Laptop Pelican

The Wisdom of the John Butler Trio..

Go Take a step outside, see what’s shaking in the real world!

Go Take a step outside, see what’s shaking in the real world!

That’s the chorus from the song, “Good Excuse” by the John Butler Trio.

Catchy little number isn’t it?

It also, quite fittingly, sums up this last week for me.

As some of you may know, this time last Sunday, I was sitting here typing away happily, when my laptop froze and a cheerful little blue screen appeared with quite a lot of garbled text on it.

I am no IT wizard, but even with my limited techie-knowledge, I was able to discern that, in all likelihood, I had been transported to www.YOURESCREWED.com.

Normally this wouldn’t faze me too much- my computer has done crazy things before (you may fondly recall the wing-ding episode from one of my previous article). However, I had just spent 4 hours putting the finishing touches on Chapter 6 of my book/work-in-progress, which I had been nudging at for many weeks, and now, sitting and staring at what I now knew to be the dreaded “Blue Screen of Death” (confirmed to me after a couple of semi-hysterical texts to a friend who IS an IT wizard) I realised that all that work had probably gone to that great big Windows Recycle Bin in the sky.

Overall, I think I handled this situation quite well. There was limited cursing and minimal throwing of things (although my Bill Gates Voodoo Doll got a fairly thorough work out).With nothing left to reboot or delete, I unplugged my laptop, turned it over to Mr PC Fix-It, and hoped for the best.

That was on Monday morning…..

By Monday night, and after a long day of putting people on planes, I was ready to come home, grab a glass of something slightly stronger than Cottees Cordial, and do what I normally do to relax: start writing.

Just out of habit, I climbed the stairs to my little office/retreat and flicked on the light, revealing lots of cables, reams of paper, dozens of pens at varying stages of mastication, and CDs strewn about the floor. It all looked pretty normal to me, with the notable exception of the dusty, square space on my desk where my Laptop used to sit.

I placed my glass down, muttered some very unchristian words under my breath, gave Bill a good, solid jab, and wandered back downstairs again, wondering to myself how I was going to fill my evening.

My partner, finally tired of me pacing around the house like a disgruntled bear, poked his head around the door and suggested that we go for a walk.

“A…walk.…?” I murmured curiously.

“Yes” he countered chirpily “You remember walking? You take two legs, put one in front of the other and you can actually get from here…to somewhere else. Quite extraordinary really.”

Not entirely convinced that this “walking” business would replace the gratification of creating a new and dangerous dilemma for one of my fictional characters to muddle their way out of, I reluctantly dug out my old battered Nikes and we set out into the evening.

To my own amazement, it was utterly, utterly fabulous.

We wandered along the broadwater, just letting the cool winter air invigorate us. The moon, almost full, hung above Stradbroke Island, giving off just enough light to see the silhouettes of pelicans perched on the street lights, and I suddenly realised, as we sauntered along, how much of a rut I had fallen into.

Given this sudden epiphany, the rest of my PC-less week went as follows:

Tuesday night: Went to Q1 Tower with friends for work function, ate lots of disgustingly good food. Came home and actually picked up a biro and penned a letter to my girlfriend in Perth. (My girlfriend has since emailed me back, thanking me for the letter and begging me never to do it again, given my appalling and completely illegible handwriting.)

Wednesday night: Visited friends, before heading home to reacquaint myself with the workings of the dishwasher, the washing machine and, most importantly, the fan-forced oven. The man of the manor had been very patient, but even he was only a couple of plastic containers of Kaoh Pat away from committing Hari-Curry on my account at the  Baan Thai Restaurant..

Thursday night: Picked up a cross-stitch that I started when my friend was expecting her first child. (The child is now 6 years old, so I don’t know if he will still appreciate a pretty pillow covered in pink rabbits, but it’s the thought that counts.) Attempted The Australian Cryptic Crossword. The paper ended up scrunched in the bin after 45 minutes, but it was fun to see how much I still sucked at lateral thinking.

When I got the call on Friday afternoon from Mr PC-Fixit, I collected my sad little laptop and placed it in front of me, taking a few minutes to consider the week I had experienced without it.

Sadly, the technicians were not able to restore my script and I will have to start from scratch, but that will be challenging, and who knows, I might like the second draft far better than the first.

The best thing about some nasty virus gobbling my hard drive is that I re-discovered a myriad of activities that I used to enjoy, but had tragically neglected for many months now. More tragic still is the fact that it took a terminally ill laptop to make me realise that walking a couple of clicks is just as satisfying as a couple of “point and clicks”.

I am glad to be back at my desk typing away at this article, but I certainly will keep in mind that, whilst it is relaxing and fun to sit and create stories and write articles, it is important every once in awhile, to go take a step outside, and see what’s shaking in the real world.

About the Author

Kylie is a well travelled free-lance writer who has been published in several magazines in Australia and the United States including “Honestly Woman” and “Third Coast Marketing”.

Come on in..sit down and enjoy…bring your prescription drugs if necessary.

Pelican 1510 Laptop Overnight Case