ameena 2.0
it all started with something as seemingly innocuous as a stuck “shift” key.
ali wasn’t home and wouldn’t be for hours so i took matters into my own hands in an attempt to repair my keyboard. i did this knowing full well that messing with a computer – unsupervised – was dangerous and would most likely result in my husband’s wrath. but i did what i had to do: i pulled “shift” off, cleaned it, and replaced it.
as you can see from this uppercase-less post, i should have waited. i should have deferred to the expert. but i didn’t and the sh#$ hit the fan when the expert got home.
ali: “what were you thinking? anyway, a broken shift key should be the least of your worries. how is it possible that you are using this outdated piece of crap? i feel like it’s 1994 again and i’m on dial-up.”
me: “it’s just been getting worse and now that the keyboard is broken I -“
ali: “whatever. it’s embarrassing. seriously, i’m embarrassed.”
ali stormed out of the room and since then can barely stand being in the same house with me and my outdated laptop. i’m just hoping that for the good of my marriage my newly ordered computer comes sooner rather than later.
otherwise the computer might not be the only thing being upgraded around here.
While I'm not going to win Mother/Wife of the Year Award anytime soon, I haven't killed anyone yet or shot myself in the head. And that, my friends, is how I calculate success these days. 
FANCY THAT FANCY THIS 
I will loan you my iPad 1. Walk around the house with it, looking like you are so tired of the extra weight from it being iPad 1. Me sees an iPad 2 in the near future for you!
i think ali may be even further offended because you are implying that we don’t have an ipad 2 already!
I actually wondered about that. But I decided to risk it: it IS possible that you only have ONE. You cannot possibly be sharing an iPad 2. I mean, Ali will probably die if he has to share any of his toys, right? 😉
you severely underestimate my husband lin. we have an ipad1, 2 ipad 2’s, a blackberry playbook, and yesterday he brought home an hp tablet. do you see now why he is so embarrassed of my laptop?
by the way, show this to Ali and make him jealous. At the very front of technological innovation!
(I also have an iPhone 3. But I am guessing you already have an iPhone 4 so I did not offer to loan that to you…)
I am as outdated as you are. Okay maybe not so much. But my keyboard keys have been pulled out diligently by my 22 month old daughter. So I am using an external keyboard ( the one that you attach to a PC) to type now.
Such is life!
Hope you new laptop comes soon.
i suppose i could plug in an external keyboard in the meantime…smart suggestion!
He got that upset about the shift key?
Ummm…
Yeah, hopefully new comp improves his mood. 🙂
My laptop is probably so outdated by now, but for now its still running perfectly for my needs. Mostly also not enough cash to buy a new one. I swear the twins are bleeding us dry! lol!
since maya bleeds us dry i can only imagine the effect twins have. i feel for you.
If you didn’t already order a new computer, he would have come back home one day this week with the most up-to-date, innovative lap top of all time. You wouldn’t be able to figure out where to turn it on. I see that happening.
I applaud you for trying. Don’t you have two shift keys?
i do but it’s very hard to re-train myself to use the left shift key when my brain has been using the right one since my first computer class in 7th grade…
I tend to keep using laptops way past their prime too – it’s just such a hassle to start over and clean up all your files!
exactly. backing up and transferring is quite an endeavor.
Ameena, I don’t like computers. I like to use them but I don’t like them. I feel your pain.
until now i liked my computer! but now i realize the need for an upgrade…
Oooops haha.. the same situation would have happened to me.. maybe Ali will buy you a new updated laptop now! 😉
Hands down – this is the best thing I’ve read in a long time. Thank you Ameena.
🙂
thank you for saying so!
I’m in the situation that Ralph doesn’t even KNOW what the shift key IS! At least if Ali had been there he could have helped. Hopefully you new laptop comes SOON!!!
so who fixes your computer when things go awry?
hey at least your getting a new computer!! so in the end, you win!
Ha I would gladly take a computer with a broken shift key… My computer just died on me 😦 Its so frustrating!!
so sorry to hear yours died! glad you have a stand-in in the meantime…
Haha.. thanks for the good funny post this morning. Sorry, didn’t mean to laugh at you though. My husband has a laptop and I just use the old fashioned/outdated (but reliable) computer. Guess whose computer is always not working. God speed the delivery of your new laptop so Ali doesn’t have to die of embarassment.. 🙂
if i weren’t me i’d be laughing at the absurdity of this situation so by all means… 🙂
I feel like I need a new laptop myself. My space bar is only attached on one side, I tried to take off to clean it once and, yeah, didn’t go back on very well at all. I use an external keyboard, though, since I type all day long for work.
Hope you enjoy your new computer 🙂
so i guess the message here is that we shouldn’t remove keys, no matter what!
