As those who have been around a while may know, my new name, after frying two hard drives (and making an external backup hard drive not work) within five months, is "Dances on Hard Drives".  So you can imagine my chagrin when I went to turn on my computer yesterday morning, the computer that had been functioning perfectly well the night before when I shut it down, and nothing happened.  It wouldn't even TRY to turn on!  Thoughts of terminal embarrassment (never mind lost data) went flitting through my mind. 

I had floor duty, on top of that, and an appointment right after that.  I quickly packed up my computer and headed to Friendly Computers in Georgetown, Texas.  I'd first met the owners at a Schmoozoo gathering (Schmoozoo being a social/business networking group then active in Georgetown), and we hit it off.  They'd not been able (nor had anyone else) to resuscitate my last hard drive, or recover the data, as I had well and truly destroyed that one, but I had confidence, and I needed this fixed in a hurry! 

Dropping it off at 9:00 a.m. on the dot, making my way through the long line of new I-Phone seekers stretching around the corner of the shopping center (ATT being right around the corner), I went on to the office, trying not to worry. 

Mid-afternoon, on my way to my appointment, I called to see how things were going.  The phone was answered by Dana, of Bill & Dana, owners of Friendly Computers in Georgetown.  She kindly took the phone and walked in to see what the status was, and informed me that she could see my computer, its guts were hanging out, and they were working on it.  She promised to call me with the results of the operation.

A bit later, she called with the reassuring words that it had been nothing more than a power supply.  They closed at 6:00 p.m.  Following my appointment, stuck in rush hour traffic going about 5 mph, wanting desperately - nay, NEEDING to get my computer back that evening (can you say addict?), I called.  Dana talked me down and assured me they'd still be there when I arrived, even if I was a bit late.  (This is FRIENDLY computers, after all.)

I actually managed to arrive a few minutes before 6:00.  Friendly conversation, a Hershey's dark chocolate kiss wrapped in purple (their signature color), some friendly conversation, and my computer and I were on my way (with a lovely glass of flowers from Dana's garden that she insisted I take home with me since I'd had such a rough day). 

Friendly Computers is a lifesaver - AND a sanity saver.   Kudoes to them for the work they did on my computer's brain - and mine.  And they have an adorable vehicle. (Yes, they will do onsite work.)