by Tricia
After my son goes to school, I sit down on the couch with my laptop and try to answer a few emails and/or work on a post before starting work. Last Friday morning, the telephone rang at 8:00 a.m. No one calls us that early.
The first thing that came to my head was that something happened with the bus and my son. I put the laptop down on the couch and got up as quickly as I could to go answer the phone.
If you have ever been around a mother that was concerned for the safety of her child, well…just the sheer force is amazing. Just ask my laptop adapter plug.
My foot caught on the plug and yanked it a good one. I didn’t even look back to see if the laptop fell off the couch, I was focused on answering that phone. Why a delivery company is calling at 8:00 a.m. in the morning to just find out directions to your house for a delivery next week is beyond me.
Anyways, after the phone call it was time to look at the damage. The laptop was still on the couch so that was a good sign. It was no longer plugged in, and when I reached down to grab the plug a feeling of “Oh, crap” came over me.
I said that you don’t mess with a mom that is concerned about the safety of her child, right?
That plug was mutilated. The prong was all bent up and the metal around it was twisted around. I looked at it and wanted to cry. Our laptop battery doesn’t hold a charge longer than 15 minutes. So, that adapter is its lifeline. And what’s on this computer? All of our financial data. Has it been backed up recently? No.
My husband looked at the damage, and the first thing he said is that hopefully we can find a new adapter because it’s an older model. I wasn’t too worried about that, because eBay is wonderful for finding hard to find things. I was worried about the time it would take to get a new adapter. My Quicken file is my financial lifeline and without it I am lost. I don’t keep track of my balances, my non-check transactions or deposits in my actual check register with my checks.
I started looking for the adapter and did find it on eBay and at an online retailer I wasn’t familiar with (therefore I was ansy about purchasing there). By the time I was done searching, the adrenaline rush subsided and I could think a little clearer. I took a look at the plug and decided to try to bring it back to life with some pliers.
And it worked! Yes! The plug fits tighter now too (it used to jiggle a little bit before). Crisis averted. I still have my laptop and access to my Quicken file.
New Year’s Resolution #206 – make more backups!
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