Oh dear god no please no
There is nothing that makes grad students weep with fear and dread like the first signs of a serious computer malfunction.
My computer has started to make a loud grinding noise, and to emit the smell of burning computer parts.
Which means:
1) Financial crisis. I have no savings and already spent January's money on last month's credit card bills.
2) Academic crisis. One or more weeks without a computer, which will make it incredibly difficult to work and function.
3) Emotional crisis. I'm completely dependent on my computer and freak out when I don't have it.
My sister keeps lecturing me about how I "really need to get that fixed" and "waiting will just make it worse." I know that! And in an ideal world, I would drive over to the repair shop and turn over the computer at the first sign of trouble. But when you have no money and no back-up computer, it's not that simple.
But whatever happens, this is BAD BAD BAD.
My computer has started to make a loud grinding noise, and to emit the smell of burning computer parts.
Which means:
1) Financial crisis. I have no savings and already spent January's money on last month's credit card bills.
2) Academic crisis. One or more weeks without a computer, which will make it incredibly difficult to work and function.
3) Emotional crisis. I'm completely dependent on my computer and freak out when I don't have it.
My sister keeps lecturing me about how I "really need to get that fixed" and "waiting will just make it worse." I know that! And in an ideal world, I would drive over to the repair shop and turn over the computer at the first sign of trouble. But when you have no money and no back-up computer, it's not that simple.
But whatever happens, this is BAD BAD BAD.
-- Di Di at
4:59 PM
4 Comments:
If push comes to shove, many universities offer special student loans through the fedgov (up to $5k, I think?) to buy a new computer. If you're interested, check with your uni's financial aid office.
By
Bushbaby, at 1/5/11, 10:03 PM
Yes...go and check both out. Does your uni financial aid office have an emergency loan fund? Mine did.
By
Anthea, at 1/6/11, 5:17 PM
yes - emergency loans, too, although my uni's only give @200 for emergency loans. also, they are run through the office of the dean of students, instead of the financial aid office, for some reason....so you might check around if financial aid says they don't have one
By
Bushbaby, at 1/7/11, 1:52 AM
Thanks for the advice. I've determined that a fan got knocked out of alignment, and now it's in a place where it's still buzzing but not nearly as loudly. I'm monitoring the temperature on my laptop and waiting to see what happens. If I can wait even til next month it will be much easier to pay for.
By
Di Di, at 1/9/11, 4:30 PM
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