I am in mourning for my closest professional relationship. My friend, my companion who shares my days, the only other member of this small, home office team, has died.
My work computer, my link to the home office, my link to the working world, unexpectedly keeled over and croaked.
It was a shock. It had been slowing down, getting a little cranky, but I didn't think it was dying. I'd tried virus scans. I scanned for malware religiously. But I found no reason for its increasingly clumsy performance. Maneuvers it once managed with deft grace were now done with lurching desperation.
So I took it to the doctor. I shut it down, unplugged it and carried it gently to the car, promising that a good checkup would be all it needed and we'd be back to work the next day.
The phone rang.
"It's the motherboard," the PC doctor said. "It's fried. I can't even get it to boot up."
"But you can fix it, right?" I asked incredulously.
"Nope. I can save your data but this unit is toast. It's built to be obsolete within a couple of years and this one didn't even last that long."
It's toast? My little PC buddy won't be coming back? He was so young!
Without a computer, I cannot work. It's that simple. Everything I do depends upon a computer. So I'm spending this work day finding a replacement, picking up a loaner that will hopefully allow me to get my work done until my new co-worker arrives. But you can't build a relationship with a temp, and it's going to take awhile before the new PC settles in and we are comfortable together.
I anthropomorphize electronics and technology - I admit it. I don't name them like I name my car, but I certainly develop relationships with the things I use every day.
So my old co-worker is gone, his data retrieved and his little chip brain quiet. I'll spend the weekend trying to make a polite relationship with the temp, and I'll be waiting to see what my new co-worker will be like.
I hope he or she is friendly. It'd be just awful to have to spend all day with someone difficult to get along with.
4 comments:
Perhaps your new co-worker should be named MAC ;)
Ah, Pauline, if only.
But then I get angry at the platinum prices they charge.
There are times when do get what you pay for. I speak as a former PC owner who switched to MAC, paid the higher price, and saved money in the long run on virus protection, ease of use, and reliability.
I'd love to make the switch and probably eventually will with my own computer - but this is work. I've got no say and they're PC all the way.
So try not to judge us, you lucky and far cooler Mac-ster.
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