On the one hand, I feel terrible for not having written for so long… On the other, it is the reality of this COVID crisis. I have been working a lot, like everyone else. No need to elaborate. I just need to get going on posting here because I like doing it.

All faculty and staff at the College receive a computer with replacement every four years. This is just a general guideline and several prefer to keep their computers longer. I try to stick to the same 4 year replacement cycle as much as possible. The current one I have is a 15″ MacBook Pro and I believe I have had it for just over a year and a few months. I noticed that some keys on my keyboard were wearing off. It got to a point where A and S were practically unrecognizable and I said “we paid a lot for this and this is not acceptable”.

I consulted with my colleagues who suggested that I take it to an Apple Store to get it fixed because we still had warranty. Of course, I can no longer just walk in, so I made an appointment to go to the Apple Store at Westfarms Mall in West Hartford. The earliest available date was a few days away and I was really getting nervous about this. Will they fix it on the spot or will I have to leave my computer?

When I went there, despite the fact that I had an appointment for a specific time and I was probably 5 minutes early, I had to wait in a long line and my temperature was measured. Of course, I wore a mask. Surprisingly, the line was moving at a healthy pace and I was met by a “genius”  who reached out to me though I was 10th in line, because it was my appointment time. Great so far. But, the meeting lasted 3 minutes. The person said I had to leave the computer and it would take 5 to 7 business days. Then they made a casual statement… “Hope you backed everything up”. It always spooks me to hear this despite the fact that I know we back up laptops using Code42 . It is totally irrational, but I feel this way every time. I said I can’t leave the computer for that long now and that I will make another appointment.

Came home, wrote to my colleagues and said with all the activities I am responsible for, I can’t be without a computer. They immediately shipped me one to use during this period. I needed this new one to work exactly the way my regular one did. This meant, I needed to install a whole bunch of apps. Despite the fact that I have most of the documents I need in the cloud, I do keep some locally for a variety of reasons and needed them on this replacement machine for my own comfort. I managed to get the new machine to behave very close to my regular one in 2 hours. Guess where I restored a lot of files from…. Code42! I verified multiple times that the total storage in Code42 is roughly what I would expect from my beloved MacBook Pro that I am going to be without for 5 to 7 days!

Then it came time to realize that separation is inevitable. These smudged keys were driving me nuts. I went to set up an appointment and at Westfarms, the wait would be 10 days. I was not going for it. “Do I need to put up with this for 10 more days? No way!”.

I looked up another one nearby. Apple Store in New Haven (near Yale) had openings the next day! So, I went there. Before I went, I double, triple checked storage in Code42, randomly checked to make sure some of my precious files were there in the backup etc. I asked one of my colleagues to help verify all of this too. I was so sad that I am going to have to be without my computer for almost 2 weeks.

Wearing the mask, I went, they took my temperature and cleared me to join the line. Soon after I was met by a “genius” who took me in, reviewed notes associated with the ticket and patiently gave me options. “I can either replace the keys that have worn off and it will take 10 minutes, or I can send it to our repair facilities and they will replace the entire top”. I was in heaven and thinking, “why are you even giving me the second option?” But… I remembered my colleagues saying “Ask Apple to replace the butterfly keyboard“. The problems about them are widely publicized.  So I asked and the person said no.

So I happily opted for the instant satisfaction and was so happy…

Is this irrational behavior on my part the result of COVID crisis? I would never know… For now, I am happy that I have my beloved computer and all keys in good shape…

And I hope my Mac, like always, behaves well and I don’t need to go to an Apple Store for repairs. And if I have to, I am going to New Heaven, oops, I meant New Haven!