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Ten years ago

What is it about ten years ago? I keep returning to my sixteenth year, with small recollections, longing and disbelief.

I am listening to Enigma lately, and my Eden album, and both really evoke ten years ago for me. In retrospect we understand what our society was about, and I find myself nostalgic for ten years ago. That was a time when we were becoming interested in holistic care, aromatherapy, simplicity.

I remember going to Sam's Club a lot, though why a three person household would need to buy in bulk, I still don't understand. But Sam's Club had a lot of books and music.

You know what else I miss? DOS, Windows 3.1 and CD-ROM educational tools. I spent hours learning about composers from my CD's. The Internet is so distracting, and its more cerebral material is unengaging, so I find myself not learning as much as I used to. I love my laptop so much, and I am starting to have the kind of relationship with it that I had with my desktop 486.

Basically that entails knowing the in and out of every piece of software on it, using that software, or uninstalling it, entrusting my every project's organization in part or whole to my computer, making sure every file I have saved is of use to me, and doing regular maintenance. And now the PCMCIA slot on my laptop is broken, and that makes it even more typical of my possessions.

I still remember those old computers. I miss them. I feel like I didn't give them the attention they deserved. It was time for the 486 to go, and in its place was a beige Compaq with Windows 3.1. I ran the Internet on it, slowly, and used it through the end of 1998. For Christmas that year I got another Compaq, which was wonderful for its time, but I treated it poorly. It got viruses and got left in the rain once. When my attempt to install more RAM failed, I got what is now my constant companion, the Sony Vaio. I don't treat it as well as I should, but I do treat it much better than I treat my car, which isn't saying much. My Sony's younger sister is the Treo, which all but replaces my computer most of the time. I am one with the Treo, I will say.

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