Tuesday, September 27, 2011

You may recall that I've been staggering along with my laptop, which was suffering from having a cracked case even before its coffee catastrophe. The lid frame eventually broke off, such that I had two separate pieces of laptop, held together by two thin wires. The top couldn't be propped up at all -- it lay flat on the table. And then last night, in a poltergeist moment, my cup of coffee which was on the other end of the sofa fell over without provocation and spilled over two full cushions and onto the $10.59 replacement keyboard I'd jerry-rigged onto the limping laptop.

I looked at it. I mopped up the mess with a towel. I tested the keyboard.

It was broken.

The thought of buying a new laptop so that I could meet my month-end deadlines left me speechless.So I sat, fish-like, in the sea that poured from my eyes, and let the salt water pour over the wounds of bad luck and bad timing.

Today, after an entire morning and afternoon of going without writing, I went and bought a laptop. The salesman asked me what I was looking for. I replied, "My needs are pretty simple. I'm a writer. I need a box -- preferably lightweight and rather small -- in which to carry around my words. And I'd like it to be pretty indestructible."


I came home with this. With the service protection plan. And I am happy. Poorer, but happy. It works! And now, so can I.
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7 comments:

  1. Heide EstesSeptember 27, 2011 at 10:29 PM

    We had a Toshiba laptop back in the late 80s. It had a handle, like a lunchbox. Doug used to carry it around with the handle over the end of his bike handlebar. It was totally indestructible. I hope yours is, too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. KathySeptember 27, 2011 at 11:15 PM

    I'm pretty sure this is one of those expenditures you'll never regret. Good for you.

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  3. AnonymousSeptember 28, 2011 at 9:25 AM

    Julia, had you thought of a sippy
    cup? You have certainly had your
    share of "overflows" in more ways than
    one!

    God bless.
    Shirley

    ReplyDelete
  4. Marsha CSeptember 28, 2011 at 9:30 AM

    Thankful for the blessing of tears to help shed the frustrations that you have been experiencing. God is so good to allow us a good cry over spilled ....uhm, coffee. Praying for you and your family.

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  5. CherylSeptember 28, 2011 at 11:41 AM

    Julia, been there and done that. Not coffee but the angst of a broken computer. As a home medical transcriptionist, I need my computer to meet my deadlines, too. In my case, my deadlines are daily since physicians don't care what the excuse is - they want their work back pronto. So, yes, the outlay of money hurts (I did this in February) but it is so worth it in the long run. Enjoy your computer. Loving mine.

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  6. MagpieSeptember 29, 2011 at 10:02 AM

    Here's to many many good words.

    (Remember when you knocked a glass off a desk with a typewriter's carriage return? I do.)

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  7. MrsDarwinSeptember 30, 2011 at 8:08 AM

    Not quite as dire, but our microwave died last night. That's not something we really wanted to spend money on right now, and of course we have a stove, but I have a feeling that we'll be toting ourselves down to the big box store soon for a replacement.

    Hope your new laptop brings lots of joy!

    ReplyDelete

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