I have my little laptop back.
Yes, it’s been, as they might say, “rode hard and put away wet” or, in this case, “typed hard and occasionally sat upon by cats,” but it’s still alive and kicking, and that’s all I ask for right now.
Yeah, the screen has three skinny vertical lines of straight-up color running through it – one red, one blue and one green. I think they’re sort of pretty, kind of like holiday decorations.
It’s been oh, a month? since The Bad Thing happened in which some terrible spyware virus thing invaded my hard drive and gave me an anxiety attack and forced me to change all the passwords to everything in the world I’ve ever logged into.
THAT was a fun day, I tell you.
Anyway, I was going to be a big girl and reformat the whole thing myself, only…
I don’t know what the hell I’m doing, computer-wise.
I mean, I know some things, and I’ve gone in and rid my little world of other bad bugs and stuff, but the thought of WIPING OUT EVERYTHING on the hard drive gave me anxiety tacks of a whole different kind.
So I’ve been working off our desktop computer for weeks now, gradually adding software for my camera and moving all my image files from the laptop to an external hard drive and so forth, just so I can keep posting to this blog and read email and check the weather and write some inane status update on Facebook once in a while…you know, all the important stuff.
The downside has been…
Well, there really hasn’t been one. Not really. Yes, sometimes the kids want their turn on the computer, so I’ve had to relearn how to “share,” (that’s some word they made up, I think) but it’s actually been nice having a larger screen and an actual mouse.
The only thing, though, was I’ve felt kind of…like one of my wings was clipped.
I’d grown accustomed to toting my laptop anywhere in the house and typing away. Living room. Basement (our more casual living area). Kitchen (so I can bake AND type at the same time!
I’m not so mobile with the desktop computer.
So yesterday my husband brought home the laptop. Someone he works with knows alllllllllll about computers and after all my worrying and fear had chewed a hole in the lining of my stomach, I said I’d rather pay someone else to do it. The reformatting. For the same reason that we bring our vehicles to our beloved mechanic. It’s nice to have the work done by someone who KNOWS what he’s doing.
So, that’s that.
And now…it’s like I have a new laptop that looks JUST like my old one. Same three lines on the screen. Same Red Sox sticker. Same horoscope that I clipped out of the newspaper three and a half years ago.
It looks like mine, but it doesn’t remember me yet.
I’ve got to build up our history again. Give it places and programs to remember.
It’s a weird feeling. I find myself hesitating. Not wanting to rush things. Here, I’ll reinstall the camera software. That’s enough for today. We’ll just take it slow.
I think I’m afraid of it. Like that virus is still there, even though I know it isn’t. But like some Bad Thing will happen.
I know.
I have, perhaps, a little too much free time in my head.
Well, I do know one thing.
This guy will be glad when I resume operation with the laptop.
What? You again?
This is MY chair!
Oh…you don’t want me to move? Okay, then. I still like you.
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