BERKELEY, CA-

I finally bought a new computer.

The old one was giving me problems.

At any possible moment, and with increasing frequency, it would freeze and shut down for no apparent reason.

The Blue Screen of Death would pop up along with a ‘fatal error’ message.

Then the computer would refuse to reboot until it could rest for a few hours.

I patched and repaired and upgraded the six-year old computer as best as I could, but I had to face the fact that it was becoming obsolete.

It was time to go shopping for a new one. (more…)

BERKELEY, CA-

I work in San Francisco across the street from a furniture shop called Design Within Reach.

The shop sells modern furniture.

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BERKELEY, CA-

I recently visited my friend, Jim, whom I hadn’t seen in nearly a year. 

We were sitting in his living room with his family, chatting about what we’d all been doing lately when he mentioned that his nine year-old daughter had joined a Camp Fire USA troop.

“Are you really a Camp Fire Girl?” I asked Jim’s daughter, but she must have heard this as, “Would you like a ride in the back of my van, little girl?” because she buried her face deep in her mother’s armpit and refused to come out.

Jim’s wife prodded their daughter to answer me. 
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