On being a homeowner

Wow - I have been a homeowner for the past 2 weeks! And my first impressions? Responsibility and expense! I (and my parents, on my behalf) have spent over $3,000 on furnishings (beds, sheets, TVs, sofa, dining table, end/coffee tables, kitchen appliances, paint, painting supplies, tools, etc). Plus, I have to remember to take the trashcan out to the curb, or I don't get trash picked up that week.

But besides the negatives, I'm excited to embark on this journey and see how it goes. I think it'll be even better when I get some furniture (sofa is being delivered in ~ 2 weeks; the kitchen table, tomorrow) and start feeling settled. Now there are painter drop cloths, tools, and a thick sheen of dust scattered everywhere downstairs, my bedroom ceiling fan still isn't installed, and a few other light switches need to be replaced. And I'm waiting to buy an area rug once I get the sofa & love seat in. I'm excited to see about roommates; hopefully one or two of my friends from small group will express interest (I've offered to a couple and guess they're still considering it?). Stay tuned for some pictures.

Microsoft Word: "stopped responding" error on exit

I've gotten this error far too many times from Microsoft Word. It seems to only occur after my computer unexpectedly shuts down while a Word window is still open. To fix it, I have to go into the Registry and edit the folder that stores settings telling Word how large to make the program window (and what default settings have changed, etc.) the next time it is opened.

Here are the instructions I've found helpful. Obviously the disclaimer: editing the registry is dangerous; only do it if you know what you're doing.

1. Open up Regedit. (Go to Start and type "regedit" in the search field and press enter.)

2. In Regedit navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Word\Data

3. Right mouse click on the "Data" folder and delete it.

4. Open up Word, close it, and voila, problem solved.