Other Kinds of Grace

Apparently this obstructive computer is starting to feel threatened by the fact that I'm actually in the market for another one that isn't it, because it's been working fine for the last two days. Which is why suddenly I'm posting all the time here, even though I said I wouldn't be able to. The Item says my computer knows I'm about to break up with it and it's trying to work on things.

Well, that's nice, but I'd still rather have a Mac, I guess, as ardently recommended recently by Triumphant Scott and eternally by Matthew-the-Macintosh-Evangelist. Also, Mark-the-Dell-Wielding-Computer-Whiz says that if I can find a Macintosh for cheap, I'd be better off. He also told me what sorts of things to look for, and even sent me some links to some decent offers.

All these guys are, interestingly enough, friends from the days when I was a nanny in Southern Connecticut. Matthew-the-Macintosh-Evangelist lived with his parents at the time, and I lived in a room with a ceiling only about six inches higher than the top of my head, in the basement of the house where I nannied. (It was a nice room. Just tiny, without a lot of clearance. Also, there was a dragon on the other side of the wall, but that's probably a story for another time.) Neither of us could host social gatherings, therefore. Mark-the-Dell-Wielding-Computer-Whiz and various other members of the Christian young adults' group we all belonged to at the time would hold parties in their homes, and when my dear friend Paulina and I weren't carpooling to them together, Matthew and I (and sometimes Triumphant Scott) would instead.

After I left the area for other countries, Matthew started preaching to me about the superiority of Apple computers, but I never had the wherewithal to shell out for one. Until now, apparently. If this recalcitrant piece of machinery can largely hold it together until July, I can buy Matthew's most recent Powerbook for an amount that actually falls within the range of my tax return. Matthew didn't know what I was getting back in my tax return. I didn't know I'd be getting back so much.

This is the kind of boon I might barely imagine but not really expect. I'm incredibly grateful for the projected provision. But I'm even more grateful for people who, with years and miles between, are still generously friends.