I realized today that part of the reason I've been so cranky is that the death of my laptop has caused my routine to change.

I used to go to our bedroom around midnight, surround myself with pillows, and post my entries, write my thoughts, whatever, from the cushiony comfort of my bed. The dogs would rest their heads on my outstretched feet, or just curl up nearby, and, with Fuzzy just a room away, I'd have my alone time.

Without the laptop, I don't have that option. (I mean, my Vaio slimtop is small, but not quite small enough to cuddle with.) I feel like an addict who's gone cold turkey off whatever her addiction was. Well, without the leg shakes.

One month, and we'll be done with house stuff, and hopefully, I'll be replacing my laptop.

This morning at Starbucks I was in line behind a pair of medical office personnel who'd obviously never been to Starbucks before. They'd been given the task of fetching drinks for half of Campbell, it seems, or at least for their entire collection of coworkers.

This is not the problem.

The problem is that rather than giving the baristas the entire list of drinks, and then having her itemize the receipt, they ordered one drink, then paid for it, then ordered the next drink, and paid for it, and continued this process until twenty drinks had been purchased.

Then, they had to be told which of the drinks being passed over the bar were, in fact, theirs.

By the time my turn came, I was ready to slug them.

It was justifiable, don't you think?