Substitute Post

My plan was to have the second installment of my Vlog today.  However, a combination of technology, life and of course time means that entry will be delayed at least 24 hours.

As to my life -- I'm moving on Saturday. 13 years in the same house and no yard sales. That's the problem with a big house. Too many places to store stuff. I have a lot of stuff that's been stored. Legos, baby beds( my youngest is 16) and file cabinets from a business that closed 10 years ago. Out of sight. Out of mind. Until you have to completely empty your house.

I had intended to use 1-800 junk to haul my stuff away but then Dean, who I hired to actually move my furniture ,asked if he could remove the junk. 

Dean has now been here three days. I  originally estimated between the attic, the basement and the garage , that  it would take 2 people about 4-6 hours to clear everything.

When I hired Dean, I made some assumptions:Dean would bring a helper. Dean would have a truck.

Dean works solo. Dean doesn't have a truck. Dean doesn't have an SUV . Dean doesn't even have a van. He uses the back of his car to haul stuff - It's kind of like a hatch back.

His routine on Day One was to fill up the car and then leave--for long periods of time. two hours to be exact.

Then he'd come back ( but how much time does it take to fill up a hatch back?) then he would leave for one or two hours- visiting the thrift shops or wherever he's taking the trash.

This was a bit disconcerting since I had agreed to pay Dean on an hourly basis. On Day Two I met with Dean to have a critical conversation. First I wanted to get a handle on how much time he had spent and how much more time it would take to complete the job.

Dean's timekeeping and mine for day one didn't jive. I thought he had put in  6 hours. He said 10.

We're now working on a flat fee.

Besides the fact that he left two windows open in the attic  overnight and somehow I found the first mouse I ever had in this house since he's been around, I am confident that by the end of the week, Dean will have the job done and he will find someone to buy my washer, dryer and 53 inch TV. The good news is that no birds or bats decided to visit through the open window. I am grateful.

So while Dean has been in the garage, I have been in my kitchen. Just me, the bubble wrap, boxes, duct tape and packing tape. Did I mention I'm not having any fun?

Since I still have 6 days to complete my task, I was determined to successfully edit my next installment of My American Office. For the first installment I had used PowerDirector 4. While it received superior ratings from the folks who do that sort of stuff, I didn't feel at one with this software and after a miserable three hours on the help line ( I did have to pay about $30.00 to make that call) , I asked for and received a refund.

Next I tried working on Microsoft Movie Maker which I liked except I couldn't figure out how to to a PIP...that's picture in a picture , sometimes referred to as an overlay and back in the day when I actually worked in TV we called them cover footage.

So after purchasing an $8 plug in which I thought would solve the problem, I finally determined that Microsoft Movie Maker wasn't as robust a software as I would like. I surrendered and purchased VideoStudio9.  I downloaded it yesterday morning... it took over an hour.

For the most part it's going great. I really am enjoying it. I just have one itty bitty problem. I can't figure out how to rearrange the order of the clips. Once I do, it should only take another hour or so and I'll be done.I am hoping that you can rearrange the order. I will be very cranky if you can't.

However, thiere is another problem that may be itty bitty but could actually be profound. I think my computer may have an allergy to VideoStudio 9. It's frozen twice since I've installed it.  When it comes to computers I have always taken the attitude that it takes three events to start a trend . So far I'm in the safety zone.

If the third freeze occurs I'll be forced to call technical support. But the thought of spending three hours talking on the phone to a techie actually makes me look longingly at my boxes, bubble wrap and tape gun.