Dear 29,
I should have learned my lesson from the first scare. Back in the 4404, I curled up in the entryway to use some internet that wasn't mine and catch an episode of something-or-other (I'm guessing it was Grey's Anatomy and the spill was the universe telling me this show had jumped the shark and I should give up on McDreamy already.) on the hulu and there went the smart water, spilling it's liquid contents all over the macbook. I don't blame Mr. Harmon anymore, but I really should have learned from this tear-inducing incident that left me exasperated at the Banana Republic. Ultimately all the photos, music, files and others such important bits of life were returned to me, on that trusty macbook.
And then, then there was a the clicky, clock noise on Friday night while watching How I Met Your Mother, sipping the herbal tea prescribed by the acupuncture man, and curling my hair for a holiday party (too much detail? oh well.). The clock clicky noise didn't stop and then it all shut down. Poof. Just like that the "you should remember to back up everything on this macbook, Laura" lecture from the Apple genius guy came flooding back, as did the dread.
I pushed the thought of the computer never turning back on far from my mind and went back to focusing on holiday preparedness. This weekend I saw Santa and Lincoln and a baby. I was busy enough to not fret about the clock clicky computer noise and impending memory doom.
As you have probably gathered from my skilled use of foreshadowing, the hard drive unexpectedly, and without any screw up on my part, quit working. The End. I sat stunned in the Cheesecake Factory (judge away) trying to nurse my aching heart with that delicious brown bread they have. I poured over the last year of my life, trying to determine what might have been stuck in the not-so-trusty macbook. There's always facebook photos, and instagram, and this blog, and so many friends who captured bits of the past twelve months or so. This might be the first time I'm grateful for a permanent FB record of my life.
There were a lot of files lost, sure. Lots. Like lots and lots. But maybe this time I'll learn from the defunct hardware. With 2013 just a few days away, rather than focus on just how much of a bummer this whole thing is, I'm going to try to look at the bright side. So much of the past three years have been documented in (what might be annoying to the rest of the people out there that aren't me) vivid detail.

Happy Birthday Mom! We look super cool in this photo taken in an NYC elevator.

And whoa, the past three years have been terrific. In these last two weeks I've gotten more notes, emails and hugs than I have in awhile- thanks for all the thoughts, praise and high fives you've given me. Thanks for reminding me how much fun I'm having and how lucky I am.  I'm pretty proud of where I've pushed myself to be in life and damn proud of the city and people that helped me get there. So yes, lots of physical evidence of fun was lost, but so much lies ahead in 2013, and in year 30. This time I'll just be sure to back it up.
Thanks for the condolences. You're nice.
xo-LP