Killing two birds with one stone, err, um, credit card.

I am writing from Houston, where I am staying with my brother and sister-in-law. I actually arrived on Thursday evening, but as luck would have it, it was the same day that the computer here decided to get a nasty and debilitating virus, preventing me from e-mailing or updating my blog. I had to resort to using my sister-in-law’s iPod touch, which has internet service, to wish belated birthdays and simply check my e-mail.

At the same time, before I even left Denver, I have been looking for a laptop to call my own and knowing that I was coming to stay with my brother for a few days, I decided to save the shopping for one until I got to Houston. My brother and his wife have been very patient with me and willing to drive me around Houston to every store that sells computers the last two days. At first what I had in mind to buy was one of those mini notebooks that have the bare minimum. I liked the idea of having a tiny computer that weighed less than five lbs that would be easy to take places and serve my very modest purposes. The more I looked at those kinds of laptops, though, the more I realized that maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to get something so stripped down and basic. As humans we always want more, I told myself. For one thing, the ones that are good are a little pricey, and for another, the ones I can afford are missing one or two components I’d rather not do without, like a CD drive, for instance. For some reason, computer manufacturers are taking CD drives out on some of their models, especially the smaller ones and it’s not something I’m willing to give up. Because of all these cons, I exed out the idea of getting such a basic thing and decided to look at regular-sized laptops, instead.

Surprisingly and satisfyingly fast, I found the computer I wanted on day two of my search and purchased it. I absolutely love it. I've killed two birds with one stone- I've managed to solve the issue of not having a fully working computer for me and my hosts, as well as making a purchase I'm happy with and confident about.