I left my backpack in a bar last night and my computer was inside. I didn’t even notice the missing weight from my shoulders until I was close to home. Then my mind stopped me like I walked through a door that turned out to be a window. Since I need to work and write today, I’m using my wife’s computer. Today’s word of the day is Reset.
Starting from scratch always reminds me of what’s actually important. I spent my childhood doing tech support for neighborhood families, a gig that taught me the PC reset ritual: Raze and reinstall the operating system. Explain what “malware” is to my friend’s dad while a progress bar crawls. Hear the Windows chime. Rip out the bloatware one by one. Sprout new software. Press “Next” a lot. “Yes, I installed MS Excel.” Do it again for another family when they download another vicious toolbar. I never demanded a fee for my services, but I should have.
Setting up this Mac today is infinitely easier:
And as I considered my next step, I decided to stop. I have enough in place to work and write today.
The amateur IT mechanic from my youth will grow into someone who craves satisfaction by doing. His definition of work is collecting tools and optimizing process. He will take joy in ripping weeds, planting seeds, testing fertilizer, and the rest of the gardening of modern life.
But reset is a verb and a noun. Because I am more wise and more tired (and as you might have guessed, somewhat hungover), today I will derive satisfaction from being. I am reset. Let’s noun and not verb. I have enough in place to work and write today.