The System Crashed - I Lost Everything!

It finally happened.  I knew one day it would.  It's just one of those things that you know.  Kind of like if you see that black cat walk in front of you or you walk under that ladder or... yeah they're just superstitions and nothing will happen and nothing does, usually; until it does!

Okay, so nothing was as dire as the title reads.  I suppose I could amend it to "The System Crashed - And I thought I Lost Everything!

Today I discovered that somehow in my cleanup, I'd dumped the entire folder of my first book "From the Dust".   Not only dumped but I emptied the trash well I was at it - irretrievable; at least by me.

The whole file was gone!  I discovered one lone little pdf copy of the published book and after that there was nothing.  It was as if the book had arrived printed and stuck between glossy cardboard overlaid by that lovely cover and nothing had happened before, no first drafts, no revisions - nothing.  Never mind everything else that was stashed in that file from newspaper interviews, to the sell sheet to...

First, I freaked. 

Then I tried to calmly tell myself that it was my first book.  It was safely published.  So as long as I had my good copy of the final published effort and some of the more important documents in hand, it was good.

Who was I kidding?

What else was missing?  I swallowed down a second panic go around by checking my more recent work, still there!  Feeling calmer.  That calm lasted, well not as long as it took to write this sentence.  

It was gone.  Every revision, and revision of a revision, yes, I know I could have dumped three-quarters of that file but it was that one quarter that had be feeling a little sickish.  So sickish that I didn't even consider that memory stick I loaded up last year - that was last year, leave me and my short-term memory alone.

So I eyed the little backup machine that I've never used to actually restore anything.  Fortunately I had used it to backup.  I'd listened to it chug and then give me a view of what it had done with the nice space age foldout of my system files by date spread across the screen that always included the word - restore.  But restore what?

Everything?

Would I lose what I've done yesterday and today.  Would it do a Tom Sawyer whitewash of it all!   I remember reading that his whitewashing of the fence was rather haphazard.  Okay, so haphazard isn't too good either, possibly worse.  

Hoping for another option but who knew as the sleek little gadget had no findable or even memorable manual.  Hoping for that one saving option - overwrite, one file and one file only - an option yet to be seen, I opened time machine and there on October 9 sat From the Dust's entire folder.

Don't do it.

I had to!  Instinctively I right clicked after highlighting and there it was - the option to restore one file.  From the Dust was saved.  That little backup drive just became my most treasured possession.  Should there be a fire, after hubbie, forget the dog - I'm saving that sweet little device.

I will not be second to a machine!

Okay, really, I was kidding, Rourke.  I promise, in case of any type of disaster,  I'll get you and the device, possibly not in that order, oh - right and a memory stick or two.

Rourke?

I don't think he believes me.  In fact I know he doesn't.  He's ignoring me and heading up the stairs.  I'm not sure what he means to do there but I'm sure it will involve defacing something I hold dear.

Well I'm off to do damage prevention.  Meantime, hang around and check out the sidebar on the left or my website, for sales on both my books and the first contest of the month - both on until October 31!

Ryshia
www.ryshiakennie.com