The day my laptop died mid-order at Common Grounds

Last Thursday I was camped out at Common Grounds on 12th Street, (my usual spot) about to submit an invoice for a freelance gig. Right as I hit send, my screen froze, then went black. The barista named Jenna let me borrow her charger for 20 minutes but my battery was totally done for. Has anyone else had a critical tech fail at the worst moment in a coffee shop?

3 comments

3 Comments

norab211mo ago

Jenna saving you with a charger for 20 minutes sounds like the real hero of this story, not a disaster. Maybe your laptop was due for a replacement anyway and this was the push you needed to finally upgrade. If you back up your work regularly like a smart person, losing a few minutes of downtime is no big deal.

alice891mo ago

Oh man, isn't it funny how someone else saving the day can make you feel both grateful and annoyed at yourself? I totally had a similar thing happen last year when my friend lent me his backup laptop for a whole week after mine just died randomly. I was so mad at first, but honestly it pushed me to finally get a new one that's way better and doesn't crash every time I have too many tabs open. That charger thing is like a little sign from the universe that maybe your laptop isn't as reliable as you thought. Backup is key too, I learned that the hard way after losing a few assignments in college and now I save everything to the cloud like a paranoid person.

the_mary1mo ago

Alice, you've got a good point about being grateful and annoyed at the same time. That backup laptop from your friend was probably a blessing in disguise if it got you to finally upgrade. I agree about the charger being a sign too. Sometimes our electronics just tell us when it's time to move on. Cloud backup is the smart way to go after losing assignments in college. I learned that lesson myself years ago and now I'm the same way.