A blessing in disguise.
Last night, I was in my bedroom and accidentally knocked over a glass of water on my night stand. Shards of glass flew everywhere and water poured onto my floor. It was a rough moment but with my dad’s help everything was quickly returned to normal, or so i thought. I had noticed a few drops of water made their way onto my laptop but didn’t think much of it as it was covered by a protective case at the time. Though, a few hours later I open my laptop to wrap things up for the day and notice it won’t turn on. Maybe it needs to be charged? So I plug in my charger and still no signs of life. I went into full panic mode. What could possibly have gone wrong? After all, I hadn’t noticed any traces of water inside the laptop itself. I have to be up in eight hours to get ready for my internship all of which revolves around the usage of my computer. I stared at the dead, black screen as my mind raced of the idea that I’d never be able to access my documents, photos, or music ever again.
Coincidentally, my mother returned home from her business trip in the chaos of me trying to perform CPR on my laptop. That woman is like Mother Theresa, herself, a saint I tell you! She calmed my nerves as my father devised a plan to “air out” my laptop overnight and by the morning it should be working again. I seeked comfort in a little Netflix to take my mind off my dying laptop and fell asleep.
My alarm is set for 5:30AM on the weekdays, allowing me 30 minutes of “waking up” (rubbing my eyes and checking my phone) but this morning I leaped up at the sound of my alarm and ran into my parents room, hoping to resuscitate my laptop from the dead. I held down that stubborn little power button down and still no signs of life. By this point I was past the mourning period and ready to get my sick child (laptop) cured. I e-mailed by boss, informing her of my unpleasant circumstances, and waited for the “computer-saver place” (as I like to call them) to open. I left my poor, sad, and dying laptop in the hands of a few professionals and waited.
Unsure on how else to spend a Tuesday than at my New York office working on my laptop, I sat on the couch (pitied my situation for a little) and had a major epiphany:
I put a lot, and I mean a lot, of pressure on myself to accomplish things. These “things” usually consist of being a good intern, perfecting my assignments, writing for my blog, growing my blog, and making sure I’m healthy. Though, when I’m too absorbed in building myself as a person I neglect the little things in my personal life. For example, I had a dress at the dry-cleaners that needed to be picked up a week ago but I haven’t found the time to get it. Or there’s this book I’ve been wanting to pick up for myself but haven’t had the chance to drive to the bookstore. And most importantly, I haven’t had time to reflect. I am at a major point in my life, doing things I’ve only ever dreamed of, but I’ve forgotten to put aside my work and goals for the future to appreciate how far I’ve come.
Today I suffered without the companionship of my laptop, but the absence of my laptop has allowed me to fill in the empty spaces I’ve created in my life.
Bad news – my laptop is dead (r.i.p.).
Good news – my laptop is in fact replaceable and with a little help from my parents’ pockets (i.e. cash), all of my saved information can be recovered. I am also being lent (a very old) laptop in the mean time so I can still work and write for my blog.
All-in-all I am very happy to have suffered such an unfortunate series of events. I also can’t thank my parents enough for their help last night and today, including everything they’ve done and continue to do for me. (I know they’re both reading this, so – hi! love you guys.)
Now I am exhausted, to say the least, and am super excited to be back at my internship in the morning. Off to bed! Goodnight.
Samantha
samanthaguarnieri.com 