Donna is in Chicago.

I’ve been here since Wednesday and if weather permits, I will return home Sunday. It’s the annual meeting and there is so much going on. Yesterday evening I took some colleagues to the Signature Lounge in the Hancock Building. Tonight everyone went to Dave & Busters. We were given cards that would allow us to play a 1/2 hour of video games. I looked all over the place, but I couldn’t find Pac Man or Frogger or Qbert.
Someone asked if I had any interesting plans for the next week and I told them I had tickets for a Peter Tork concert. He then proudly boasted, “I’m going to a Kid Rock concert!”
I replied, “KID ROCK, wow! I am so jealous– wait, never mind– I was thinking of Kidd Video.”
He looked at me rather blankly and I figured he didn’t remember that silly 80’s cartoon.

My father turns 66 years old today. It also happens to be my parent’s 42nd wedding anniversary.
Happy Birthday, Daddy!
I love you very much! (And I am only teasing when I tell you I am going to send you off on an ice floe).

And Happy Anniversary, too!

1. Flowers
2. Birthday Card
3. Bag of Sour Kraut

Saw the most delightful movie last night. It was titled Midnight and starred Claudette Colbert, Don Ameche, John Gilbert, and Mary Astor. I never heard of this film before but it rivals many of the other more well-known screwball comedies out there (i.e. Bringing Up Baby). Don Ameche was fantabulous! Made me wish pomaded hair and little tiny mustachios were back in fashion. Check it out if you have a chance, you won’t be disappointed.
The other day as Lisa and I were going through the DVD section of Best Buy, I was hit with an epiphany! Why do I go to the cinema and spend 30.00 on 2 tickets and candy when I can wait a few short months and BUY THE DVD for 20.00 (or rent it for 5.00)? I can watch the DVD as many times as I want. The DVD does not have commericals. The DVD allows me to watch it in the comfort of my own home and not be disturbed by cell phones and rude people who talk loudly and chew with their mouths open. Yes, I think I have come upon something here.

It is the one year anniversary of the death of my little puppy Lily. She died in the early morning. My mom and I were with her, telling her she was a good puppy and would soon be with Nanny who was her original owner. I remember her last gasp of air and how her body twitched as the life went out of her. It was so sad. Life without her has been sad and I miss her deeply. She was such a wonderful little dog. My father always said that her number one trait was that she was adaptable. She went from being a yappy lap dog with my grandmother to a frolicking puppy with us. The truth is, she wasn’t a puppy at all but a very old dog. Because she was a stray, we don’t know exactly how old she was but I guess she was nearing 20 when she died. That last year was hard for her. She suffered and I know she is definitely in a better place now. I hope she is with my grandparents and old pets, all of whom left me far too soon.

Cookies?!?!

Friday, as I sat typing an email, the electricity went off. The house was completely dark. I made my way downstairs and found some candles. By candlelight, I knitted until the lights came back on 2 hours later. It was a huge relief when the electricity returned. The temperature dropped quickly and the cold was becoming intolerable. Also, the thought that perhaps this was due to a terrorist attack worried me. It’s amazing what we take for granted.

I CLEANED MY BEDROOM YESTERDAY!!!!! What a huge load off my back (and off the floor). I wish I knew why I have such an issue with cleaning my bedroom. When it is cleaned, I feel so good. So why can’t I keep it cleaned? Why don’t I just spend the 1/2 hour and clean it once a week especially when I experience such joy when it is cleaned? Guess I am just a lazy slob.

My Web stats are going back to normal. The Smartsearch.ws hijack has been defeated.

You will never believe how many people visited donnaville yesterday! 215. Now, I realize 215 unique visitors is diddly squat but for donnaville, population 5 on an average day, it’s like the circus is in town! The question, of course, is why are people suddenly coming to this humble little web page? Apparently many people were victims of the lovely SMARTSEARCH.WS home page hijack. Oddly enough, instead of being elated by the hits, I am experiencing performance anxiety knowing that more people than the usual 5 are reading. Regardless, I hope my removal instructions helped somebody.

The checks that I’ve been writing for the Donna Villa are now starting to clear and my bank account is dwindling! It hurts to see the number drop. Of course, I must remember that I still have the money. The difference is that instead of it being liquid, it is in invested in property.
I don’t care, it is still painful.

It’s fixed. Finally. Here is where I found instructions on getting rid of this monster.

Here are my own instructions (Follow at your own risk!!!!)
1. Download HiJackThis. You can find it here.

2. Boot to safe mode. Start > Shutdown > Restart. As the computer restarts, start clicking F8.

3. Run HiJackThis. Delete all references to SmartSearch.ws and delete:
O4 – HKLM\..\Run: [UserSystem] C:\~~WHATEVER~~
O4 – HKCU\..\Run: [UserSystem] C:\~~WHATEVER~~

4. Exit HiJackThis and find the file C:\~~WHATEVER~~ that was referenced in the O4 lines and delete it. The forums said it was explore.exe or C:\Windows\iExplorer.exe. Mine was Systeem.exe. So it seems like there are many different versions out there.

5. Reboot and your computer should be fine.

If anyone knows how this infected my dad’s computer, drop me a line because I am tired of him asking me.

PS I am wearing my poncho and I feel like Tonto.

How did I spend my weekend?

My father’s laptop contracted a virus– it reset his start page and search page to smartsearch.ws. Darn thing has hijacked his entire system. Editing the registry doesn’t do a thing. Running CWShredder and HijackThis doesn’t work– they flash on the screen but are instantly terminated. I am tearing my hair out.

I am so angry and frustrated. The only nice thing is that I finished my poncho and it looks cute. I had so many wonderful plans: Write to Dawn Eden and John Beck, clean my room, listen to Dusty Springfield, peruse interior design books, AND INSTEAD I AM FIGHTING THIS VIRUS and losing.

AARRRGGGHHH

at least I still have Sunday

(bonus points if you recognize the title quote)