Today I put my little Dell Inspiron 2200 laptop on standby while I ran some errands (I totally forgot to get the thing I had set out to purchase in the first place, but whatever). I come back, unlock my computer and the screen is black. I do a couple of reboots and nothing. It boots up, it's running, but the screen is dead.
Miracle of miracles: my tv is also a monitor. Currently my neighbours across the street are reading this post because it's facking huge and I am getting a stiff neck from staring up at the monitor.
You know how people do things like "research" and "due diligence" before buying big ticket items? I am not one of those people. When my Supra crapped out on me I went to the automall the next day or the subsequent weekend and bought a more expensive car than I wanted (I have a phobia of automatic windows) because, though delayed gratification is pleasurable in some regards, I needed it right now.
So? I bought another laptop. It's a Dell Studio 17 with some speakers and it's pretty nicely tricked out.
My laptop is my entertainment centre. All my music is on it. I email and blog and surf the net and write and download and upload photos and movies and tv shows on it. I paid $1,400 for it in April 2005 (April 20th, to be exact: I had a nice chuckle to see the invoice with "4/20" on it). My new one clocks in at $1,200. It has a webcam and I can remotely access it which, oddly, I have lamented being unable to do so in the past.
But I'm sad. It's still working. I'm using it right now. It got me through college and it sent a story to the New Yorker and it helped me with internet dating and I took it to Lasqueti and Penticton and it edits my photos and it's how I listen to SomaFM and CBC and sometimes even hockey games. I used it to buy my new laptop.
I put stickers on it. It has a Boston marathon sticker, a SomaFM sticker and book club stickers and a "what happens in run club stays in run club sticker".
Sometimes? When I'm dead lazy I get out of bed, grab it, and take it into bed with me in the morning as I drink my tea and get bread crumbs in my bedding.
It still works.
I want to wake up tomorrow, power it up and I want the screen to magically come online. Then I can tuck the new one away until I really, really need it.
I will admit that I'm grateful to have missed the whole Windows Vista debacle. This one comes with Windows 7.
I absolutely loathe Vista.
Bill Gates. Smart guy. What the fuck was he thinking when he allowed that to be released?
5 comments:
That made me larf, about the tv monitor and the neighbors reading this post. Tee hee.
Hallso, I see you are still plugging SOMA-FM. They should pay you. ;)
Let's hope it's just a button that needs to be pressed or it was taking a break...
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