The last few weeks proved a real test for me. I was very energetic, gearing up for another wave of query letters?including sending sample pages requested by a local agent?when my trust printer started getting wonky on me.
I got a message on the read-out that said the color ink cartridge was out and needed replacing. I looked at the message curiously, as the color cartridge was fairly new. Still, I replaced it. And yet the message was still the same. Not good.
So after doing some onlineThe last few weeks proved a real test for me. I was very energetic, gearing up for another wave of query letters?including sending sample pages requested by a local agent?when my trust printer started getting wonky on me.
I got a message on the read-out that said the color ink cartridge was out and needed replacing. I looked at the message curiously, as the color cartridge was fairly new. Still, I replaced it. And yet the message was still the same. Not good.
So after doing some online research, I found that I needed to clean the printer heads, which were likely filled with pools of ink gunk. I did as instructed, getting red, yellow and blue ink all over my hands and arms, and then started the printer back up. Same deal. No dice.
So I went back and did yet more research, and found a bunch of other people who all had the same problem. The reality was that my printer had simply crapped out. The ink heads were done. Toast. And when that happens, it just isn?t worth the money to replace them. It?s time to buy a new printer.
Normally I would have gotten really upset. At least two weeks had gone by without being able to print out letters and keep the momentum flowing on Finders Keepers?something I can directly influence?but I decided to take a more patient approach than I?ve had in the past when these kinds of problems arise, which is me getting angry and petty, yelling at a machine for not functioning properly when I decide that it should. After all, getting upset wasn?t going to magically fix the printer, although the thought did cross my mind to smash it with a hammer until the pages started flowing. But I allowed reason to lead the way, and simply stayed calm. Patient.
In total it took about three and half weeks until I had a new printer in place, but now that it?s up and running and working like a charm, I?m back at it. Over the last week I?ve sent out a dozen query letters?including those sample pages to the agent who requested them?and have several more to go.
And yet I have to admit that a part of me missed not throwing a little tantrum over the faulty machinery?for some reason, acting so petty sometimes makes me feel important; ego stroking, I suppose?and yet the other part of me felt really satisfied that I didn?t let those petty, immature impulses dictate my attitude or my actions.
It?s amazing how much my fate can be tied to a hunk of machinery like a printer, but this is how it goes. Sometimes the printer dies, sometimes the computer dies. It happens. It?ll happen again. It?s just that being a writer in this modern age has me so dependent on these electronic gadgets?gadgets that usually work well?that when they konk out, I get frustrated. But worse, I feel helpless, which is where I think the petty tantrums come from. It?s my lashing out at my lack of control. For the most part, I don?t have the technical expertise to fix these gadgets myself?and to get instant relief from my frustration. To a certain degree, I am at their mercy.
Technology can be wonderful. And sometimes not so much. But at least the flow of agents letters is finally back on track. The buzz is flowing on Finders Keepers, and I?m back in my rhythm, feeling good.
Post edited by: rcolchamiro, at: 2007/09/06 06:51
Post edited by: rcolchamiro, at: 2007/10/16 05:43
