Where Have I Been?

We all know that as soon as our spouses leave the house for a significant amount of time, things inevitably go wrong. For example, a couple years back my dad took a trip to Colorado to help a close family friend fix up his vacation home. While he was gone, this huge storm called Hurricane Katrina hit our hometown, maybe you've heard of it. We were without power for weeks. Streets were flooded. My in-laws were living with us because their home was destroyed by the storm. We were all a bit panicked to say the least. And where was my dad? He was racing home from Colorado but managed to miss the worst of the storm.

It seems that every time Hubs goes underway, things start breaking. It usually isn't anything catastrophic. At the very most it is irritating and inconvenient. This underway, I have had to replace 6 light bulbs. How in the world do 6 energy-efficient light bulbs burn out in the same week? By all means I am capable of replacing them, but that is something that Hubs takes care of and frankly I don't need something to remind me that he is not around. Its like the burned out bulbs are glaring at me and silently taunting me. Damn you light bulbs! The worst so far was during last deployment, our 4 year old desktop PC gave up on me...3 weeks before Homecoming!

NOTHING irritates me more than problems with technology, especially computers. I am pretty sure it is because nothing makes me feel dumber than my own computer, 

"What does that blinking light mean?"

"Why is the screen blue?"

"Why won't this damn thing connect to the internet?!"

I just get so frustrated I want to just hurl the computer against the wall, but then I remember how expensive the damn thing is thus making me even angrier and I end up throwing something else across the room. Lucky for me (more like "convenient"), I fell in love with a computer geek and he is my geek squad til death do us part. He manages to solve all my computer woes,

"The blinking light means the battery is about to die."

"The screen is blue because you pressed too many keys at once. And kicking the computer tower probably didn't help."

"The cats managed to unplug the router, fix that and you should be fine."

So yah at the end of the last deployment I managed to kill our desktop PC. I definitely did not want to venture out and buy a new one because I needed Hubs there to hold my hand and make these complicated decisions for me. I needed him to tell me how many gigs and jigs or pigs the damn thing needed to run fast. My sister ended up having a spare laptop and she gave that to me. I got the brilliant idea to wipe the laptop clean so I could make it "my own". I managed to wipe the laptop; I was so proud of myself. Then I put in the install disks. The damn thing froze up on the second disc. For 2 straight days I try to figure out what is wrong. I try to explain to Hubs what is wrong so he can give me some online tech support. He is just as frustrated as I am plus they are almost home from deployment so the last thing that is on his mind is my laptop troubles. In order to save my sanity, I put the laptop aside until Homecoming had passed.

Within a week of Hubs coming home, he decides to tackle my computer issues. Yup, the desktop PC is done for there is no hope of even recovering what was on the hard drive. He starts to work on the laptop. He looks at all the installation discs AND THEN HE CLEANS THEM OFF! He puts them into the laptop one at a time and ta da installation is complete. 

W

T

F

You are telling me that all I had to do was clean off the damn discs and I would've had no problems?! Why did no one tell me that?! ARGHHHHH

So since July the laptop has been running great. No problems. at. all. Last Saturday I get home from my 8am spin class and turn on the laptop. Nothing happens. Oh, I must have thought I turned it on but didn't push the button down hard enough.

*Intently pushes the power button* 

Still nothing happens. I try plugging it into another outlet. Nada. I notice the light is on, but apparently no one is home inside my laptop because I can't even hear the little computer noises.

*I silently pray to the computer gawds*

I soon realize that there is a major problem, and it isn't the person operating the laptop. I call my mom and cry. This entire time Hubs has been gone I haven't shed one tear, the moment my laptop craps out I turn into a sobbing mess. I call a friend. She tells me to bring it to the NEX because the won't charge me to look at it so I run to the NEX. In my sweaty gym clothes. With a screaming toddler. He takes one look at it and tells me it is the hard drive, nothing major, they will call me in 3-5 business days when it is ready for pickup. Sweet! 

For 5 days I am stuck using my phone to send emails and surf the web. Needless to say, my thumbs hurt. On Thursday I happened to be driving by the NEX so I decided to stop in and check on my laptop. *Cue the ominous music* The computer guy looks up my laptop in the computer system, he calls someone and talks in whispers, he hangs up the phone and looks at me like a doctor who had just lost a patient on the operating table, "Ma'am, it seems the motherboard on your laptop is no longer functioning and at this point it would cost more to repair the computer than what it is worth. But we will be able to recover everything on the hard drive and recycle the carcass (EXACT word!) for you." 

Up to this point, I had told Hubs in our daily emails about the laptop situation. I even asked him JUST IN CASE something was seriously wrong with the laptop what I should look for in a replacement. He just told me not to stress and we could look for something new when he comes home in a few weeks. So when the computer guy broke the bad news to me, I went into minor shock. Okay, maybe not anywhere close to shock but you get the point! Immediately I email Hubs and tell him the situation and beg him to help me buy a new one before he gets home because I just don't think my poor thumbs can take it anymore. Fortunate for us, we have the wiggle room to afford a reasonably priced laptop. 

After a few detailed emails we narrowed down our search. I did a few online searches, went to the NEX, and went to Best Buy. I found the perfect cute laptop in mocha chocolate brown that met all of our specifications (500GB hard drive, webcam w/mic, 3 USB ports, HDMI outlet, under $600, works with our router, NOT a Dell or HP) and I stared at it for about an hour and tried to think like Hubs. That started to give me a headache, so I gave up and bought a new Asus laptop. All by myself. I am a big girl now Hooray!

I am one of these crazy people that believes everything in life happens for a reason. Why oh why do my computers seem to breakdown while my computer geek is out in the middle of the ocean? Here is what I think: I think all of this crap happened so I could step out of my comfort zone and do something I am uncomfortable with. I am so stinkin' proud of myself for finding a laptop that met all of our specifications, it was well within our price range, and its even cute! This just goes to show that just because I am unfamiliar with something doesn't mean I can't manage to do it. 

So the universe really isn't conspiring against me, the universe it just trying to teach me a valuable lesson :)

I just hope Hubs is as excited about my new laptop (and my take-home message) as I am!