My Calculator
In ninth grade, as far as I can recall, I decided I wanted a graphing calculator. My mother and I went out and we plunked down the 99 dollars for a TI-83 Plus. It was a good entry level calculator with an instruction manual over an inch thick. I tried reading through it but only made it a few pages before I realized that it could more than I would probably ever understand. I instead began focusing on the things it could do that I could also do, like algebra.
In my science class, I began making very crude animations. Basically I would fill up the screen with 1s and 0s and when you scrolled through them it looked like it was moving. This activity allowed me to miss the soap opera drama that was going on all around me.
My friends at school also had graphing calculators that they used to create rudimentary programs. This made my little animations seem cheap but I didn't care; they were for my entertainment only.
One year at SUM/TAG a friend taught me how to draw using the graphing feature. A skill I promptly forgot. At a similar camp I used my calculator to figure out the necessary equations for a java based version of Settlers of Cattan.
In tenth grade I enrolled in a college algebra course at my local county college. On the first day of this course I received my very first college syllabus. Contained in said syllabus was a note requiring me to get a graphing calculator. I was not worried because I had my trusty TI-83 plus.
I continued using my calculator through out my high school career. My mother became a math tutor and teacher, and she would borrow my calculator when she was teaching. I was fine with this because I knew she would treat it well, and I could get it back whenever I needed it.
When I left for college, I had to take my calculator with me. My mother was somewhat upset by this because she too had grown fond of my wonderful mathematical friend. However I was going to be an engineer and all engineers need a good calculator. My mother recognized this and showed me her understanding by giving me her slide rule that she used in college. I still don't know how to use the slide rule.
In my engineering classes everybody brought their calculators. I'm afraid I must admit I was struck with a pang of jealousy when I saw the calculators of my engineering comrades. They all has T-89s at the least. But I stuck by my old friend and we managed to make it through together.
After my first year, I had learned that engineering would not be my path. My need for my calculator friend could be drastically diminished depending on what major I chose. You loyal readers will know that I ended up in theatre, a field not known for its heavy use of the calculator.
I was too attached to my trusty calcy so I still brought him back with me my second year of college where I expected him to rest in my desk drawer for the majority of his last days.
But all was not lost between my calculator and I for I had a scenery class that required the occasional use of a calculator for drafting and the like. My good friend was waiting patiently of me at the back of my drawer, ready for action when I called. It was just like old times the two of us working together solving the mysteries of the math universe. A perfect team once again.
The next semester he returned to his drawer home, but it was nice while it lasted, and I knew he would be needed again some day.
Our story does not end here, for Jacie took a statistics class this summer and I was more than willing to let her enjoy my old friend as I once did. And I knew he would enjoy getting out for a little while. Jacie came and left my life but my calculator came back, if only to continue living its quiet life in my drawer.
This semester I am enrolled in the principles of lighting class. Lighting involves photometrics and photometrics involve math. on the first day of class, just like that day many moons ago, I saw on the syllabus that we would need a calculator. And just as before, I smiled because I had my trusty TI-83 plus waiting for me. while the rest of the class groaned at the thought of solving for x I rejoiced because I knew m calculator would not let me down.
The fateful day came today and I was prepared. I had placed my calculator in my backpack the night before, a feeling I'm sure it had missed. When we began working today it was like magic. My fingers flew across the keys and I was the first one finished with the worksheet. When checking my answers I found a wrong one, but it was a mistake on my part. My calculator didn't mind though because he knew that in my excitement I had just read the question too quickly and given him faulty data. It has happened to us before and it will happen again. We have an unspoken agreement not to let it get between us. Once we finished, I closed the case and put my calculator back in my backpack where I plan to leave it for just a while because I'll feel better with him near.
There's a part of the story I skipped, because it is painful. When I turned on the calculator today I expected to see that little cursor up in the corner. That single blinking eye letting me know my calculator was ready to work as hard as he could. I did indeed see that cursor when I hit the button to wake up my friend, but before the cursor was some text masquerading as an equation. The words JACIE + KEVIN = LOVE were staring at me, followed by that winking little eye. In this moment i became furious at my calculator. How dare he bring me this reminder of grief? Does he want nothing more than to hurt me? My rage subsided and I realized my anger stemmed from a misunderstanding. My calculator wanted to give me a pleasant surprise. He was just passing on a message that had been given to him to make me happy. How was he supposed to know what had transpired in his slumber? I quickly forgave him and we performed our mathematical magic, but I was saddled with the realization that I could never look at my calculator quite the same way again.
What ever happened to Fay Wray?
Labels: calculator, memory, story
