The fear... the fear!

So my computer had been acting weird for a while. I knew I needed to format it, but that means spending hours and hours putting back programs and tweaking things and installing all the security updates yada yada yada, and I couldn't spare the time.

But then the spell check stopped working in MS Word, and it was one of things that was just irritating enough to distract me.

So I backed up everything. I pulled My Docs over to my other partition, saved my emails, formatted the c: drive, and reinstalled everything. I was up to midnight installing the updates.

There's nothing like the speed and reliability of a newly formatted machine. It makes all the hassle seem worthwhile.

So I crank up the old comp this morning and load up my Eberron book. I have a glance at the word count.

20, 546.

My heart clutches in my chest. But then I think, no, that can't be right.

I close the file and reopen it.

Still 20, 546. I seem to have misplaced a substantial portion of my book. Did I delete it? Has something gone wrong with the partition? Did I panic? Me?

Yup.

Briefly. Until I realized that I'd brought across an old My Documents folder that I'd backed up some weeks before.

But those few moments of blind, breath-stealing panic. Urgh. It's a feeling that only hits when I lose some writing. But this was a hell've a lot worse, seeing as my deadline is under two months away.

But thankfully everything is there. And if you're reading this, go back up your stuff. Just in case.

Mind in the gutter

Driving back from gym today I saw the following on the side of a courier van.

"The Courier Guy: I'd love to get my hands on your package."

I had a good chuckle, but then I suppose small things amuse small minds.