Unplugged

I have been struggling mightily over the past week (has it only been a week?!) with computer woes after getting the blue screen of death (BSOD):

I bought an external hard drive and downloaded my information, did a system restore, and tried to get my 5-year-old machine working again.  And I had a modicum of success.  But then after all of that, another blue screen popped up.

I surrender!

So My Man and I went out and bought a new computer tower.  The price of these has dropped considerably since our last purchase, so we just picked one out without researching Consumers Reports ad infinitum or asking everyone's opinion.  It was about $350 bucks on sale!  What a deal!  I didn't want to spend too much because I would also like to get an IPad or laptop in the future (we don't have one) and I don't have a smart phone, either.  It would be nice to have something portable.

Lenovo IdeaCentre Desktop

Today we set it up and reinstalled all of the necessary programs.  Windows 7 will be a new challenge--it looks a lot different from XP. 

Wow, I am exhausted by this process.  I don't know if it's just me, but being unplugged was very unsettling!  And it definitely humbled me because I realized just how little I understand about how computers work!

Do you realize how much we rely on technology?!  It's kinda scary. And sad.  I'm glad to be back online, but this week made me realize that I spend altogether too much time online and not enough time connecting with people face-to-face.  With God's help, I'm going to work on balancing that better in the future.  He's the power source I really need to be plugged in to.