There is a moment when your computer hesitates before a very important action where you watch the screen, waiting for movement. You’re holding your breath. Your chest is tight; your tear ducts are ready to open the flood gates. You’re begging it out loud, “Oh please, oh please, oh please” and making promises to finally let Windows update if it just works. Finally, Word saves your 20-page paper you forgot to save when you first opened the document. You exhale joyously and thank it out loud while you silently hate the stupid piece of hard ware for even scaring you in the first place. You slam it shut, hoping Santa Claus might have enough cash sitting around this year to get you a new computer that doesn’t corrupt your Word documents, crash your Internet every five minutes and turn your iTunes a strange pink.
Technology was supposed to make my life easier. But why has it forced me to allow an hour for starting up Photoshop in my photo-editing process? Why is exploring my C drive like blazing a trail through a tropical forest with a butter knife? I keep this computer because it works. But can I REALLY say it works if it is constantly causing me to lose precious time I set aside for homework?
There will always be something faster and smarter than the piece of technology I own, but how long should I tolerate the unjust burden of my aging lap top? I could compare it to a calf. At first, it runs and jumps through the fields, active and adorable. But then, as time passes, the calf begins to slow and fatten. Eventually the calf needs so much time feeding itself that it no longer has time for “extra” activities. The calf becomes a large, fat, lazy cow. Is my calf ready to be made into a hamburger?
Well. My birthday IS coming up. Mommy. Daddy. : )
