I've been referring to this semester as my "technimester", and variations of this concept, some of which are not so nice. I'm taking the two most technical, computer-based courses that I'll ever need to take in this program at once. I never said I thought it would be a good idea, in fact I had to brace myself on several levels. It was something I had to do out of necessity, meeting program requirements and all...

And, of course, this would turn out to be the least convenient time for me to take such classes. Of course!

I've already mentioned the increasing restrictiveness my employer has with the internet, which hit an all-time low in the past 2 weeks. Not that we have free time anymore to do much internet-ing, thanks to layoffs, added responsibilities and the less-than-optimized computers we're expected to use. I mean, we work on computers all day, yet when we are given updates, we're brought up to what everyone else was using like 3 years ago. And they expect our productivity to go up. (Or at least stay the same and not go down, which doesn't make any sense at all...)

Along with my work woes, which I can't help but share, my trusty laptop is getting up there in age. It was a shiny and new base model Dell in 2005 and, being my 1st laptop, was a beauty to me, even without any bells or whistles. Not that being a product of 2005 makes it "old" in my eyes, I am that person who holds on to everything until it's severely outdated and gets poked fun at for owning ancient gadgets. So no, it's not "old"; it's just not functioning quite as nicely as it did in its prime. I'm sure the user has something to do with that.
The process of figuring out what new computer-device to purchase is painstaking enough; it's a huge decision. This will be the tool I use for years and years to come. Which is best? The very best possible choice for my needs and budget? It's tough, and now I've got these matters of what will be best for the tasks required by my classes to take into account. Complicated, complicated! I never thought I would be saying this, but I'm kind of torn between a Mac and a PC/laptop. A Mac! Me? (I realize what I'm doing by revealing this chink in my PC-devotee preference, that soon the cult of Mac will descend and latch on and chip away at it until all the doubt whooshes in and I'm left with the conviction that a Mac will be my saving grace.)

Well boy do I have some complaining to do. Apologies. I'm not proud of it.
I've asked myself whether it's likely that I would think it was the worst time to take these classes no matter when I happened to take them. Because it always seems to be something, doesn't it?

If anyone has the urge to add some input on whether to purchase a PC/laptop (what is a non-Mac laptop called, just a laptop?) versus a MacBook, I'm open to suggestions of 40 words or less (that's for you, Mac maniacs)!