This is Tofu … Flor’s new laptop.

A Toshiba Satellite L300 29U. And nobody is more surprised than Flor that she ended up buying a new computer yesterday, as that had not been even remotely on her “to-do” list. But  we’d got to talking after yoga class about this and that, and I asked if she still wanted me to help her with her computer stuff. You may recall that awhile back I helped set her up with a WordPress blog, a Twitter account, a new Gmail account, Fotki, and a few other things. It was after doing this that I got the idea that I could probably charge money for this sort of thing. But then I went back on chemo and everything went for a burton. Until yesterday …

Thing is, Flor really did have a shit-bag old laptop with missing keyboard keys and that ran as slow as molasses in January, and it was an ordeal to try and do anything at all on the old thing. So I mentioned this cute Toshiba I’d seen in Fnac the other day (hey – I like to look) that I thought would have been perfect for Nog if he had any Visa credit left after the summer. But he doesn’t. So I told Flor how perfect it was for the money – 500 euros for 4GB RAM and 250GB HD memory. Not unlike Shadow except the screen is slightly wider and it’s got a few more buttons on it. And so we agreed to meet at Fnac so she could check it out.

At first Flor wasn’t sure about the idea. Like everybody else, she always has something else to spend money on that seems to take priority. So she said she would think about it and then offered to buy me lunch at the Irish pub. Well, after a couple of ciders we somehow ended up back at Fnac and I ended up spending the rest of the afternoon setting up Tofu. And today Flor is coming over for her first serious computer class – she’s planning to take about half a dozen so that she can start feeling more comfortable and get the most out of her computer. And thus, a new job has been born.

I really enjoyed spending the afternoon setting up a brand new fresh-out-of-the-box computer. At Fnac they charge 34 euros to set up a computer. I asked what that included and it sounded pretty bare-bones to me.  So, based on yesterday’s work, I’ve come up with a decent fee that offers a helluva  lot more. And, as I say, it’s work that feels good. And so I hope Flor is right about there being a lot of people out there just like her who could use help with their computer skills. And she has promised to start spreading the word.

Speaking of work, I am finally getting back to English teaching next week. Or better said, my small group of die-hard students are finally coming back after their summer holidays. I’ll still need a few new classes to get by on, but my schedule is looking quite good. I’m keeping early mornings free to go to the gym but will be able to fit in a morning class (either English or computer) before lunch. Then have a couple of classes each afternoon/evening. And in between I can keep working on my other projects, like the e-book. Sure will be nice having an income again!

Meanwhile, gotta see the oncologist tomorrow and find out what she thinks about my latest CT scan results. She may say I can wait until December for the next one or, like last time, suggest I have another PET scan straight away. Feeling a bit nervous about that…