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CyFishy does something insane . . .
Mar. 8th, 2007 07:52 pmOkay, so for a while I've been making noises about getting a new computer so I can play Second Life at home on my own connection instead of borrowing Dad's every Sunday night.
I should really be careful what I wish for. A similar thing happened when I was talking about getting a new car--the Camry got totalled with some bozo ran a red light and T-boned it, so I had to go car shopping and wound up with the Saturn I've had to this day.
Well, in the same way, the universe said "Oh, new computer? All right then, you won't be needing the old one anymore, now will you?"
So the screen started to go on my iBook. It's not dead yet, just flickery, but I know from experience that this condition will not improve. The previous times it happened, it was just a question of phoning up AppleCare, getting a box shipped over, packing it up and sending it off for repair.
Alas, the AppleCare on that machine expired some time ago. So it was time to go computer shopping. Hoy pronto.
Luckily, there's an Apple Store in Lenox Mall not too far from where I work. I went there on my lunch hour, looked over the pretty machines, checked out the one I figured I'd get and all was good.
Then at work, between tasks, I did one little thing. I pulled up the specs on Apple laptops and then pulled up the hardware requirements for Second Life. As it turns out, the minimum requirements for running Second Life can only be fulfilled by a MacBook Pro.
One thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine dollars.
The credit limit on my card is over four thousand, so getting it wasn't a problem. Figuring out how to pay it back was.
The fact that my thoughts went immediately to what expenses I could cut down on (stop eating out, only go out to see bands I really want to see and sticking to one drink at most when I do, etc.) rather than thinking "Oh, darn" pretty much tells you what I ended up doing.
So, yes, I have a MacBook Pro now. It's a beautiful machine. And, yes, I can play Second Life on it. I also got a FireWire cable, which means that loading the contents of my old machine into the new one was a matter of plugging it in during setup and letting the old and new machines have a nice chat for a while. Everything got moved. Every file, every application, even the trash. It's wonderful.
Mr. TBH helped me celebrate by taking me out to dinner and giving me some new footwear. Okay, not exactly--this is how it played out. He texted me out of the clear blue sky and asked me what size shoe I wore. 8 1/2 women's, 5 men's, I replied, why? He explained he had some boots if I wanted them. Black thigh-high boots. Sure, I replied, when? We settled on meeting up for dinner at a restaurant he wanted to try and he'd give me the boots then. I went intending it to be one last splurge before tightening the purse strings, but Mr. TBH ended up picking up the tab and I couldn't protest under the circumstances. My original plan was to not tell him about my new purchase and then pop in on Second Life and surprise him, but I ended up confessing about halfway through dinner. After dinner, we went to my digs so I could try on the boots and we loaded up Second Life, found out it worked and Mr. TBH gave me some tips for getting around that should come in handy.
The boots look fantastic, by the way. Basically, a girl he knew couldn't wear them anymore and asked him if he knew anybody who might want them. So he gave them to me. Yes, they fit. Yes, I think I'll be keeping them.
I just spent over half an hour on hold with Earthlink so I could cancel the dial-up I haven't been using. But it's done, so that's some money that can go toward paying the credit card bill.
Last night, I was going through the stuff I'd unpacked and found my younger brother's bathrobe from when he was a child. He'd given it to me when he'd outgrown it because it fit my Paddington bear. I ended up dragging it with me through several moves and finally dug it out. So I phoned up my brother, fired up the iSight camera that comes with my spiffy new laptop and showed it to him. He was flabbergasted. I asked him what he wanted to do with it. We settled on having me give it to my parents so they can bring it to him when they go to visit next month.
I love the 21st century. Not only did I get to show it to him instantly, I got to see his reaction. It was brilliant.
Busy day today. Three more days (two and change, I guess) of not reading and then I'll be back on the net in earnest. But probably conserving my time so I'll have more time to play on Second Life within the hour I've parceled each day for Lent.
Today I took pleasure in trying on one of my skinny dresses and finding that it fit.
