The Laptop Fiasco

     For the last few months I have been trying to figure out how to get a laptop.  We are going to Florida ( like you didn't already hear that a million times), and now that I have become addicted to blogging, I need to blog everyday when we are there.  All hotels now have computers that are made available to guests, but I can't load my pictures in there.  How would it look if I blogged from Florida and had no pictures?  People would feel so sad (what I really mean is I would be so sad).  It had become a full time job trying to come up with convincing arguments to persuade my husband to the merits of a laptop.  In the end I would end with a whine (it works for the kids sometimes) "but I want one!!!!".  Finally my poor battered husband just took me by the shoulders and told me "you know I will give in, just give me this."  In the end I would like to say that it was my compelling reasoning that caused him to concede, but I am pretty sure that I just wore him down.
    You know how when you are fantasizing about something it seems really awesome?  I mean honestly if Duane Johnson (The Rock) knocked at my door and told me "So Tristan, your husband says you have a free pass with me.  Let's head the nearest hotel, shall we?  Did I mention that I only find overweight women attractive?"  I mean we all know that will never happen, but if it did,  I know that I would say no and maybe cry.  My point?  My point is that sometimes the game is in, well the game.  I have made it my mission to harass my poor husband to get my own way, and when he finally said yes, I wondered what I had done.  Now I would need to get a laptop.  They cost a lot of money, what if I can't figure it out, what if the one I pick goes on sale for half price in a month?  What if it's a dud?  In my fantasy the laptop just appeared, and was AWESOME.  The reality was something different.
    You may recall a few days ago that I shared our experience purchasing a camcorder and just looking at laptops.  It was scary.  It changed my self worth.  To the world I would be modest and say "oh I get by", but in reality I had always considered myself fairly intelligent.  That peach fuzz mustache kid crushed my self image (o.k. really the computers did)!  Now I did not even know what I wanted.
    Yesterday I drove to a local computer place.  It is on a native reserve and so everything is tax free. They also boast that they load all of the programs onto the computer for you.  It was a savings of time and money I told myself.  I just asked for their entry level computer.  It came fully loaded with programs and was good to go.  I did not ask how many rams or gigs , because I have no idea what I should be asking.  I also bought a wireless router (I think that's what they are called).  I drove home feeling all proud of myself.  I also had these fantasies of having it all up and running before the kids got home from school to surprise them.  So that did not happen.  When I got home I had a panicky feeling, "what if I've made a mistake?"  What if it does not work?  What if I've been duped?  Then we could not get the router to work, and my husband spent 2 and 1/2 hours on the phone with someone from the company.  He kept playing with my Mac.   I sat there terrified he did something to it I could not undo.  I was filled with buyers remorse.  What had I done?
    After two and a half hours on the phone, the person on the other deduced that our router was defective and that we should return it.  Today I called Bell (our internet agent), and ordered one of their products.  Cross your fingers for me.  Cross your fingers that this all works out, because I have my doubts.  I guess I better start thinking how I can blame it all on Christopher....