A hazard of working for yourself

So, I blew up my computer a few weeks ago. Not literally of course, but it felt like it at the time.

It was a Monday morning and I was working away -- trying to finish up some writing before an afternoon meeting. And suddenly my computer took on a life of its own. And before I knew what was happening, an official looking Windows window popped up, told me to scan the computer and simply started 'scanning' my computer without the 'ok' click of my mouse.

Yup, I had a virus. And within minutes it wiped out everything. Files, photos, music, software -- it was all gone.

In a state of shock and disbelief, I packed up and went to my meeting. And when I returned I took my laptop over to Staples, practically pleading with the tech guys there to fix it. And while they did, I moved my work life over to my kids' desktop computer in the family room. Not an ideal situation but what else can you do?

A few days and a few hundred dollars later, the virus was cleaned off, my files were rescued and everything was loaded back on. Unfortunately, now I'm having some hardware problems with it -- I don't know if it's related or not, but it's definitely annoying and definitely something I'm going to need to get fixed. And fast.

I have learned to no longer store my files on my computer. Even though I used to periodically remember to back them up to an external hard drive -- why take the risk? Everything I need is now on a cloud drive. 

This experience has taught me yet another valuable lesson about the perils of working for yourself -- you have to be your own IT department. And since I know nothing about IT, it's definitely a peril.

Mother's Day Run

Instead of a relaxing, sleep-in kind of morning, for Mother's Day, I dragged my family out to Yonge and Eglinton for 7:45 a.m. so that I could run a 10K -- my fifth in two and a half years.

It was an awesome race and I felt great from beginning to end and, being Mother's Day, my cheering squad came out in style -- making this mom feel very special.

They greeted me just 500 metres or so after the start line and then hopped in the car and met me 500 metres or so before the finish line, which I got to in 1:09:47 by the way, only 8 seconds slower than my personal best time. Maybe I wouldn't have been 8 seconds off if I hadn't slowed down to blow them both a kiss at the beginning. Ah hell, it was worth it!

Thanks Ryan, for standing on the side of the road with the kids, to once again watch thousands of people run by just to catch a glimpse of me for 10 seconds. You three made this mom feel very special on Mother's Day.

Wordless Wednesday: New love