Idyl thyme

You'd think I was psychic or something. From out of the blue, for no reason at all I thought, “I'm going to need a new computer soon.” Two days later I got up in the morning, put the coffee water on and turned on my laptop; the usual routine. I went about getting ready for work and came back to the computer to hit Enter, in lieu of a password, and the screen was dark. I knew that the machine was on because I could hear it, and all the little blue lights were lit up, whatever they signify. Looking really closely you could see the vague outlines of what was supposed to be there, only it wasn't.

I tried to navigate that ghost image to restart the computer but couldn't locate the mouse cursor (who remembers the keystrokes?), so I bore down on the power button to force a shut down. After waiting long enough to ensure that the disk had stopped spinning, a precaution learned from an earlier disaster, I restarted it and continued getting ready for work. Checking back the screen was still dark.

I spent the rest of the time that I'd normally sip my coffee and do correspondence trying to get the damn thing to work, and then some, without luck. It was the same when I got home at the end of the day; dammit. I unplugged all the wires from the laptop itself and rushed into town to PC Max hoping it would be a quick fix. It's been there for three days and they still haven't figured out what's wrong with it.

They were quite optimistic at the outset, “It's probably an inverter problem, about a $150.00 fix, with everything, ready tomorrow if we have the parts.”

“Let's hope so,” I said sheepishly, “I can't live without my computer.”

“Nobody can,” was the tech's reply.

Altering your everyday routine is a good thing to do occasionally. I was amazed at the hole that the lack of a computer created. I was left listless. I could have (should have) gone into the studio and worked. The Studio: still only half set up and without momentum; just a few sketches tossed about. Instead I turned on the TV. I never watch TV. I'm not really sure why I even pay for it. But I watched...TV (I saw a commercial for a big screen hi-def with the tag line “Life well spent”).

I know that it's only been three days but I went out and bought another computer. No, not to fill that hole, dammit. It's the end of the month and the bills are due. Being on the road for ten years I have come to rely on online bill pay and doing that at the library, in public, is not option. I tried and tried to reach my daughter. She could have paid my bills for me from her computer in Chicago, but I didn't get through. I could have gone to a friend's house, but that seemed awkward socially. Besides, like that “premonition” indicated, I need a new computer. My laptop was top of the line five years ago when I bought it, and is still more than adequate for my needs, other than the fact that its graphic capabilities aren't up to date with the latest games (hell, I haven't finished playing all the vintage games). But let's face it, it's five years old, has been bounced around in the back of a truck endlessly, drug through the subways of New York City and the Chicago Elevated, and generally abused in any number of ways.

I hope that it can be fixed. Not because of what's on the hard drive, I have that backed up remotely, but because it's a great machine and I always want to have a lap top. I'm off the road now and bought a desktop. If they can't fix ole' Bessy, then I'll be getting another laptop anyway, sometime.