In case of evil clown, pull string

The printer didn't get thrown out the window on Thursday ... but it did Friday morning, just before Matthew and I left. This was the printer Matthew ahd originally given me with the computer I was using, the one that has no Linux drivers, which is why I have a new printer. He'd agreed to let Seth use that old one, since Seth's printer is ten years old and works only if you press the paper into it, sacrifice things to a volcano god, or wait for the planets to be in the correct alignment. Or something like that. So he plugged the printer in, it made a popping noise, and smoke came out of it. So I told Matthew of this, and also that Seth and I had jokingly said we should throw it out the window. It'd be fun, we thought. It was the kind of thing you always want to do to your computer but can never justify. One day this week Matthew asked, "Has he done it yet?" No, I said. Knowing Seth, his reason and sensible nature would take over, and he'd find some excuse why it wasn't a good idea. I told Matthew that, too. I was diappointed; I have no reason or sensible nature and really liked the idea of throwing the printer out a window. "Tell him to wait until I get there," Matthew said. "If he doesn't I will."

Friday morning Matthew had set the alarm for seven (which was only about 45 minutes after I'd gotten home from work, which was the best sleep I got that whole day). We got up, took showers, collected our things, and Matthew told me that he'd told Seth that if he wanted to be present at the printer-throwing he should be up around 7:50. Amazingly, he was. We took the printer out on the balcony--so it wasn't quite like throwing it out a window, we just all walked through the sliding glass door--and Seth and Matthew debated what they should be aiming for. They decided the parking lot (which was nearly empty; we're not destructive to other people's things) was a good idea. Seth threw the printer and it didn't go all the way to the parking lot, which is just as well, as it landed on grass and broke into few enough pieces that the two of them could carry them easily to the nearby dumpster.

Then Matthew and I went to his house, where there were many computer-related things for him to do. He's selling my old computer at the garage sale they're having today, and giving me new things. Also, the components of his own new computer came in the mail and were waiting for him, and his family had wireless broadband installed just before we got there, so he had to set that up too. I think he was afraid of me being bored, but I was fine. Sleepy, but not bored. I like his family. I talked with his mom, played my old guitar (which his brother John now has), helped Matthew sort his computer games into "sell" and "keep" piles, checked my e-mail with the fancy new broadband, and ate a lot of good food. Oh, and I took a nap, as I'd only slept about two hours--and not consecutively--that night.

My computer isn't done yet--for boring, Linuxy reasons, and this is already long enough--so I went home with only the dirty clothes I brought with me to be washed, and a cactus Matthew's mom had given me (since she'd been going to sell it anyway, and I said I liked it). Oh, and a red recorder, since I somehow ended up telling her the story of how I learned it so I could play with star_eyed_lady and be her recorderist last winter. They're intending not so much to make money as to get rid of things, so I guess I was helpful for that.

My new computer will actually be pretty cool. ( Read at your own peril; this will mean nothing to some of you, but I'm excited about it. )