my macbook air & techie things

This afternoon I spilled an entire cup of tea on my keyboard. I did this once before about 15 years ago and it was a disaster; I have my fingers crossed that this time, after my computer dries, my computer will work. (And I'm now using all the willpower I have not to turn it on before the "drying time" of two days--some websites say two weeks!--is up.) Right now I'm typing on Ben's computer (which is to say: Joel's old computer, and then Michal's old computer, and now Ben's)--it does not feel like mine.

But this accident did make me think of Heidegger's ready-at-hand and present-to-hand. We aren't always aware of things we use every day until they break or go missing at which point they become present to us. You don't usually notice the sidewalk you're walking along, for example, until you come to a pothole and then you're suddenly very aware of the ground beneath your feet. Ditto my computer. It's gone (for two days, possibly forever) and I'm instantly aware that it is one of the most crucial, necessary, go-to material things in my world.

When I bought my macbook air, almost a year ago to the day, I thought it would be a travel computer; I would use it for conferences and research and to and from the university. But I would still work on my "main" (bigger, better) laptop at home. But my new computer quickly displaced my old computer: it went everywhere with me (so light! so convenient! so functional!) and the few times I travelled with it and the battery died, I felt bereft.

All of this has also made me think of the category of favourite things and computers and tech items in general. I would never have included my computer on a list of favourite things despite my obvious bond with it. Why? Partly, because it is replaceable. When the tea spilled I was distressed mainly because of the time factor (lost time, lost work) and not because of the loss of the thing (this calmness stems from my confidence--I hope not ill-founded--that I have a back-up even though Joel is disconcertingly uncertain about how we access it). But still, one of my favourite things, is my computer, even if I wouldn't include it on a list. In fact, no one included any tech things on the list. No smart phones. No computers. No ipods. (Or rather, I'm pretty sure that no one did; I can't know for sure because that info is on my tea-sodden computer--another example of its indispensability.) Is it because they're replaceable? Is it because tech things and favourite things are somehow at odds?

UPDATE: after waiting the requisite 2 days, my computer (miraculously) works again!