It's no secret that I'm kind of allergic to change.
It's funny how just a seemingly small thing as a change in computer can make such a great difference in my day-to-day life. The adjustment has been more than what I expected.
I've had this new laptop for almost a week, and it is slowly growing on me. I literally had to grieve my old one, believe it or not! I'd allowed myself to become attached to my MacBook Pro, thinking it would be around for a decade like I had heard others talk about. Alas, it was not to be.
Accepting that fact has brought a growing sense of peace. I will go back to the repair shop (and I use that term loosely) tomorrow after work to pick up my old, ready-for-life-support MacBook - the memory is fine, I just can't use the rest of the machine to get at it! - and take it back to the dealer to see if they will honor the remaining warranty on it. If they can, that's gravy. If not - well, I'll take my lumps and try to find a way to get my data files (Word and Excel documents, plus music and photos) off the MacBook and onto this laptop.
And, after a few growing pains concerning the track pad on this machine (which my wonderful daughter solved this morning with an easy fix to disable the track pad when there's a mouse plugged in!) I'm pretty satisfied with it. The numeric keypad is nice to have back too - it was the one thing I found it hardest to get used to with the Mac (no numeric keypad, so no ASCII codes and the calculator was just nasty to operate as a result) - still, I found ways around those things and even found "accents" easier to do with an Apple keyboard than a Windows one.
It's hard to get used to Windows again though - and even harder because it's the most recent version: Windows 8 is unlike anything I've ever seen. It's more like a touch-screen than anything else, like those smart-phones in a way.
To ease myself into that world, I've kept as many things as possible the same. Most importantly, I told the guys setting up my machine that I wanted my preferred browser as Firefox, and would only use the Windows 8 features when I absolutely had to .... and I've kept to that for the most part. Mind you, the free downloadable themes (for backgrounds) are absolutely breathtaking. I have the waterfalls theme on mine and it is simply stunning. Sometimes I'll just minimize everything and watch it change screens from one beautiful photo to the next.
I've spent most of the week re-creating my email contact list and my bookmarks. However, I think I'm slowly settling into my new virtual world - like someone moving into a new neighborhood has to get his or her bearings and get to know not only the neighbors but the "normal" sounds and sights.
Throughout the whole process with both computers, I've had to use the skills I've learned in my recovery from door-mat-itis and control freakoholism. One day at a time. Accept the things I can't change, change the things I can and learn when to let go and where to set boundaries. Take care of first things first - people before things.
Which reminds me; I'm actually spending less time on the computer and more time with my loved ones.
I could settle into that kind of change fairly quickly, too.
It's funny how just a seemingly small thing as a change in computer can make such a great difference in my day-to-day life. The adjustment has been more than what I expected.
I've had this new laptop for almost a week, and it is slowly growing on me. I literally had to grieve my old one, believe it or not! I'd allowed myself to become attached to my MacBook Pro, thinking it would be around for a decade like I had heard others talk about. Alas, it was not to be.
Accepting that fact has brought a growing sense of peace. I will go back to the repair shop (and I use that term loosely) tomorrow after work to pick up my old, ready-for-life-support MacBook - the memory is fine, I just can't use the rest of the machine to get at it! - and take it back to the dealer to see if they will honor the remaining warranty on it. If they can, that's gravy. If not - well, I'll take my lumps and try to find a way to get my data files (Word and Excel documents, plus music and photos) off the MacBook and onto this laptop.
 |
| Trackball mouse - I use this model or a similar one at home AND at work. |
And, after a few growing pains concerning the track pad on this machine (which my wonderful daughter solved this morning with an easy fix to disable the track pad when there's a mouse plugged in!) I'm pretty satisfied with it. The numeric keypad is nice to have back too - it was the one thing I found it hardest to get used to with the Mac (no numeric keypad, so no ASCII codes and the calculator was just nasty to operate as a result) - still, I found ways around those things and even found "accents" easier to do with an Apple keyboard than a Windows one.
It's hard to get used to Windows again though - and even harder because it's the most recent version: Windows 8 is unlike anything I've ever seen. It's more like a touch-screen than anything else, like those smart-phones in a way.
To ease myself into that world, I've kept as many things as possible the same. Most importantly, I told the guys setting up my machine that I wanted my preferred browser as Firefox, and would only use the Windows 8 features when I absolutely had to .... and I've kept to that for the most part. Mind you, the free downloadable themes (for backgrounds) are absolutely breathtaking. I have the waterfalls theme on mine and it is simply stunning. Sometimes I'll just minimize everything and watch it change screens from one beautiful photo to the next.
I've spent most of the week re-creating my email contact list and my bookmarks. However, I think I'm slowly settling into my new virtual world - like someone moving into a new neighborhood has to get his or her bearings and get to know not only the neighbors but the "normal" sounds and sights.
Throughout the whole process with both computers, I've had to use the skills I've learned in my recovery from door-mat-itis and control freakoholism. One day at a time. Accept the things I can't change, change the things I can and learn when to let go and where to set boundaries. Take care of first things first - people before things.
Which reminds me; I'm actually spending less time on the computer and more time with my loved ones.
I could settle into that kind of change fairly quickly, too.
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