I do Windows. I don't do Mondays.

Ten years ago we (my husband and I) were considered to be somewhat techno-geeks. I, the software guru and he the one to do the physical installs and upgrades. It was hard to keep up with all the advances in the computer market, but we did our best and rarely had a computer long enough to pay off the 12-month-no-interest payroll loans that his employer provided as an incentive to have employees educate themselves in the high tech world.

We had pirated versions of most software and every available version of Windows. I knew DOS, I learned HTML, I could format a computer in my sleep. I loved learning and I spent many a day and night acquiring a free education just by researching online (with dial-up and the screamin' fast 56k modem) and trial-and-error messin' around with stuff. My guru friend Greg used to harass me because I knew enough that I wasn't afraid to mess around with stuff but didn't know enough to fix every mess I got into.

I remember thinking I would never be able to fill the massive 1.2GB hard drive on the computer I purchased in 1997. That sucker had 64MB of RAM ... it was a screamin' machine, the envy of all. But I knew it would be outdated before I got it home from the store and I couldn't live without a new upgrade within a year.

At that time I could never have imagined owning a computer for 6 years. But January 2010 this trusty little XP machine on my desk will celebrate it's 6th birthday. Unthinkable. The monitor is going and it's slowing down and becoming frustrating these last couple of months. Probably a good formatting and dust blowing would fix 'er up like new. Part of the reason I haven't replaced it before now is that Window's Vista doesn't particularly impress me. But I've been a bit intrigued by the new Windows7 that has recently hit the shelves. So, suddenly this machine just doesn't cut it anymore.

After hanging out at the Dell.ca site for a few weeks, I finally took the plunge and ordered up a new XPS9000 last week. I think the final push I needed was when they advertised a 19" Ultrasharp monitor that wasn't widescreen. It's nearly impossible to find non-widescreen monitors anymore.  And while I was at it, I figured what the heck, lets through in a Canon Rebel SLR camera with zoom lens.

After my order was confirmed I was informed that the computer would not ship until the first week in January. I was okay with that. The camera would ship on Dec 18 - yay! It will be here before Christmas.

Today, being December 18, I checked my order status when I got home from work to verify that it was on it's way. NOT! For some reason all my orders- computer, monitor and camera have been cancelled.

You can rest assured that you did not want to be Rajinder or Nirmal who are sitting in India answering off-hour phone calls from customers in Canada who have been told they have to call this 1-800 number in three days, on Monday, to find out what's up with their computer order.

"Breathe, just breathe," I tell myself. "It's not a big deal, you've had the computer for SIX YEARS ... three more days won't hurt."

So yeah, I await Monday at 4am (7 eastern) to find out if I have actually bought a new computer and camera or not.