separation anxiety

I'm having a difficult time... our laptop needs some major help. As I type this entry, all of our important stuff (pictures, finances, email, and favs) are being backed up. An amazing glue stick tube cap is now wedged under the power supply cord (that goes into the laptop), forcing the plug up and in, keeping the power on.

This has been a struggle for months and one might say "well, why don't you just take it somewhere and get it fixed?" Up until tonight I've been able to find a way to make this work with only the occassional power outage (everyone knows to not touch the laptop or move it while it's actually working!). The battery hasn't charged for months despite a brand new battery; the AC adapter was replaced with no improvement at all. I've backed up all of our data many times... first for fear that we'd actually lose it all and second in preparation for the computer to be away for repairs. Because I've been able to make it work in spite of the crippling problems, I put it off and put it off...

So, tonight's the night. I'm going to finish backing up our life-on-the-laptop and prepare to share the downstairs desktop with Erika & Hollie (shudder). Tomorrow I will send a few emails, make a few calls with the hope of finding someone trustworthy and reputable. I'll try to let go and face the real possibility that there may be no hope...