20 Years, No Change
The doors opened, slightly screeching. I entered the computer shop in my hometown in Eastern Slovakia.
“Good morning.”
“Morning,” sounded reply somewhere from the back.
The year was 1995, and right behind the door was a shelf with my dream computer, Commodore Amiga 1200.
The price tag was above my budget. But money couldn’t change the wish to be a computer scientist and start the journey with that machine.
“Would you like to know more about it?” asked the seller, pointing to Amiga.
“Sure. What is it capable of?”
Indeed, I knew every little detail about the machine, but I let him explain everything again, just to talk with someone about it.
Three years later, I started to study at the university. I needed a PC for my software engineering courses. So I bought it, but the nostalgic memory of my first dream computer settled deep.
It’s interesting how we develop memories and associate them with the vision about ourselves, with positive, happy feelings.
Since then, from time to time, I bought an old magazine on eBay about Amiga computers.
A few years ago, in the summer of 2015, Amiga saved my day.
It was a busy Wednesday in the office. A day full of “this should have been done yesterday!”.
“What happened?” asked my wife when I entered the door of our house in Hitchin, UK.
“It was just too much today,” I replied mid-flight to our sofa.
For a few seconds, I thought about how to get this evening back to the centerline.
My finger started to scroll the phone screen, and there it was — Amiga 1200 for sale. Good working condition, original packaging. I called the seller and went to pick it up that same evening to the nearby Cambridge.
It took 20 years, but I got my dream machine. The memories and dreams associated with it are still with me. Though it is most of the time in the storage room, I’m happy to switch it on from time to time and submerge into those positive, happy feelings.
What is your nostalgy trigger?
-Slavo
