New Computer Blues

Sometimes, I just long for 'the good ol' days'. Simpler times. Less gadgetry to misfire. Less electronic clutter in my life.

My desktop computer has been dying. I bought a replacement computer a few weeks ago, but until this week, I have been hesitant to start transferring files and re-installing programs. I dread this as there are so many opportunities to screw things up. But I am doing it and it is a slow, laborious process. I've been backing everything up to an external hard drive for the last three or four days. And, with any luck, the backup may be complete later this evening. Then I can plug the external drive into my new computer and attempt to "retrieve" the digital flotsam and jetsam has been saved to the external drive. It occurs to me that I'm just continuing to save all the old e-mails that I couldn't decide to delete (thousands of them), and also all the old pictures that I never quite went through to organize, and tons of old documents that "might come in handy" someday. I should just start from scratch.

Got news a couple of weeks ago that an old and dear friend passed away unexpectedly. Never easy news to receive, but this one was a real shocker. He was one of my best friends, our history going back more than 40 years. Even though he had experienced some health issues the last couple of years, he appeared to be doing better. And I looked forward to seeing him "next time". Now that "next time" won't happen, at least not in this life. I'll miss his laughter and his detailed recollections of our shared high school years (his recall for this stuff was very specific--much better than my own). Rest In Peace, my friend.