mac junior returns

Yesterday I was reminded what my life was missing. I’d forgotten what I used to love. If you’ve seen my photos on Flickr, you may have noticed that all of them were taken over two years ago. I used to be a picture-taking fiend. I was the first of my friends with a digital camera. I took pictures of everything, everywhere, and then I just stopped.

Why had I stopped? I’d almost forgotten myself until a request from my dad brought the memories flooding back.

He wanted to fix my PowerBook. That was it. That was why I’d stopped taking pictures. Spiritually, I’d lost my computer. In the temporal world, my Mac lay broken in a box out of my sight.

Two years ago, I was in a very bad car wreck. My little laptop, which I named Mac Junior, ended up wedged in my windshield. I’m very lucky that it wasn’t me in that windshield. Needless to say, I avoided all thoughts and things relating to that accident. That included my laptop and the things associated with it, such as my pictures.

Then I started a blog. Soon after I wanted to add a picture. That brought me to Flickr. Since I had the account, why not upload some of my old pictures from Europe, I thought. I’ve taken some good ones, ones I’m proud of. Looking at all those photos, I began to miss my little hobby.

And then my dad asked if he could fix my Mac. I didn’t want to think about it. The Mac was broken. I’d been told it would cost more than it was worth to repair it—if it could even be repaired. My dad was crazy. But I gave him my computer anyway.

My father is, of course, rarely crazy. He was sure this company in California could fix my little Mac without a too-high cost.

Yesterday, my dad came over to my apartment with Mac Junior—fixed. It was a weird feeling to have that slim silver box in my hands again. It was a good feeling to, a healing feeling. My little laptop is no longer in its pristine newness, but it’s back. It’s with me. It works. And I’m happy.

What’s more, I rediscovered my pictures, which had been sitting and waiting for me on Mac Junior’s hard drive. Life. I discovered life on that hard drive. Pictures of my trip to Singapore. Pictures of my friends. Pictures of my cousin’s wedding. My life. A good life. A full life. A happy life.

Thanks, Dad, for fixing my Mac. Thanks for helping me finally put that horrible wreck behind me. It was the perfect birthday present. I love you.