Ah, what a week. I suppose I should start at the beginning.
This week began with the realization that Logic 9 (my principal music composition software) would need at least Mac OS X 10.5 to run, and I had only OS X 10.4. Basically, I didn't have an up to date operating system to do all I needed to on a software level. So, I had my dear mother overnight the family copy of Snow Leopard, Apple's latest operating system. Stupidly, I neglected to back up any files before installing, including my work (trust me, this is a learned lesson here...) and recently-composed music.
I expected a normal install up until the installer said "Snow Leopard could not be installed on this computer." I was skeptic, and figured maybe I just needed to start over. I quit the installer and restarted the computer, assuming it would start from the beginning, but I was surprised not with a successful install, but an auto-shut down any time the computer got to the "Apple logo" white screen. I'm sure some of you know what I'm talking about. Confused, I attempted to start up again using the power button. Same thing, auto-shut down. I called the Apple Care people and lo, my machine suffered some hefty corruption when trying to install Snow Leopard. How's that for an upgrade, eh?
In any case, that was not good. I couldn't risk losing all my work, a lot of it I hold dear and am unwilling to let go. I went with my significant other to the Apple store, only to find out their Genius Bar queue was filled up for the next four days (honestly, people- most of your iPod and iPhone problems can be solved online. Google and Apple websites exist for a reason) which was not good either. I should also make note that without my software on my computer, I had no way to complete coursework for my online Berklee classes thus setting me behind schedule.
So, I had my dear mother send me my OS 10.4 disks in the hope that I could repair my corrupted computer with the Disk Utility. Some gnashing of teeth later saw no progress and no repair. I called the Apple Care line once more to see if I could recover data, and I was rewarded.
Of course, I had to go all the way to San Francisco to a local friend who also has a Macbook Pro, which enabled me to back up my data with targeted disk mode. On the other hand it was also good to see my good friend, a friend, and a new friend there.
Thank the powers that be that Apple people have a lick of sense about them. I still lost a lot of data and applications, however. Though I suppose I can change my attitude some, take this as an opportunity to begin anew- but not without my 21 days of music I backed up.
I apologize to all those who were not able to make heads or tails of this blog post because of Macintosh mumbo jumbo. For the "too long, didn't read" crowd: My computer pretty much crapped out on me while I tried to update it, though I did manage to rescue some data. You gain some, you lose some. Ah well, it's back to school for me.
On another note, I'm three degrees connected to EA Games and two degrees connected to THQ. Keeping my fingers crossed that one of these will pay off.