My computer is from the Paleolithic era and as long as it functions, I am in no hurry to get something new. I do 90% of my stuff on my phone anyway. Glad you have a marriage saving brand, spanking new computer on the way. Maybe yours will manage to be better than his.
Your portrayal of Ali cracks me up every time. To be honest, I would have done the same to fix the key. My logic is like yours in these matters. I’m constantly being lectured to by my husband about my relationship with our laptop. And the vehicles. Also the camera and videocamera.
oh yes…i am lectured about the vehicles – more specifically his – but luckily i have no desire to use the camera or videocamera so i am spared that at least.
What is it with men and technology? My husband feels compelled to keep up to speed with the latest gadgets also. I think your keyboard looks perfectly functional. I would be happy with it!
i have to admit it isn’t functional. but it’s not embarassing either!
Ah, so is that what a girl need to do to get Hubbs to buy her a new computer?
*kisses* HH
I love ripping the keys off and cleaning under them. Even more gratifying is running a curved metal nail file between the keys and getting two years worth of cat hairs out. Ali would hate living with me. I hope he recovers soon.
i think that Ali might need CPR after reading you rip the keys off to clean under then. there is a protocol for cleaning a computer and i’m sure he’ll insist it doesn’t include ripping keys off!
I just have a hunch that Ali would not be a fan of my netbook then.
I keep on trying to equate Ali’s reaction to something more relevant to my life. The closest I can come is that in his world, your faux pas was the equivalent of going out with a friend who was wearing zebra print AND leopard print all at once.
I DIE.
when you put it in those terms i suddenly see this situation in a whole new light…
I would have done the same thing — in fact I have done the same thing. With my work laptop, I no longer have a mouse button — it was sitting weird, so I tried moving in and oops, it flew off.
at least you can attach an external mouse fairly easily…
But good for you for using something until it was totally used up!
you got your money’s worth there!
that would make me happier than having the latest and greatest ever other year.
*but I am a techno nerd and sometimes I get the sweats over the latest and greatest*
but still I say WAY TO GO
🙂
an avid knitter who loves technology…what a unique combination!
—-My hubby gets so mad at me for pushing buttons I shouldn’t be pushing…
Including His!!
xxx
ha ha…i love this!
You should start writing on a typewriter next time he sees you!
i think he’d have to be admitted to the hospital if he saw a relic like that being used around here…
If you press the little white button it works fine. I survived with missing keys for a good year before I finally let the broken hinges, cracked screen, and slow-as-molasses processing time get to me. I treat my laptops the same way I treat my Old Navy tops: they stay until there are holes in them.
ali’s clothes can have holes in them without a second thought but his technology? not so much.
Sure hope you’re clearing that One Second off of the microwave and closing the diswasher with that “click” until he cools off…..
absolutely! wouldn’t want to upset him even further by messing with the microwave. 🙂
Oh nooo I also hope your new laptop gets there soon…and you don’t think much of how important the shift key is until it goes missing
You are definitely not alone in being behind the technological times. For most of my high school years I typed papers and study guides on a 1995 computer with dial-up. I had to send my college applications at the library because our internet was too slow to handle them.
i had to use dial-up back then too. and i did so with no problem. but now we are spoiled! especially ali with his massively fast wi-fi and mi-fi and whatever else he carries around…
Capitals are seriously overrated. Seriously. The only reason they’re even in this comment is because my phone uses them automatically.
I hope ali didn’t stay very upset. BUT I bet a fancy new computer will keep you distracted during ramadan. 😉
I was going to get a new Mac, but I decided to move into a new apartment instead. Haha. I’m staying hopeful my laptop will last a little longer.
it’s a bit liberating to be able to type without a single concern about capital letters. i must say!
Hahaha good thing you ordered a new laptop. I can’t imagine how hard it must be on Ali to see you using an outdated one. 🙂
I’m on a desktop so I can’t relate. When my keyboard goes bad (or someone ::me:: knocks over a glass of Diet Coke on to it), I buy a new one. I think you gave it a good try, taking off the key cover and cleaning it. Usually when mine does that, I flip the keyboard over and give it a good shake. Since Dudette plays games on here, there are always crumbs that drop out. 🙂
next time i will flip it over. that is a much better idea!
Know what I never use the right sided Shift key. I think I should develop a habit of using both keys because with only using the left shift key, it’s getting way too old. 😛
Let us know about your new laptop, for I’m a big fan of laptops 😀
really? i never use the left shift key…how interesting. and i think ali ordered me another lenovo laptop. we are fans of lenovo!
Lenovo is great. You might post its picture when it arrives. 🙂
I never use the right shift key on the other hand. 😀 It’s really interesting.
