Steve, I Think We Need To Take a Break

Don't worry, it's just a break. I'm sure that we'll get back together one day. I'm just not certain of when or under what conditions.
However, I'll be honest because thats the least you deserve. While we're on a break I'm seriously considering nailing the cheap copy girl like Ross did on Friends.... and by "nailing the cheap copy girl" I mean buying an affordable PC Notebook.

We were doing so well and going so strong for such a long time, but in the past six months things seem to have just fallen apart.

First, there was the iBook and kPod situation. That was a rough patch to weather through.

Then there was the PowerBook incident. I'd like to pretend that that whole situation never happened.

Now, I'm afraid to say that we've reached the third strike.

I started doing more photography this past year, did a wedding, a few portrait sessions, and had TWO photography shows (granted, they were at a coffee shop and not a gallery or a Second Saturday event, but they still count).

With spring rapidly approaching, I decided that I need to pursue the photography business more aggressively. This is the perfect time to start appealing to the brides to be and high school seniors. In order to do this, I'm going to need a system that has Photoshop on it. My old iMac desktop (5 years old as of last month) is currently running on Mac OS X Version 10.3.9. In order to be able to install Photoshop it needs to be running on Mac OS X 10.5 or higher. Simple enough of a dilemma to remedy, right? I go to Fairfield, borrow my aunts OS X 10.5 installation discs and bring it home.

I spent almost an entire weekend trying various attempts to update the OS on this blasted machine. I tried restarting the machine while holding Command+S and then entering different commands to prompt the system to check and repair all folders and drives (all of this while on the phone with my aunt who is a whiz at all things Mac and plans on becoming an Apple Certified Tech in her retirement). Everything checked out fine. I bought a laser lens cleaner and ran that through a few times as well in the hopes that it was just a dirty lens issue. That didn't help either.

The only thing we can figure at this point is that the entire disc drive needs to be replaced. If you look at my recent history with Apple products you can understand why I'm hesitant to throw money into a 5+ year old machine which I'm afraid will die on me any minute. But, without looking into that, theres no way I can upgrade the OS which means no Photoshop, which means to photography jobs.

I would LOVE nothing more than to be able to drive to the mall, go into the Apple Store, and walk out with a new MacBookPro. Unfortunately, recent vet bills have depleted my finances. MacBookPros start at $1,999.00. I went online and built the MacBookPro of my dreams:
17" Anti-Glare display
2.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
320 GB Serial ATA @ 7200 Hard Drive
pre-installed Aperture 2 software
AppleCare Protection Plan (seriously, with my recent history with Apple products, I'm thinking it might be worth it)
Want to guess what the total comes to???
$3,597.00 before tax and/or shipping & handling.

I can get a Gateway notebook for around $900. True, its not comparable to the MacBookPro of my dreams, but its still over $1,000 cheaper than the cheapest MacBookPro which starts at $1,999.
Do I want a PC? Not necessarily. I would like to maintain my loyalties to Apple. I just can't afford to at this time.
My hope is that I get the PC notebook and put Photoshop on it so that I can start working the photography biz and line up some weddings, rake in the cash, and be able to get the MacBookPro of my dreams in the future.
I may get a PC only to have it underline and strengthen my love for Apple, or it may work like a dream and pull me away from Apple forever. Only time will tell.