There's a reason they call them PERSONAL computers!!

My computer was about 2 years old, and given the way I drag it around, it was holding up fairly well. I'd noticed it was freezing up a bit, and the power cord was a bit troublesome (my puppy confused it with a chew toy) but overall I figured I had another year before I'd need to break down and a get a new machine.


Then it happened ... I was telling a great story, which required a good deal of animation - no, I can't talk without using my hands - and whack, I managed to smack my wedding ring into my computer screen! The good news is, diamonds always win! The bad news is, in a matter of moments, the little spot on my screen began to grow. Several hairline cracks swirled out from the center making what began as a lovely spiral design around the screen.

After I got over the initial shock I thought, no problem, I can work with this it's not like I can't see the screen. Well that pipe dream lasted a few more moments until the lovely hairline cracks started to bleed black, blue and an occasional red ink-like substance inside the screen. Still, my Scottish blood coursing through my veins, I convinced myself all would be fine. It's not like the whole screen was blacked out. It just looked, as a good friend said, like I had a tarantula smashed across my screen.

What I discovered in the weeks - yes weeks - that followed was if we can't use our computers in the same way we always have, we start finding reasons to limit the way we use them. I had figured out if I shrank my windows and move them to the lower left-hand corner of my screen, I could still read e-mail, check out websites and conduct business relatively well. Yes it was a hassle, but I could do it. Then I found myself using my blackberry for e-mail and web searches (ugh) even though my computer was sitting right next to me. Then I was asking my daughter for her computer or using my husband's when he wasn't working. Of course none of this really worked well, because all MY files, things I wanted easy access to and used all the time weren't available.

I no longer had a Personal Computer, I had a machine I could use if I had no other choice. Not the best way to run a business!! So I bit the bullet headed to Best Buy and bought the cheapest decent machine I could find. Fortunately, all this did happen as students were heading back to school so I was able to get a really good deal on a Gateway, but I still didn't have a Personal Computer. The real fun was about to begin; loading software and files, re-establishing wireless connections and setting up e-mail options, getting used to the new keyboard set-up and changes related to System 7.

It's taken about a week and a half, but I realized today I once again have my very own personal computer and suddenly I was ready to get back to my blog. That's when the light bulb went off! It wasn't that I didn't have anything to say (God forbid!!) or I was lofty enough to have writers block, I simply couldn't face blogging without the right tools! Shame on me, lesson learned, sometimes being cheap is very costly!!

* * * * *

Stay tuned, next week I'll be analyzing what really happened in the Alameda market this summer. What areas were hot, what areas were not. Was it the house, the price or the location that made a difference in the sale of a home. Or was this truly a schizophrenic summer with no rhyme or reason? We'll see....