A few days back I went on about how I was considering a new computer, and how I was going to try to get by using my old one until I'd saved up enough to basically pay cash for the new machine. Remember? Well, there's a funny story about all that.
While I don't want to get too much into this, last week we encountered a little incoming fire from the recession. We still have income, thankfully (and my job is real stable), and we'll be able to keep the roof over us and food on our table. Still, until things get better (which will, we hope, be soon), we're going to have to make it go a little farther than we had planned. I can't say I wasn't expecting something to happen, so we always had a sort of Plan B. Of course, though, you're never emotionally ready for the moment to come. Intellectually, you know it could happen, but you still feel like a Benihana chef has given your insides a working-over.
On the other hand, hubby and I have never lived high-side. We're firm believers that you don't pray for luxury; you pray for just enough to have a happy life, and when you get that, you give thanks for what you get.
Anyway, with that, I was trying to figure out what to do about the computer and wondering if I should wait or proceed as planned. I spent the weekend doing the numbers and straddling the fence, and even had an incredibly stupid dream about it Saturday night. None of it helped things.
I'd been scoping around the Apple website. There was a nice refurbished MacBook Pro at a substantial markdown. I could afford it; the numbers worked with my budget, not as originally planned, but it still worked. But I was on the fence. Yesterday morning, something told me to go ahead; it may not be there tomorrow, and it may not get better than that. I'd missed out on an even better deal two weeks ago, so better safe than sorry. And, you don't know how long the lean times are going to last, or how many more months your five-year-old machine has left, so grab the new one while you can and you don't have that to worry about later. A computer has enough utility to it, both for business and pleasure, that you can justify the outlay.
So I went on the Interwebs to order the computer. And, as I was getting the order put together online, something happened with my PowerBook that told me it was a wise idea to proceed with the new machine. It's an intermittent glitch, one that's just irksome enough for me to say "enough." All doubts were gone.
So, by this time next week, I should have a good-as-new MacBook Pro 15.4" in my hot little hands. In fact, it's on its way as I write this. (I'm a little irked that I've had to order a modem and a FW400 adapter for it -- dial-up modems and FW400 ports are no longer built into the MacBook Pro -- and I'm not crazy about the mandatory glossy display, but that's the breaks. Considering what the rest of the machine will let me do, especially for what this one is costing me, I'm not going to quibble too much.)
I'm sure going to miss this PowerBook, though. I'll write more about it later, but it's seen me through a lot. It's been to a lot of places. It's never let me down, and it's an old buddy. I'll find a use for it, I know.
:: The weekend wasn't without its other pleasures, either. We got away for a bit on Saturday and had a good time. Then on Sunday we watched an awfully interesting Formula One race (the first one I've truly enjoyed in a long time, complete with underdog victors). Then, to top it off, a nice spaghetti dinner. Followed by one of the greatest things you can enjoy in life: microwaved doughnuts. (Not just any doughnut, mind you, but genuine Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Bliss. Even better than the gold-plated ice cream at Plunder.)
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