Saturday, August 27, 2011

Which keys have you lost?




So two months of writing and editing that had me chained to my computer are over.

There were entire days I didn't leave my apartment, and since I live in a basement I like emerging occasionally, just to remind myself that the World Above still exists. Well, now I'll get more than enough of that, with clinical placement starting in just over a week's time. But I made a self-imposed deadline so I'm pleased about that.

I also noticed that several of the keys on my keyboard are worn away. The O is a semicircle and the I has vanished completely. A, S and T do not exist from the waist down. Both E and H are reduced to a single lonely angle and L is now |.

I mentioned that to a friend who said her Backspace key was worn away. Mine still looks new. Perhaps I should do more editing.

If you've lost any keys, which are they?

8 comments:

gypsyscarlett said...

Hey, congrats on all your hard work and making your deadline! :)

None of the keys on my keyboard actually stick, but the "B", "G" and and "N" are somewhat faded.

Anonymous said...

Heh. No keys lost, but my caique *insists* on attempting to pry any that he possibly can off my laptop with his beak.

Congratulations on finishing!

DLDzioba said...

I've worn down a indention into my space bar. My laptop keys are a matte finish, I've worn many of the letters smooth and shiny.

Tiffany said...

I also have a burnished space bar. The rest of my keys are still mostly intact, but I think that has to do with the fact that I alternate between two computers.

DeConstruction of the Sekuatean Empire said...

In two years of writing perhaps 250,000 words, I've lost the A and N keys and the W, S, and O keys are on their last clicks!

DeConstruction of the Sekuatean Empire said...

PS--It occurs to me that the letters of the alphabet we use most in English should wear out first, however, because of the QWERTY arrangement, the wear-out timetable is skewed. E and T are the letters most used in English and mine are just fine.

Loren said...

I don't recall ever rubbing off any of the keyboard labels, but I remember living with one key nonfunctional. I accidentally got water into it, but when it dried out, I discovered that the `~ key had stopped working. So I used some rather cumbersome workarounds whenever I needed that key's characters. I didn't want to get a new keyboard because I wanted to make it last as long as possible. When it had some other crankiness, I broke down and replaced it, and I got the `~ key back again.

But congratulations on making your self-imposed deadline.

Marian Perera said...

Tasha - At first I thought it was weird that none of the other keys were so badly worn, because I use Enter and Shift a lot too. But those are longer keys, so my finger doesn't keep hitting their labels.

Wendy - Thanks! Exhausted but have a great sense of accomplishment. Your reply also made me look up what a caique was. :)

DLDzioba - Because you mentioned the space bar, I bent my head to look at mine from an angle in the light.

There's an indentation!

Tiffany - Lucky you, two computers. I keep wanting a laptop, but it'll have to wait until I get a full-time job.

Stephen - Of all my keys, only the Q, Z, X and J show no signs of wear at all.

Loren - Thanks! I didn't get to do anything social over the summer as a result... but I did manage a lot of swagging on the side. :)