Farewell to my favorite mouse-friend

Woe is me. I have lost a dear, dear hardware-type friend today: my Logitech iFeel Mouse (model M-UN58a).

Oh, it's not as if there haven't been other mice in my life. I've owned a number of the little guys — even taking my personal optical three-button mouse (model M-BD58) to the office before optical mice were all the rage.

But this is different. My iFeel (affectionally dubbed little iFfy), has been with me for a very long time. I have cradled her bright-blue vibrating soul in my right hand for nearly five years now.

She's stayed by my side through two years of college and three years of marriage, moving 12 times in the process (dorm, home, two apartments, home). She's aided in research papers and job hunts. And the warm glow of her red LED has soothed me late into the evening on marathon video game runs.

I remember all those times we'd be browsing online Chinese delivery menus, and she'd buzz a happy little buzz as we passed over the Chicken Chow Mein. Or the times when she'd bounce along to a high-scoring game of online Arkanoid.

Oh my sweet, sweet force-feedback vibrating mouse. I think I may bury you in the back yard with a little sign that says, "Here lies iFfy, model M-UN58a, my comrade and confidant. You were born before your time, before people wanting their right hand to vibrate every .2 seconds."

For now, I am using Paul's extra mouse, a beige little number with no style, no personality. I fear it will be a long time before I am again wooed by a perky mouse who really understands me. Don't try to console me; this is something I must try to work through on my own.