The sun is shining today and as much as I want to smile and thank the gods for this beautiful gift all I’m thinking about is my computer.
After three years my computer is dead.
I turned it on to see a folder with a flashing question mark. After quickly locating my trouble shooting guide – I read that this is not something any MAC user ever wants to see. Well, wonderful.
I tried all the quick fixes and nothing worked. So I traveled about forty minutes to get to the service center here in Madrid *k-tuin*. I opened up the computer, showed the guy, and his face said everything. “What?” I asked. “Your computer is dead.”
This is the actual spanish translation of what he said to me. “Dead?” I said again. “Yes, dead.” And that was it. I walked out of the shop feeling completely overwhelmed and anxious.
Yes, we all know that we should back up our work, but how often does one really do it. Maybe some people out there are on top of that stuff, but me, well, no. So I lost most everything.
At first I was sad, thinking that maybe I should stop writing on computers and go back to writing by hand. But then I thought to myself, maybe this is a new beginning. Maybe it is time for me to say goodbye to past experiences by saying goodbye to my beloved MAC.
Right now I’m working on a small pc that I really don’t connect with. I find her hard to navigate and it makes writing a lot less pleasant. I never realized that the comfort I feel with my computer dictates my interest in sitting down at it for hours to work and write.
Since not having my computer I’ve been a bit depressed. But it’s like any relationship – the things I’ve shared with my computer, the memories we’ve had, the writing we’ve done together, the dedication I had to making sure she’s doing okay, and her constant support in telling me what she needed – well, it’s all gone.I do wish that she would’ve given me a warning that she wasn’t happy with me. But I guess when something just disappears, leaves your life never to be heard from again, it makes it easier to move on.
So my mission is to figure out if it makes sense for me to get a new MAC here in Spain. The cost will be more and since someone in California has been using my credit card at Safeway I am out of a credit card.
Should I start a new relationship with a Spanish keyboard or wait till I’m back in New York for an American one.
Gosh – starting any kind of relationship is difficult, no?
The funeral for my MAC will be held today en El Retiro Park in Madrid.
by 
