What to do...

Thinking this thing through.  Logically.

Right.  So... here's the plan.  The old laptop... kiiiind-of works.  Kind of.

- I can't use it to do any creative work because of that huge stripe down the middle of the monitor.  This can be substituted by using another monitor (which I have).
- It's rather difficult to type on unless I plug in another keyboard (which I also have).
- The video card is slightly corrupted and it refuses to play certain games.  I don't really care about this part for the moment, although I did want to re-play Mass Effect 1 and 2 before Mass Effect 3 comes out in Nov 2011 (yes I have a shitload of time for that)...

So... this effectively makes the old laptop a ... desktop.  Since moving it around is... well... just not going to work.  I can use it to download a heap of shit, since I don't really care about corruption/viruses on something I'm not going to be able to do any work on.  However, not having internet at home currently makes things rather retarded.

If it wasn't any time near the boxing day sale madness, I would just leave the blue brick at home and let it be.  Save the extra cash and use it on something I'd really like to do.  Like a return ticket back home to visit friends for a week or two.  Or even just doing something rather nice with Jenny.  I'd probably go for the latter.

Also, the stupid thing is, because it's holiday season, I won't know if any of the job apps I applied for have been looked at until the new year.  IF all things go smoothly and I do land a position there, whether it be for 4 or 6 months (and will probably roll over into the next project for even long than that...), I wouldn't mind getting that laptop on boxing day since my salary would be double the rather paltry sum I'm currently receiving.

Maybe, just maybe I should be saving that money for an emergency... but isn't my laptop turning into a brick an emergency?  Ughhhh I hate making this type of decision when it involves so much money.  Gotta talk it through... probably talk it through with Greg, since he doesn't mind dispensing the advice, and Jenny too, since I'd rather spend that money on a plane ticket to wherever she wants to go.

... in other non-financial and non-technological news...

Fingers hurt from trying to play guitar.  I still suck.  Although... Raphael and Lucas both play, so they're going to give me some pointers tomorrow.  That'll be pretty cool.  The finger hurting thing is normal.  I remember my lips buzzing like mad after playing the trombone the whole day for the first time.  Completely numb.  But hey I loved the trombone.  Not quite so sure on the guitar just as yet but I am bloody well determined to play at least two songs on that damn thing before I even think about any sort of towel throwing!  GRR!

4 Deffkoptas assembled.  Ahead of schedule. Slightly.