I’m Melting!

We don’t have any AC, which has been a problem for some time. So of course my response was to buy a laptop computer.

Why? (I hear you ask.) Well, we spent all our money on fixing our car and our truck, which chose to break down simultaneously. A Pitman arm (whatever that is) and brakes, pads, and rotors later, we had moderately functional cars — until the Pitman arm vehicle blew a ball joint (whatever that is). Dan had to take a Lyft to our mechanic to pick up the car with the new brakes, another expense we hadn’t counted on. The one with no ball joint is still sitting in our driveway, inert. (The other one runs moderately well, except now the power steering has gone out and I can’t make turns with my frail, little bunny arms, so Dan is the only one who can drive it. But I digress.)

Back to the AC. My brave husband tried some potential fixes. Breakers. Turning it off and back on. Poking around the basement and outside where the compressor sits in hopes of finding something that looked like an inexpensive way to resurrect it.

No luck. No money to fix it.

Back to the laptop. Best Buy was having a sale on Apple computers, so I went shopping there. I found a refurbished laptop. (I must admit I accessorized with a mouse, a carrying case, and a subscription to Microsoft Office. The carrying case comes into play later in this story. But I digress some more.) Where did I get the money? We have a Best Buy credit card. It paid for a laptop but not a ball joint or a mechanic, which is a shame.

Again, why a laptop? I have a desktop computer, but it’s unluggable.

My plan was to put the laptop into the case with the mouse and head off to Panera if the day got scorching. (Panera has electrical outlets, wifi, and USB ports, which cannot be said for Waffle House, my original choice. Mcdonald’s was my other choice. They don’t have USB ports and electrical outlets, but they do have wifi, and I may still go there as their iced tea is cheaper than Panera’s. I figure I ought to buy something if I go to a restaurant, and keeping hydrated is important. But I digress yet again.)

This strategy would be inconvenient. With only one car operational, I’d have to take my husband to work at 5:30 a.m., go to Panera’s (or wherever) (if it’s open at that hour), and pick Dan up after work.

The next development was that I came into a little money from my ghostwriting, enough to buy a small window air conditioner, which was enough to keep my study — and my desktop computer — cool. We both now spend most of our time in my study.

But I discovered that I wanted to keep the laptop (was there ever any doubt?), so I used the rest of the money to make an extra payment on the credit card. I can use the laptop if I want to work in bed or when we go out of town. Or if I want to go to Panera or McDonald’s anyway. The laptop, though refurbished, has an operating system several generations newer than my desktop. It might also come in handy if the desktop computer goes the way of the car and the truck. (I don’t know whether computers have Pitman arms or ball joints. Digressing again.)

So, to recap, we now have a laptop, an air conditioner which enables us to live in one room of the house, and one car that works. (For the moment. It’s a 2001. The ball joint-deficient truck is a 1995. I don’t know how much longer its last legs will last. But I digress even more.) I have a writing assignment that should wrap up in September, and I can use that money to pay down the credit card some more.

It’s complicated, but at least we have options. We like options. Especially when we need to drop back five and punt. Or when we’re stranded in my study and I’m melting.