New computer

So all the bits for the new computer arrived. It’s both very exciting and very intimidating- I hate the feeling of not knowing what I’m doing. I ended up spending more money on it than I wanted because I didn’t feel like I knew enough to stand up to Dustin on that, and because he was being so sweet and putting so much time and thought into it, but I wish I could have convinced him to be just a little bit more conscious of the money. He seemed to have the attitude that if a part cost less than 50 bucks it didn’t really count, so I got nickeled and dimed to death on little things- like a DVD RW drive for only 10 bucks more than just a DVD R, or a floppy drive for 8 bucks I didn’t need. He also seemed incapable of giving a true total amount- he says I’m spending X dollars, but that’s not counting the stuff he wants to pick up at Computer Stop here, or the keyboard, or the power cords, or another fan, or cooling gel, or… it makes me want to scream. I know everybody spends a little freer when it isn’t their money, and I know he’s used to spending amounts on computers that I consider irresponsible and insane, and I know he’s used to just HAVING more money, and I know that I should have stood up to him more… but I can’t shake the uneasiness that he seems so irresponsible with money.

In any case, it’s all here, and it’s exciting and intimidating, and watching the whole process was fantastically interesting, and I’m happy Dustin did it because I could never have handled that on my own. There are a thousand and one little screws and clasps and levers, a hundred different connectors that plus in in a thousand different places, teeny tiny writing I couldn’t read and things to fiddle with that my fat fingers couldn’t manage. All in all, I’m glad it’s done and I’m glad I have it. But I’m not nearly as happy about it as Dustin would be about this machine, not nearly as appreciative about things as he wants me to be. It's just a "different value placed on money" thing.