StopDrop&Blog HP entry

This is entry requirement #4 for StopDropandBlog.com's HP Magic Giveaway! Go here to enter yourself!
You have another chance to win at Living In Theory! This entry is pulling double duty for both sites since I can't see the point of posting the same info twice :)

One of the laptops that I'd receive would go to a great guy in Australia. His computer (6 years old) broke 7 months ago and since he cannot afford to even buy a $300 refurbished computer (he lives with/takes care of his elderly ailing mother), he has since lost touch with many of his best friends- and he worries about them constantly. He's the kind of person that stays up all night if a friend needs a shoulder to (virtually) cry on- and I should know, because I've taken advantage of him that way plenty of times. The poor fella. He just truly cares about people, and, in return, so many people care about him. Having a computer will allow him peace of mind and enable him to get back in-touch with some of the people that mean the most to him.

I would give the touch-computer and printer to my mom. She is the owner of a (very) small business, and her business is really struggling right now. Having the up-to-date technology would really make a world of difference in how she operates & manages her inventory (books). Her computer is pretty out-dated; the tower's size alone is a hindrance but when you add in the bulky monitor plus her 'mom-clutter' it gets a little crazy to try to type up book descriptions. Also, it's very very slow. I scan it weekly for her for spy/adware and viruses, but it still struggles and hesitates to open up new pages/etc.

Besides the business reason, I really want to surprise her with the new computer because she's sacrificed a lot to raise (and home school) me and my younger siblings. This prize package alone is worth more than she made most years (including this one) to support our family of 5, and yet if one of her kids ever needed anything she'd move Heaven and Earth to get it for them. I'd really like a chance to see the look on her face when she opens up a brand-new computer (assuming she doesn't faint!).

I would give my sister the mini. She is in her first year of college. She commutes an hour away 2 days a week currently, and that amount is about to be raised to 5 days a week next semester. She has worked very hard, and has just been nominated Editor of her College's newspaper. In addition to taking 12 credits now (18 next semester) she works 4 days a week at Walmart as a People Greeter (she's the happiest people greeter they have). We're all very proud of her, and I know her life would be a lot easier if she could take the mini with her instead of having to schedule in time to run across campus to use the school's computer labs between classes.

I would use one of the laptops myself when I graduate from Grad school with my Secondary Ed and Special Ed teaching certificates. I plan to teach in a Pittsburgh public middle school- I love the age that middle schoolers are at and I feel like I would do the most good teaching in an urban environment (and I love Pittsburgh- the atmosphere, the people, the passion!).