Growing up inevitably brings along a series of landmarks, some we celebrate and others we fear. As an example, we celebrate getting one's driving licence but ultimately do so in the understanding that statistically you may be in an accident one day. Furthermore, someone may live a full life and never break a bone, whereas a percentage will suffer from one.
Like the old saying goes "there's no certainties in life except for two things : Death and taxes !". But there's other things that I reckon are a safe bet. Losing your keys, or your wallet with ID, cash and credit cards perhaps ? Unfortunately, there is a strong chance that this will happen to you at least once in your life. You will move house at least once I imagine, and although not as unpleasant as losing your wallet or keys, it does bring it's own form of stress.
Call it karmic forces, call it the circle of life. Call it the law of averages. Maybe it's a simple case of taking the good with the bad. One persons luck is another persons misfortune. That sort of hippy cosmic influence, which dictates "today is the day, and there ain't shit you can do !"
I'm aware psychology loosely refers to these events according to a "trauma scale". Events within the liftime of an individual that bring about varying degrees of suffering. There are your more serious issues like the loss of a loved one, or the dissolution of a marriage, that cause obvious trauma. Then there are lesser acknowledged, but no less pervasive issues, like assaults, injury, ongoing illness, depression, anxiety, loss, suffering, etc, etc ... Even happy events can cause it, like winning a lottery !!!
This all brings me to NOW ... and by a comparison, a minute problem as far as life's tragedies goes ... but has me questioning my own abilities, sanity, general manhood, fatherly skill sets and viability as member of the human race in a world of modernity.
Yesterday I discovered ... My PC is DEAD !!!
It turns on ... but won't even "beep" to tell me it's booting !!!
All of a sudden I'm like the guy who's dying at Pearly Gates, on his knees, begging for a second chance to go back, and repent my former apathetic ways .... "Noooo, let me have a chance to do things different !!! I have an external drive in a box ready to go !!! I swear I'll backup more .... just give me one more chance !!!"
I cant stop thinking of my data ... my precious, precious library of bullshit only I could value. The Jpeg folder. The GIF folder. The family images. My irreplaceable music. My videos. My blogs. I cant get to any of it. I don't know if I can salvage it !!!
Why wasn't I be more vigilant with backups ?
Why wasn't I more prepared ???
What will happen to my 44 hours of mp3's ??? - A lifetime collection of one-hit-wonders and golden-nuggets from obscure sources all around the world !!! My whole life has ben spent corrupting the minds of my friends around me, and this songs were the soundtrack !!! The blogs saved from years ago, and sites long gone. Hours upon hours of random soul satisfying goodness, and best tasting mental gum, ALL lost to the ether ???
What will happen to the 2,000 plus photos and images ??? - To use an understatement, this is an iceberg issue !!! Underneath the surface is my newly pregnant wife. Hormonal, craving all sorts of things ... How do I tell her our 2 children's entire collection of images may be gone forever ???
So .... as the dust settles, and I gradually re-align my mental compass towards "what the hell do i do now ?" ... I find myself laughing at (a) my own inability under the circumstances and (b) my overall over-reaction to the issue. I have spent the entire day in a bubble of denial that sounds like "I know the data is there, I just have to get it !".
Maybe that's the right reaction, I dont know. Knowing myself like I do, the ingredients are there for this to be Bi-Polar roller-coaster of the year. Maybe it's wrong reaction, and I'm just prolonging the crash of reality from coming !
In the meantime, I'm trying to steer my reaction down the path of logic - No one died. No one is hurt. Although, it feels like I'm about to lose something I value. It doesn't feel like it was stolen (like a wallet or a car) but it carries the same "pain in the arse" aftertaste, with a splash of "inconvenience" much like the one you get when you "move house".
And here I am, swimming in a pool of my own IT-ineptitude, trying to channel myself into not over-reacting, using all kind of metaphorical references. From Yoda, to Dr.Phil, from Emerson to Billy Connolly, I'll chant any thing to myself right now to keep this bubble of denial going, while I try to navigate the task of recovering my data.
It is utterly ridiculous human behaviour I cannot condone doing. Yet I symapthise with everyone it's ever happened to and know I'm not alone. And like I aluded to at the start ... it'll probably happen again in the future.
