Now you see it.....now you don't

Today, I had a big task at work, to clear my electronic data from my computer. I wrote about this last week and today was the day that I had to move all my electronic files, folders etc. Where do you start, I have endless number of documents, lots of drafts and final documents, some duplication and some just back up files. Some I worked on long time ago and some are as recent as last week. I had lots of things already organised in big folders (yes, I am not totally hopeless) but I still felt overwhelmed by the task at hand.


So, I decided to do this in a tidy and organised fashion (OK, OK, no need to laugh) I decided to do it the quick way. I created a new folder and called "work old PC" and then moved everything to it, just as they are. 'I will look into them later' I told myself. The files were so big and took a long time to be transferred to my external drive but it was done at the end. Then with one click I deleted the folder from the main computer after it was transferred. Just like that, one click, one button and it was all gone. More than 8 years of work, research and teaching just gone from the PC, as if I was never there. All you can see on the old PC was my log in name.

There is a book on Amazon called "Now you see it, now you don't: lessons in sleight of hand" by Bill Tarr. Shows you how to do magic tricks and when I deleted the files it felt like that, a magic wand that cleared everything. Then I thought, what if we can do that in real life. Just one click and the problem is gone, one button and 'done' pain deleted. But if we can do that, then we have to be able to run the risk of deleting the good things by mistake or accident. I don't really fancy backing up my relationship in 3 different ways like I do with my documents in case they get lost. I am confident in the love, support and friendships that I have and am sure they can not be lost by mistake, or with a click of a button. As much as I would like for the bad things to be taken away, I know that God in his wisdom is writing the story of my life, weaving it all, dark colours and bright ones, all together to make a wonderful complete picture.

Enjoy life with all its ups and down, no back up and no system crashes, invest in what matters as when it is all said and done only two things remain, your faith and your relationships.

New task

As I get ready to start a new position in a wonderful location ( see the photo above), I have the very interesting task of moving my belongings from my current office. I have endless amount of books, papers, documents, etc that I have accumulated over the years. However, it is my electronic belongings that will take a long time to tidy up. In theory, the electronic belongings are not as obvious as books, papers etc, however they are very important and no one can help me move them. At work, I have access to 3 different offices with 3 different computers, I also have electronic legacy with photos, address and information on websites and university files. Thinking about how to work through it in an organised way is a bit daunting.

But as I think about it (this is the stage I am in at the moment, just thinking, no actual packing just yet), I realised how many electronic information I have out there!

email accounts, store accounts, Face book, twitter, eBay, paypal, online calendars, photo libraries, online banking, supermarkets online shopping, documents storage and many other accounts I have online.

With every account comes user names, passwords, security information and even some silly details about  pet names or shoes size! How are we dealing with this volume of information and belongings and what if something happen and I can not for the life of me remember my passwords? Do I need to leave my electronic "belongings" in my will?

I am sure I do not need to answer these questions right now and I better concentrate on actually doing the packing and tidying up to move to my new office in time, only to start creating more legacy somewhere else.

It is never too late

As my friends get ready to leave the UK for their new life in Australia (this is not them in the photo!), I remembered this story of the 102 years old war veteran who decided to leave the UK to go to New Zealand . I was touched by the story and loved what he said about his move. He said: "What's important is that when I'm 105 I don't want to be thinking, 'I wish I had moved to the other side of the world when I was 102'."

There was also some other news about another man who is - you guessed- 102 years old who has been granted a 25-year mortgage. It seems that 102 is the golden age. Few more years to go yet!