazer]

I understand. Personally, I've thrown a computer monitor to the ground when angry/frustrated, albeit when I was 18 and suicidal.

I never owned a computer until I was 46 years old, so I can't totally relate. I've been tempted to do the above (as I've described) but haven't done so -- yet.

Are you still under the auspices of the Social Security Administration? In any case, it certainly seems anything that can help you relax will be helpful in both the short and long term. I would recommend going back to running if you haven't already. Just 5 minutes can be helpful. Or hot baths/showers, etc.

That sounds good, and thank you for that. I did manage to re-create the file, and I got both the pdf and the mp3 of the .MUS file (the .MUS being the 'master' created with Finale music notation software) sent to the relevant person, who I will assume has not fired me by now, though I've not heard from her since my most recent email tirade.

I finished it at exactly 8am, so that's not bad timing. I'm going to run now. I might have exaggerated, in that I did run (only 2.2 miles) on Sunday, and I also ran last Wednesday (3.8 miles). So I'm still hangin' in there. It's just not the four days a week I seem to need.

Yes, still under SSA auspices. Not sure how long it will last, but my therapist advised me to ride the tide and see where it leads.

I do have a bathtub now, though I've not yet used it. And thank you for addressing something other than strictly the Computer & Internet issues -- that's what I was hoping for, in order not to feel that my issue was being misinterpreted.

Did you save it to disk and now can't find it? If so, I would recommend trying Google Desktop Search.

OK, I'll look into that. In the meantime, I am in the process of emailing all recently created files to a Yahoo address where I store everything. I'm pretty sure I now know where all the files are located (at least for the time being) so I'm going to send them while they're still where I think they are.

 

[Daniel E.]

Yes, still under SSA auspices. Not sure how long it will last, but my therapist advised me to ride the tide and see where it leads.

Oh, good. In case you aren't aware of your rights:

Social Security work incentives at a glance

Trial work period—The trial work period allows you to test your ability to work for at least nine months. During your trial work period, you will receive your full Social Security benefits regardless of how much you are earning as long as you report your work activity and you continue to have a disabling impairment. In 2007, a trial work month is any month in which your total earnings are $640 or more, or, if you are self-employed, you earn more than $640 (after expenses) or spend more than 80 hours in your own business. The trial work period continues until you have worked nine months within a 60-month period.

Extended period of eligibility—After your trial work period, you have 36 months during which you can work and still receive benefits for any month your earnings are not “substantial.” In 2007, earnings of $900 or more ($1,500 if you are blind) are considered substantial. No new application or disability decision is needed for you to receive a Social Security disability benefit during this period.

Expedited reinstatement—After your benefits stop because your earnings are substantial, you have five years during which you may ask us to start your benefits immediately if you find yourself unable to continue working because of your condition. You will not have to file a new disability application and you will not have to wait for your benefits to start while your medical condition is being reviewed to make sure you are still disabled.

Continuation of Medicare—If your Social Security disability benefits stop because of your earnings, but you are still disabled, your free Medicare Part A coverage will continue for at least 93 months after the nine-month trial work period. After that, you can buy Medicare Part A coverage by paying a monthly premium. If you have Medicare Part B coverage, you must continue to pay the premium. If you want to end your Part B coverage, you must request it in writing.

Work expenses related to your disability—If you work, you may have to pay for certain items and services that people without disabilities do not pay for. For example, because of your medical condition, you may need to take a taxi to work instead of public transportation. We may be able to deduct the cost of the taxi from your monthly earnings before we determine if you are still eligible for benefits.

Working While Disabled--How We Can Help

 

[stargazer]

"In 2007, earnings of $900 or more ($1,500 if you are blind) are considered substantial." Daniel, does that mean $900 a year? Or $900 a month? If the latter, I've been making approx. $2600 a month -- so I'm way out of the ongoing disability ballpark.

But thank you for the other information. It appears to be quite useful.