putting the knit in shizknitz

In b-school, your most precious item (yes, more than your cel phone believe it or not) is your laptop. I put in significant thought into which model, type, brand before I made my purchase about a year and a half ago. It’s wise - I spend more time with it than any other item I own.

In computer age, my laptop is now ancient. Thinkpad X40’s aren’t even made anymore. I have no warranty (I figured it would be like buying a warranty for a Civic, what’s the point?) and I’m at its mercy. But it begged for something more - something cosmetic. But there was no justification… until the left mouse button went limp.

Those who know me know my appreciation for crispness. I like crunchy french fries, crunchy toast, crunchy bacon, and crunchy candy. I have no patience for limp things. Limp lettuce, limp sandwiches, limp… well let’s not go there. However, my tried and true left mouse button no longer had a spring in its click, and was so limp that a gentle blow would send the signal up the motherboard. I had to get it replaced.

However, what I soon found out that it was not a simple button replacement - it was a whole KEYBOARD replacement. Gosh, I thought. This is L.A. for goshsakes, I thought anything could be tucked, primped, REPLACED. IBM/Lenovo apparently never thought this through on design. After some searching, we found a replacement keyboard in Irvine. We immediately had it shipped, and T performed the surgery.

After about 10 minutes, the keyboard was in place. The left mouse button - was performing like a young’un! I was relieved. My baby now had a new face. The ‘N’ button no longer was shiny, there were no crumbs or dust particles between the keys. What I’m discovering now though, is that there is something different about the keys - T says that this X41 keyboard was manufactured elsewhere - which just goes to show that facelifts are never as good as the original.