Unemployment, Day 8:Don't Tempt Fate

Okay, so maaaaaaaybe I shouldn't gloat about how great everything has been going.

About ten minutes after I posted, I was placidly surfing and playing Scrabble when suddenly the screen went black. I thought I heard a low, electronic chuckle, and then: the screen went blue.

Those of you who are familiar with PCs know that the nickname for that screen--the Blue Screen of Death--came about for a reason. It's not a good thing. If it was a good thing it would be called the Blue Screen of Extreme Niceness, Fluffy Bunnies, and Ice Cream Sundaes. And it's not.

Hopeful, I shut down. I knew I was in for at least a couple of hours of software diagnostics and other fun stuff; when the machine restarted, though, I knew I was in for more than that. When the computer speaks plain English, you know it's bad, and "Unmountable Boot Volume" is about as plain as it gets. The only way it could be clearer would be if the message said "It's dead. Open your wallet now."

It was dead. No way around it. And so today, I had to go do something that it's very much not the ideal time to have to do--buy a new computer. I got a nice middle-of-the-road Compaq, and spent a little more than I planned, but not much. Despite spending money I haven't got, I have to admit I enjoyed it. I would have enjoyed it more if I'd been able to get the really sexy flat-screen monitor, but I'm happy with what I've got, and my old gigantic desktop monolith will do for now.

So I sit here before my new computer, with a very promising interview scheduled for Wednesday morning, and a sleep study scheduled for two weeks from tomorrow. And--tempting fate aside--I'm still very happy.