Friday, February 25, 2011

FOR THOSE OF US WHO DON'T HAVE PETS


Photo courtesy of 


I'm back!  

Actually, my laptop is back!  She had an owie and had to go to the Best Buy service repair center in California to get fixed.

About two and a half weeks ago, I was at one of the Bellevue Starbucks shops working on one of my posts when I noticed that the left hinge of my laptop lid--you know, the part that contains the monitor--was sticking out at an odd angle.  I could actually see some wires sticking out.  This isn't good, I thought.  Mustering up my best attempt at manifesting The Secret--the process of thinking/believing/affirming that something good has already been set into motion--I visualized that I was going to gently close my laptop lid and that any vital laptop organ was going to return to its specific resting place.

No way, Jose!  (Note to self:  Read The Secret again!)


So there I was in this plush coffee shop in the affluent East side, dressed in my jeans, gray Blazing Bagels hooded sweatshirt, and tennis shoes, trying to look cool in the midst of the nouveau yuppies of Bellevue while attempting to close a laptop that just wouldn't cooperate.

Finally, I carefully placed the laptop--still open at a slight angle--into a compartment in my backpack.   What to do?

It was 9 AM, and I had finished my graveyard shift at the bagel factory three hours ago.  I was very tired and hungry and needed to get back to the house in the Rainier Valley, about an hour and half's commute away.

But my faithful eMachine companion needed my help.  This situation was akin to driving a wife acutely involved in the throes of labor to the hospital...STAT!

So I sauntered on over to the Bellevue Transit Center to catch the next Sound Transit 550 bus back to Seattle.

About an hour later, I disembarked from the link light rail at the Othello Station.  I called my roommate, Andre, and he kindly picked me up and drove me to the Best Buy store at Seattle's Northgate Shopping Center.

The Geek Squad is Best Buy's avant garde front line of savvy technicians.  They actually dress and act like their collective name suggests.  Eyeglasses, short hair reminiscent of the'50's, dark trousers, short-sleeved white shirts and black ties...they truly fit the bill!  The guy who helped me had excellent customer skills--multitasking while maintaining a very calm and personable demeanor.  These guys have to deal with the angst emanating from patrons who--like me--are already manifesting the first signs of withdrawal from the paradox of computer world.  You know--inanimate objects that have a very real life of their own!

I was really sad when he told me that the notebook would have to be sent to California and that it could take up to two weeks before it'd be back at the Northgate store.  Wow!  What'll I do for two weeks?  I mean, it surprised even me to see how much I was jonesing for my beloved portable companion.  I'd have to fill my backpack with books to not have the absent weight throw me off as I walked through the Seattle and vicinity haunts.

I could see it now...


"Hello, everyone.  My name is Joe, and I'm a computerholic!"


And they all animatedly shout back,  "HI, JOE!"


But I survived somehow.  Went to several libraries during this period of time to maintain my two blogs as well as my work on eBay.  I want to thank you faithful followers of my posts for hanging in there.

And as for my eMachine.  She's well rested, all healed up, and happy to have the bandages removed.

I promise to take better care of her.





1 comment:

  1. I think this is one of, no it is your best blog ever! Glad to hear that you got your eMachine back. You need a picture for this one.

    ReplyDelete