A long time ago we set up our laptop at the end of our kitchen table. Since the four of us use the other end of the table for family meals, we just left it there. Additionally, because I hate laptop keyboards, we had an external keyboard plugged in which also stayed there at all times. This area became a favorite place of Freddie the Freaky Cat to lie down during all hours of the day because (1) he could get his head scratched by whoever was working on the laptop and (2) he could feel the warmth emanating from the laptop power source while he took his naps while we were at work.
***Warning, this gets gross – stop reading now and flip down to the next “starred off” area (***) to move past the gross part. Seriously, you’ve been warned – don’t read the next paragraph***
A couple night ago we were all at the table eating dinner and I happened to look over at the laptop, only to find two relatively recently deposited piles of cat vomit – one on the laptop keyboard, one on the external keyboard.
***
“FREDDIE!” I screamed, the food in my mouth suddenly tasting like cardboard. “THAT’S DISGUSTING!”
So that Denis’s food, too, would taste like cardboard, I pointed out the mess to him.
We both immediately realized that our already dying laptop was most definitely murdered at that point. I hastily finished my meal and got up from the table so that I wouldn’t be next to it. Denis bravely cleaned up the mess and once sanitized he tested the laptop.
A few weeks ago I had discovered that the left side of the actual laptop keyboard didn’t work. But now the right side was a bust as well. When we plugged the external keyboard back in, we still got nothing – our laptop screen stayed on the login screen no matter what we typed.
When I started my new job (almost a year ago now!) I had taken in my own keyboard when the one supplied by my employer was determined to be crap. I told Denis I’d bring mine home to test whether it was our newly cleaned keyboard that wasn’t working, or whether the laptop was now junk and unable to function (much less acknowledge typing from an external keyboard).
Yesterday I brought home the keyboard, plugged it in with great hope in my heart, and was crushed when nothing happened. Zip. Nada. Bummer.
During my workday I had been realistic about our chances, and had done research on possible replacement laptops. I knew our budget was about $700 for a new laptop that would have all the options we wanted in a new laptop (read: high speed, large memory, long battery power, wireless networking, etc.). I narrowed it down to two laptops and sent off the info to Denis in an email.
Once we were both home last night we talked about the laptop situation again, and debated our next step. We were both in favor of one of the two laptops I had chosen, despite the fact it didn’t come with Microsoft Office. But since we can buy the suite at Amazon for $122 right now, it wasn’t that big a deal. The biggest “negative” in the hundreds of reviews I sifted through said that the outside of the laptop can get covered in fingerprints very easily.
Seriously? THAT’S your complaint? FINGERPRINTS? Who cares about fingerprints???
SOLD! We hopped online last night and ordered it. Fortunately, I’ve been diligent about building our emergency savings account over the past year, so we had the cash available to pay for it outright instead of insurring debt to get it. But still, it’s painful to watch over $700 (after taxes and shipping) leave your savings account in an instant. But I guess that’s what savings are for, right? Unexpected expenses.
The new machine? She’s going to be LOVELY.
And this time around we’re NOT going to leave her on the kitchen table 24/7. We’re going to put her away when we’re not using her.