Weekly post

Dear friends,
A logistical setback occurred on Thursday. My laptop computer "died." The opening into which one plugs the jack (other end goes into an outlet) to provide electricity was loose, meaning the computer was not receiving the electricity. The batteries are good for only a few hours; it's mainly intended to run on electricity. I have since learned that this is a design flaw in most if not all laptops and happens routinely.
I took the laptop to Best Buy, where I had bought the computer and extended warranty, and encountered the unthinking bureaucracy of the $8 an hour counter help. They calmly informed me that it would have to be sent off for service and that I could expect it to take four weeks.
Somehow I managed not to lose my temper during this whole exchange. Calmly and firmly, however, I pointed out that what I had paid $900+ for was, in effect, access to a working laptop computer, and that since I was now deprived of said access through no fault of my own, I expected them to effect a solution that would not deprive me of access to a working laptop. They offered to let me buy another laptop and then return it, but that would have meant a temporary outlay of at least $700 for their cheapest laptop. They then suggested that I should just wait until I could spare the laptop for three or four weeks. That would be December.
In the end, despite going up the chain of management, I was out my laptop for four weeks. This is a problem primarily for the convenience of taking notes in class and having those notes conveniently accessible, neatly typed up, etc. It also means I will have my notes in flux during midterms. However, there appears to be nothing to be done about it.
I have my data, of course, so that's not a problem. These days a device called a flash card or thumb card stores files.
I received a paper back from my professor who is notorious for being a tough grader and found that I'd earned a B, so I was quite pleased. Classes are going well, some requiring more work than others, of course, but I have just one paper that I anticipate being a real struggle to write. Everything else on my schedule looks manageable.
Grace and peace,
Beth