BOX BITS IMMINENT!!!

so, in a recent (semi-tragic, way too dramatic, i'm-better-off-now-thanks) breakup, i lost my computer. this may not be apparent from my posts, but i'm a bit of a computer nerd. and a word nerd, and a music nerd, and a scotch nerd, and a wine nerd... but i digress. anyway, sans box, i've been forced to rely on my father's very old, very slow, very $hitty laptop hand-me-down for my home computing needs. this is such an unpleasant situation that i stay away from the computer a lot, and that makes me sad. :( so i'm building myself a kit from scratch, all the way up to mouse/monitor/keyboard and all the way down to case/motherboard/cpu. i even had to buy a case fan!

anyway, my dad and mom asked me this weekend if i know HOW to build my own computer. and i replied, 'yeeeeeees. well, no, but i know how to get it done.' (and isn't that the true definition of power?) so i went to church with my godsons and left their father in charge of specifying a computer for me. and he did. and it was gewd. so the box bits have been ordered, and they're en route to me...

all that was left was for me to shop for a mouse/keyboard/monitor that suited my needs. so i found a slick keyboard that's backlit, but not too much. the mouse was an easy decision. i'm totally hooked on those trackman marble mice with the scroll-wheel. (you have NO IDEA how hard it is to work without a scroll wheel when you're used to having one!) so.. (well, maybe you do, but i hope you don't. it's bad. never try to go cold-turkey off a scrolling mouse.) all that was left, then, was to buy a monitor. [cue the creepy music... dun-dun-duuuunnnnn]

that was a much bigger deal than i originally anticipated. i thought i'd just get a nice cheap crt monitor, but my inner lust for things shiny, cool, and new won out. i started researching the lcd's and found that most of the really up-to-date hardware review sites (like tom's hardware guide and anandtech but NOT LIKE the bottomfeeders AT CNET) recommended a 19" lcd for game-playing. and the new, fast 19" ones (which are starting to be cheap now) can be had for about the same price as a new CRT in the 21" size. given that you get the same screen real estate from a 21" crt and a 19" lcd, and that a 19" lcd frees up a LOT of room on your desktop, that was an easy call. unfortunately, that was the last easy part. lots and lots of clicks later (no, really, i'm a geek who likes doing product research, and i'm worn out by this particular research venture) i settled on the viewsonic vp191b. unfortunately, it's hard to find in stores. :( luckily, and again, many miles and hours later, i was able to find the next one down the product line, the vx924 on sale at compusa today. so i'm going there directly to buy it! yea! geeky stuff!

and with all that done, i'm ready for my box bits to arrive. so i wait, impatiently... i'm not good at waiting.