I restored a desktop PC! So now I own a desktop PC.
The most amazing thing: I put in a HDD from my old laptop, which had Debian on it. It boots and seems to run without any problems despite the hardware being completely different.
What a coincidence, I'm about to get my new computer this week (sometime between Tuesday and Thursday), and after I have everything setup, I hope I'll be able to dual-boot my old OS (32-bit Vista) with my new OS (64-bit Win-10) without any hiccups; if at least to adapt my old machine to the present era. Otherwise, also to be able operate anything that might lose compatibility across OSs.
Since I'm so used to slugging along, and watching chunks of stuff load up (since my old machine is 10 years old and all), it's gonna be a surreal experience having relatively non-existent loading times. I'm not used to things working (well), or good things happening to me. I'm gonna need some ideas to help re-adjust to this new age of awesome, and make good use of my new hardware. I'm already thinking up what I can do and where I can apply some of it; like actually having the rendering power for Blender and Terragen and such, and making awesome things with it and so on. I might be frequenting the Random Things Drawn/Shopped/etc. thread with crap I make in my free time, now I have some serious power behind my creativity now/again (Nvidia GTX 980Ti).
Probably the biggest boon ought to be in my freelancing career, since NOW I can finally do some jobs that required more power to get done (and in turn, also draw a greater income as well), or at least, no longer risk burning out my machine and all. Furthermore, since processing speeds will be magnitudes faster and such (from Core 2 Duo to an i7 Quad Core... I think that speaks for itself there.
), I believe my workloads can also increase by a fair magnitude or so, hopefully rendering my need for a min. wage job no longer necessary (besides to pay rent, if my freelancing isn't pulling it's weight enough). If anything, I can at least request less work days to work, so I can focus on the awesome more, and hopefully draw in more profit in the long-run; eventually phasing my old job out, and returning to my intended course of life: Doing work on my terms and within my standards, with my consent of adjusting those terms via contracts. Basically, to have more full-control over my life again will be a blessing in itself to have again. In case it seems like my personality has gone unrecognizable (to a degree) from what everyone's used to; I'm just happy again. My face will have to get used to smiling again; it's not used to it.
EDIT:
Just realized, anything that was previously incompatible with my present machine, like Steam broadcasting and such, will now be compatible. So I might broadcast some of my gaming again during some of my free time too. I think this will make a good turning point for how I live.
EDIT EDIT:
Having this sucker future-proofed for a good while (I made sure to be able to invest in going all-out with this build, and not break my bank in the process too), and VR-ready while at it, it was definitely worth the extra budget invested in it. The extra work I have to put in to make up the difference hopefully shouldn't be too much. Plus, I'd rather make up that difference via freelancing, rather than washing dishes for another month (more like a week or so, actually). If not for income reasons (freelancing is way faster income-wise), then at least for morale reasons. I'd rather work in the comfort of my home, than in a(nother) restaurant. All that remains is updating my software, and investing in some classes online to refresh what I know, and learn some new things and tricks, and expand my horizons more so I can actually have things going to plan as I planned it, and not how others plan it. Basically, I want to be able to pick and choose how I make my income, than to be fixed in a (or a few min. wage) job(s) where my options are severely limited, and I don't have any real breathing room (creatively or otherwise (recreationally)). Provided everything goes to plan, I'm essentially gonna be like a new person after this week. I look forward to it so much.