I’m not big on material things. I figure everything can be replaced (not like people). Or at least I used to think so. Until I started the replacement search for my calculator.
I’ve had my calculator for 20 years (I’ve had my hubby/boyfriend 15 years) and well, I’m quite attached to it.
Okay, okay, I confess. I call my calculator Tex (his formal name is the Texas Instruments TI – 35 SLR). He is a hard case (which is why I haven’t destroyed him yet), solar (no need to replace batteries) and has big buttons. In other words, perfect.
So I figured that I’d better look for Tex II just in case (‘cause I’ll cry when Tex goes to that big desk drawer in the sky). I looked on eBay. No go. I did a Google search. None for sale. However, I did find quite a few people looking for replacement Tex’s also. And other calculators.
Hhhmmm… I thought. Turns out, I’m not that strange, emotionally bonding with my calculator. I talked to a buddy and she had fond things to say about her calculator also. She’s had her calculator even longer.
‘Course many of us are going online to serve our calculator needs (Bootstrapper just send me a great list of 100 Financial Calculators Every Entrepreneur Needs) and some are even using their phones/blackberries for portability.
But me… I’ll be using Tex as long as I can.
Comments (2)
Awww...now I miss my calculator! I think it's somewhere in my parents house, but I don't know where. At work, I have to use this cheap one which would be ok except the buttons stick. I sit there and think how wonderful my other one was...
Posted by Mrs. Micah | October 28, 2007 9:13 AM
Posted on October 28, 2007 09:13
I collect calcualtors - I used to think I was weird, until I found out how many others do as well - There are groups for calc. collectors even!
I got into it because my first calculator (a birthday present from some much-missed Grandparents) stopped working. Took me months and a lot of money, but I eventually got a replacement "Memory Master M" from eBay (UK). I think a lot of collectors start through nostalgia, either that, or finally being able to afford the calculator they wanted as a kid, but could never possibly afford!
You could set an e-mail reminder from your favourite auction house to let you know when one is listed - That's what I had to do, but you might find you end up paying more for it than you did for the original one! Fortunately TI calc's are fairly common, so you have more chance of getting a replacement one for a good price.
Good luck and you never know, you might even become a closet calc collector...!
Posted by TK_M | October 29, 2007 12:46 PM
Posted on October 29, 2007 12:46