I absolutely love most things about Windows 7, especially when compared to Windows XP. It is faster, it is prettier and much more useful. With that said, upgrading from Windows XP to Windows 7 using the $30 upgrade copy from Digital River was the biggest pain in my ass I’ve experienced since troubleshooting my mother-in-laws computer with Windows ME on it.

After I went back and forth with Microsoft & Digital River over the phone for a good hour and a half over the activation issue I was having. The only thing that came out of the phone calls was frustration, misinformation and bad attitudes, oh and tons of transfers. Needless to say I was pissed.

The issue was the activation was saying I hadn’t upgraded from a previous edition of Windows, which, all stemmed from trying to use the Home Premium Upgrade disc from Digital River.

In order to upgrade from XP (unless Digital River fixed it) to Window 7 you have to create an ISO out of the download. Which is completely un-user friendly. Then take that disc you made and boot into the install, wipe the drive to do a fresh install of Windows 7.

When you get to the part about putting in the Product Key it will more than likely tell you that you have an invalid key. Instead, just skip putting in the key and continue the install.

Once you are inside Windows go to this site and use Method #2. I tried it on 2 machines and it worked. Now you have a fully functional copy of Windows 7 to enjoy!

My main reason for writing this is that I personally have suggested upgrading to Windows 7 to many of my friends and I fear that they will try and call the idiots at Microsoft or Digital River and will end up just as ticked off as I was.

Another reason is, I wish Microsoft would read this and reconsider their partnership with Digital River and think about just offering it from their own site, as an ISO. Not to mention, they need to offer a way to put in your old XP/Vista Key to validate your upgrade should you have to wipe your drive to do the install. If your computer craps out and you install Windows 7 again from the upgrade disc, you will have to do those registry edits again to make it work. This is completely un-user friendly and it’s why people are moving to MACs, even if they are ridiculously overpriced.

Every semester as I approach my much anticipated graduation I find myself struggling to believe that registration and financial aid could get any more complicated. Yet, it is apparently setup to be just that. This summer, my first summer attempting to take classes at UTD I’ve found that the school said “Fuck You” by releasing the summer schedules. I guess no adult who is in the workforce cares to get an education, or at least it would seem UTD thinks so. I was only able to locate one class to take for the summer. Which I’m glad I’m getting into it and all, but I had to jump through hoops to get it. First off, it had prerequisites that I’ve not yet been able to take, so I had to email the teacher and get her approval to take the course. Then, after the approval I had to get my adviser to remove the prerequisite block off my ID so that I could actually register for the course. So, awesome, yeah I got into the course. Of course the bullshit doesn’t end there..

Next comes the M.C. Escher inspired maze called Financial Aid for college. Apparently since I am only taking a meager 3 hours of classes for the summer (11 weeks 5-10pm on Mondays) I do not get to have any financial aid. I wouldn’t bitch if it were actually free money but it’s not! I actually have to pay back the so called financial aid after graduation. So why in the world can I not get a loan? The class, one class, is going to cost me $1500, plus, the supplies for the class will cost me $700. After looking over the schedules for the Dallas Community Colleges for the summer I’ve also found one other course and at $150 bucks it’s a fucking bargain! I’m not even going to bother to get aid for that class. They say I can not get a loan because I’m not attending six credit hours at UTD. Why should I be penalized because they lack in their offerings to working students???

I just wish that for once someone would simplify the process instead of making it more and more complicated each year. My only idea for now is to win the lottery and then I could be one of those elusive “daytime students”.

Low and behold that would just be the start of the evening!

After finding out that Beverly’s car was overheating and that she was going to be staying overnight, I just knew it was gonna get worse. At that point I spent the standard hour with Matt trying to console and contain his rage to a tolerable level. When everything had finally calmed down a bit I was ready to finally get started on my homework (9pm). I go out to grab some ice and Beverly chimes up from the living room that my mom had fallen and hurt herself in the garage.

I go and inspect her foot and sure enough it’s swollen. I figure she just gave it a good twist so I go ahead and grab my keys and run up to the local CVS to grab some Icy/Hot sleeves to wrap around her foot and ankle. After that gets applied I think, ok I can get on my homework and then finally get some rest.

My mom proceeds to call my sister Donna to let her know that she’s done a number on her ankle and will not be able to limp around Parkland Hospital with my other sister Kim who’s dying of cancer. My mom calls me in her room and says Donna was being short with her about not going with them and I need to call her and let her know she’s not lying about it.

Sure enough Donna gives me lip too and I’m not exactly pleased but to tired at this point to get into an argument.

I’ve now officially given up on homework for the evening and just decide to wrap it up and go to bed.

**Knock Knock**, Beverly at the door, says mom wants to go to the hospital to get the leg/ankle  checked out.

FUCK!!!!

I get dressed, and for some reason mom has Beverly come up to the hospital with us?!? After sitting in a waiting room for a good hour and listening to Beverly and my mom talk about death and Kim dying and etc.. (reminder, never invite them to a dinner party if I have one, they’d totally bring it down). We are finally admitted to another room where the conversations continue and then they finally X-ray my mom’s foot. Doc comes back, it’s a fracture. Can’t walk on it for a month, here’s some crutches and a prescrip for pain pills.

We get back (1am), send an email to family explaining what happened, and also filled in Matt and he just loses crying and sobbing that he feels trapped and that he’s 25 and how the worlds ending because he’s stuck at my mom’s house,  because he knows that this means more Beverly around the house. More of her annoying hacking and smoking and just being there. I try my best to console him on my limited energy and just give up and try to sleep (somewhere around 1 or 2 am).

I get up at 6am and all I can do is just function. I head off to work and I’m progressively getting angry at the entire situation. Matt’s reaction, Donna’s reaction and the overall scope of the situation. Then I get into work and see a response to last nights email.

It’s Donna. [Quick backtrack: She's been on a anti-mom, pissed off rant about her lack of parenting, probably brought about by the fact that our sister Kim who is going to die this time from the bout of cancer.] Her response to the email was a bitchy one and that just set me off. I told my niece via IM to tell Donna to fuck off and keep her shitty ass comments to herself.

I’m so explosive today that I’ve bawled twice this morning.

I am done with my Mom and her selfishness, Kim and her cancer and Donna and her shitty attitude.

I’ve already phoned an apartment locater, Matt and I are gone in a month.

The family can take care of Mom and Kim.

I’m not sad people! I’m just in deep thought!

I’m sorry I can’t carry a smile for you. Sorry that I think more often than you. And lastly, I’m sorry you’re a corporeal version of “The Nothing“.

That is all.