That fresh laptop smell...

Pristine keys, all potential
London, ON
November 2019
This photo originally shared on Instagram

The laptop Santa brought me a new machine at work this week, and for that I am thankful.

I know it seems weird to celebrate the arrival of a new machine. But first, I am indeed weird. And second, I remember when these things were a big deal.

Whenever a new PC of any sort showed up, we gathered around it, marvelling at what it could do. Laptops held even more cachet, and opening one up in the middle of a meeting more often than not stopped the conversation cold.

But time eventually renders all technologies invisible as they are inevitably replaced by something newer, faster, shinier. The ThinkPad that once defined business cool is now a standard-issue device. Almost everyone has one now, and almost no one gives it much of a second thought.

For reasons that sometimes feel like a mystery, though, I do. Hence the photo.

See, it replaced another ThinkPad that had been my trusty sidekick ever since I rejoined the company. When you write for a living, your writing tools become more than mere forgettable implements. They become extensions of you, with every key, button, port eventually becoming indelibly committed to muscle memory.

My old one was battered and struggling by the end, but it still did what it could to keep me in the game, even as I leaned ever more heavily on its well-worn keys. Dare I say it had a certain personality.

The new one is lighter and faster, and it has that new-laptop smell. It still feels a bit strange to the touch, but before long it'll become just as familiar as the old one was.

The keyboard you see here will be hammered on relentlessly, without complaint, as I crank out countless new words in support of my colleagues, the clients we serve, and my family, the very reason I do any of this.

Just a machine, then? Hardly.

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