The Latest Chapter in the Never-Ending Saga of the World's Most Rediculous Computer and a Light at the End of the Tunnel

My computer's most recent failure had left me with two choices. I could either spend $300 to send the thing to MacLand for repairs (CD-ROM, hard drive, the works)or spend slightly more (in terms of hundreds) and invest in a brand-new (not Mac) computer. It was a tough choice. I can hardly stand the sight of my laptop and I have dreams of going all Office Space on that thing. My mental list of pros and cons produced only cons. I eventually decided to take my laptop in to the Apple Store so it could be fixed.

If you have ever been to Gateway Mall to see a Genius at the Apple Store, you might know there is a very strange protocol to making sure you are helped in a timely fashion. After making an appointment in advance, you are supposed to check-in with a "concierge" and then stand in a "waiting area" until your name is called. The problem with this system is that the "concierge" is by no means a distinguishable individual and every Apple employee is always talking to at least twelve customers. The second problem is that the "waiting area" is by no means different from any other part of the store. Hello, Apple, you are a gigantic company, have you ever heard of signs? Not the movie, just a plain old sign that says "WAITING AREA". Not hard. So, if you can't tell I was in the wrong "waiting area" and didn't speak to the "concierge". This led to my appointment being cancelled. Hey, thanks Apple, it's not like I didn't just drive from Logan or anything. Luckily, we moved past that little setback and after a half-hour wait I was able to get my computer sent off to be fixed. ETA of fixed computer: One week.

After all this fun and excitement I need some real comfort food and Gateway's food court would not do the trick. After a few minutes of pondering and deliberation I knew that only thing would do: Maple Express in Ogden. If you are not familiar with Maple Express, you should be. It was introduced to it a few years ago by my buddy Marcus, an Ogden transplant. They have the best Szechuan chicken you will ever eat in your life. I repeat, they have the best Szechuan chicken you will ever eat in your life. Maple is so delicious that Marcus even penned a little ditty about it set to the tune of "Soul with a Capital S" by Tower of Power. It goes like this:

"I got food, from the Maple Express!
Fo-oo-ood from the Maple Express!
Sweet szechuan! That's the best!
Fo-oo-ood from the Maple Express!"

When one sings this song, one cannot help but be happy. And when one eats Maple Express, one cannot help but be transported to a world to fantastic euphoria. Thanks, Maple. You made my day.

It's Alive!

After two long months, I am finally in possession of a working computer. It feels great. Sort of. I took my computer to the Mac store at the Gateway last week (if you are wondering why it took two months for me to take the computer there, don't ask. It is a very long story) where I was told the hard drive was not partitioned (?) correctly when I had the new hard drive installed. Shawn, by far the most helpful Genius I have met there, fixed that problem and had me rolling out of there in twenty minutes, which beat my previous Mac store time by about an hour and a half. So, I have a computer that turns on, which is an improvement. I can download music again, which is glorious. But, my computer has a tendency to freeze and think about stuff for looooong periods of time. This is why I bought a Mac so this wouldn't happen. Am I surprised by this? No. But '07 Cody would be. Would I be surprised if my computer is dead when I get home from work today? No. Would I be surprised if I got a call from "The Ring" guy giving me a creepy "seven days" threat? A little. My response would be something along the lines of "Wait, is that for me? Oh. OK. My computer? Yeah, that sounds about right. Mmhmm. Actually, it may be a little generous. OK. Thanks. Buh-Bye." Am I going to drop 300 bones so I can send the thing out to MacLand and have the hard drive, CD-Rom, et all. taken care of? Undecided. Unde-flippin-cided.