A Lesson Learned

I got complimented today on good record keeping. Saved my boss some money. In truth, the actual record I thought I brought back to the office is...somewhere? I just didn't delete my e-mails. Not my sent ones, anyway. I forget to clean out that box. Good thing, too.

Last week someone asked me if I like to keep things. NO. After sixteen moves, you learn to just get rid of stuff. I'm a bane in my family: none of my siblings ever wanted me to help them clean out their rooms. (Yes, I got rid of the circle puzzle!!!) Despite that fact, I can still live with less than I own. Which is why half of what I own is here - and half in Indiana.

But as far as backing up stuff and keeping records, I'm pretty good at that. Over the last couple of weeks, I've been putting all my pictures (which are sorted on two CDs a piece in case one decides not to work later...) on flash drives. Call it preparation for when CDs join floppy disks. I do the same with almost everything on my laptop. After all, I can never recreate what I write. I don't want to loose it, even if one day I edit it to the point of tossing out the original story. But even I fail on some points.

I learned in December I need all my e-mail addresses in another location. In case someone hacks your e-mail. Okay, did that. (Sort of...still need to work on being more thorough with that scribbled list.) Yesterday it was my cell phone. It went off and couldn't get itself to completely come back on. I lost all my numbers. And who in 2012 write down or memorizes numbers? I could remember all of two. Between those and talking to people in person, I have recreated most of my list. And written them down. And will put them in my laptop. And print that off. And, perhaps, put them in Fort Knox  - just in case.

I once heard the difference between knowledge and wisdom is this: knowledge is learning from your own stupid mistakes; wisdom is learning from someone else's stupid mistakes and not making them your own. So, be wise and learn from my stupid mistake:

WRITE DOWN YOUR PHONE NUMBERS!!!!

There, I think that about covers it.