R.I.P.

My laptop died on me last week. After weeks of acting up, it finally breathed its last. I thought it might have been a loose wire in the screen, so I bravely did what no non-qualified, non-tech-person does and looked it up online and took my screen apart. (Found a wicked website for figuring out what’s wrong with your laptop and how to fix it right here. And it's for novices. It even has photos.) Long story short: it’s not a loose wire, and I did manage to get the whole thing back together again. But it’s still broken.

The screen’s been acting up for a while, but if I twist it a bit (it lost a screw a few months back, so it’s been hanging on by just one hinge – kinda like it’s owner) I could get it to work again. This has gotten progressively worse, until one night – about ¼ of the way through ‘Breaking Dawn’ – it breathed its last and the screen gave up altogether. I managed to read a few more pages by turning the laptop on its side and kneeling on part of the screen. Yes, you read that right: kneeling on part of the screen.

I honestly felt like crying, and I still feel totally gutted. Initially I hoped that was just because girly time was approaching, but, no, it’s got more to do with mourning the loss of what has just recently become my e-book reader.

I’m trying to look on the bright side – I can still get everything off it (it’s just the screen that’s gone, so I know my info is safe), and I had backups for a lot of stuff anyway. Plus, it’s not like it was the only computer/laptop in the house. We have a family computer downstairs and my mum has a laptop, too. So I will still have at home computer access and it really doesn’t affect my internet access at all because I use my mum’s laptop for that.

So why am I upset? Well, firstly, it was mine and I like my things intact (thanks to my internal spoilt brat, working in tandem with my residual five year-old). Secondly, I don’t know if I can get it fixed. My dad, our resident tech guy, just laughed and said ‘you call that a laptop!’ Him insulting my ancient IBM ThinkPad, which only has 1 USB port and no CD-Drive, didn’t improve my mood much. Thirdly, I’ve absolutely no idea when I’m gonna get it replaced. My mum’s supposed to be getting a new one soon, which’d leave me with her old one (I hope), but God only knows when that’ll be. As for buying one myself (the grown-up, non-scrounging-off-the-parents route. Ugh) I wouldn’t even know where to start over here. Fourthly, now I can’t read any ebooks in bed anymore! *bawl*

I’m trying to keep it together, though. If I stay calm and think straight then I hope that eventually I’ll come up with a decent or even good solution to my current problem. The torch of eternal optimism shines bright, eh?

Notice, however, that work/university/research just doesn’t figure into my sadness at all. Hmmm ... I think I need to sort out my priorities.

Maybe.