At 24, I’m still the kind of person who gets genuinely excited about computers.

Today, while I was out with my dad to buy a screwdriver, one casual comment somehow turned into a decision: instead of waiting, I’d get a desktop first.

I’ve wanted a MacBook Pro for a long time, but the current model has already been out for about eight months. Going by Apple’s usual update rhythm, it feels like it’s right around the point where a refresh could happen. And with WWDC coming up before too long, there might be some upgrades announced there too. So no matter how I looked at it, buying one right now just felt like bad timing.

Meanwhile, the desktop at home has already been running for four years. Its hardware is badly outdated, and it shows. My mom even complained that when she plays card games online, her computer is so slow that other players end up leaving before anything really gets going. Once she put it that way, she was fully on board with replacing it.

So I bought a custom-built desktop online. The configuration looks pretty great to me, and the price was surprisingly reasonable. Maybe I’m just not that up to date on the market anymore, but it still felt like a good deal.

When I think back, I’ve been through the process of buying a computer four times.

The first two barely count in my memory. I was too young, and the computer shop was very close to our home, so they just carried the machines over and set them up for us. I never really got to see how the assembly happened.

The third time was around middle school, maybe my first or second year. My parents and I went to the digital plaza in Pingdingshan to buy one. I even remember we treated them to a meal, and that time I stood there and watched the machine being assembled. Later, the fourth time we bought a computer, it happened to be close to the Lunar New Year. The seller was in a hurry to get home, so the quoted price wasn’t high. That one was bought in the city too.

What stands out most clearly is that third build. They gave me a parts list, and by then I understood just enough about computers to feel involved. I actually got to mark off the configuration myself, then someone my mom brought along—someone who knew computers better—looked it over too, and that was how we finalized it.

The one thing that bothered me from that purchase was the speakers. They sold us a fake Edifier set. Even back then I thought something about it seemed off, but I was still young and didn’t dare say anything. After we got home, that fake speaker set kept bothering me for a long time.

This time I didn’t buy speakers at all, and the monitor is just a very ordinary 21.5-inch display, the same size as the one I had before. But picking the parts for a desktop on my own for the first time feels completely different. It brings back that same kind of anticipation I had as a kid. I’m honestly too excited to stay calm.

The timing matters too. I’m going to be at home for the next three months, and now I won’t have to worry about not having a computer to use.

As for the laptop I’ve been using, it’s a Lenovo Y450 that I bought in early January 2010. It’s been with me for more than four years now. A couple of days ago it developed a problem where it would shut itself down after being on for more than half an hour. It turned out to be dust buildup, and after cleaning it today, the issue was solved. It’s still running Windows 7 64-bit.

Last night I peeled off the screen protector. Ever since I first put it on, I’d been curious whether the wear marks I was seeing were on the actual screen or only on the film. Once I removed it, it turned out the scratches were indeed on the protector.

My sister and I already agreed that once the new desktop arrives, I’ll pass the laptop on to her. Funny enough, one of my closest friends has the exact same model. This laptop has been with me for four full years—basically the entire span of my university life, from beginning to end.

This break is going to be a long one, and I’ll probably skip getting a driver’s license for now. So I want to make the most of the time and spend it on things that actually feel worthwhile.