From Cranky to Calm in NaNo Seconds.

moar capshuns and kittehs  see  share   caption  vote

I went looking for a picture on cheezeburger.com with a cat looking at a computer screen, maybe paw on mouse or keyboard.  I wanted to make a caption that was a rant about malware and obnoxious ads that pop up on top of what you are looking at.  Because I'd just spent over an hour trying to figure out how to get rid of the ads that were overlaying my Blogger Create Post with links on top of the command icons!  I'd never seen ads on that page before and never seen anything like pop ups or banners on any of the Google aps.

I tried reloading the page, closing the tab, closing the browser, trying a different browser.  They just kept coming back.  I couldn't work on my post and it was already past my bedtime.  I was tired and cranky and starting to panic.  Then I happened to notice a very faint grey line of tiny text that said "Ads not by this site".  I Googled the phrase and discovered I had malware.

I learned I needed to uninstall the program with that name and disable and remove the browser extension.  I did the first with no problem but could not find the extension in Chrome.  I'm afraid the thing will replant itself during the next restart.  Memories of the whack-a-mole game I played with the worm that took over my laptop in 2006 flooded back. I do not have time for another such go-around.

The weeks I wrestled with that worm were the start of my blogging stepping up from once or twice per month to several times a week because I needed to vent. I'd go find the link to the one where I first used the phrase "whack-a-mole' to describe the encounter but I don't have time.  I need to be awake for vid chat with Ed in three hours.  Tomorrow I see my counselor and that is going to eat up the whole day.  My sister has an appointment in Portland for that same hour so I have to be ready when she leaves to take Mom to our brother's.  At 12:30.  Two hours early. Then hang in the waiting room another hour or two after.

Anyway... This picture caught my eye because of the laptop but with no cat 'working' the computer it wouldn't work for my plan.  But I kept coming back to gaze, drawn to it by some some deep and strong current in my psyche.  I yearned to crawl inside that picture and sit at that keyboard and type as I listened to the water below flow and the breeze stirring the leaves and the kitten purring and the birds twittering.

Within a few minutes I noticed that I was much calmer and no longer wanted to rant.  I decided I needed to caption this pic.  I was about to look for an author quote to grace it but a stray thought rose like a dolphin leaping from the sea:  Wouldn't this be perfect for NaNo?

I had my theme and an hour later I had my caption.