I swivel my chair, lean slightly, and reach for the power button. It feels cold and smooth, its slightly concave shape cups my finger tip. I press the button and feel it click, and the computer comes to life. The fans spool right up to top speed, then ramp back down to idle. It sounds like a diesel truck accelerating, its engine climbing RPMs in first gear. Then, the CDROM drive does its thing. Yes I have one. The grunting sounds it makes are antiquated, reminding me of a floppy drive. Floppies are really only marginally more obsolete.

My tower is lit all in blue, with blue plastic accents on the front bezel. Fans on the top and back glow blue, too. When I built the thing about 3 years ago, I decided to cheap out on the case, but to be honest, I’m pretty satisfied with it. Looking through the cheap plastic window doesn’t bring me joy, though. After 3 years worth of tiny scuffs and scratches, it is dull and cloudy. I went to Microcenter the other day and saw several beautiful cases with side panels made out of tempered glass. It would be luxurious, but $100+ is too rich for my blood. Plus, I have been collecting stickers on this case, so it has some sentimental value now. A metallic “no smoking” sticker, a “wall art” decal that says “amazing,” one Apple sticker for each of my iPhones, and many others.