He was part of the furniture…

I write this post today from unfamiliar surroundings. My computer is on the opposite side of the room to usual, which in itself is a little unsettling. It’s also on the dining table. A plain, flat table which makes it seems like it’s part of a trendy open-plan office. Except it’s not, it’s in the dining room.

The computer never really sat on the world’s most elaborate piece of furniture. I mean, it was shiny and black – something which was quite trendy and popular in the nineties. It had drawers and a little slidy-out shelf for the keyboard which had always come out too far and started to lean downwards (something it had done since the day it was put together). I remember the eagerness with which it was built, from it’s self-assembly pack in my bedroom when I was 14. It’s travelled with me to Birmingham, and then on to Cardiff in transit vans and cars.

Today, however, it died. It had been looking weak and tired for a while now, a little unsteady on its legs. Whilst moving it back into place after the decorator had gone, one end fell away and it went crashing to the ground and splintered into a collection of black wood and screws.

It seemed so familiar, and now it is gone.

Our computer desk, with sliding shelf and two drawers: 1993-2006.