Getting a new PC

Rewind to 21 Oct 08:

My old PC, now three years old had begun to show signs of age. It worked fine for most things that people do. It did have some trouble with Windows. Some drivers not available for the antique motherboard I had purchased second hand!. Thats another part of the story. It produced a very shaky screen. Poor old processor made software rendering on Linux a lil bit slow but workable.

Then in happened, a power surge burnt out our tubelights, mobile and laptop chargers and anything that happened to be connected to the power supply. This included my old PC. I decided that patching it up will bring more trouble than needed, so better get a new one.

Thats when indecision got hold of me. A bad one that even one month later I could not decide what I wanted. A month was to pass and no comp.

One night my roommates decided end this, which by my opinion was the worst time to go, night was falling, which meant the shops were closing and thunder was rumbling in the background. I tried to pull back, my mind would not let me go, for I had not decided. It was just that we had set out and Sooraj wanted us not to step back that we decided on this crazy project.

We rode Mount Road in the drizzle to Richie Street. Most shops were closing, we did not know where to head, with just the name of one of the shops. The rain had become harder and puddles had started forming. Three shops later we could not find 'Supreme' in the messy street and crosses, until by chance we spotted it.

It was crowded and we managed to get the order, I was relieved to find that there were few options which I had to choose (Remember I did not what I wanted). Agreed on a spec and rushed to the assembling area to supervise what was to be the last and most tiresome putting together of the day. The workers were tired and the customer touchy.

It did finally boot up, and was about to face its first test as we brought it down, rain. It had become a full downpour by the time we reached the doors of the shop. All they could find for us was a black cover two inches smaller in width than the comp case. It could be fit by any hook or crook. The rain was growing angrier now, more noise and heavier drops battered our shaky minds. I cursed the times we made the impulsive decision.

It was decided that we go ahead come what may for no autos were to be found. A small sheet of back plastic covered the top of the comp case, everything else was bare. I sat pillion the bike, tore the cover accidentally as I tried to fit it better. There I had a irregular piece of plastic and big rectangular box to cover in the driving rain.

The box was placed between Mirshad, the rider and me. A part of the plastic sheet covered the top held in place by my jaw, the front facing the direction of travel part by Mirshad's back and rest by the flapping piece I held by my outstreched and frequently numb hand. The two sides of the box was bare cardboard. The bottom and back face was afforded whatever protection that my body could give.

Thanks to the gods, the box arrived in Perungudi 15km away dry except for a patch where my jaw had slipped when I tried to talk.


For all the ordinariness in the story, it was deep satisfaction of doing things that I would not have done under those circumstances.