I’m in love with my computer…

Brethren. First off it has been two years since I wrote on this blog. TWO YEARS. A baby born two years ago would have at least 20 words in their vocabulary by now, would be walking and running (have you ever wondered why babies/toddlers feel the need to run away from their guardians e-v-e-r-y chance they get? Lol, but I digress). Two years! Phew! Did you miss me?

Back here because I think I’ve thought up a challenge to force myself to get back into writing. I miss it so much. It used to be my outlet, my escape from the craziness around, my little community from all over the world, and I miss it. So, let’s write. I couldn’t settle on what I wanted to write about first, so I thought I’d come into my drafts and finish up an old post. Alright? Let’s do it!

Have you ever been shocked by your emotions? I mean, startled by the amount of emotion you expressed because you didn’t think you were capable of that much?

Here’s a short story for you. On the 29th of December 2017 -(yes this post has been in my drafts that long), I realised I was nowhere close to disposing of all my old devices as I’d promised myself. So off to a reseller, I went, with my HTC M7, M8, and M9, iTouch, and my faithful old MacBook Pro.

To sell the MacBook Pro, first, we had to wipe it, sign out of Google accounts, those kinds of things. And then before I knew it, tears filled my eyes. I thought there was something in my eyes at first, then I thought the computer dealership doubled as an onion-chopping establishment because I couldn’t seem to dry my eyes. And now I’ll tell you about my Macbook.

It was my very first MacBook, purchased seven years before with a generous student discount at the Apple Store at Bluewater Mall in Greenhithe. It is such a vivid memory, that day we purchased that computer, and how excited my late aunty Pat and I were. I mean she didn’t understand why I needed to spend that much on a computer, but my excitement rubbed off on her and we rejoiced together. And she prayed for me – Aunty always found a reason to pray for me – and said “you will buy bigger things.” Amen aunty! I wish she could see some of the things I’ve bought since then.

If devices could speak, phew! That MacBook and I have so many stories we could tell, from trips to experiences to tasks delivered, to near-misses, and oh there was the time I broke the screen and it felt like I had lost someone. I was in Charlton, at my friend Toksy’s house, and I don’t remember what I was doing but I heard a sound and couldn’t figure out where it was from. An hour later I opened my baby to confirm the delivery time for an item (I was to leave the UK in 7 days) and the screen was broken, like shattered and bits of it were on the keypad. How my heart didn’t stop is something I need you to thank God with me about! I cried myself silly, then headed off to the apple store. I believe I have written about this before but the short story is my eyes were so bloodshot (from wailing) the gentleman at the Apple Store must have believed I was getting abused or something. Also because the damage to the screen was significant. He asked me what happened to the screen a few times, didn’t help that I didn’t know what exactly happened to it, I just needed it fixed in like 72 hours (way ahead of their 7-10 working days turnaround time) so I could travel with it. My mac was booked, he said he’d try his best, urged me to stop crying (I was so weepy, gosh) and I left. Brethren, Apple reached out in the morning of the second day to say my baby was fixed. When I went to pick it up, that gentleman was scanning my face for a smile. When I opened the device and beamed, he said, “yay, she’s smiling” and I couldn’t have been more grateful. I’ll never forget that incident. 

Anyway, this was the device that 7 years on, I was letting go off. I had transferred all of my information to my new mac, wiped this old one, and was settling on a sum with the reseller. I got excellent value for it by the way; I’d bought it for about 1000 pounds in 2010 (£ = N250 at the time), and sold it for about N150, 000 7 years after. Next thing, I found myself tearing up, and it was the most confusing thing, for the seller, and myself. He kept on asking, “madam wetin” and I couldn’t explain that I was leaking water from my eyes for a device so I said an insect got into my eye and was irritating both of them. He said okay, but he didn’t believe me, lol. Money and receipts exchanged hands, and when I was safely in my car, I bawled. It was like I was watching a fast version of my experiences and escapades with that device, remembering the many people I had interacted with on it (for instance Skyping with my aunt), the work I’d done on it, the many firsts, the trips we’d taken, the boyfriend who accused me of being in a relationship with my computer (what a cad), everything!

Anyway. Five years with the device I bought then and we’re probably due another change. No, I will not be crying this time.