[how a lemon changed my life]

My first computer was a work of art. Well, it was if you like art that sucks.

I'd decided after Thanksgiving 1997 while visiting a friend in California, that I just had to have one, and once I landed back home, I drove like a woman possessed to the nearest computer store, and forked out a lot of moolah for a device that would several hours later be obsolete. Go figure.

Proudly, I whisked that hunk of junk home, and began to explore all there was to offer from the online community. I was hooked from the get-go (and still am). Getting my very own email address nearly made me cream my panties, but that's a story for another time.

Anyhoo, it all combined to make me feel like the Queen of the Universe at the time. I dropped the "Queen" title last year and adopted "Most Supreme and Omniscient Ruler" as my new moniker. Mostly because of how much I've grown as a person.

Of course, it couldn't last. All the fun I was having should've led me to the obvious conclusion that woe and doom were on the way.

Much to my dismay, I discovered the “Blue Screen of Death” about four months after my initial hookup. And, of course, from that point on BSOD was a daily companion to my little “lemon.” Apparently, this machine wasn’t built for the long haul.

I later came to affectionately refer to this primary hardware purchase as the “crapputer.” But I have to give it credit: it changed me. It gave me a whole new perspective on what I could accomplish with my life.

The person I am now didn’t exist before November of 1997. Who I am, at this moment, is a creation of what I’ve learned in the years since I purchased my lemon and floundered my way online. It helped me grow as a person, both personally and professionally. I wouldn't be where I am now if it weren't for that steaming hunk of metallic poop.

Crapputer now lives with my mother. She’s terrified of anything remotely mechanical, so the fact that it’s a lemon is now a moot point. I’m sure it’s happier in it’s new home with no one screaming at it or banging on it with hard metal objects.