-The Two C's-

Cars and computers will be the death of me. It took five days and just shy of $900 dollars, but both automobile and laptop are ready to go out into the cruel world and get beat up again.

Sacrifices will have to be made; I will continue to lock and unlock the car from the passenger side, avoiding the high fee mechanics charge for taking apart the door. With the computer, I gave up my hard drive, losing short stories, not-so-short stories, embarrassing correspondence, and too many cover letters to count.

But I like to think I will emerge stronger, and with a new appreciation for my two machines. The world considers them obsolete, but again and again, car and computer gamely deliver above-average performances in the tasks I set.

Does it matter if you're the only car in the lot with a tape deck? Does it matter if you're the only computer running on a 266 MHz processor?

No, it does not. And it doesn't matter that your master spent that amount of money only because the money required to replace you is beyond his means.