Mac Attack-Faced Reality-Survived!

/ Katybeth

Hi, I’m back. Did you miss me?

My Mac had an attack and had to be taken to the Apple store. Luckily, it is always possible to sell old MacBook or to get it repaired. The frequent visits to the service centre had me thinking of buying a samsung u28e590d on amazon and a CPU corresponding to its specifications.

I am terrified of the geeky geniuses behind the genius bar. I admit it; they flat out intimidate me. Before I head into the store, I put on the coolest clothes I own, and make sure I’ve cleaned the Mac screen for fingerprints and the keyboard for chip crumbs and dog hair. I show up exactly on time for my appointment with the genius bar geek.

When I arrive, I try very hard to maintain a position somewhere between I’m pretty cool—after all I do own a Mac, iPad and iPhone—and I’m old enough to be your mother. As the geek examines my machine, I often silently wonder why I did not pay attention to the Snow White fairytale and just say “no” to the apple. The guy at Dell never intimidated me when making an appointment to come to my house. When the genius takes my Mac to the back, I’m always certain he will return accompanied by a guy dressed all in black who will flash a badge and inform me that he is from the Department of Mac Protective Services. He will then accuse me of typing with my fingernails, eating chips near the keyboard, cleaning the screen with the wrong type of cloth (and add with complete disgust) a little spit. I tell him I only did this once, but he is already walking away with my Mac. I want to call someone, anyone, to come and plead in my defense, but can’t risk pulling my iPhone from my purse.

When the genius returns alone and tells me the repair is covered under warrantee, I hardly whine at learning I will be without my Mac for 4 days. When the genius suggests I buy a keyboard cover, I readily agree. When I mention that I will be using my iPad while my Mac is being repaired, he suggests a keyboard if I don’t already own one—it will make using my iPad even easier. I say yes and thank you for being so helpful, gather my purchases and leave the store without my Mac or my money, and then I wait.

I forlornly wait. I would not dream of calling to check on my Mac or trying to rush things along. Cole lets me use his computer after midnight and before 7 AM. I try to bond with the iPad and its new keyboard, but it’s just not the same. I wake up in the middle of the night and miss my Mac’s glow from beside my bed. Since I am awake and alone, I try to use Cole’s gaming computer, but it is heavy, loud, and his mouse is more like a rat.  I muse that if I was a responsible mom, I would check up on his virtual life while I had the chance, but I’m not that responsible.

Today, the call came. My Mac was repaired, stable and ready to come home. Cole and I dashed to the Apple store. I checked in and the Apple employee looked at me and said, “I have to tell you, I just love your outfit!” Wow! The Genius loved my outfit!

This is my Apple Outfit (not me) LOVE BLUE FISH

They brought out my Mac, made me sign in triplicate, and sent me on my way.

My Mac is back and I am happy.  I survived, but barely. I don’t have any desire whatsoever to go back to a simpler time when computers were still science fiction.

What about you, how do you survive when you have to leave the virtual world and face reality? Tell me!! I am dying to know…

Katybeth

P.S.! Happy Birthday Steve Jobs! 15 things you might not have known about Steve Jobs

22 thoughts on “Mac Attack-Faced Reality-Survived!”

  1. Being right in the middle of the interview process with Apple, I can tell you that what you experienced at the Genius Bar is just the tip of the iceberg. They WANT you to feel that way. It is intentional. And just like Lady GaGa, it is genius marketing. That is why we are willing to lay down our money each and every July to get the latest updated iPhone, even though the current one we have works perfectly fine. I would love to spend one day inside of Steve Job’s head…..

    I am glad that your beloved MacBook is home safe and sound. And yes, I did miss you…..

  2. The genius bar scares me to death. They are nice and helpful but when you start out with some who calls themselves a genius–its just hard to get comfortable.

    I missed you! I really missed you!
    ♥

  3. I missed you too. When I was in grad school (2006-2008) I often felt..well..old enough to be the rest of the students’ mother (because I was)..and slightly intimidated by having to use a MAC in the lab for one particular class. Cause I’m a Dell girl. So I get your whole story. Just don’t get how to actually USE a MAC. And often think that MAC users flaunt that. But oh well. I survived school just fine as a Dell girl.

    And when I can’t get online? I can’t sleep…feel distracted…have memory issues…oh wait..the memory issues are all the time, a function of age…

    Husband says I’m addicted. He may be right. Should probably look up the signs of computer addiction online.

    Or something.

  4. I substitute junk food for my computer fix when it has to go into the shop. I tell myself how much I will be able to get accomplished but all I do is stuff my face. It’s not pretty.

    Glad your Mac is Back!
    K.

  5. I barely survive IN virtual world. No techophobe here – I am a techo-idiot now that I’m not teaching and learning from my students anymore. For instance, I’ve been struggling to get commentluv to work for me (somehow when I leave comments on sites like yours it says I have no recent posts to share) for about three weeks now. I try to do what the instructions say to fix the problem but get all frustrated 2 minutes into it and just give up.

    So glad you’re back in virtual world! Three cheers for technogeeks!

    • Oh Jane–I just bet you face the tech curves as they come up..I will see if I can find out why comment luv is giving you a hard time. It should be easy peasey but if its not–its comment luvs fault not yours!

      ♥

  6. Thank heaven you got your Mac back! All the whinning was begining to get to me! LOL Luckily you had my Grandson to entertain you. I still think it would be cheaper next year just to send him to us!!!
    TTFN
    M

  7. I don’t know what I’d do without my laptop or my iPhone for a day (knock on wood). God, I love my iPhone…is that wrong? Glad your Mac is back in working order. I have to agree with the Genius, your outfit is adorable!! Diane

  9. Katybeth, I don’t have a Mac as you and Cindy have, but I have a Dell that is a desk top and I love it WHEN it works the way it is suppose to. I really haven’t had any problems with it until Aol decided I needed to upgrade. That was my downfall. After one thing or another, it crashed last Thursday. I was at a loss to who to call, etc. I was without my dear “friend” for 2 days. The computer room was so dark at night and dead looking during the day. I was about to die of boredom when I called my neighbor to see who worked on his when he told me he did and would stop by in the evening and look at mine. He ended up taking it home and kept it over night. Brought it back the next day all better and working great. I guess you could say I am blessed to have a guy right next door that can help me out in times of distress. I am a happy camper once again.

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