An Ode to The Ol’ MacBook… — Shoveling Sunshine

This past month has been all about the upgrades. Upgrading my mindset. Upgrading my business. Upgrading my living situation. Upgrading my relationships. Upgrading my side hustle. Upgrading my dreams. And upgrading my computer.

If you’re an avid reader of this blog you know I’m all about finding joy and optimism in every day situations and today I am beyond joyful for my recent computer upgrade. Unwrapping my new computer brought back a flood of memories of laptops past.

I spent 3/4 of my college career on the phone with Dell tech support so I’m going to skip that chapter and go right to the Apple experience because that’s where the real magic started to happen. I purchased my first MacBook part in admiration and part on a recommendation from my sista Kristina Ratcliff now Rojas. In terms of what’s on trend, Kristina has always been a step (or 10) ahead of me. I think she was in 8th grade and had this slick MacBook and I was still using T9 to text on my flip phone. Anyways, her computer was white and had this magical toolbar at the bottom of the screen that would pop up when you hovered your mouse over it. Gasp.

So when I moved back to Maryland and went back to work for a company in DC I was convinced that I needed one of these magic MacBooks. So I did what any wannabe would do, I took my happy, newly employed ass to Best Buy and financed a brand new MacBook complete with Apple Care. Look out world, I had made it!

Side note: The first week I had it my parents (or roommates as I called them in my 20’s) had a party at our house and and someone yakked red wine all over my brand new computer. And Apple Care doesn’t cover damage by bodily functions so there’s that. Before you think, "why did she tell them it was throw up?” I didn’t, the red wine chunks gave it away… My parents felt bad for me and their pity combined with a well timed tax refund helped me to get a replacement in record time. That replacement carried me through my career at CoStar Group and my intro to working from home for a Key West vacation rental company.

In 2013 I made the decision to boomerang back to Key West and that little computer was my lifeline. My sister Ashlee was battling cancer at the time and she really wanted a new computer. Hesitant to purchase one I told her of my first MacBook purchasing experience and encouraged her to finance it. So she did. Refusing to believe we were fighting a losing battle I told her she would be able to pay it off in no time. She made one payment and then passed away leaving behind her brand new computer…which I was lucky enough to inherit.

Found this photo on my sister’s facebook…first official photo with her new computer. 💕

This MacBook Pro changed my life because I felt lucky to have it. I was scared to open it, imagining that the information it held would bury me in more grief but I appreciated the opportunities it provided for me and the doors that seemed to be opening. It was with this computer that I recognized I could build and tell my own story through a blog. It was the first step in planning so many wonderful vacations and parties. It gave me endless possibilities for understanding and growing and I spent many hours at my kitchen island/ pseudo desk on Frances Street writing and researching, laying the foundation for the next chapter(s). And also FaceTiming.

And then in 2018 that inherited laptop just started to slow down. Work became frustrating because my computer was so slow and could no longer update due to limited storage. So for my office I invested in a bad ass iMac with a huge screen (and I love it; it makes me want to go to work!) When COVID hit and I moved my office home I invested in a standing desk for my beautiful iMac. I got so used to the fast pace and productivity that I knew when it was time to move my office back to Preferred Properties officially I would have to invest in the next generation of laptop for myself.

Enter the MacBook Air. Wowza, do I love this computer. Super lightweight, fast, and comes in Rose Gold, holler! Those aren’t the only exciting things about this computer, the really exciting part is that it is my launchpad for the next phase of Shoveling Sunshine. It’s where I can write from home, or the beach, or my hammock and tell my ever evolving story.

Cheers to many more Mac memories and adventures!