Well, OK, it didn’t exactly “crash.” I mean, there was no hole in the wall. There were no other bleeding computer owners standing around threatening to sue my pants off. It was a few years back (I’m so much wiser now): I’d somehow managed to rather uncleverly (OK, stupidly) delete a massive number of important files in one swell foop!
I took it to an IT expert who was pretty sure he could recover the lost files. He couldn’t. Because they weren’t there anymore, not even in the dark abyss of hard drive Hades. Apparently, while I was googling to see what to do about the lost files my hard drive was happily writing over what was left of them!
I spent three days in cyber purgatory. Three days without a computer. Can you feel my pain? Yes, I have a phone, and, no, it’s not the same thing, you little millennial twits! For one thing, I could never use my phone to post a yummy rant like this one. What, you could have? Oh, shut up, Phone MacGyver!
My wife had no sympathy. While I might have been online networking with “all my little blogger pals” (no, she didn’t say that, but she thought it), I was forced to go for a walk with her. She always walks. She uses those analog things, those, you know, leg things. And breathes in the fresh spring air. And watches the sun turn rosy-gold against a deepening blue sky, as warm, inviting lights click on in houses…with working computers!
Seriously, I did miss my little blogger pals. But in another way I was sort of glad it happened. It was like when someone’s house burns down and they stand watching from their neighbor’s yard, shivering and full of irrational joy.
Why? Because what really matters is that the people they love made it out, even if the furniture and clothes–and computers–didn’t. All of a sudden, in the most visceral of ways, they’re reminded how much they treasure one another. It’s not like they didn’t already know that. It’s just that they’d started taking it for granted. Because they’re human, and that’s what humans do: take each other for granted. And forget what really matters.
In the end, what do I really need but love?
Well, a working computer would be nice.
who would think a crashed computer could provide such a great blog post filled with beautiful wisdom! 🙂
Aw, thanks, Wendi!
🙂 you are welcome……..very well done!
Oh, perish the thought of my computer crashing! Would there be any reason to keep on living? I don’t know. 😎
I know, right?!
This is the reason why I have three computers, an iPad, iPhone and back everything up to three different cloud accounts with delete disabled. I’m not paranoid – just careful.
I was involved in a real computer crash once, but in my defense, no one told me the desk had a wobbly leg that was about to break … Let me tell you how far broken bits of a computer can go when dropped from the top of a desk.
Perfect premise for a horror-thriller if I ever read one, Andrew!
AMEN! Great reminder. But inquiring minds want to know… was the crashed computer a Mac? My guess would be it was not.
Nope. PC.
Of course. 😉
For what it’s worth, my last desktop computer before this one was a Mac, and it crashed worse than any computer I’ve owned before or since. I do my deskwork on a PC and my creative work (film editing, music recording) on a Mac.
😀
I feel your pain. A few weeks ago, my computer crashed– literally. I dropped my laptop on the ground. And it’s been… interesting? to bounce back and forth from everyone else’s devices the past few weeks.
Oy!
nice share
Noooooo!! Not the crash! 🙁 I’m glad you had family love backup! A great post. (And no, a phone is not the same! I can’t work on the phone either)
;>)
So agree, it is so stressful! Best to back up everything once in a while on a zip drive. That way if it crashes, it doesn’t cause you so much stress! (I am speaking from experience…although the last time my computer died, my son took it to work at Micron and a guy was able to get all of the info and photos off it!)
Phew!
I feel ya, Mitch. I almost posted a similar blog this morning but instead chose to allude only vaguely to my troubles in my gratitude list. This too shall pass.
Indeed.
Millennial twits…what an awesome term. Sorry for your mishap. Glad you are still loved.
I sympathize. It’s probably a good time to follow your wife’s legs! Whatever. Computers will burn; faithful wives will be exalted by the Lord. The choice is obvious!
😅
Mitch, I have suffered similar problems, so I suggest always having a pad and pen at hand!
Good point. I’ve never had a pad and pencil crash on me.
