The Fixer's Desk: Log 1

From Fractured to Fantastic

Wires, Words & Whimsy

Most of the things I fix don't come with instruction manuals.

Pull up a stump, friend. Whether you're here to patch up a glitchy laptop, decipher the secrets of sentence structure, or just poke around the wiring of how things work, welcome to The Fixer’s Desk. This is where bits and bytes meet commas and clauses, and where the messy process of making things right becomes something worth sharing.

I’m Andrea, the fixer behind the desk. I run a mobile, small business repairing tech, rescuing data, and securing home networks. On days I am not traveling to client homes, I shift gears to edit manuscripts, smooth out grammar gremlins, and tell stories that (hopefully) make people feel a little entertained. The Fixer’s Desk is where those two worlds meet—a workspace full of tools, typos, and tea. This blog is about what I've learned from the chaos my customers need help with. From troubleshooting, lessons in problem-solving, patience, human error, and the wild cards I get dealt, I will cover how I figured it all out. And like any well-prepared bear in her den, I’ve got snacks for thought, stories to share, and plenty of repairs ahead.

Small Biz, Big Fixes: The Tech Side of Things

You don’t have to run a Fortune 500 business to have tech problems. Most of the calls I get are from local businesses and community members who just want their machines to behave. Printers that refuse to print. Laptops that refuse to boot. Wi-Fi that insists it’s connected while doing absolutely nothing. Files that have been lost or deleted. These aren’t cinematic hacking scenes with a wall full of monitors running code so fast you can’t read it; they’re everyday issues that get in the way of real people doing real work.

And that’s where I come in. Frost Solutions (yes, named with a wink to my last name and a nod to staying cool under pressure) offers on-site tech repair, data recovery, network setup, and basic cybersecurity assessments. I meet people where they are—literally. My goal is to take the fear out of technology and make repairs feel possible, not panic-inducing.

I don’t just fix machines—I give people back their peace of mind. And honestly, nothing beats the look on someone’s face when their photos reappear from a "dead" hard drive, or their internet finally stops gaslighting them.

Polished Pages: The Word Fixer’s Other Hat

But my toolkit doesn’t end with software and surge protectors. I’m also a trained proofreader and copy editor, which means I spend a lot of time fixing things that aren't broken in the physical sense—just the grammatical one.

As a writer myself, I know the frustration of handing a “finished” product off to someone to read, waiting excitedly to know what they think of my carefully crafted masterpiece, just to be asked why I missed a comma or spelled something wrong. Though it is difficult to catch every single error in written text, especially in large projects, having a second, third, or even fourth set of eyes comb through the lines can minimize inaccuracies, misspelling, or grammatical mishaps.

There’s something incredibly satisfying about helping a writer take their words from a rough draft to a refined final draft. I work on everything from personal blogs and business brochures to full-length novels. Typos are sneaky little goblins, but I have a pretty sharp eye for tracking them down. And clarity? That’s my true north. Whether it's making sure a sentence sings or trimming a meandering paragraph, my editing approach is collaborative, respectful, and always driven by making the writer’s voice shine. I offer a service I would be pleased (and hopeful) to receive from others.

My clients range from indie authors to nonprofits and small businesses—all folks with something to say and a desire to say it well. I believe good editing is like a good repair: invisible when it’s done right, but essential to the final product.

What’s on the Bench: Future Fixes & Topics

Every good desk needs a drawer full of “in progress” projects—and I’ve got plenty to forage through. Here’s a look at some of the upcoming topics I’ll be sharing in future logs:

• "Tech Trouble at Home": How to troubleshoot your own tech before calling in the cavalry.

• "Digital Bears Beware": Simple ways to improve your home cybersecurity (without needing a PhD).

• "Editing on a Budget": Tips for self-editing before sending your work to a professional.

• "Common Writing Pitfalls and How to Fix Them": A grammar-focused repair session.

• "When the Printer Has a Personality": Tales from the weirdest repairs I've done—and how to avoid them.

• "Toolbox Talk": Reviews of my favorite physical and digital tools for both tech and editing.

• "You’ve Been Hacked—Now What?": First steps to take after a small-scale cyber incident.

And of course, I’ll always be on the lookout for questions or problems you want help solving. Comment or message me—your tech headaches and word woes might just be the next post I write.

If you've ever looked at a blinking or blank screen and whispered, "Please just work," you're not alone. I've been there, more than once. Though I tend to threaten, "Don't make me go buy a new one." Let's figure it all out together.

Word Nerd Fact of the Week

Did you know the word “bookkeeper” (and its variant “bookkeeping”) is the only unhyphenated English word with three consecutive double letters? That’s right—oo, kk, ee. It’s weirdly satisfying to look at, and even more fun to fix when autocorrect thinks it’s not real.

Got a favorite word or a strange spelling fact? Share it in the comments! I collect them like rare coins.

Final Thoughts from the Den

Thank you for taking the time to visit The Fixer’s Desk. Whether you came for tech tips or editing advice, I’m genuinely glad you're here. Writing and tech support may seem like two very different worlds, but at the heart of both is the same desire: to make things better, clearer, stronger, and a little more functional.

If you’ve got a question, a comment, or just want to say hi, drop a note below—I’d love to hear from you. And if this post made you smile, taught you something, or made you mutter “Finally, someone gets it,” consider subscribing. Most future logs will be reserved for members of the den, and I’d be honored to have you with us as I keep fixing, fiddling, and scribbling.

Until next time, may your cables be untangled and your commas perfectly placed.