Help wanted

A New Year. Thank God for that ! 2007 ended just the way it began - on an annoying note for me as I was on duty for New Year's night in the hospital. What that meant was that, in place of martinis and sizzlers as Udita Goswami ( haw - teeee ) and co celebrated New Year in Pune, I was enjoying my last supper of '07 in my room with a packet of 2pm noodles ( tom yum flavor ..like as if that makes it cool ! ) and a glass of .. ( shudder ) Bournvita. Oh the humiliation ! To make matters infinitely worse, the Tv in the hospital was commandeered by a skinny Saurav Ganguly lookalike who chose to enjoy ( of all the possible viewing options that night ) a Tv stars award function. And while the urge to sprinkle his nuts with honey and release the red ants did warm my heart, in the end good sense ( and the fact that I was out of honey.. I had plenty of red ants ) prevailed and he and his twin jewels celebrated the New Year with Ekta Kapoor.
Me ? I was left reminiscing of old Years gone by.. once upon a time, I was a regular at Mangalore's New year bashes. Now, I'm too far to hear the screams of New Year. How much lower can it get in the coming New years- Wrapping myself in a long scarf and sitting in a rocking chair knitting woollen mittens ? Ogling teenage girls from a darkened room with my binoculars ( oh wait.. That happens every other day.. I mean..uh..what I meant to say was reading to blind kids in orphanages.. Don't know where the 'girls n binocular' bit came from.. )

Anyway, I need help.. No, not psychiatric...
Well, ok, maybe later, but for now I need tech help.. i'm considering buying a laptop at the start of February. I'd appreciate advice regarding what you guys think- which is a good brand, what are the pros and cons of each brand, how good is vista home basic, who should I sleep with to get a discount on laptops ..you know,the usual laptop related queries.. Any advice would be welcome.