Goodbye, Toshi-kun

Juicy Peppah

---

This is my laptop. Quite old, but very useful. I'm sure as hell I'm going to miss it.

IT happened one morning, during the 2010 Christmas break…

“Angel, do you have a notebook?”

When I was asked that question, I had no idea what notebook was being talked about, so I answered, “None, Auntie.”

Just after I answered, my aunt showed me an aqua, Toshiba laptop, the one she had been using that day to browse for certain places to go during the family reunion.

“I have been using this for three years,” she told me. “It’s yours now.”

I didn’t know how to react. Several months before Christmas, I was dying to have a laptop of my own. I even asked my parents to buy me one soon as I graduate. But there it was, sitting on top of the coffee table before me. It was mine.

Only if she knew how happy I was after receiving that early present. Though it didn’t really show on my face, I was thankful. Very thankful.

Since the house was on wi-fi, I had the chance to update my Facebook status and search for many things on the internet. I was even able to download a Gameboy Advanced and play Pokemon, the very first culprit for the poor laptop’s destruction.

Thanks to my dad, the laptop was repaired. Taking advantage of the fact, I downloaded audio software to record my songs. The praise and worship songs I have composed were posted on my Facebook account, and since my other auntie (her sister) loves praise and worship songs, she asked me to send her a copy of it since one of my elder sisters would have been joining her abroad this year.

I was able to record my three songs before I had enough.

Toshi-kun (yes, I used that nickname, since the name Toshiba came from Japan) had been with me for about a year, composing songs with me, recording my compositions, essays, and short stories, and storing my favorite games. It was also generous to handle my downloads (like movies, hundred favorite songs, Bekimon videos, Hidarime Tantei series with English and gay subtitles, and Hey Say JUMP and K-on photos), and for doing so he had committed suicide by being loaded not only with bulky files but also with viruses that even reformatting could no longer cure.

I could have had it repaired over and over again, but it was my brother who suggested that I stop. He was right… it was irreparable, and doing so would only waste my time and money. And I should face it… I overworked the computer, turning it on for the whole day and even the whole night. I was an irresponsible owner all along, pushing my possessions to the limit, which is why no computer, mp4, or cellular phone lasts for years in my hands.

Though I still have hopes Toshi-kun could be revived, I wouldn’t take the chance anymore if it still falls right into my hands. When it was still breathing, I would work on it from the moment I wake up until I fall asleep—thinking of unrealistic stories, editing gay subtitles, playing super collapse—oblivious that beneath the poor little machine was a heated plastic that badly needed cooling.

What it needs is an owner who will take good care of it until it truly wears out. And until I learn the art of taking good care of everything I own, I think it would be best to leave my laptop resting for a while.