When you start a business, or become a consultant, or begin to freelance, there are certain pieces of equipment that you must have – phone, printer, internet access thingie, blackberry, label maker (maybe that’s just me), and calculator.
And you need a computer. In my case, I needed the cheapest laptop I could find, because I burn through them in about 12 months no matter how much they cost. My sweet husband, the magnificent S, researched an affordable computer for me and traveled across town to pick it up so I wouldn’t have to wait. If you know S (or me, for that matter), you know that travel outside a five-mile radius is rare and irritating, so this was truly Greater Love.
Here is an abbreviated list of the things that went wrong:
1. Left my mouse at home and couldn’t get the TouchPad to work. Spent two hours researching it, only to discover that there is a hidden, secret, invisible touch sensor that turns it off and on.
2. Couldn’t connect to wireless. Picked laptop up and moved to each room in the house, as well as yard, to try to get a better signal. Tried using air card, which also wouldn’t work. Called air card company and discovered an outage in my area. Still, should be able to connect to wifi from our hub. Research, cursing, tears, cursing. Repeat. Finally discover that there is a microscopic switch on front of laptop that activates wireless card. I had switched it off in my earlier quest to turn the freaking touch pad back on.
3. Had no software. I guess the last time I bought my own computer rather than have one issued by work, it came preloaded with everything I could ask for along the lines of software, etc. Nowadays, they come with nothing. Who knew? I’m still running my business on trial versions of Microsoft Office and Adobe; hopefully I will make some money before the trials are over.
I have never loved IT folks – I’ve always found them arrogant and intimidating and condescending at best and malevolent or lazy at worst. For a while there, I thought the universe was trying to teach me a karmic lesson about appreciating IT guys. Maybe I was supposed to learn to appreciate what I had before it was gone? Then I realized, as I painstakingly figured out the solution to each of my problems on my own, that the real lesson was something else entirely. The lesson was that I really could do this. The lesson is that I really can do this. Really. I can do this.
And you need a computer. In my case, I needed the cheapest laptop I could find, because I burn through them in about 12 months no matter how much they cost. My sweet husband, the magnificent S, researched an affordable computer for me and traveled across town to pick it up so I wouldn’t have to wait. If you know S (or me, for that matter), you know that travel outside a five-mile radius is rare and irritating, so this was truly Greater Love.
Here is an abbreviated list of the things that went wrong:
1. Left my mouse at home and couldn’t get the TouchPad to work. Spent two hours researching it, only to discover that there is a hidden, secret, invisible touch sensor that turns it off and on.
2. Couldn’t connect to wireless. Picked laptop up and moved to each room in the house, as well as yard, to try to get a better signal. Tried using air card, which also wouldn’t work. Called air card company and discovered an outage in my area. Still, should be able to connect to wifi from our hub. Research, cursing, tears, cursing. Repeat. Finally discover that there is a microscopic switch on front of laptop that activates wireless card. I had switched it off in my earlier quest to turn the freaking touch pad back on.
3. Had no software. I guess the last time I bought my own computer rather than have one issued by work, it came preloaded with everything I could ask for along the lines of software, etc. Nowadays, they come with nothing. Who knew? I’m still running my business on trial versions of Microsoft Office and Adobe; hopefully I will make some money before the trials are over.
I have never loved IT folks – I’ve always found them arrogant and intimidating and condescending at best and malevolent or lazy at worst. For a while there, I thought the universe was trying to teach me a karmic lesson about appreciating IT guys. Maybe I was supposed to learn to appreciate what I had before it was gone? Then I realized, as I painstakingly figured out the solution to each of my problems on my own, that the real lesson was something else entirely. The lesson was that I really could do this. The lesson is that I really can do this. Really. I can do this.
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