Sometimes I amaze myself

A few months ago I dropped my laptop and cracked the screen.  Anyone that knows me, knows my laptop has become my life.  Its how I am able to "work at Panera," and get out of the house. 

I spoke to my techie friends, who told me, "Forget about it...at work, we trash laptops with broken screens."  "Well, that's it," I thought, "your laptop days are over."    I went a couple days working on the fractured screen, slowly accepting defeat, and then I did a little more research. 

I found a fantasic site, called Notebookreview.com  that features all the instructions you need to replace your laptop screen.  Then I found a site called Laptopz.com that sells screens, and for $125, I fixed my laptop. BY MYSELF.

Last week, my laptop started giving me a new problem.  The DC power jack started flaking out on me.  Sometimes the DC power was recognized, and sometimes, the computer would automatically switch to battery power.  I asked my techie friends again for advice.  "Forget about it...you need to buy another computer."  Well, I was ANGRY.  How could Dell create such a fragile part?  Here the computer is running fine, the screen looks great, and I am about to be done in by a loose power jack.  But researching the issue, I found hundreds of other people describing the same problem...and advice that matched that of my techie friends.  (Dell Computers, seriously...you stink and I am on to you and your evil ways.) 

But even with the bad news, I wasn't ready to give up.  I was encouraged by the success of my previous repair, and found another great website, insidemylaptop.com, that had clear instructions on how to take my Dell Inspiron B130 apart, and make make repairs to the DC Power Jack.   I got a perfect list of tools needed, and instructions and pictures on how to dissemble the computer.  I bought the items I needed at Radio Shack, and got to work.  To make a long story short, I fixed the problem, and gave my laptop an extended life.

Long story, with the full truth,  I couldn't unsoder the power jack from the motherboard, but I was able to clean the contacts on the jack.  I also lost the functionality of the touchpad in the process, but I still consider this repair a win.   I can now power up the computer AND I was able to replace functionality of the touchpad with a USB mouse.  This repair cost $40.

Why is this a big deal and how does this apply to my story of unemployment?  First of all, I have to stop and celebrate a "win," which in this case is fixing my laptop.  I am impressed with what I was able to do with help of great instructions from the websites mentioned above.   Second of all, I saved myself big money, which is now a current theme in my life. I estimate these two repairs would have cost me another $200-300 to bring to a professional.   But most importantly,  this is something I NEVER would have bothered with had I been employed.  I would have never learned that I was capable of making this type of repair... I would have moved on with a new computer.   To me, this is a big deal.

I'm always looking for a sunny side to my unemployment experience.  This week, I think I found another one.  (There's always a sunny side...sometimes you have to look a little harder to find them. )