I have a bad habit of always having a drink next to me when I’m on my computer. Be it tea, water, or a big ol’ cuppa Baileys, I love to drink and type. But alas, my good luck ran out while I was writing one of these blog posts and I knocked over a full cup of Baileys over my laptop. Instinctively I grabbed my computer, flipped it over and tried to shake all of the liquid out. I thought that did the trick so like a complete idiot I went back to typing for another 2 hours. Then the “h” key stopped working, then “shift” key. Then the screen went blank. Apparently what I should have done, says my BF, was immediately turn the computer off so it could cool down. Well, now I know. Also, a sugary drink like Baileys is probably the worst drink you could spill on a computer. Duly noted.

The next day I went to the Apple store and I was kind of freaking out. My Macbook Pro is only a year and a half old, and I had no idea how much the damage would cost. The Apple Genius who helped us (who had a fun accent, not sure if it was Australian or South African, it was some weird mix anyway) said he would try replacing the top case to see if that would fix it. Since Apple Care doesn’t cover liquid damage that would end up costing me $250. Ok, not so terrible. But, he said, if that didn’t fix it, he’d have to replace the motherboard, or something that sounds like the motherboard, which would cost an extra $500. So if worse came to worse I would owe $750, in which case I’d just buy a new computer altogether.

So, after being computerless for 3 days (it felt like a year!) I finally got a call to pick up my laptop. After waiting a good 15 min. for the Genius to find my name on his iPad, they finally gave me back my baby. They told me to sign my invoice, and to my amazement it said “Amount Due - $0”. Of course, thinking this was too good to be true, I signed without hesitation and ran out of the store like I just stole something. After taking a second look at my copy of the invoice, they covered the whole thing under my Apple Care. Woohoo!

Now, I’ll be honest, I know this was a super lucky break and I should have had to shell out $250. And as much as that would have sucked, I wasn’t really worried about it. You know why? Because that’s what my emergency fund is for. Listen, I know budgets are lame and I would much rather do something fun with that money instead of putting it in the bank every paycheque, but you gotta be prepared. Sh** like this happens all the time. You just never know when you’ll get in a fender-bender, or your bike gets stolen, or you drop your cell phone in the toilet, or you break a tooth and need some major surgery. Sh** happens, so be ready for it.

One last thing. All of you Apple spies, if you are reading this right now, I’ve already left the country.

-Mo’ Houses out!

Image: Lachlan Hardy/flickr