blather_on_a_new_laptop epitome of incomprehensibility And everything seems so tiiiny even though the screen is only slightly smaller. At least the site still auto-inputs "epitome of incomprehensibility" when I type "e" (now that I've blathed once before with the new machine). 220913 ... raze congratulations on the new laptop! i hope you're loving it. i remember how surreal it was when i got my macbook nine years ago. the red here — and the blue over yonder — seemed so much more vivid. and it was a relief to have an s key i didn't need to hammer with my bravest knuckle to try and coax it into working. (not that it stopped me from making the occasional frustrating typo. but at least i came by them honestly.) 220914 ... e_o_i About that...well, it appears to have stopped working. It would unexpectedly shut off. It did that several times and now it won't even turn on. I don't know if the window has passed to return it. I meant to take it back to BestBuy today, but uncertainty about the outcome kept me grounded. If it's not machines, it's my brain that won't cooperate. 220924 ... e_o_i The "Geek Squad" person could not revive it, so I got a refund. Mostly I feel relief that the tasks's taken care of. A bit of regret that I won't have a terribly portable machine, but I did buy an external hard drive in case this one crashes unexpectedly. So I'm back to blather on an old laptop for now. 220925 ... e_o_i ...Aaaand, less than two months later, it's blather on a new old laptop! I was despairing about my Acer last night, because I couldn't get it to charge. That, plus the keyboard issue, plus the screen freezing issue...it got to be too much. Dad cut his Hebrew-verbing short when he heard Y. complaining about me complaining. He came down from the study and I unfairly radiated my grumpiness at him, saying, "Maybe you're holding the cord wrong. Maybe because you're old, your hand is trembling." (Things_you're_not_supposed_to_say, indeed. Also false. His hand was not trembling.) What ended up happening: I told him my schedule the next day (two Concordia classes plus three tutoring ones) and asked if he could do computer errands because I didn't have time and I needed stuff to work, and I'd pay him back. He didn't head to BestenKaufen (as in, wir fahren nach BestenKaufen, weil der Computer kaput ist). Instead, he called the NDG computer-fixer guy who just got booted out from his building because the building owner is changing the basement level into apartments. So he was temporarily store-less, the man, but he did have laptops on hand, and Dad bought a small but apparently sturdy used Lenovo ThinkPad. He said for $300 but consider it an early Christmas present. And it must have been more for the man's time. And then Dad's time. Why was he so nice to me when I demanded too much? I'm sorry. And I'll try to be grateful/gracious. (Graceful, no. Gracefield? Yes, I will be a field of grace.) Whoo! Which is the sound of my relieved sigh and also the fan that sometimes switches on. Vanity: it made me afraid people would make fun of me for having an old laptop. But why worry, if it works? Even has an old copy of Office installed. I need to get out of the new-and-shiny mindset. 221108 ... e_o_i "We can split it," I offered. "I'll pay you $150." Mom: "500!" Laughing, I said I didn't think that was how splitting worked, coming up with a bigger number. (Captain Obvious, the Feared Joke Explainer, strikes again!) Dad tilted his head a little, said that was good. So now I owe him that, and Julia $5 for the chapbook. "My debt to others" grows less metaphorical. ...as for blather on this machine, half_asleep_thoughts is a little slow, because long, but everything else is speedy-crisp! 221109 what's it to you? who go blather from