Every major event of my life, from the time that I got electrocuted while trying to add more power to my remote controlled car, to the time when I went to the bank at 3:33am in a T-shirt and slippers to make a bank deposit, was documented in my electronic life, also known as my Pocket PC. I was fully aware of important data that the little device held, so I performed weekly backups, as well as daily computer synchronizations to keep the information protected.
But I messed up.
On May 14 at 3pm, I was on my way home when my Axim chimed that familiar brrinquhz noise (it’s hard to spell sounds) to remind me to back my stuff up. I said to my self, “Mr. Amazing, (because that’s what I call myself), you can just do it later.” “Later” turned into “in three hours,” which soon turned into “Wednesday.”
Wednesday passed and I decided to skip the 2 second backup process because “one missed backup won’t hurt anyone.” But it hurt me. Ouch!
Before going to sleep on Thursday night, I checked my Pocket PC to look at my activities for the following day, but Axim was dead. I found my extra battery and popped it in, expecting everything to work flawlessly but I got error messages left and right.
“Please press the Calendar Button to reset device.”
“Please press the Reset Button to align the screen.”
“Would you like to clear all information? Yes / No”
“If your name is Geremy and you forgot to backup on 5/14, you are doomed.”
“This device will self-destruct in 5…4….”
I had no choice but to delete all data in the PDA, but I wasn’t worried yet. I went to my computer to restore the information from my 5/7 backup, but it was non-existent. My 4/30 backup? Vanished. My 4/23 backup? Gone ‘till November. My 4/16 backup? Left on a jetplane. Then it hit me and I knew that I was the maker of my own demise.
A day before the regularly scheduled backup I needed more space on my computer’s hard drive because there was a large file that needed to be downloaded. I looked through all of my existing files and evaluated what needed to go and the PDA Backup folder was at the top of that list. I figured that I’ve never used them in the past, so I can stand to see them go. I have now realized that I have the poorest judgment in New Jersey. As for the synchronized data on my computer? Nowhere to be found. Technology…
I can’t take the chance of this ever happening again, so I am going to get rid of my Axim. Sure it’s like putting your favorite child up for adoption after he accidentally lit all of the family albums on fire, but THAT’LL TEACH HIM!