My Husband's Brain Brought Us Into the 21st Century

Saturday, August 17, 2013
I'm a blogger, right? So, you would probably think my work space looks something like this. Beautiful, organized, with high end technology. 

source
In actuality, it looks like this. A bunch of cheap, old crap, thrown on top of my "Badly needs a make-over" dresser. Oh, and don't forget the folding chair.


You may look at this photo and say, "Oh, she has one of those cool tablet/laptops that separates." And you would be wrong.


 It's just the 14 in screen that is so worn out, that both hinges have broken off from the body, and the screen is now dangling by wires. 



Yes, this is our ONLY computer. Oh, and we both still have "dumb phones".


Not only is this computer a real looker, but it has performance to match. To give you an example of it's lightening fast performance, last week I tried to upload 2 photos to the blog. I got them started and went out to the garage to work for a while. Finally, after 2 HOURS! they had finished uploading.

 I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure this this has like 1 GIG of RAM and a 64 GIG hard drive. Not kidding. Its an old hand-me-down work loaner. 

The last 2 months or so, it has gotten really bad. My typical day consists hysterical screaming, threats to throw it against a wall, and maybe a few tears. 

I wanted an image to convey the frustration I feel when I sit down to work on my computer, but decided a photo of someone ripping the skin off their own face may be too graphic. The second image that usually pops into my brain (after the top of my skull has exploded) is this one. (*Bonus points if you can name the actress).


Madeline Kahn as Mrs. White in Clue (1985)

So why such a crappy computer? I'm going to drop some reality on you. We're broke. Broke as a joke in fact. Not like,

"Oh, we only have $500 left in the account after we set some money aside for the kid's college" broke. 

More like, "Hey honey, for our anniversary I want to take you somewhere nice. So, McDonald's or Burger King tonight?"

The explanation for how we found ourselves in this situation is long, so I will quickly sum it up by saying, being a custom home builder during the recession was beyond difficult, and having twins with medical problems is expensive. Fortunately, our financial situation won't be so bleak forever. My husband is attending college at ASU, and is only about a year and a half away from being gainfully employed as an engineer. On that note, my husband's college attendance is exactly why I have happy news to post today. 

So, my husband Bryce is brilliant. He doesn't show it off very often, but he really is. He is 3/4  the way through a Bachelors degree in Engineering and has a 4.0 GPA. If you don't know, that's impressive. Really. His homework looks like hieroglyphics. AND, he has managed to do that while working full time, volunteering at church, and supporting a family. He's awesome.

Coming up with money for school is always a scary prospect. Thankfully, due to my husband's awesomeness, we have been blessed to receive grants and scholarships. This fall semester, we were only going to have to come up with around $1,000. Well, the other day Bryce logged on the school's website and discovered he had been awarded another small scholarship we didn't know about! It was enough to pay the rest of tuition, buy books, and have some left over! Hallelujah! 

So you know what that means? 


Brand new, fast, shinny laptop! We were able to find a smoking good deal, and look! Both hinges are perfectly intact!


I'm already in love. I feel my blood pressure dropping. Not only is it fast and have a beautiful widescreen, but the battery actually holds a charge! I can actually move the laptop around the house. What a novel idea! 

The only downside is, since I can see so much more of my blog, I've decided it could use some serious, cosmetic help.

Obviously, I have serious plans to create a better work space, but in the mean time, I am enjoying kicking back on my bed and watching my boys play while I type. 


Are any of you still in the technological stone age too? I'm starting to think we are the last ones!




Linking at:


DIY blog Classy Clutter ..Twigg studios Three Mango Seeds

9 comments

  1. WOW! Congrats on your hubby's good fortune! Engineering...wow. That's tough stuff. Kudos!! I'm so happy you got a laptop you deserve. We lived in the stone-age for a long time but finally got a really fast computer about a year ago and it's still going strong.

    And that's totally Madeline Kahn. I LOVE her. Mostly from Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles, but she's awesome.

    -andi

    ReplyDelete
  2. So happy for you! I've been that poor too, infact way too many times! But I have to say it taught me lots of skills.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey Elisha! I've been following you a while now and getting your very clever and helpful posts delivered to my mailbox! I have so many blogs that I rarely take time to comment...my bad! Today I have to tell you that I was so blessed by your post! I think we out here in cyberspace do have the first picture you posted in mind when we imagine what the life of our favorite bloggers looks like! GOOD for you for being candid! I love that!

    Rejoicing with you!

    ReplyDelete
  4. bless your blogging heart! all will be things u will look back on and laugh! love your blog and talk about having your plate full! congrats on the new technology and less stress....

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yes Dolly--conGRATs!
    To your hubs for the rewards of higher education,
    and YoU aLL for the new computer!
    --And YeS thAt iS totally Madeline Kahn--she just woves wed woses, doncha'know!
    Catherine

    ReplyDelete
  6. No, you're not alone. We've had one laptop for years. Like yours, one of the hinges ripped off. I could deal with that. But hubby thought I should have a new one anyway. I hate it. Stupid Microsoft ! So, I kept using my old one. Until one day the screen stopped working. sigh. I need to find out how to hook it up to use my tv as a monitor. All my stuff is on that old computer ! I have no email addresses ! It's aggravating.

    I worked for engineers, and you're right...hieroglyphics. I had to learn Greek to type reports. But they were usually really good people. Hope the good keeps following you and gets y'all through this low spot. Ya gotta believe! :-)

    patty

    ReplyDelete
  7. Love your story! And, no, you are not the only people living in the stone age - my husband and I also have dumb phones!

    ReplyDelete
  8. You're not alone. I have an old I-Mac and no cell phone.

    ReplyDelete
  9. My husband and I have smart phones but we share one computer. I'm in the same boat as you "Office" wise. I refinish furniture for a living. I just started up in April and even though it's going really well we've been playing catch up plus my husband needs braces to correct his bruxism which is starting to cause problems. All of our furniture in the house looks boring and not like you'd expect for someone who refinishes furniture! I'm so glad to know I'm not alone. I'm always kind of embarrassed to admit that, LOL. I'm working on getting my own computer because my husband's is a gaming laptop and it's huge plus if he's playing a PC game I have no access for however long that phase lasts! I'm thinking I'm going to get myself one for Black Friday. :) I just started following your blog, btw. Found you on Better After. You do beautiful work!

    ReplyDelete

Powered by Blogger.