I probably would’ve done the same thing! And Vishnu probably would’ve reacted very similarly. Boys and their technology… 🙂
Heh, my F key came off months ago and I glued it on. Sometimes, it comes unglued and I glue it back on. The hubster thinks this is enough reason to get a new laptop but really, I’d rather get other new stuff. And the glue works perfectly well- you should give it a try 😉
really? you can glue then back on? and your husband is okay with that. amazing…
Ha! I laughed when I noticed there are no caps in your whole post. 🙂 I am probably the only person I know without a smart phone…I just don’t see the need right now. My fiance has one and since I can’t drive/don’t have a car, any time I would need GPS or the internet outside of the house, I am already with him anyway.
Just remember all of the other things you are better than Ali at. I’m sure there are millions. 😉
i’m totally at peace with him being far more technologically advanced than me because, as you pointed out, one cannot be an expert on everything. 🙂
I am with Ali on this one, sorry Ameena (although my reactions would be less dramatic). Outdate gizmos are not my thang. As shallow as this may sound, I love updated computers, phones etc. and my mac is my love these days. Which laptop did you order?
ali ordered me another lenovo because i have to say that this one has done a great job for the last few years. no need to mess around with another brand if lenovo works, right?
So true! I love Lenovo, and have a hate relationship with HP 😦
This once happened to me with a F key, sans the marital discord. I think electronic makers do this on purpose–design things so little parts break sooner than they really need to, thereby forcing the consumer to by a new thing when they really shouldn’t have to. Case in point: my DVD player. The darn thing breaks every two years like clockwork. I mean, seriously.
knock on wood here but our dvd player is 6 years old and we haven’t had a single problem with it…what brand are you buying?
You really should be ashamed of yourself. If Ali is proud of one thing it’s technology. You should not only be the drop dead gorgeous wife. You MUST be holding the latest computing device. I really thought more of you… 🙂
thank you for saying that i am the “drop dead gorgeous wife.” i ignored everything you wrote before and after that statement. 🙂
that breaks the key!? I would have done the same thing. Actually… paul would have done that and I would have wanted to smush him. He broke his laptop. then his desktop.. and now he’s threatening the life of our last comptuer: MY laptop. dun dun dunnnn!
what did ya order? anything snazzy?
ali ordered me another lenovo…i’m sure it’s pretty snazzy since ali’s in charge of choosing it!
I would not even attempted to try and fix it. Glenn always tells me the only way to really get comfortable with the computer is to just go for it which is what you did. And you’re getting a new laptop out of it. Success!
as long as he pays for it, whats the worry?! 😉
So sorry to hear about your computer woes!
I must admit that I’m almost happy that I left my computer on the train in NYC (from which it was promptly knicked) now that I have a kick-ass super fast MacBook Pro. Can I tell you how much I love this?
I do, however, miss all the documents that I had on my old one. Sniff, sniff.
Hope that you enjoy your new ‘toy’!
my shift problem happened the minute i brought my computer back from nyc. so maybe the lesson here is that we shouldn’t bring our computers to nyc?
What the hell do you need a shift key for anyway? (a) there’s two on a keyboard and you only broke one and (b) most of the time, I’m too lazy to capitalize anyway. But, I will admit that if making him mad leads to you getting new shit, he’s alright in my book 🙂
am i the only one who utilizes the right shift key only? i swear that’s what i was taught!
hahahaha i can totally imagine his tech savvy disgust with your laptop:D but i love ibm lenovos 😀 they have been with me through thick and thin …. 😀 they are awesome 😀 …. even if they are outdated :D…….. i still prefer them over hp or dell anyday 😀 …sadly i don’t have one anymore
absolutely! lenovos are the best.
Hahaha so hence the grammatical atrocities…I actually use the shift key for spacing, too. I hope the new pc arrives soon!
Omg. I have lost the same shift key and my laptop is outdated.[But i love it] Hopefully both of us will get upgrades and won’t be replaced either! 😀
do you have a lenovo? maybe this shift key thing is a common problem for them?
Hehe I use the opposite shift key, so I think I’d still be okay with your botched up keyboard. Although, there’s nothing wrong with an upgrade! And I don’t think you have anything to worry about in terms of being upgraded yourself… you’re irreplaceable 😀
thank you amanda for the very sweet comment which i’ll be sure to show ali. 🙂
You get a new laptop for pulling off the shift key? Score!
The G letter on my keyboard has been missing for 3 years and I have to press it at least twice to get it to type anything on the screen. Wished my husband was embarrassed enough to warrant me getting a new computer. I mean, 3 YEARS….? Come. On!
Btw, I understand the need for an upgrade too. My husband wouldn’t stand a chance if he exemplified technically irrational behavior like that. Ohhh….you meant, YOU?!!
3 years? wow. i am getting irritated after 3 days so i’m not sure how you are dealing with a missing “g” long-term?
