When your baby (Apple laptop) needs the power cord held in a certain position in order to charge!!

Wow, it doesn’t take long to develop a personal relationship with your computer.  And it takes even less time to become acutely aware of the loss of your partner (i.e. computer).

I’ve been kind of running on borrowed time for a while now with my Apple power cord.  I’ve been relying on it everyday, several times a day, sometimes for a long period of time in each use.  That’s every single day for almost 3 months.  The computer has outlasted the cord by a long shot, tg.

I’ve had the flu or a cold or some minor illness for weeks and yesterday wasn’t a good day.  It was pouring rain outdoors as well.  So I thought it was a good day to write (need computer), read a novel and some other print material (need computer), watch some video (film or tv, need computer), or, if I got bored, clean out my photograph files (need computer).  I hate to be obsessive, but did I mention that I needed my computer for all of these projects? Well, I did need it so it bears repeating.

I could tell that my power cord was fraying at the end with the magnetic plug.  So, I started searching for a replacement all around town.

Now, if  you read my blog, you are already familiar with my dissertation on the scarcity of material goods in direct relationship to perceived need of same material goods. In other words, I’ve already ranted about how hard it is to find that relatively special item you need when you are living in Italy.  It doesn’t matter what the special item is, what category it fits, or anything else.  You simply need an item and you are in Italy and the fun is about to begin.

The more you need said item, the harder you will look for it, and consequently, the more rare it becomes.  It’s simple and it’s logical.

So, as I’ve been going about my business while minding my own business but quizzing every person with whom I have any conversation (be it the grocer, the cobbler, the schoolmate [yes, I have schoolmates at my age :-)) ] or a new friend, I’ve gathered intelligence on where to buy replacement Apple power cords.  And here is my finding.  You can’t get there from here.

Before sojourning to bell’ italia several months ago, I obsessively obsessed about what to do if my laptop crashed, or lost a file that I needed, or some other such issue.  Just outside of Florence, where I’d be living while in Europe, there is an Apple store.  Hooray!  My Seattle MacGeniuses and I obsessed together for months before I left as to whether someone at the Florence Apple store would speak English if I made the trip to it. I will say this in praise of Apple stores: they are a pain in the neck to be in but their guides are pretty empathetic by and large.  Your obsession becomes their obsession, at least for the 55 minutes you are working one on one with them.  It makes you feel really heard. Said sarcastically.

And, like any material goods that you covet or actually need in Italy, the Apple store is within sight but unreachable without a lot of expense, time, energy, or any combination thereof. And when you get there, it will be closed for restoration.  Ha ha.

I seem to spend a lot of time falling down rabbit holes. But, I will say this, if you’ve gotta fly through a rabbit hole, there aren’t any prettier than in Italy.  I still maintain that philosophy and I hope I always will. :-))

I want to add something else which is that I planned to study Italian in Italy.  I’d already been studying it for a few months and hoped to become independently independent, relying only on my own Italian and not a go between of some kind while I was living in Italy.

But even I have managed expectations when it comes to explaining technical electronic problems.  I can barely express my issues in English and I doubt I will live long enough–even if I live 100 more years–to express my electronic issues in italiano.  I just don’t think its gonna happen any time soon and thus I really wanted to know that in Italy I could find an English speaker at the Apple store outside of Florence.

We all know that wishing for something is fine as long as you know its a wish and it may not be met.  And that’s what happened with ascertaining that an English speaking genius would be available for me at the Florence Apple Store.  Because after weeks of inquiring and sending and forwarding emails, Seattle Apple reported to me that Florence Apple could not guarantee an English speaking genius.  They could guarantee special assistance if I were blind or deaf, they said, but only if I made advance reservations.  Va bene, good to know.And could we just take a moment to reflect on the irony of Seattle Apple needing weeks and weeks to communicate with Florence Apple about English?  Doesn’t the internet exist for immediacy? You know, like immediate answers and gratification? Or is it just me? Or is it just this particular rabbit hole that started on the West Coast of the US of A and ended in Tuscany? Somehow I just don’t think this is what Steve Jobs or even Bill Gates had in mind when they changed our lives.

OK, so yesterday, raining, cold, dark, sick, sick of being sick, bored, watched some movies, watched some tv, wrote a little, noticed my power was declining on my laptop, screwed around for an hour or more trying different combinations of adapters and converters because at this point I have about 20 options not to mention as many outlets or more in my apartment.  And all this while–and I am no electrician and I jump when a prosecco cork is released so you can imagine how I react when sparks fly noisily from an outlet–I am for some unknowable reason reasoning that it is the power source that is the issue, but not my power cord.

Which is already upside down because as I’ve said I’ve been noticing my power cord was fraying for weeks and I’ve been looking for a replacement. So I don’t know why yesterday I didn’t presume that was the issue at the get go.  Hell no.  That would have been way too easy and no fun at all.

So, I leaned back and thought I’d better enjoy this movie while I can and so I did until the power ran out.  I was operating with a bit of magical thinking which isn’t like me at all.

And it was 10 pm last evening when I hit the panic button because I realized that I had no fricking way to charge my computer.  I got out every damn cord I’ve been lugging around for 3 months: camera cords, iphone cords, you name it cords, and thinking really hard about how you can transfer power from one device to another, which is hilarious if you know me.  Because I can no more understand a computer power cord than I can explain how a car engine works.  And I’m no dummy.