🙂 You are funny, Mitch. I have had four computers crash on me so I empathize with you. The special computers I use are designed to just communicate – nothing else. I had computer problems last week and got a really grumpy tech. He took control of my computer and moved all the icons (from the programs I’ve added) to the center of the desktop and told me “you have to delete all of these programs!” Mary said he was probably an atheist and didn’t like the “Prince of Peace” picture on my desktop 🙂
He clearly needed an attitude upgrade. ;>)
Thanks for giving me a good laugh. I loved the story – not your misfortune (been there!) but the great way you tell it – especially your wife’s attitude toward your blogging. (P.S. I’m honored to be one of your little blogging buddies. 😉 )
The fact that you are at peace, and that it comes from the Prince of Peace DOES make atheists grumpy. I agree with Mary.
Mitch, my wife always says “My little blogger friends.” Pals or friends one thing is for sure, our blogger brethren are apparently somewhat tiny. Which may come as good news for bloggers feeling overweight. Still, cyber purgatory is not a nice place for any blogger—even for little bloggers! 😀
“Blogger brethren.” I like it, Paul!
Cracking up at the “milenial twits” comment! I have actually used my phone a couple times to write a post when I haven’t been able to use the computer and I am not a milenial! So perhaps you could learn. 🙂 BUT… I am a lot faster on the computer and do definitely prefer it!
I feel quite at home here, as I hate computers with a passion. I have Windows 7 which will shuffle off to pc heaven at the end of the year. Consequently, not much is working the way it should, and I spend most of my time switching between my laptop and ipad.
Can’t remember how I used to enjoy myself before all of this…
Reblogged this on anita dawes and jaye marie.
Always an honor to be reblogged.
Always a nightmare! Anyway, at least you made the best of it and explored the analog world.
Lost files!?! Nightmare time
I hate computer-meltdown panic! You seem to have handled it with a bit of humor and a healthy perspective. 🙂
After the fact, sure. At the time, not so much.
This is funny and sweet:)
Thank you, Shasta.
Brutal to go through a crashed computer experience but you handled it by writing a really good fun post to read😉
Aw, thanks!
Ooo. That is the worst, but I am glad you embraced the silver lining! I keep everything triple backed up now because that happened to me a few years back. I love your burning house analogy. It is so true.
Thanks, Chris.
Haha. It’s actually Christa, and it is my pleasure. :]
Oops! Thanks, Christa!
A long time ago, the electric went out. My reaction was the same as yours. Is it not nice how life has changed from those days? Your honesty is great.
When Me devices misbehave I remind them how the terminator ended by Googling how to build a hydraulic press. 😜
You’ve turned a stressful experience into a delightful post, Mitch! Your predicament reminds me of a hilarious children’s book, When Charlie McButton Lost Power, by Suzanne Collins. With clever, Dr. Suess-like rhymes she describes Charlie’s misery when “a thunderstorm blew into town and brought his tech empire tumbling down.” You’d love it, especially after your own tech empire disaster!
Sounds fun, Nancy!
A great read-aloud for you and Trudy! 🙂
Hilarious and heartfelt… Mine crashed once, thought it was the end as life as we know it! Definitely a time to reevaluate! Was it wrong to celebrate when the IT guy actually ‘did’ recover my files? I’m thinking not… It was like being reunited with my best friend! 👭💻🤣
Yep. Actually, a lot of what I lost were family pics.
And that is the hardest to lose, and was my biggest concern as well. The incident led me to purchase an external hard drive. If you did lose a lot of treasured pictures, you most certainly have my sympathy on that too!!
I was getting together with a friend to celebrate my birthday by singing some worship songs together. I took one picture, when I took a look at it, it was the only one in my phone. Somehow the other 1300 pictures had disappeared, including pictures from our daughter’s wedding. My friend and I went ahead and had a great time together anyway, because I figured 1.) someone didn’t like what we were about to do, and I wasn’t about to let HIM ruin my time with my sister, and 2.) I realized all the best pictures were somewhere else, too – texted to friends and family, Facebook, etc. I AM going to have to get acquainted with “the cloud,” though.
😀
Great post, My Friend!
Thank you!
Yeah, I feel your pain. But it sounds like you made some sort of enjoyable story from it.
I had my IT guru lady working on a flash drive that got bent because I couldn’t open any of the files. She had it for three months and finally told me that after trying everything she knew and even buying some software to salvage my files, nothing. The circuit board was kabluey. None of it was backed up and it contained almost everything I’ve written for the last ten years or so. So I learned a valuable lesson and am trying to change my ways.
Oh, Paula, that’s a painful lesson indeed!