I got Geoff back yesterday.
Even though I knew I would be getting my computer back sans all personal data--so fresh and clean, in fact, that I had to reinstall the OS--I'm not sure anything can really prepare you for the loss of EVERYTHING. I knew that my personal files wouldn't be there, and I knew that all the software I have acquired over the years (legal, thank you very much) would have to be reinstalled, but I forgot all the little things that would be different. My Dashboard has to be reconfigured. I managed to get old versions of my address book and my Safari (web browser) bookmarks, but it's not the same. Geoff's a stranger now, not an extension of myself.
I've lost so much. All my music, all my photos are gone (I do have much of both backed up, and much not). In some ways, what hit the hardest was the complete and total destruction of my email. I keep nearly every email I get, and I had folders for everyone. That's all gone. I'll start again, but it's painful to open up my email and not see the long list of folders of friends past and present.
I also had to reset up my Dead Gentlemen email. That was a right pain (but thanks to Evan for a prompt response), mostly because DG now uses Google to host, and I also have a Gmail address. Wires were getting crossed, but--hopefully--it seems to work now. The good news is that I had all my communications with Matt in the webmail, so I still have his script and my notes on it, as well as our communications. And oddly enough, there some photos of my dear Faith in there as well. Though not the one I had been using as my desktop photo (Mom and Dad should have that one).
I still haven't decided if I want to try and salvage the data off the old harddrive. Part of me desperately wants it back, and part of me just says "fuck it, I'll start again." I've been keeping my novels backed up on 3 different stick drives, and I had--at some point--backed up my resumé/CV/cover letter folder, so I have some of those (thankfully, as I paid for a service to redo them. Didn't really help).
In some ways this is good. It forces me to take stock of what I really need/want, and what I don't. It forces me to do a proper clean-up of my computer, something I've needed and (kinda) wanted to do for years. But it's a pain, so I haven't. Now, with a fresh new system, I can fix some of that. But I didn't want to fix it at the expense of everything.
My old laptop, Jeffrey, was fully copied onto Geoff (hence the naming) when I got Geoff last September. So I'm backed up until about then. In Eugene. My external HD is backed up from 2006...yeah....When I get back to Eugene, I'll make a decision about data recovery. It should be a bit cheaper there (rates for repair are about $100/hr in the States, and £100/hr in the UK).
In the meantime, this forces me to properly set up my address book, something I haven't done since...possibly ever. So, if you read my blog, please email me the following information (if you don't have an email address for me, post on the blog), and feel free to pass my request onto others. I will also send out an email in the next few days, so you may get asked for this twice.
Full Name (include maiden if appropriate)
Partner's full name (ditto above)
preferred email address(es) (partner too, if you're/he/she is willing)
Full mailing address
cell phone number
home phone number
Birthday (day and month, year would be nice, but as we get older, I understand the desire to hide that)
Anniversary (if appropriate)
any online blogs, photo albums, etc
anything else you want to send me: employer info, etc.
I know that's a lot of info, and some of it strange, but I want to have the ability to contact people in a variety of fashions. I also want to be able to wish people happy birthday--please don't assume I know/remember your birthday. I really suck at that. Or your anniversary.
Right, I need to go exercise. I shall try to blog again tomorrow, and tell you all about the joyous day I had in Manchester picking up Geoff. Highlights include bra shopping, a broken-down train, and 10-year-old wannabe hooligans. Amongst other joys.
Additionally, I'll try to get back onto my Sunday reviews this weekend.
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