Makes me wonder how other more reliant PC users suffer when this happens ?
I'll let you know how it goes .... feel free to join in / mock me below ... ;)
Like the old saying goes "there's no certainties in life except for two things : Death and taxes !". But there's other things that I reckon are a safe bet. Losing your keys, or your wallet with ID, cash and credit cards perhaps ? Unfortunately, there is a strong chance that this will happen to you at least once in your life. You will move house at least once I imagine, and although not as unpleasant as losing your wallet or keys, it does bring it's own form of stress.
Call it karmic forces, call it the circle of life. Call it the law of averages. Maybe it's a simple case of taking the good with the bad. One persons luck is another persons misfortune. That sort of hippy cosmic influence, which dictates "today is the day, and there ain't shit you can do !"
I'm aware psychology loosely refers to these events according to a "trauma scale". Events within the liftime of an individual that bring about varying degrees of suffering. There are your more serious issues like the loss of a loved one, or the dissolution of a marriage, that cause obvious trauma. Then there are lesser acknowledged, but no less pervasive issues, like assaults, injury, ongoing illness, depression, anxiety, loss, suffering, etc, etc ... Even happy events can cause it, like winning a lottery !!!
This all brings me to NOW ... and by a comparison, a minute problem as far as life's tragedies goes ... but has me questioning my own abilities, sanity, general manhood, fatherly skill sets and viability as member of the human race in a world of modernity.
Yesterday I discovered ... My PC is DEAD !!!
It turns on ... but won't even "beep" to tell me it's booting !!!
All of a sudden I'm like the guy who's dying at Pearly Gates, on his knees, begging for a second chance to go back, and repent my former apathetic ways .... "Noooo, let me have a chance to do things different !!! I have an external drive in a box ready to go !!! I swear I'll backup more .... just give me one more chance !!!"
I cant stop thinking of my data ... my precious, precious library of bullshit only I could value. The Jpeg folder. The GIF folder. The family images. My irreplaceable music. My videos. My blogs. I cant get to any of it. I don't know if I can salvage it !!!
Why wasn't I be more vigilant with backups ?
Why wasn't I more prepared ???
What will happen to my 44 hours of mp3's ??? - A lifetime collection of one-hit-wonders and golden-nuggets from obscure sources all around the world !!! My whole life has ben spent corrupting the minds of my friends around me, and this songs were the soundtrack !!! The blogs saved from years ago, and sites long gone. Hours upon hours of random soul satisfying goodness, and best tasting mental gum, ALL lost to the ether ???
What will happen to the 2,000 plus photos and images ??? - To use an understatement, this is an iceberg issue !!! Underneath the surface is my newly pregnant wife. Hormonal, craving all sorts of things ... How do I tell her our 2 children's entire collection of images may be gone forever ???
So .... as the dust settles, and I gradually re-align my mental compass towards "what the hell do i do now ?" ... I find myself laughing at (a) my own inability under the circumstances and (b) my overall over-reaction to the issue. I have spent the entire day in a bubble of denial that sounds like "I know the data is there, I just have to get it !".
Maybe that's the right reaction, I dont know. Knowing myself like I do, the ingredients are there for this to be Bi-Polar roller-coaster of the year. Maybe it's wrong reaction, and I'm just prolonging the crash of reality from coming !
In the meantime, I'm trying to steer my reaction down the path of logic - No one died. No one is hurt. Although, it feels like I'm about to lose something I value. It doesn't feel like it was stolen (like a wallet or a car) but it carries the same "pain in the arse" aftertaste, with a splash of "inconvenience" much like the one you get when you "move house".
And here I am, swimming in a pool of my own IT-ineptitude, trying to channel myself into not over-reacting, using all kind of metaphorical references. From Yoda, to Dr.Phil, from Emerson to Billy Connolly, I'll chant any thing to myself right now to keep this bubble of denial going, while I try to navigate the task of recovering my data.
It is utterly ridiculous human behaviour I cannot condone doing. Yet I symapthise with everyone it's ever happened to and know I'm not alone. And like I aluded to at the start ... it'll probably happen again in the future.
Makes me wonder how other more reliant PC users suffer when this happens ?
I'll let you know how it goes .... feel free to join in / mock me below ... ;)