I try to avoid posting on the weekends, but I don’t think this one can wait. Read on to share in my painful recollection of a bad day.

I got up Saturday morning ready to give my house the full Spring Break clean. I poured my coffee, sat down at the coffee table, booted my precious Mac, and loaded up my feed reader. Ten minutes later, my cat decides he needs attention. He sprung from the floor towards my lap. In the process, he hits the coffee and knocks it over. Within a minute, coffee has splashed across the side of my laptop.

I was quick. I reached for the power button while simultaneously forcing the computer to shut down. I spent the better part of the next half hour mopping up the spills and making sure there was no coffee in the important parts of my laptop. At this point, I was confident all was fine.

But then I rebooted. Or, at the very least tried to reboot. My precious computer would only boot so far and then it would shut down. As this happened, I suddenly realized that I had not backed up my files onto a flash drive in at least a week. It may have been longer. My technology life flashed before my eyes.

So, I loaded up my laptop and headed to the local CompUSA. I know they repair Macs and the store was only 10 minutes from my house. Apparently, CompUSA had gone out of business. But, I thought, I’m still lucky; there is a Best Buy down the street.

At Best Buy, I discover that the Geek Squad is not Mac compatible. They cannot even recover my files. Again, my computer life flashes before my eyes as I try to remember what exactly is still on my computer that is not stored somewhere else. Luckily, I live in Dallas, so we have an Apple store.

So back down the highway I go. I headed directly to the Apple Store in the local mall. I walked in around lunch time and discovered, much to my amusement and dismay, that our local Apple Store is also yuppie headquarters. I am not kidding. With the invention of the iPod and the iPhone, Apple has taken off once again. But, I think to myself, my torture will soon be over.

The first store rep I encounter tells me that I have to set up an appointment. That’s fine. The earliest one I can get is at 4 this afternoon. That too is fine. I can hang around the mall for that long if it means getting my precious laptop and all her files back.

(I should add a sidenote here. When all this happened, I didn’t give a second thought to the condition I was in this morning. So I end up in a very upper class mall in a pair of running pants, an old college t-shirt (Berkeley is not a name brand around here) and a pair of flip flops. I have not showered. My hair is pulled back in a pony tail and I’m wearing no make-up. I look like trash in this neighborhood, so the hours I spent trying to blend in at the mall are excruciatingly painful.)

When my appointment arrives, I sit down and talk to the Mac Genius (not my term, theirs). He listens intently to the problem and just as he is about to boot up my computer, one of his colleagues stops him and intercepts the meeting. I re-explain the problem and his answer is simple. “Tilt the computer, place a fan behind it and wait.” I can do that. I know the waiting will be excruciating, but if it will help, I’ll do it. But then he finishes the statement. “Wait about two weeks. Then boot it up.”

I thought I was going to cry.

Mike explained to him (since I couldn’t find the words) that I’m in a PhD program and there is no way I can be without a computer for two weeks. So the nice genius explains that they have no way of seeing if there is liquid on the logic board without taking it apart. It may be a few days before they can do that. Then he excuses himself.

I’m still reeling over the fact that I won’t have access to my computer for two weeks when he emerges from the back room. He says that the guys in the back are willing to look at it today, but it may take half an hour. I comprehend the logic that half an hour may be an inconvenience for some, but I’m considering two weeks a much longer wait.

So I wait. While I’m waiting, I’m still trying to recall when the last time I backed up my computer was. I can’t remember doing it since the semester started. Now I know that a large number of my most recent and important files are scattered around in email and in various online course management sites. But then I start thinking about documents and files that I’m not sure if I’ve actually stored in an alternate location. I also start thinking about where exactly the disks are that have my previous semesters’ backup files on them. I can’t remember. I’m staring at external hard drives now.

Finally, the tech emerges with my laptop. He gives it a good bill of health and sends me on my way. I bought an external hard drive. I backed up my entire system before I even checked my email.

I am not intending this post to be a whining, complaining post. I want to make sure that each time you think (as I did just the other day) that you’ll do it tomorrow you remember to do it today. Back up your computer. I don’t care if you just do the files. I recommend an external hard drive, but any method is fine. I tell my students this all the time and I’ll share this story with them after the break. But for now, do yourself a favor and back up your material. Do it regularly. Pick a day and make it part of your routine. You never know when a freak accident may make you thank me.

This post written on my laptop. The cat is still alive. Apple Store Geniuses are my new heroes.