Wow, this past 10 days has been a real eye-opener for me! I never realized how totally dependent I’d become until my laptop died last week and I was forced to find something else to do with the bulk of my time. I feel cut off from the outside world and I wander the house aimlessly looking for things to do. I even read a book (see earlier post) for the first time in more than a year!

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And I’m not even entirely computer-less…son Mike has loaned me his old (slightly broken) laptop and I use wife Marty’s Dell for short bursts during the day and after hours. If it wasn’t for their generous support you wouldn’t be reading this blog post and I’d be locked up in a padded cell reserved for computer-deprived crazy people!

My problem with loaner computers is that I don’t feel “at home” so I just can’t get motivated to do much. I don’t have ready access to my old email, contact list or calendar and my documents are no longer just a click away. All of my shortcuts and computer “cookies” are gone, so I not only have to remember how to access my banking but I also have to look up passwords every time I want to do something. Familiar software that I use every day isn’t installed on these loaner computers and I don’t want to make changes or additions to somebody else’s system.

A new machine has been ordered and, thanks to friends at Newport Beach Brewing Company, it should arrive here in southern Baja by Monday, so at least there’s some light at the end of the tunnel. Until then, I’ll be the guy drifting through cyberspace with a glazed look in his eyes mumbling, “Error, system failure!” over and over again.