Scary - NOT!

I had a close call yesterday. Alex had been on my computer, and when she got up to leave, she knocked a glass of water, mostly on the floor, but some on my stenograph (COMPUTERIZED) machine. I quickly turned it off, unplugged it, and tried to wipe everything down. A few hours later, after everyone was in bed and I thought I'd do some work, I turned it on, only to be greeted by "SR3 SYSTEM TEST FAILED: CODE 04". Help.

I called Shari and she told me to call the place in Seattle that deals with court reporter stuff. She even offered to drop it off in Seattle since she was working there the next day. I've had that machine since I started in '92, so needless to say, I was petrified. They are NOT CHEAP. When Shari's machine stopped working a couple of years ago, it was going to cost so much to fix that she just bought a new, refurbished one instead.

Anyway, yesterday afternoon, Shari called me on her way home to let me know she had dropped it off. We chatted for a bit, then hung up. Oh, it also turns out the guy who does the work lives in Cumberland, which while I'm not sure where that is, I do know it's pretty close to where I live. I had no sooner hung up when he called to say he had fixed it. I asked how much - $65. I was seriously thinking I'd be lucky to get out of this for less then five or $600. He asked if I wanted it cleaned, also, and then we agreed to meet in Enumclaw Thursday to pick it up. I won't even have to go to Seattle. Shari was convinced, when I called her initially to tell her what had happened, that there is a reset button you can stick a pin in to reset it. Maybe there is and that's all it took, I don't know. But I haven't had my machine cleaned since '93, and I know it needed it really badly.

Sometimes, when everything goes so smoothly and easily like that, it feels like things really happen for a reason. There are always times when I run to the store for something that I really don't need, and when I get there, there's a parking spot right in the front right by the door I need. I always feel like, well, I guess it's meant to be.