Well, now! I managed to make it through the holidays without too much pain and suffering. And I wasn't sick, which was neat.

I suppose you either love the holidays OR hate them. If you have lots of relatives or friends that you're on really good terms with that might be a big plus. Or know folks with large country estates who are in to haviong lots of visitors.

The prelude is always intriguing in an academic way. The songs are selections from the long history of Anglican church music. And very unfamiliar to me. I really wish that someone would print a program insert that gave a brief history of the pieces. Oh! And these are not pieces that you hum as you exit.

St. Andy's is almost a century old, and looks like what you'd expect an Anglican cathedral to look like. It's always a joy to be there, and I really should make an effort to go more often.

I bought her one of those desk-top fountains. The kind with a pump, bubbling water and rocks. As I unpacked the box, there were about a dozen flyers indicating the end of Western civilization if you didn't do everything properly. After much reading and double-checking, I discovered all my efforts were for naught, since there was not a grounded electrical outlet. But next day she called and said there was one in another room that she could use.

But as of Christmas, I wasn't sure what I wanted. What features did I need? Where should I buy it? I'd paid a couple of visits to Best Buy, looked at the dozen or so displays, and came away confused. I then went to the Compaq web site, compared prices against what I'd seen in the store, and decided it was cheaper at Best Buy.

On New Year's Day, I took mother to lunch, and we went by Best Buy. Have you ever tried to find a clerk in Best Buy that knows what s/he's talking about? Finally one crawled over to where we were. I almost expected to hear, "You didn't want to buy anything, did you?"

I was the ideal customer, I pointed to a laptop and said, "Me want!" Looking slightly baffled and totally disinterested, he wandered off, then back, and said they didn't have it. So I indicated another one. Same as before; no have. I figured my third attempt would be lucky. Oh, silly me!

Gads! What idiocy. Hire more clerks, Best Buy!

Next, I thought I'd make an attempt with Office Depot. They had five laptops on display. Same routine as before. "Me want!" Clerks vanishes, re-appears, "No have!" "This one?" I queried. Clerks limps off, returns, "Nope!" He then indicated a card on the shelf, and said, "but I think we have this one." Since there was no computer in the space, I'd not thought to look at the cards. The second I glanced at the card, I realized it was my initial choice at Best Buy.

The clerk went in search of another clerk to unlock the room where laptops and such were stored. He came out with a box, placed it on a counter in the front, as momsy and I headed in that direction. The check out clerk then quoted a figure that was more than the yearly income for a family of four in many third world countries.

The first thing I noticed was how light the box was. It actually did not feel as heavy as the Sunday "New York Times." I then drove mother home, returned to my place, and began to take stuff out of the box. With lots of assistance from the cats.

There was a card with amazingly clear directions. A very simple set up. Or at least until I reached the point when the touchpad would not respond. I then spend a frustrating hour trying to get the pad to respond. I could move the cursor, but it would not recognize clicks. I studied the documentation. I re-booted. Removed the battery and started over. Was ready to pack the little fucker up. Then I found the card for 1-800 service.

I call. I wait. I wait. I wait. Nice voice comes on, I explain my problem, he makes a comment of two, and I recognize my incredible stupidity. I'd forgotten that you have to adjust the settings to make the touchpad recognize clicks. Duuuuhhhhhhhhhhh!

So far, I'm very pleased with it. 1 GHz. 18 GB of mem. 256 MB Ram. Not the fastest or biggest system but suitable for my purposes.

However, a new computer is a new computer, with a new OS, XP, and a new browser, Netscape 6.1. Many subtle and not so subtle differences. I've lived through Windows 3.1, 3.11, 95, and NT. And I can remember Netscape 2*, 3*, 4*.

The biggest problem is remembering how light it is. I have to be careful where I put it, or the cats will knock it on the floor.

PAX!