Electronic Karma

A long time ago, in a country far far away called Britain, I was working as a software consultant being paid handsomely. I bought the latest PC laptop from Gateway when I already had a top of the range desktop just because I could afford one. It had all the leading edge technology then; Pentium III 500 MHz, 15″ LCD display, etc. Until I moved to NY 18 months later, the only travelling that laptop had done was between our apartment and the office which is about 15 minutes walk if I walked slowly.

Then after six months of trans-Atlantic travels the Titanium Powerbook had replaced the Gateway and it was relegated to the dark corner of the cupboard. And there it stayed until we moved to Hoboken. But I had my faith in it and took it along with us through two moves. I knew one day I would find a useful task for it.

The Gateway was briefing let out to stretch its legs when I was between jobs and started the ecto project, which requires working in a Windows environment. But again, it was banished back to the cupboard when the Compaq laptop arrived.

Finally last week I’ve found a good home for the Gateway. My boss’ sister who is living temporarily in NY and earning $120/week, before taking up a job in Boston was lacking a computer. My boss had already tried giving her his wife’s old laptop but that one’s hard drive died soon after. So when I learnt of her predicament, I knew that’s where the Gateway should go to restore the electronic karma. Thus I have reduced the number of laptops in the apartment from 4 to 3 and the once spurious machine is now a reliable servant for someone in need.