I keep everything past its prime. The button on my pants fell off today, and there is a huge hole in my shoe. At least you don’t look like you are falling apart 🙂
Hahaha your posts seriously are a bright spot in my day. Love them! Does Ali know how infamous he is getting? On a serious note, your laptop doesn’t say IBM on it does it? Cuz then he maybe possibly hypothetically might have a point…
you just made my day so thank you for the compliment. i think ali secretly loves that he is infamous, even if he won’t admit it! and yes i am a bit embarrased to admit that my laptop does say ibm…
You think you are using an outdated computing device?
You should see what prehistoric computer I’m using right now.
I thought a desktop this enormous was extinct, but it is still alive and running!
At least the shift key isn’t broken though 🙂
you are an engineer! how is a desktop even possible for you? 🙂
It’s the desktop I’m using temporarily while I’m in India!
But even in college, I use my beloved desktop.
But that one I love more than anything…for some reason, I just never liked laptops. I sometimes think I’m not supposed to be an engineer…oh well 🙂
Oh dear, I’m afraid to even touch Gary’s computer sometimes. Once, (a very long time ago) the OCD in me went nuts and started cleaning up his desktop. It just looked so cluttered. Let’s just say I learned my lesson after that, and Gary now puts passwords on his computer (that’s a whole other argument) haha.
i am allowed to use ali’s computer but i only use the internet. i never touch his files! that would be signing my own death certificate.
lets hope you get your new computer sooner… 🙂
Wow, you should tell Ali that I have a blackberry. Daily, scratch that hourly Marc tells me I am insane for not owning an iphone. He then forces me to search for something on his iphone. I tell him I don’t want to send emails with typos and crazy autocorrections. I also don’t want to be constantly looking things up on my iphone at meals. I would’ve stuck to the outdates lowercase model, you’re more agreeable than I am.
ali + his iphone = love at first sight. i can’t imagine what he’d do if i’d refused an iphone?
Too funny, Ameena! I completely know how you feel — I once tried to fix my car radio! I went so far as to completely pull it out…it wasn’t pretty, lol!
I did this once to the period key. It was not good – considering I had an essay due the next day. Let’s say there were a lot of run on and long sentences.
At least you tried!!! It does however crack me up that he got so embarrassed over this 🙂
When someone compares your laptop to dial-up, you know you are in trouble. haha
My laptop weighs approximately 90 pounds and the screen frame is cracked (I’m not sure “screen frame” is actually the proper name for it).
…anyway, I feel your pain.
i think my laptop weighs close to 90 pounds. glad i’m not the only one!
lol the beginning of the post put me in a horror story mood
Now you can get the gold Sony vaio! I love that computer!
i used to have a sony but had too many problems. so far lenovo has been the best for me!
Get that new computer quick. I hope you got all the bells and whistles so that Ali can be in the same room as you and your computer again!
You have too many comments for me to see if someone asked you this. How did you get quotes in there if your shift key died?
i am trying to re-train my brain to use the left shift key now…it’s harder than you’d think!
good old Lenovo laptop 🙂 I had one of those ages ago.. and Indeed ALI is right it is 1994 and dial-up scene ..
So what new machine have you ordered .. and when is it arriving 🙂
first time here .. nice blog you have ..
thank you for visiting bikram! i ordered another lenovo and it should be here today. hopefully!
Too funny! I can just picture how that went down. My #3 key is broken, I wonder if my outdated computer needs to be replaced too 🙂
Actually, mine is not that old, but just doesn’t have enough memory. That counts as a valid reason to buy a new one, right?
absolutely. you have two valid issues and i think that merits a new computer asap.
I have the exact same computer as you except I lost the arrow key. The shift is a much bigger issue. What kind of computer did you decide to get?
i ordered another lenovo which should hopefully be here today…apparently losing keys as i did is more common than i thought?
I understand your anxiousness. When something of mine is broken, I want it fixed yesterday! I completely understand pulling off the shift key.
ZOMG, that was my highschool laptop!!! I LOVED that sucker. Maybe not what you wanted to hear, hehe.
But in my defense, I don’t own a smartphone yet.
Glad you’re getting a new laptop though! What kind?
really? your high school laptop? in my defense you are very, very young! i ordered another lenovo! love them.
Oh no 😦 At least your getting a new computer, that should ease him a bit 😉
haha aww poor computer. I always get sad when something gets out of date and it needs replaced. makes me think it goes to some old appliance graveyard all rejected and lonely.
RIP little shift key.
exactly! i feel sad that what was once so loved is now going to be relegated to a tiny, random space in ali’s office. because we all know he isn’t going to give this to someone else!
Your laptop looks better than my old dell laptop. I used it for 2 years without the J and N keys before I bought my Mac. My Quay Lo laughed at me for being so “Chinzy” but I don’t care. I will use it as long as I can stand it before spending the money. In fact, I am still keeping my old laptop to be my spare just in case my Mac goes cranky. I cannot live a day without my computer or my handphone. I feel totally disconnected!