There was a small misunderstanding a few weeks ago between me and my laptop.\u00a0 Part of it, I admit, was my fault.\u00a0 I somehow misread the message \u201cAOL 9.5 Connected, Signed-On\u201d as \u201cPlease spill hot Darjeeling all over the keyboard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anyway, my computer got into a snit, one thing led to another, and then it just stopped speaking to me altogether.\u00a0 Over a little thing like that.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s dry it out,\u201d I said to my husband, Mark.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s waste electricity and keep it running.\u00a0 Maybe the heat will evaporate the tea.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell\u2014we can try.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWouldn\u2019t it be funny if only the \u201cT\u201d key worked?\u201d I giggled nervously.\u00a0 \u201cGet it?\u201d<\/p>\n
I love my computer, and wasn\u2019t the slightest bit excited about deep-sixing it.\u00a0 I had some minor notes and drafts on there that I hadn\u2019t backed up, but that wasn\u2019t really the issue.\u00a0 So many things now cost as much to repair as to replace, rendering them essentially disposable.\u00a0 Bad for the planet, bad for the pocketbook, and enough to send me into a paroxysm of alienation: why is this state of affairs allowed?\u00a0 Why can\u2019t things be fixed anymore?\u00a0 And I\u2019m off and running.<\/p>\n
The good news was that after drying out the laptop upside down for a few days, all the keys worked.\u00a0 The bad news: they worked whether I pressed them or not, in a style that can perhaps best be described as stream-of-consciousness.\u00a0 Not convinced that I could wait the millennia it would take for the computer to produce Shakespeare at random, I finally admitted I had a problem.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need a new laptop\u2014ugh,\u201d I said to Mark.\u00a0 Just the thought of schlepping to an over-stimulating, over-lit electronics store and enduring a sales pitch made me want to jump out of my skin, let alone coming to a decision and shelling out the better part of $1000.<\/p>\n
\u201cHey, what about replacing the keyboard?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSeriously?\u00a0 That might fix it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark did an online search and ordered the $25 part, which arrived in a few days, was installed in around ten minutes, and made the computer work like new!<\/p>\n
Life was good for awhile.<\/p>\n
Then one day, my lower oven (I\u2019m fortunate enough to have two) began exhibiting mood swings.\u00a0 I\u2019m generally not so ambitious as to need both ovens, and have been fairly cheerful about the fact that the upper oven can\u2019t keep a consistent temperature to save its life.\u00a0 Now the lower one was having hot flashes, too?\u00a0 I set the thing at 350, and it toggles wildly between 250 and 525?<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need two new ovens\u2014ugh,\u201d I said to Mark.\u00a0 Consumer Reports<\/em>, endless conversations with friends, options and specs to make my eyes glaze over, not to mention making our checkbook groan?\u00a0 Maybe I should give up cooking.<\/p>\n \u201cHey, what about replacing the thermometer?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHuh?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHave you checked that portable thermometer in the oven?\u201d<\/p>\n This time it cost $12.95 at Ace Hardware to \u201cfix\u201d the problem.\u00a0 Magically, the upper oven got fixed, too (and no, I am not going to start making elaborate meals now).<\/p>\n Of course, the dishwasher is leaking, and the battery on the portable phone can\u2019t seem to stay charged.\u00a0 Every day, a new opportunity for anomie\u2026.<\/p>\n Published in the Piedmont Post<\/em> October 7, 2009<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There was a small misunderstanding a few weeks ago between me and my laptop.\u00a0 Part of it, I admit, was my fault.\u00a0 I somehow misread the message \u201cAOL 9.5 Connected, Signed-On\u201d as \u201cPlease spill hot Darjeeling all over the keyboard.\u201d Anyway, my computer got into a snit, one thing led to another, and then it…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[65],"yoast_head":"\n