My Unhappy Apples

Yes, I have been a fan of apple for a very long time, always bragging about their durability and other defining qualities. I always explained that people have to invest in their equipment, and that apples generally give back much more than you put in.
True, they are on the higher end of the price range in some instances, but the experience they give is something that can be hard to put a price on or find anywhere else... And any machine I can poor a beer into and take to work the next day is alright in my book...

But lately... And perhaps it is just fate getting in line to slap me down, lately I have not been having a good time...

There was the issue with the discrepant hard drive information.... and that was mildly troubling, and perplexing, if nothing else...
I should have seen the signs.... And of course with my second machine, there was the unforseen death of sound and forced my new found appreciation for silence... I didn't mind that either... I am flexible.... And I didn't mind that each time I closed the lid on my laptop a ominous light would flash and an eerie chime would follow, signifying that my machine had restarted on it's own, defying logic by accomplishing this feat in sleep mode, with no input from me...

I didn't mind any of that at all... I learned to deal with it, and wear a smile as my files refused to open one after the other... I had my hunches as to the culprit and continued to trudge on....

I could handle all of that and so much more as long as there was some hope... that things would be ok...

And I know I should have seen the signs, and it's all as clear as day... but all those wonderful thoughts won't put my world back now. It's all over, and in a moment it was all gone... All those little worlds, crafted out of clay and paper. All the smiles and hard work, reduced to a spinning ball, followed by blackness that never subsided... Faint chimes, flashes of light, and the taunting feeling that there might be some hope... That I wouldn't have to look into 27 tear stained faces and tell them it was all gone. And sure I could tell them that my whole world was gone too, but that is no consolation to a child. I would lay down all of my work over and over to save the work of a child, the priceless dreams that are now irretreavable, staring back at me in a stream of red letters spelling out the verdict of a corrupted hard drive....

I have one week to get it all finished, and could have done it, aside from the one deciding factor that my hard drive up and died ten minutes into class and I am screwed.