By: Staci Stallings
I guess God was saving this title. A couple weeks ago, after my computer crashed the first time, I said I should have used this title. Well, I’m using it now.
Now I’ve been through real tragedy in my lifetime, so I know how to put computer issues in perspective. But I’ve got to tell you, if Job had a computer, I”m not sure he would’ve made it. 🙂
A short history of my recent roller coaster existence:
Feb. 9 I woke up to two feet of snow. As my husband was out of town, the kids and I got to clean off our very long driveway in order to be able to get out for school the next day. That was decidedly NOT fun.
Feb. 10. My daughter’s 12th birthday. I woke up to a computer that looked like someone had stuck a magnifying glass onto the screen. Everything was HUGE, and the computer was not working as it should. I downloaded Carbonite, praying I wouldn’t lose everything and it started working to upload my files to their servers.
Feb. 28. After 18 days of uploading files, Carbonite said it had 100% of my files. That day a major fire broke out less than a mile from us. We took the computer with us when we evacuated. When we got back and set the computer back up on Monday, all we could get was the C:/ I took the computer in to the store to get it fixed, and we started using my small laptop as our backup Internet connection.
March 15. I got the computer back from the store, set it up, and started Carbonite working to download our information.
March 18. Carbonite finished and lo and behold we had lost from May of 2010 of our financial records forward. With one month to go to taxes, I had to start over inputting ALL of the deposits, checks, etc. for three accounts.
March 22. Finished inputting account info and took the files to the accountant.
March 25. Started a new story that came like lightning.
April 1. I had 125 pages finished of the new story.
April 8. I had 200 pages finished.
April 12. I had 304 pages finished.
April 13. My computer started acting very strangely. I worked with it, trying to get it to work again. My security program had been breached and destabilized. It would not start. It would not scan. The more I tried, the worse it got. I called my nephew who works with computers. By the end of the night, all we could get on it was the Welcome screen.
April 14. Second crash confirmed. All we could get was the Welcome Screen. Then horror-of-horrors, the small back up laptop began to destabilize as well. By mid-morning, it too had crashed. Tax info came back and there was an issue. Something had not posted right. (I should mention here NEVER go to all paperless. You would be surprised how IMPORTANT paper statements become!) We took the computers in to a new company.
April 15. Found the tax error on the paper files, but that meant re-running ALL of the taxes! Aye. Aye. Aye.
April 16. Cleaned house, which was weird. No bills could go in or out. No email to check. Nothing.
April 17. Cleaned house again, which is weird because the house still isn’t really “clean” though it is cleaner. We had to work around the edges of what I had planned to do for Sunday School. With no computer, we couldn’t put the picture slide show together, nor print out the long version of the Stations of the Cross. Strangely, we would not have had time to do that anyway. Made it through class with handwritten everything.
April 18. Taxes were done on time! With 30 minutes to spare. Hopefully error free. All computers still in the hospital.
April 19. Got one computer late in the afternoon. Decided to set it up today.
April 20. Set up computer and started downloading all programs back to it. Realized everyone and their donkey has been Upgrading their sites, so NONE of my programs look the same now. Oh, I’m assuming that they all basically do what they did originally, I just can’t find the new-and-improved places they put all the buttons I’m used to using. So, I’m relearning about four programs, resetting this computer up, trying to remember what I had bookmarked, looking for usernames and passwords for everything (AGAIN!… didn’t I just do this?!)
I’m assuming at some point, I will get to the Somewhere Else God had planned in all of this. And honestly, I already know I’m in a better place (or will be once we get all of this back online again). I also have to say that I thank GOD He is in my life. Grace and peace cannot be over-rated. Trust me on that one. To KNOW He has your best in mind even when you’re going through the worst is wonderful. To know that wherever I get to is where He had in mind, well, there are no words to describe how nice that peace is. It truly surpasses all understanding because truthfully, I should have been freaking out over all of this. It was nice not to be.
Finally, here is a dire warning: DO NOT click on any pop up that has the words: Antivirus-Antispyware 2011 OR XP Security 2011. Close out of the whole page if it will let you. If not, click ONLY on the red X in the corner of the pop-up. Do NOT click Okay or Cancel. Those two programs do VERY bad things to computers, and your security program will NOT stop it.
So, here I am at Somewhere Else. Welcome…
Posted by Staci Stallings 
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