These past two weeks have been strange. I’ve been sleeping in and kind of just moping about adjusting to the abundance of time. I thought I had a job lined up. I went through three stages of interviews with them, even completed a practice analysis, and I was shot down and told they found a superior match. Heck, they probably did find someone better, but it still sucks nonetheless.

I filed for unemployment and I seem to have been approved. It won’t be for much, so I still need to find something as soon as possible. At least with the paperwork it gave me something to do.

With nothing to do, I’ve found myself just scrolling through several sites. For better or for worse, I found myself on the Facebook Marketplace. Every so often I hop on there and find some of the most convenient things like 3D printers and Surface tablets. It was on that same page I found something that had been on my bucket of a few years, a Framwork Laptop.

Framework, for those who might know, is a computer manufacturer that creates entirely modular devices. What that means is that every piece of the device is replaceable and repairable. In the case of the one I was looking at, a Framework 16, it offers 6 swappable ports and a swappable GPU. That means I can change what ports are on it like if I want to attached an SD card slot or a HDMI port or a DisplayPort.

Ever since I heard about it and its fairly open community, I’ve been extremely interested in picking one up. The problem has always been the price. These things are expensive! The 16 that I saw with all of its bells and whistles goes for just shine of $3,000 before tax and shipping.

For obvious reasons, this has been well above my price range. That posting on Marketplace, however, was marked for $1,200. Still a good handful of money, but much more reasonable for a new laptop. I’ve mentioned my current main laptop, a 2016 HP, has been hanging on by a thread. The wifi card on it has already gone out, I’m down to only one USB port working, and the battery lasts maybe 2 minutes on idol. It has been relegated to nothing more than the control for my table when we play Pathfinder.

So I felt this might be the best opportunity to replace it. The Surface works great for a little going places computer, but for actual comfort and extended use, it falls a little short and becomes a bit more of a task to use. Plus, for more graphical tasks like web design and following along with tutorials, it’s small screen becomes a bit of an inconvenience.When I was watching the parents’ dogs, I learned that first hand and even picked up a portable external display not long after. I’m hoping this Framework fills that hole I’ve been having.

I still intend to use the Surface. If I’m going somewhere to just to write and I need to pack more lightly, it’ll still be my go to. I’m feeling this computer will help me go even further and give me the flexibility I need to more easily multitask on projects. But honestly, this just gives me another thing to upgrade with #3D printing.