money money money money

So, the other day, my brother's computer blew up. Well, not "blew up" precisely. There was no explosion. No smoke, no fire, no pieces of the house flying into the air and landing in the neighbor's swimming pool. Pity. What really happened is that the power cord stopped working. (See, now isn't that less interesting? An explosion would have been way cooler). The effects of this, however, can be put in the same list as the effects of an explosion. There was panic. There was cursing. And a little blood (although, that was NOT my fault. I can't help it that he's clumsy). Some crying (though if you ask him, he'd say allergies). The reason for this chaos? School. See, my brother's computer is HUGE. 17 inch screen. Lots of power. And, it's old. These two things coupled together equals very little battery time. Add to that a 6-7 page paper due in two days and you can see why hyperventilation and nausea might ensue. Add to all this the fact that this didn't happen until midnight (at which point, I believe, only 3 pages had been written) and the problem becomes evident. Nothing is open that late in Tucson. Nothing is open after 9 pm in Tucson. So, we make a plan. We'll leave for class early the next morning, stop by Best Buy and pick up a new cable. Expensive, yes, but necessary. Problem: Best Buy doesn't open til 10. We both have class at 11. Is this enough time? Sure. It shouldn't take that long to find a power cable, right?

Wrong. Best Buy has nothing. Nada. Zip. And the skinny little kid working in the computer department has about 8 people following him around. Crap. So, we ask the dude at the Geek Squad Counter. He doesn't seem to know much about computers, which I find very odd. He tries out a cable, but it doesn't work. Sigh. I expected more from Geek Squad. By this time, we are both getting kind antsy. We have class soon. He has to have the cable. He has to write a paper. So, we go across the street to a little computer store called Blue Chip. Really nice people. A little expensive, though, but by this time, we're desperate. We go in. While they're searching for a cord, I ask a seemingly innocuous question about MY computer. The USB ports don't work. Why don't you bring it in? they say. We can help. I say, ok, I'll think about it.

So, I think about it. I think about it as I drop my brother off at his class and then frantically scurry to mine, still arriving 15 minutes late. I think about it at work. And what do I do? I take my computer in. I buy a cool little card ($50) that gives me two USB ports. Two WORKING USB ports. And then, in the most amazing display of salesmanship I have ever witnessed, the offhanded comment. Not even said to me, but rather to his co-worker. This computer would work faster if it had more RAM. Like night and day. Uh oh, I think, here it comes, the push. But no! They just go on with their work. And leave me to think. And to ponder. It would be really nice to have a computer that works at a reasonable pace. Hmm. How much?, asks my oh-so-helpful brother. $89 for 256, he says. That's not bad. I think and ponder some more. Get behind me, Satan! But alas, I succumb to the temptation and the ever present, all consuming need to have better and cooler toys (sigh. That sounds like a very masculine trait, doesn't it? Well, I can't help it!!) and I end up spending $150. As I leave the store, I think: Well, that's $150 that I can't take to Germany with me. But, on the plus side, my computer really does work faster.