Oh My Word! I hate it when I do stupid things! And this one may be a doozy!
My normal routine of heading to work involves Iced Tea. If Tim is in town he will offer to bring one to me from McDonalds or Raising Canes. When I am in town alone, I usually just take some with me from home. And so it was today. I am not organized enough to have a container dedicated to the transporting of a daily iced tea, I just use whatever I can find on a given day. Today’s choice: the travel bottle from the individual blender. It has a travel top, that I now know only is secure if UPRIGHT! Into my bag went the tea, an envelope of postage and items ready to mail to Jen, and my lap top and its fan.
You can see it already. I should have too, because I know liquids and lap tops do not play well together! But all was upright and fine and I hit the road. Stopped by the Post Office to have them weigh the envelopes I was preparing to send to Macedonia; after all I have gotten so many conflicting bits of truth from the USPS, I am not very trusting. I want these weighed by them to make sure I have enough postage on them before I mail them.
Unknowingly, when I pulled the envelopes out of the bag to go into the Post Office, the travel bottle tipped over, the top dislodged and tea began to fill my bag. Meanwhile, I am standing in line waiting my turn for a clerk and the tea is leaking. After the ten minutes or so that it took to get my envelopes weighed and postage declared I was back in the car.
After pulling out of the Post Office and stopping at the first stop sign, I decided to return the envelopes to my bag. When I reached over to put the envelopes back anatomy bag my hand came back WET! Quickly I pulled the travel bottle out and there I saw, almost a third of the 20 ounces of liquid was GONE! I grabbed my lap top out of the bag and the guy in the vehicle behind me honked as in his opinion, I had stayed too long at the stop sign. My computer laying on the still dry car carpet, I headed quickly to work.
What had I done? Oh my word, how could I have thought it was safe to put liquids and lap tops in close proximity. But it was done so just hurry to the diagnosis. Every moment that went by I was getting more disgusted with myself. I don’t have an extra $1k for a new mac laying around.... what have I done. Living without my computer would be counter productive. Any hope I have of producing income right now is in that computer. The contact I have with many people, especially Jen in Macedonia,is in that computer. Yes, I had backed up to my external hard drive last night.... but.....
So, I reach work and run in with the wetness and the computer and immediately took out the battery. No moisture there... whew. And began to examine and dry. The tea contact appeared to be limited to the end of the lap top that is the home of the cd drive.... but no other openings, no ports..... WHEW!
Inside the liquid looked to be minimal. But one drop at the wrong place and at the wrong time..... death to may beloved MAC! My drying continued..... even into the cd slot. And the waiting began. How long do I wait to “try” and see what results from my stupidity.
In this period of computer drying and waiting I get a phone call from Macedonia..... “Hi Jen”. I share my debacle and with two hands drying the computer, I hold my cell phone to my ear between my hair and my shoulder. Of course, the balance is very delicate and pouf.... out from my shoulder flies my phone. It hits the floor (cement of course) and flies into three pieces. Obviously our call was abruptly dropped. Have I just pulled an act of stupidity that now leaves me with NO TECHNOLOGY surviving! How could I be so careless with my only link to civilization?
I quickly reassemble my phone, it rings.... “Hi Jen”. Thank God one communication appliance is working again! We talk and I take her words of empathy and sympathy, “Be patient grasshopper and give it time to be really good and dry. Don’t turn it on too soon. Don’t make it worse.” The tears were rolling down my cheeks.
Why so many tears? One; I despise being stupid and reckless. Two; I wish I had some more breathing room in my life right now. Three; I miss Jen and hearing her console me brought that to the surface. Four; I was feeling overwhelmed. Five: That’s the age of my lap top and I know its days are numbered without my stupidity.
So there you have it.... the redhead’s dilemma.... how long to wait.
This thought kept running through my mind..... my computer was sending power to the fan while resting in the tea (no sugar). When I grabbed it out of the bag I disconnected the fan. So, It might have fried before I had even grabbed it.... it was powered. Everything appeared dry now.... but there is always the possibility of wet where I cannot see. Thus the back and forth self talk.
So, I waited. An hour and a half is a long time to wait in such a dilemma! But I did.
Back in went the battery. I turned the computer face up. Standing there wondering if I had waited long enough, dried it enough, and growing in my disgust for myself..... I pushed the button and waited. Happy Macintosh sound! If you are a mac owner you know the sound! Now, lets see what follows. Bit by bit.... byte by byte..... my beloved mac came back to life, I am typing on it now!
Thank you Steve Jobs and all the power of the universe!
Other than periods of tears and high blood pressure, the iced tea did not turn out be as expensive as it might could have! So, I just bow my head and say thanks! And oh my word.... I hope I can behave more intelligently the rest of the day!
In times of uncertainty.... cling by faith to hope!
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