Upgrading

I converted to the world of Macintosh back in 2006.  Then I was an aspiring home videographer, just getting into podcasting for my church and having been making some silly little clips for student ministry.  I wanted to up my game a little.  And besides, Windows Vista sucked.  I had also just quit World of Warcraft.  So it was a tumultuous time in my life to say the least.  LOL

All that to say I got my first hardware upgrade from Apple and went the desktop route this time.  The unfortunate need for me to teach 5 courses paved (and paid) the way for this upgrade and I certainly went all out.  I got a 27" iMac, with the 3.6 GHz Intel Core i5 processor, 4 GB DDR3 RAM, 256 GB SSD, and 1 TB HD.  /evil grin

Here's a little photo journalism of the unboxing.  My mouth was hanging open at this thing and when I got it in place I was almost overcome with emotion.  Almost.  /wink

I spent about 6 hours working on it after unboxing.  I immediately wanted to move all my files, music, videos, etc to the secondary HD.  I found a tech article that explained how to do it but it ended up going very wrong.  I called AppleCare and the support guy sounded pretty pissed I would do such a thing.  He said I'd have to erase and install.  Oh well.  Nothing lost but time at that point.  I did want to try again though, so I started a clean install and set up the storage path again.  It worked this time, so there must have been some setting in the pre-installed OS. I proceeded downloading updates, installing software, etc.  At midnight, being a work night and all, I decided to stop for the night.  All that was left was to install Final Cut Studio, which I'm doing as I write this.  :)

Seriously though...this thing is BLAZING.  The SSD upgrade is epic.  Every program opens before an icon even has a chance to bounce in the dock!  LOL  Can't wait to produce some movies to see how that's going to go.

To change the subject just a bit, as I was installing things, I was perusing my RSS feeds and ran across several stories about Apple possibly upgrading their AppleTV.  Rumor is it will run the iOS that is currently on the iPhone and iPad.  Okay wow!  I mean, this could change the face of TV and entertainment.  Think about it.  Here are two scenarios I immediately thought of.  1)  Why subscribe to expensive higher tier cable packages?  Want HBO?  They could just bypass cable providers and create an app for purchase and you've got it through the AppleTV.  2)  How fun would it be to buy, say, the Monopoly or Scrabble app and have the board on the TV screen, then everyone with an iPhone or iPad controls their pieces from their own device?  There's already a model for this...now it can be on the TV.  This is certainly very exciting and if it proves to be true, I hope that the older hardware will be able to support the new iOS.

Dilemma

June is a very peaceful month. July gets hectic. August is downright stressful. Then the school year comes and routine settles in. So here we are in August and the typical stress has set in. Until last week, I was pretty certain one of my evening instructors was going to be able to take an additional two sections of chemistry. That didn't work out in the end. I immediately called the Dean of Sciences and asked for a list of prospects. They just hired a full-time guy, but pretty much relayed that the ones they didn't hire were for a good reason and he didn't really have a pool to choose from. That's the short version to lead to this fact: I have to either take the sections on myself or somehow cancel the class.

The problem is, I am already committed to three classes. Five would be too much. I had to talk my boss into letting me keep the three. And being at night? That means work all day at my regular job, then stay and teach. That prospect leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I would have to do that for 16 weeks. Boo! On the other hand, it would be a really nice paycheck. I could get the trees in my yard cut down like I need to, buy the new iMac I want, have the root canal I'm going to eventually need, and have a little left over! But I just don't have a settled feeling in the bottom of my stomach. I can't positively say it would be worth it. With the commitment of my three and the two extra being on Monday/Wednesday night, I would be teaching from 9:30 am to 8:30 pm on Mondays, with only three 30 minute breaks. That's awful and it really concerns me to do that to Naomi, first and foremost. An option is to see if my other instructor can swap sections and then I could at least come home for a few hours on Tuesday/Thursday before heading back to teach. But still....

I said the other option is just to cancel it. Well that actually may not BE an option. As a part of nursing, many students HAVE to have chemistry this fall. There are a few seats in other sections available, but are there enough? Then if I tell the others that can wait to do so, will they fall below full-time hours needed for financial aid and such? There's just so many variables. It is my priority for work tomorrow to figure it out.

I'm praying for something to work out. I just wish the commitment wasn't so long. To think of having to do that for the rest of the year doesn't sit well with me. I ask for your prayers for discernment and, well practically, an instructor to fill the gap. But if not, then that it will work out for each and every student that will be affected.