Met up with dad for coffee today... and the first thing he told me right after he sat down was, "I'm going deaf. Because I can't hear, I assume others can't ear so I speak very loud."
A little over a month ago... I went to brunch with him and towards the end of brunch, he got louder and louder to a point where I had to dial him down. I can't believe he remembers... and I bet it's been gnawing at him for the past month. He can finally get it off his chest. The things I say...
Years and years... we've complained about the sound system at SJ. Then after moving to NV... we began to experience what true grassroots worship sounds like. Tonight, we went back to SJ for Missions Conference and OMG..... the sound was heavenly. 8 years of establishment vs a 50 year monument. You can really hear (and feel) the difference.
Around 6PM, Got a text from our tenant. The utility sink in the garage is flooding. I asked if he tried to plunge it... he said yes. So I personally went there with my plunger and snake. After about 30 minutes of hardwork... I didn't get anywhere. Needed a professional power flusher.
Thankfully (maybe), the tenant already called a plumber. I would've waited until the next day. Roto Rooter came out that night... cleared the lines... and charged us a whopping $630!!! Dang!!! That's why Mario and Luigi are so rich!!!
Went to grab a cup of noodle to make for breakfast this morning... and when I touched it, it was wet. Then I noticed... it was all chewed up. Not just that one... but the other 20 in a pack fo 24!!! And the pack of Korean Spicy Noodles were also ripped into. Upon closer look... therea are animal droppings every where. WTF?!?!? We have pests in our garage!??!?!
How did they get in there?!?!? Where are they living?!?!?
Days before giving the keys to our new tenants.. and I still haven't found a gardener yet. Our neighbors sent a text complaining of the appearance of abandonment. And so I spent the entire Saturday pulling weeds, trimming hedges, cleaning leaves, raking, sweeping, blowing, cutting. I'm so tired. Gonna be so sore the next few days.
I wish I could've just paid someone to do it... and to do a better job, mind you.
Went out to SF to visit mom and dad... and mom wanted to visit the Crystal Cathedral in Oakland. It was just a mere 20 minute drive from SF. NBD. We get there... and amazingly, it's in a clean side of town with FREE 2-HOUR PARKING in the front!! We get there with 10 minutes to spare before the start of afternoon mass. Mom was hungry so we started to leave when I saw "Mausoleum." I asked mom if she wanted to visit... not knowing... we may have just walked into her final resting place.
We strolled through the marble hallways marked with names of our predecessors. There were sections for full caskets... for urns... for a family of urns. And even a glass display case for pictures and memorabilia. Mom even asked we go into the office to ask about pricing, which of course, is fully itemized from the service, to the flowers, down to cremation.
What started out as a simple lunch.... certainly took a deep, dark turn.
Last Monday... my work laptop was having trouble booting up so I took it to the iLab to have them fix it. The quickly confiscated it and gave me a loaner. A week went by and I hadn't heard anything so I pinged them... and they came back with, "We attempted to restore your harddrive, but the data is irretrievable." My heart sank so fast...so far that very instant. I wanted to cry.... but I was in a meeting so I had to push my way through it. I didn't even know what to think... how to react.... my harddrive. Gone!!!
20+ years of pictures. All my personal stuff. My Masters program. Church stuff. Records of mom and dad. All gone!!!! Not to mention personnel record that I opted not to save on a network drive because of its sensitivity. All gone. The notes I've been keeping for the past 3 years in this job. All gone. My emails dating back the past 7 years. All gone. My Favorites and Bookmarks. All gone. The working files on my desktop that I was going to move to a network drive. All...... freakin'...... gone.
What do I do now? How do I begin to piece the puzzles back together?
The IT guy basically said... technology has moved so far so fast... that hard disk drive companies have not kept up with the solid state drive technology to recover anything. It's a moot point to even try. I told him... "Try it anyways... I will pay anything." I don't know if he'll do it or not.
I can't even articulate how I feel today. Despondent? Depressed? Sad? Lost? I don't have words for it... it's just ALL GONE. 20 years of my life... wiped away. And there's no possible way to restart it.
Back up your data people. Don't be like me. Don't pull a Hank.
