~ Joseph Campbell
As the power in the house came back on, I was suddenly torn. When it went out, I was in the midst of doing a few things that needed to be done. But while it was out, I was completely prepared - if not absolutely okay - with it being out for a bit.
The opening credits for the movie Watchmen had just given way to the start of the film, and I was really getting myself into the mood for watching it. After all, I'm a huge fan of the book(s) and haven't seen the film adaptation in quite some time, so I was excited. And then, as if the Christian God itself was in the room with us, there was that "let there be light" moment and my excitement gave way to the realization that I had prepared myself for a lazy afternoon in vain.
Fuck it, I thought. Might as well do while the doing needs done.
So I turn the computer on and it starts making a sound that I imagine is quite like what an 18 wheel semi-truck would make if it were doing about 75 and the driver suddenly smashed on the breaks, sliding for a few yards, then meeting a grisly fate as the truck went off of a cliff Thelma and Louise-style. Clearly, the damned thing needed to be cleaned inside and out.
"Why are you shutting down?" Erica asked in that way that seemed as if I were wasting time.
"Cleaning out the computer," I replied.
So I get the screwdrivers and set about my task, knowing that I am improperly prepared for this task. See, I had no air-spray, which is pretty much an integral part of cleaning out anything having the slightest thing to do with a computer. Lots of little parts and wires in there...
I pull the tower out from the little corner of the room in which it resides, and am immediately confronted with what I knew was the issue: there is about half an inch of dust covering every vent, fan and crevice of said tower. For anyone who doesn't have to take care of their own shit, let me say this; if you need to clean your PC and you don't have any air-in-a-can, air-spray, air-duster, whatever the hell you want to call it, you're either going to be A: Fucked, or B: in for one hell of a nice little adventure that includes, but is not limited to, dust in your mouth, the use of half of a roll of toilet paper, every Q-Tip that you have at your disposal and a dog that likes to pee on or about the bed. It's a grand ol' time and I recommend that anyone seeking to build character try it immediately. But I digress.
I go about using all of the above-mentioned items (sans the dog that likes to pee), and before too terribly long, I have amassed a giant pile of dust-covered Q-Tips, balls of toilet paper, itchy skin, a mouth that now feels like it is made of cardboard and an irritable girlfriend, who I somehow complained into helping me. I recall being extremely high-spirited. It was done! It was a task completed, and now the computer would cease making that awful sound and I could go back to doing other things that needed to be done (like this).
Everything was plugged back in, connections were tested, dust was wiped away. Messes were cleaned up, power was given and...the goddamned thing was still making that sound! It would appear that the issue with all of this is that the power source is filled with dust. And seeing as it can't be opened up and taken apart without seriously damaging the inside components...
With you, biddix, I'm never worried about a lack of luxuriant detailing or a voice that fails to distinguish itself from all the other voices in the crowd.
ReplyDeleteI do sometimes worry that you might go off the tracks into Ultra-Biddixism and forget my assignment, but I am pleased to tell you today that you get the 162 Narrative Achievement Award--this definitely has the traditional and classic narrative structure. Not all goals are reached, not all searches are successful, and not all clean computers stop their whining. That's a truth about life that can be laid out clearly in narrative form, just as you have.