I spent the majority of my day in a state of panic, shrouded in terror. Whilst installing the Symphony Orchestra Jam Pack for GarageBand, my computer froze up.
And it didn’t come back.
The hard drive died.
So, it’s replaced, and under warranty. But I lost about 10K+ of edits, revisions, and new material I’d been working on the last two weeks (since the last backup).
I just opened up Scrivener to validate this. Yes, all of my work I’ve done in the last fourteen days is gone. Vanished. Evaporated into the aether from whence it came.
As much as I want to say: “Maybe it’s for the best!” I can’t help but feel as if I just swallowed a rock.
Always, always, always, back up your work. Every single night. Every hour, if you can. Don’t wander with your laptop–and if you do, use a damn thumb drive.
The Aldersgate Cycle 
June 17, 2008 at 12:06 pm
OH NO!
Think of it as a Zen meditation ritual…like the Tibetan monks that paint those lovely, intricate, days to make sand mandalas…
June 17, 2008 at 5:20 pm
Ah! I’m so sorry!
Google documents are great for backups– also a handy way of keeping a copy laying around the net to be readily worked on. 😦 I hope it turns out alright.
June 18, 2008 at 2:49 am
@Jenn & Elizaw…
Yes, I keep trying to tell myself it’s for the better, but I feel super bummed still. I used to use GoogleDocs, but had too many issues with the formatting between programs, that I gave up. Granted, draft #1 is up there… but still. Ugh 😛