I have holes in this one.
I use Saran wrap usually which holds up longer, but I haven’t been able to get it in a long time. So I’ve been using this knock off brand by Great Value that I can get at Walmart. It’s much thinner and will only last for about 5,000 words before it develops little holes. It also becomes opaque so I can’t see the gray letters on my keys, yes my secret is out I am a visual typer.
I have tried and tried to touch type, finally I decided I am either going to produce something or I’m going to fret about doing it wrong so I decided to produce instead of fret.
Anyway, the plastic wrap protects my keyboard because I have the habit of eating and drinking at my computer terminal.
One day, I needed a break I was hungry and hadn’t eaten all day trying to get a manuscript finished, so I had my supper while I was proof reading the last several pages, and making changes as needed, well in the process I spilled the gravy on the keyboard. I flipped it immediately but it wasn’t enough, it quit working there was no way to clean it without taking it apart, and I didn’t have the skill. So I knew I would have to go buy a new one. The reality of that was that I didn’t get to finish my manuscript that night, and I should have just stopped and eaten dinner. But what’s done is done.
Well $65.00 and a day later I am able to get back to work on my manuscript. But this time I was not taking any chances. I was going to get a keyboard cover. I don’t know if I was just looking in the wrong places or not asking the right questions on google or what; but a suitable cover at the right price was not showing up in my results.
So I had to do a little thinking, I thought of a vinyl cover, I had some left from another project. When I went to put it on the keyboard though it was too thick and it billowed over the keys making it slow going for typing, I’m not fast but this was way worse, it was also inaccurate, hitting more keys than intended.
I thought for a moment… what could I use, that had the same clarity and durability but was thinner and would conform to the keys; there were a lot of things that went through my mind that look like static now as I look back on it. But finally I thought of Saran wrap. I wasn’t sure it would hold up, but they do wrap boats in it, and use it for other protective applications, so I thought it couldn’t hurt, and it’s cheap enough that if it did wear out I could replace it quickly and cheaply. I was so proud of myself.
Well now I can’t get Saran wrap. I haven’t been able to in several months, probably due to the pandemic crisis. But I have to change this cover often, every 3 to 5 thousand words, hardly ever will it last beyond that. The other problem with this crystal clear wrap is that it doesn’t stay crystal clear, it turns white as it develops the wear marks from using it, and so it shades out the letters or just part of the letter on the key. To make matters worse there is very little contrast between the key and the letter printed on it as the keys are a very light gray and the letters are a medium gray, already a struggle to see.
So I am working with a holey, frosted keyboard cover that makes it hard for me to see the letters on the keys. When I can’t see the keys it results in the common typos, for me anyway, of typing the letter on either side of the one I actually want.
I have pictures and I will add them when I figure our how to get them from my phone to my computer.
