When it’s time to bid farewell to a constant companion

We all give our pets names and they become part of the family. When your dog Groombo or your cat Ally passes on, it’s a terribly sad occasion. Especially when you hold them in your arms while the vet gives the final jab that takes them out of their pain-filled world and puts them to sleep forever. We’ve all been there.

A streetfighter is born

Moving on from flesh and blood, many of us also have names for other important companions. Many years ago I had an old Opel Kadett that became such a regular at my local panel beater and garage that the owner even gave it a nickname. One day when I went to collect my car he said, “Your little streetfighter is ready for the next round.” The name stuck.

Streetfighter was always in the panel beater shop for minor bumps, scratches, new tail-light, new bumper, and other little repairs due to pavements being in the middle of the road, trees, cats, dogs, witches on broomsticks, low-flying pigs, and pink elephants jumping out into the middle of the road at some unearthly time of the night. What were they doing out at that time anyway? Other cars parking him in and preventing him from leaving the club or being in his regular parking spot when he arrived also annoyed Streetfighter. I miss him when I fondly recall some of the places we went to and some hairy adventures we had.

Music, movies, and all that YouTube jazz

My trusty laptop, Ace (short for Acer), purchased brand spanking new out of the box in 2013, and top of the range in his category at the time is fast reaching the end of the line. My constant companion accompanied me to Thailand and Vietnam where he occupied pride of place on many a classroom desk and enabled me to present hundreds of PowerPoint lessons to rowdy Asian learners.

Through YouTube, Ace opened up the world of music to me and I spent many hours getting to see my favorite songs being performed live for the first time as I prepared lessons at night in my lonely hotel room or whatever accommodation I was in at the time. That’s where I met Leonard Cohen, Kris Kristofferson, The Eagles, Bob Seger, Willie Nelson, The Highwaymen, and many others for the first time. Before, I had never the need nor the desire to watch anything on YouTube.

I also began watching movies on Ace, and in Southeast Asia countries where English channels on TV are limited, this was no small deal, especially in the cheap hotels or humble abodes I stayed in. Especially if it was in a rural village and you are the only native English speaker in town. It also opened up to me the fascinating world of online opportunities which to this day I continue to explore.

Diagnosis: brainwashed and brain-damaged

In a place called Buon Ma Thuot in the Central Highlands of Vietnam Ace had a breakdown and I had to send him in for a check-up. I could not carry on without him. The city is known as the coffee capital in the region and was also the scene of a decisive battle in 1975 during the Vietnam War.

Worse was to come. One day on his arrival back after his check-up, to my horror, I discovered he had been brainwashed. They had messed with his brain and he remembered nothing. Ace did not know what or where he was, his time zone was out of kilter and all his stored information had been erased. His library with months of lessons, files, folders notes, and other vital information had not been backed up when they operated on him. The brain and memory were gone forever and they could not be brought back again. Ever! It was a low, low point in my life and I handled it worse than Ace.

Lost in translation

Working together patiently with Ace, I finally managed to recover some of his data and slowly restocked his brain with new information. To an extent he recovered. But the operation had taken its toll on him and me. It took longer for me to recover. In a strange land, much is lost in translation when it comes to basic tasks like ordering food, having a haircut, buying data for your phone, and having your laptop repaired or serviced among many other actions we take for granted when everyone speaks the same language.

Online teaching, Zoom, crypto platforms, freelance writing platforms Kindle …, the list is numerous and continues to grow. The internet is a wondrous world, and our devices are the enablers to make use of it and communicate. Our jobs often depend on them. Losing, being hacked, or irreparably damaging your laptop or phone today is probably worse than losing your credit card or other plastic cards we carry in our wallets. At least those can be stopped or canceled, but think of all the confidential information on our devices, banking details, passwords, codes…. In my opinion, the consequences would be a lot worse and in my case, there would go the means of my livelihood. Scary!

End of the line

Over the years Ace has survived numerous knocks on our travels, a little bump here, a little bump there, even if protected in a laptop bag or backpack the odd spilled drink, a bit of water, coffee, or cold drink… . This has all taken its toll and finally, one of the hinges has gone, which means Ace cannot be closed. The screen has cracked after trying to force-close it when I needed to take Ace along with me.

As such my old trusty companion cannot travel anymore and has also slowed down but is still ticking along after he underwent a “heart transplant” about two years ago when he had his drive replaced with a second-hand one. Ace has a big heart and deserves a medal for long and loyal service. But the writing has been on the wall for some time now. Nine years is a good innings, but the relationship is over. It’s almost time to let go.

As soon as I can afford to replace him.

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