Distinctly 21st Century

A while back I told a friend that every time I bring my laptop charger to school, I forget it there. Every time. I really don't think I'm that absent-minded, though. I think it's become some sort of strange, self-fulfilling prophecy. Subconsciously I want to leave my charger at school to validate that comment I made months ago. Weird, right? Nothing is ever not weird when you try to psychoanalyze your own actions.

So there I was, a weekend's worth of schoolwork to do in one Sunday afternoon, battery power in the single digits, and Luc's friend arriving within the hour to watch the Superbowl. I had to leave the apartment if I was going to get anything done, but I needed a computer. It wasn't until I got in the shower (where I do all my best thinking) that I thought to ask the neighbours. And it makes sense; neighbours have always been the outside support network for household emergencies. Cup of sugar, couple of eggs, ladder to get the cat out of a tree. Neighbours are the quintessential go-to people, so why should my technological conundrum be treated any differently?

A wander across the hall, and a minute later my laptop was formatting presentation slides and scanning library databases. It also got me thinking - even just five years ago, how likely would it have been that my neighbours had an Apple laptop charger to lend out? It says a lot for the prevalence, and even the homogenization of technology. But it's later now and I've returned the charger, so I'd better not waste any more power bars on a blog post!