Video card throws glitch in my life

It's like a teacher without students or a doctor without patients; a writer with no computer is hell, especially when that writer is me.

Last Thursday I was working at my computer when the screen turned yellow and white striped, then completely jumbled. 

I tried to close the window but nothing happened.  I went from being peaceful to a complete wreck in a matter of seconds.  Already that morning the refrigerator door's shelf bar had gone kaput, and everything had crashed to the ground.  A double doozy just didn't seem fair.

After restarting the computer several times and getting the same results (insanity, I know), I called Pete.  He did not have the comforting words I was looking for, so I called a friend.  I told her the situation and all the possibilities...I would loose everything I had worked so hard on for years, we would have to buy a new computer and how could we afford that right now, and so on.  I heard her voice break in that she could not hear me- I was fading in and out.  I walked to Katie's room and stood in front of her window and guess what?  I saw a cardinal!  I knew then everything would be okay, and it was.

Numerous scans revealed no virus, and a visit to the Geek Squad reassured us that nothing appeared to be wrong with the computer (which had a two-year warranty that had expired in May).  Pete spent the weekend working on it, bless his heart.  He programmed my computer back to how it was when we bought it (which took all day), but it did the same thing.  Finally he went back to Best Buy and they said it was probably the video card.  So Pete bought a new one, installed it and ~voila~ my computer is like new again.  But keep your finger's crossed, please.

Lesson learned: BACK-UP EVERYDAY!