Life in Digital

I am so dependent on computers today. When I sit down and look at a fresh Word document, I feel the way I used to feel about opening a brand new notebook. There are limitless possibilities... And so the past 16 years of my life has gone into the digital realm of my computer. School papers, music, photos, creative writing, journals - EVERYTHING.

At work, I religiously back up. I have an external hard drive, and all of my files and documents are saved onto it on a regular basis. Why do I not have this same mentality at home? Where is the gap? Somehow, in my 10 minute commute, I manage to forget the frailty of digital documentation. It's not a question of IF your computer will die, but WHEN it will die. Because they always do.

I got a new computer almost 2 years ago, and it died last month. Completely dead. My hard drive will not boot up. But, supposedly my data is all still there. So close, yet so far away. The Geek Squad wants to charge me $1600 to recover it for me. And so begins my quest of finding the person who can save my digital life, but not break my bank...

I'm moving through the stages of grief:

1. Shock and Denial - I ignored this travesty while my poor little hard drive was off being worked on.

2. Pain and Guilt - I lay in my bed for 4 hours and cried.

3. Anger and Bargaining - I threw things. I offered the world to whoever could fix it. (Well, okay, apparently $1600 was my limit.)

4. Depression and Loneliness - I keep thinking of all that I've lost. The 300 pages of my book. The hundreds and hundreds of photos. The GBs of music. I miss them. Terribly.

5...

I haven't accepted it yet, I'm still questing. It can't be gone. I can recover this life of mine recorded on to bits of machinery. I'm determined....