A few days ago—Monday, November 21st, 2011—my MacBook Pro refused to turn on.
On Tuesday I took it to the only Apple-licensed repair store in Savannah. (The nearest Apple store is Charleston, SC.) The guy have me the news: the hard drive was alive and its contents were safe but the machine itself was dead. I left it for the day, for my files to be exported to an external hard drive.
After not receiving a call to pick it up, I took the initiative and called them, asking when I could stop by. They told me my external hard drive (with all the precious contents) had been given to another customer by accident and they'd left—not to return until Friday, November 25th. Clearly the cost of services provided was waived and I've walked away with all my working files, music, photos, etc. on my external hard drive...still computerless.
My MacBook Pro, "Ol' Silver Keys", has been with me from the start, since I before knew what "Adobe" or the "Creative Suite" was.
RIP 2008-2011
Never Forget
Now its time to start saving up. Donations, anyone?