A new computer, no sleep, and Percocet

I know, it's a strange combination of things to blog about... but that's been my last few days in a nutshell.

Against my better judgment (but because my checkbook and stack o' unpaid medical bills requires it), I took on another book project this month, in addition to my usual journal work.

I was smart this time around, though... I created a schedule of sorts and submitted it to my Project Manager, so that I would be held accountable and wouldn't (maybe) put off editing all nine chapters until the night before the deadline. And, amazingly enough, I was sticking to the schedule. Life was good.

Then, sometime last weekend, my trusty Toshiba laptop decided to quit working. I'm pretty sure the poor thing is virus-infested; it had been doing weird things for a while, but nothing so terrible that I couldn't ignore it and continue to work (so, of course, that's exactly what I did). Until last weekend. I paid the ultimate price for ignoring my trusty Toshiba when it finally decided to cease functioning altogether. And I cried.

So, I had to suck it up and buy a new desktop this weekend... with money that was supposed to be the start of our new savings account (it was a nice thought, really). Then, I spent almost a full day transferring important work files, programs, etc. from the old computer to the new one. Luckily, the trusty Toshiba cooperated just long enough to let me do that much.

So, technical difficulties caused me to fall behind on the book project. Which leads me to the "no sleep" part...

Last night I decided not to sleep, so that I could get caught up with my work. I stayed up ALL night... really. At 6am this morning, I finally fell into my bed and crashed for a few divine hours.

Today it's painfully clear to me that I am no longer a young college student who can get away with pulling all-nighters. I remember a time when all-nighters were not so uncommon, nor were they quite this painful. The good old days. But now, I'm a 32-year-old overworked and underpaid wife, mother, and editor. All-nighters are a baaaaaad idea.

I did get quite a bit of work accomplished last night, however. I'm not totally "caught up" but much closer than I was 24 hours ago!

And the Percocet? For the past few days, I've had a horrible stiff neck (probably from sitting at my desk for far too long). It's progressively gotten worse each day, and ibuprofen isn't touching it anymore. By this morning, I couldn't even lift my arm high enough to put my hair in a ponytail without crying out in pain. So, I found some Percocets in our drug basket and took one.

The good news is that I can move again. But taking a Percocet when already sleep-deprived is probably a really bad idea. I'm fighting to keep my eyelids open this afternoon, despite the full pot of coffee I've consumed.

And, I need to get back to work on this book. I could really use a sick day (or week!) right about now! In my dreams...