On the Eighth Day

This is our eighth day without a functioning home computer. Or, in social media years, that’s about 20 weeks, as far as I can tell. You know, from the twitching and withdrawal shakes and all.

I have an iPhone and an iPad, and both serve their purposes. I can browse, tweet, text and Facebook with enough functionality. But I can’t write well on either of those devices. As you can perhaps already tell. See, I broke down today and decided, one way or another, I was getting a blog post up.

So it’s me, the iPad, and my two pointer fingers on this godforsaken keyboard. Bear with me.

Here, I would like to insert a photo of my laptop’s death screen. But I can’t. Because the iPad won’t let me. See. This is annoying.

But hey. It’s time to let the old laptop go. In addition to the ominous black screen that says something cryptic about Hard Drive Armageddon, I really have missed the use of the letter N. My daughter stole and hid the N key about two months ago, and I have nearly sprained my wrist pounding on the bare N receptacle ever since. Then I began avoiding words with the letter N. Or at least I tried. I mean, it’s not U or V. It’s N. You try it.

Then the space bar fell off last week, like a Hard Drive Armageddon Screen warning sign. That made things considerably harder. Still, I persevered. Why, after all, would a six year-old laptop be on its way out?

Then it started rattling. That’s the only word I can use to describe it. Like a bad transmission problem. Or when I tried to drive stick.

Today, in an act of desperation, I tried to boot it up again. And it seemed to be working! No black screen. I got to the desktop, where it remains frozen and has resumed rattling.

At least now I can take a photo of whatever files are at risk of being lost forever. Before, we were just guessing what we lost. I’m not sure which way is better.

I love my iPhone, and now we are closer than ever. It has even fed my new addiction to Instagram. But my eyes. They’re killing me. And it’s hard to be precise when typing. I really didn’t mean to order 11 of the same shirt from J Crew. It’s clear to me that one cannot live on the iPhone alone.

So. If you’ve gotten some half-assed email or blog comment from me in the last eight days, now you know why. Sorry about the mis-spellings, the unfortunate auto correct nonsense and general lack of sentence structure. But at least you got the inclusion of the letter N.

(As for any similar complaints that go back more than eight days, I have no viable excuse. But I’m working on one.)

The upside? I’m getting a new laptop. I’m totally open to suggestions. I have traditionally been a PC girl, and I may just stay that way. But clearly I have a newfound respect for (dependence on) the kingdom that is Apple. So hit me up with your recommendations please.

And can I get a round of applause — or at least polite golf claps — for typing 544 words with two fingers?

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Comments

  1. Steve says:

    I’ve always thought that N was over-rated as a letter, perhaps more useful than Q, but not in the same league as R. Go with the Apple. Do not resist the power and the glory that is Steve Jobs. The Nth power.

  2. Kirsten says:

    First of all, props for using the iPad. I’ve used my mom’s to send uber important e-mails…and that was a bad idea.

    Secondly, go Apple. I’m likely to going to make the leap myself this summer, especially after getting to use one for two semesters at school. I’ve had a hard time transitioning back to my PC laptop, and this is after using a PC for basically my entire life (my dad is borderline furious I’m considering getting an Apple; you’d think Bill Gates was his boyfriend or something).

    Good luck!

    • fordeville says:

      Very good perspective — thank you. Glad to see you are pleased with your religious conversion 🙂

  3. fordeville children, when you read mommy’s blog one day… this is dedication. getting the blog post up, even if it means typing with two fingers on an ipad.

    also, i’m guessing words like ipad and iphone will be the same to you as abacus.

  4. kari says:

    Golf Claps galore here!!! I’m sooooo excited for you that you’re getting a new Apple… oops or did I speak out of turn… LOL!!! I’m a PC gal too & dying for a new MacBook Air… Rita from http://www.thecoffeeshopblog.com just got a new Mac & asked the same question…. Stop by her blog & read the gobs of feedback from uber-happy Mac converts… Thought it may help anyway ? Cheers!!!

  5. Jessica says:

    I’ll give you a round of N’s for typing this post on your iPad.

    I have always used a PC and I like it but many bloggers prefer Macs. I know my answer is super helpful. You’re welcome.

    NNNNNNNNN

    • fordeville says:

      Any answer is more helpful than my current state of indecisiveness. So thanks. And NNNN back at you — from my husband’s work laptop that I confiscated for the sake of my sanity.

  6. alicia says:

    Mac products are …..convenient, in every way. And sleek. It’s IT seduction. You know you want it, but what will the others say if you give in?

  7. I bought a Toshiba a few years back. It was easy to build it online and they were very helpful (while I was in purchasing mode). However, the thing always feels like it’s about to burst into flames. I suspect there was some defect with the fan. I never figured out a way to talk to a person about it. And now, three years in, it’s almost time for a new one, based on your post. It won’t be a Toshiba.

    Why is there no longer a way to subscribe to comments on your blog? Did your daughter delete that part of the page? 😉

    • fordeville says:

      Note to self: No Toshiba. Thank you.
      And thanks for pointing out the comment subscription issue — I will check it out when I am fully operational with more than two-finger typing. But I think you’re onto something in suspecting my daughter as the culprit.

  8. Elisa says:

    Can I just say that I hope someday I can write the same way you do. First of all, you are very funny. Your sense of humor comes across so well in your posts. I find myself often laughing out loud. Secondly, you just make the most normal things come to life. And a big kudos to you for your two finger typing efforts. I don’t even think I saw one typo.

    Great post. I can’t wait to hear more. 🙂

    • fordeville says:

      Oh my goodness, how nice. Thank you — I’m glad you like it here, and I’m so glad you stopped by. Come on back any time 🙂

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