I have a Power Mac G5 tower that has one USB port in the front of it. I use it to plug in my iPhone for syncing and also use it to plug in my flash drives for working off of them. Seeing as it's a tower, the flash drive sticks straight out from the computer. Like a little flash drive flagpole. This makes it an easy target for my clumsiness, having kicked a flash drive before while getting up from my desk. Didn't break it, but made it pretty difficult to use as it had this weird rotating USB plug on it that didn't support the weight of the drive well and my kicking it dislodged the plug. I promptly backed it up and that was that. I still have it and it still works, I just don't use it much.
My dog likes to chew on things, as most dogs do. She recently found my flash drive an easy target and subsequently put teeth marks/dents in the end of it. It still worked, I just had to make sure she wouldn't chew on it again. Little did I know her face wasn't going to be the problem.
I was working on my computer and desperately trying to keep the dog away from my boxes of ink (she likes to bite them and carry them around) when she backed away from the shelf I have my ink on. I saw the error message come up on the computer warning me of a device removal. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what it was. I kept working. Then I went to retrieve a file off the flash drive. I noticed it didn't show up as a drive on the desktop. I looked down at it and noticed the light indicating power wasn't on. I then noticed it was bent. A flagpole uprooted by a strong wind. A big furry clumsy strong wind.
I panicked. I pulled it out of the computer and plugged it back in. Nothing. I plugged it into my laptop. Nothing. I wiggled. I jiggled. I tried to make the plug straighten out. Nothing.
And then I cried. Because a client project I have been working on for a month was on it. And I had no back up. And I would have to start over. ALL. OVER. And the payment for this project is extremely important as I've been struggling lately. And a delay in project is a delay in payment. This is bad. Very, VERY bad.
So I bring my flash drive into the Apple Store and have one of my fellow co-workers take a look at it. They give me the verdict: Dead. And I come to the conclusion that perhaps that's what my dog should be also (not really...I love my dog...but MAN!). I mourn the loss of my drive and proceed to contact the client. I apologize profusely and explain that I will work through the weekend to re-create the file, luckily having a proof that I sent via email to work off of. The client was incredibly nice and assured me that things will go smoothly.
So today was spent re-creating the file and warding off the dog from being a gigantic pest. If she is not the center of attention at all times, she gets very pesty indeed. And that's why God made kennels. After 8 hours, I have the finished product and it is the spitting image of the original with only a few minor differences. I'm pretty proud of the work and thankful for my talent.
Lessons learned: BACK UP YOUR FILES AT ALL TIMES, purchase another USB hub so I can plug my flash drive in on my desk instead of in harm's (read: dog's) way, and finally, dogs and computers don't mix.
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