Colin’s Computer Conundrum
Donation protected
At the very end of six weeks of travel for work and performances, I had my backpack and laptop stolen at the Rome Termini train station just as I was about to head home.
I decided to skip my flight home to Berlin to try and look for it for a few hours but the Italian police were of little help, and after chasing the “find my” signal on my phone, I ended up sitting in front of two residential buildings for several hours, talking to locals who all agreed how common my situation was, and how even though I was close to the computer physically, I would not get it.
Dejected and gutted, I bought a replacement ticket back to Berlin and am humbled to ask for the help I need. I have a hard time asking for help because I know there are always people who need it more than I do, but I sadly cannot afford a new computer on top of everything else at the moment. I haven’t done a fundraiser like this since 2012.
My laptop was a 2019 MacBook Pro I had bought refurbished over the pandemic, and my hard drives (which luckily are at least backed up since March) as well as rolls of film and post cards written to friends were lost, along with a journal, headphones, and other invaluable personal objects.
My laptop is my instrument, my office, my music and video editor, how I facilitate and organize, my library, how I stay in touch with loved ones; truly a synergetic appendage if there ever was one.
While this isn’t life or death, I cannot work without a laptop and don’t have the funds to replace it at this point in time. If you can donate any amount or share this with friends, I will be very grateful and promise to make art and music with it every day.
I decided to skip my flight home to Berlin to try and look for it for a few hours but the Italian police were of little help, and after chasing the “find my” signal on my phone, I ended up sitting in front of two residential buildings for several hours, talking to locals who all agreed how common my situation was, and how even though I was close to the computer physically, I would not get it.
Dejected and gutted, I bought a replacement ticket back to Berlin and am humbled to ask for the help I need. I have a hard time asking for help because I know there are always people who need it more than I do, but I sadly cannot afford a new computer on top of everything else at the moment. I haven’t done a fundraiser like this since 2012.
My laptop was a 2019 MacBook Pro I had bought refurbished over the pandemic, and my hard drives (which luckily are at least backed up since March) as well as rolls of film and post cards written to friends were lost, along with a journal, headphones, and other invaluable personal objects.
My laptop is my instrument, my office, my music and video editor, how I facilitate and organize, my library, how I stay in touch with loved ones; truly a synergetic appendage if there ever was one.
While this isn’t life or death, I cannot work without a laptop and don’t have the funds to replace it at this point in time. If you can donate any amount or share this with friends, I will be very grateful and promise to make art and music with it every day.
Organizer
Colin Self
Organizer
Berlin, Berlin