Yes.
I’m sure.
I would think it, too.
But that ain’t what it is.
Here’s the story.
About a week after my last post, my beloved iBook (or, as Robbye dubbed him, "Lappy"), passed away. In the end, it was a fried video chip on his logic board that got him.
It took awhile to coordinate with Zvie at Mac-in-the-Box to get Lappy in for a check-up (my delay, not his–Zvie rocks!) and see what we could see. Then, of course, it was a matter of "What the hell? I’m completely discombobulated suddenly!"
That went on for about a week. All the time, we’re, you know, getting ready for Christmas, and I’m also trying to cobble together a podcast for the SagePresence biz using rubber bands and paper clips.
A strange week it was. Most of the time I walked around in a haze.
When I finally came to, my Lappy was gone. I was no longer "one droll primate with an iBook."
I don’t know if this makes any sense, but out of respect for Lappy, I took something of a hiatus. I simply couldn’t bring myself to post here without Lappy. It seemed…I don’t know…disrespectful? No, that’s not it, I guess. Not really. I suppose, more than anything, it felt…pointless.
I guess I was in mourning.
Silly.
Yet, I have written seven screenplays on that little computer. Countless other scripts and short stories and the like. My whole professional writing life is tied up in that little white box.
Although RUNAWAY wasn’t begun on Lappy, it was certainly realized on him. He took me through the whole revision process. And through my subsequent screenplays, where I really learned and honed the craft. I learned to be a screenwriter on Lappy. I became a professional screenwriter on that damned iBook.
And, of course, Lappy was the impetus for a little thing called TRUE LIFE. That, in terms of this whole "hiatus"..? It is significant in the highest.
Now, a month on, I know it’s time to move on. It’s the way of things, isn’t it?
A few days back, I recovered Lappy’s remains. Being that the hard drive is still quite intact, I was able to plug him into our aged iMac, which I have commandeered from Zach’s room for the time being. I spent a couple of days transferring important data to my external hard disk. Everything is safe and sound. All is well.
But now he sits on my desk. Lappy. Silent. Dark. Closed. Not sleeping. Dead. Gone.
Zvie tells me that Apple will charge me $350-$400 to fix Lappy. For that money, I can buy another computer.
Moreover, everyone’s telling me that it’s probably time to invest in a newer computer. Ol’ Lappy had just celebrated his 4th birthday before he gave up the ghost. That’s ancient. Like…15 in dog years. He was showing his age, creaking and straining under the weight of these newfangled operating systems and increasingly complex media programs. He was always happy and willing to perform whatever operation you asked him to, but he was tired. It was plain to see.
As much as I hate to admit it, it’s time for Lappy and me to day good-bye.
For now, I am double-teaming on the old iMac ("Macky") and Robbye’s former Windows machine ("Wanda"). It’s like working with two cantankerous grammas who rarely agree with each other, much less anyone else. They’re slow and stubborn, and can be utter crab-apples at times. We are, however, all learning how to work together and to how get the things done that we need to get done every day. For the moment, we’re keeping the lights burning on the productivity front.
And it’s time to return to this Life. That, too, is the way of things, isn’t it?
I don’t know if there’s a Heaven for old laptop computers. But if there is, I know my Lappy is there. And I know he’s givin’ ’em hell.
Bon voyage, Lappy. No matter where you are, I will always embody the spirit of "One droll primate with an iBook."
Lappy, in New York, working on revisions for RUNAWAY–July/August 2004
"The Best of Times"
True Life 