Bend me, I won’t break
I unlocked the door to my postal box, and my stomach did a little flip. The parcel which has been enroute for over a week was finally here. And the post office had left their own, personal mark on things.
I’ve made jokes about poor handling methods, but this time around it was personal. Inside that cardboard carton was something I had ordered and paid for. And appearance aside, it wasn’t a boomerang.
Rather, I’d decided to upgrade the keyboard on my laptop. Here’s what awaited, when I got inside and cut the tape holding things together.
NO, this wasn’t a new ergometric design. I had finally tracked down a source for a backlit keyboard (Dell didn’t want to sell me one), and I’d already prepared my work area, my tools, my copy of the service manual. Well, little matter. My grandfather was a blacksmith, and this seemed to fit the profession. Let my genetics play out for once.
I know how fragile a computer keyboard can be, and so I used the slow and delicate motions of an origami artist. A little wiggle here, a push there. Within the time allowed (by my quota of patience), I’d flattened the curves. Not to original specs, but maybe…
I removed the various plastic covers, detached the working keyboard (was this one step too far?) I fitted the newer part into place and buckled the beast back together. Applied power. Typed my password (YES!).
This tale ends happily. My laptop now has a backlit keyboard, for those times when I want to sit in a dark room and type accurately. The post office didn’t win the match.
