6.15.25 Baby Got Mac: A Love Letter to My MacBook Pro
I want to talk about my MacBook Pro.
Yes, this very one I'm looking at right now. It’s a laptop computer. You probably have something similar—a Mac, a PC, maybe even something fancier or newer. But I got this one in 2018, and let me tell you, we’ve been through it together.
I purchased it when I was writing an episode of a Wondery podcast about Muhammad Ali. I was knee-deep in research, overwhelmed with information, and trying to piece together his incredible story. One morning, in the midst of that hustle, I was distracted, rushing... and I spilled coffee all over my previous laptop. I was able to get my data off it but the machine itself was toast.
I had to rent a temporary laptop to keep writing my Ali script, but thankfully everything was on Google Docs and my work was salvageable. Still, I needed a new computer—immediately. I walked into Melrose Mac, already anxious about the money I didn’t really have, and the laptops were way more expensive than I thought they would be. They had gone way up since I last bought a Mac. The sales guy explains that the higher price is because the made big improvements. “Oh, the processors are all different now! So much faster, better, longer-lasting...” I’m thinking, Yeah, right.
But I didn’t have a choice. I had to buy one. And it wasn’t cheap.
I remember thinking, This better last a really, really long time.
And guess what? It has.
I started using that new MacBook Pro... and kept using it. And using it. And using it. I developed You Don’t Know My Life! on that machine. Then the pandemic hit, and suddenly I was hosting virtual games every night, recording and editing podcasts in GarageBand, writing for Imagine Life, Even the Rich—everything happened on that computer.
It became my workhorse. My rock. My Beyoncé, in terms of work ethic.
And that’s not even counting the porn. You guys. The amount of porn this thing has powered through... and it’s never judged me.
In 2020, I started doing a nightly gratitude list—something I picked up after taking the Yale class The Science of Well-Being with Dr. Laurie Santos. One of the suggested practices was to list three to five things you’re grateful for every day. I gave it a try…and I’ve kept doing it as I’ve discussed previously on the Happy & Gay podcast.
And on those days when nothing particularly big happened—no amazing wins, no memorable moments—I’d look over at my MacBook Pro and think, You. You’ve never let me down. So onto the gratitude list it went.
In the five years since, that MacBook Pro has continued to deliver, day after day, project after project…and I still put it on my Gratitude list from time to time.
And now, I think that when the day comes that it finally gives up the ghost, I’ll be okay. Not because I won’t be bummed out but because I’ve already spent all these years appreciating it.
A few weeks ago, it glitched while I was editing a podcast. Just froze and acted weird—like the old Macs used to do all the time, but this one rarely does. I restarted it. Closed everything. Tried all the tricks. Still glitched. And I thought, Oh no. This might be it.
But I didn’t panic. I wasn’t devastated. Because I’d already said “thank you” over and over again. I’d already loved it well.
And then… it fixed itself. Like a champ. Like that one time Beyonce fell down on stage and bounced right back up like there was a mini-trampoline under her.
Needless to say, the glitch and recovery made that night’s gratitude list in a big way.
This computer has been through everything with me: countless projects, endless emails, hundreds of podcasts, Zoom games, edits, rewrites, and yes—some adult entertainment. The letters are literally worn off the keyboard. And it’s still going.
And I really believe that the practice of acknowledging it all along the way is going to make its eventual departure feel less like a disaster and more like a fond farewell.
So when that day comes, whether it’s tomorrow or in five more years, I’ll be able to say: Wow. We had a great run. Seven years of non-stop hustle.
But until then, this post, this podcast, and this moment are for you, MacBook Pro.
You are the wind beneath my fingers.