Today I learned the hold music for Earthlink cancellation is Pachelbel's Canon in D. Over and over and over again.
I should really be careful what I wish for. A similar thing happened when I was talking about getting a new car--the Camry got totalled with some bozo ran a red light and T-boned it, so I had to go car shopping and wound up with the Saturn I've had to this day.
Well, in the same way, the universe said "Oh, new computer? All right then, you won't be needing the old one anymore, now will you?"
So the screen started to go on my iBook. It's not dead yet, just flickery, but I know from experience that this condition will not improve. The previous times it happened, it was just a question of phoning up AppleCare, getting a box shipped over, packing it up and sending it off for repair.
Alas, the AppleCare on that machine expired some time ago. So it was time to go computer shopping. Hoy pronto.
Luckily, there's an Apple Store in Lenox Mall not too far from where I work. I went there on my lunch hour, looked over the pretty machines, checked out the one I figured I'd get and all was good.
Then at work, between tasks, I did one little thing. I pulled up the specs on Apple laptops and then pulled up the hardware requirements for Second Life. As it turns out, the minimum requirements for running Second Life can only be fulfilled by a MacBook Pro.
One thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine dollars.
The credit limit on my card is over four thousand, so getting it wasn't a problem. Figuring out how to pay it back was.
The fact that my thoughts went immediately to what expenses I could cut down on (stop eating out, only go out to see bands I really want to see and sticking to one drink at most when I do, etc.) rather than thinking "Oh, darn" pretty much tells you what I ended up doing.
So, yes, I have a MacBook Pro now. It's a beautiful machine. And, yes, I can play Second Life on it. I also got a FireWire cable, which means that loading the contents of my old machine into the new one was a matter of plugging it in during setup and letting the old and new machines have a nice chat for a while. Everything got moved. Every file, every application, even the trash. It's wonderful.
Mr. TBH helped me celebrate by taking me out to dinner and giving me some new footwear. Okay, not exactly--this is how it played out. He texted me out of the clear blue sky and asked me what size shoe I wore. 8 1/2 women's, 5 men's, I replied, why? He explained he had some boots if I wanted them. Black thigh-high boots. Sure, I replied, when? We settled on meeting up for dinner at a restaurant he wanted to try and he'd give me the boots then. I went intending it to be one last splurge before tightening the purse strings, but Mr. TBH ended up picking up the tab and I couldn't protest under the circumstances. My original plan was to not tell him about my new purchase and then pop in on Second Life and surprise him, but I ended up confessing about halfway through dinner. After dinner, we went to my digs so I could try on the boots and we loaded up Second Life, found out it worked and Mr. TBH gave me some tips for getting around that should come in handy.
The boots look fantastic, by the way. Basically, a girl he knew couldn't wear them anymore and asked him if he knew anybody who might want them. So he gave them to me. Yes, they fit. Yes, I think I'll be keeping them.
I just spent over half an hour on hold with Earthlink so I could cancel the dial-up I haven't been using. But it's done, so that's some money that can go toward paying the credit card bill.
Last night, I was going through the stuff I'd unpacked and found my younger brother's bathrobe from when he was a child. He'd given it to me when he'd outgrown it because it fit my Paddington bear. I ended up dragging it with me through several moves and finally dug it out. So I phoned up my brother, fired up the iSight camera that comes with my spiffy new laptop and showed it to him. He was flabbergasted. I asked him what he wanted to do with it. We settled on having me give it to my parents so they can bring it to him when they go to visit next month.
I love the 21st century. Not only did I get to show it to him instantly, I got to see his reaction. It was brilliant.
Busy day today. Three more days (two and change, I guess) of not reading and then I'll be back on the net in earnest. But probably conserving my time so I'll have more time to play on Second Life within the hour I've parceled each day for Lent.
Today I took pleasure in trying on one of my skinny dresses and finding that it fit.
Today I learned the hold music for Earthlink cancellation is Pachelbel's Canon in D. Over and over and over again.
