The case of the lost jump drive

was solved (sort of) tonight. We looked everywhere multiple times. I was losing hope. I went upstairs to change clothes. That's when I heard Brady coming up the stairs calling to me. He found my jump drive...

in the pocket of the jacket I wear everyday. I wore it today. This means I had it with me all along. 

::facepalm::

So a big thank you to my husband for finding it. I am incredible relieved to have it back and am working on password-protecting and backing up files at the moment. I've definitely learned my lesson. 

On a different note, pregnancy brain is out of control. This is just another prime example. I have no recollection of putting the drive in my pocket. It's not something I ever do because I'd be afraid of it falling out. I'm just incredibly lucky it didn't fall out somewhere at work today.

Phew.

Update: Missing Jump Drive (AKA: Brain)

Both Target and doctor's office haven't seen it.

Remember those print preview screenprints I posted below of my to-do lists? I have the image files, which I've printed. They are unbelievably blurry, but fairly readable. (Though I may need a stronger contact lens prescription afterwards.)

I think I have backups of my recipes on the laptop at home. Those I could find again online.

I am not happy at all about my writing being so vulnerably exposed. I am also not happy that the master announcements list (which I recently updated with current addresses) is only on the jump drive.

I also want my other OCD-ish t0-do lists, purchase savings lists, etc. back. I don't have backups of those, as those were more recent obsessive developments.

To allow my mind to settle, I am trying to convince myself that I will stumble upon the drive when I get home. If someone found it, honestly, they probably have no interest in anything on it. There's no banking info, no social security number, nothing like that. They'd probably toss it or empty it and use it themselves. (Which really kind of irks me, but anyways...) If I do find it I will be embarrassed at my airheadedness, but I will be so relieved I won't care.

Now, to give you an idea of my mindset last night, I was talking to Brady on my cell phone in Target. I keep my grocery and Target lists on my cell phone's notepad. Mid-conversation, I wanted to know if I had forgotten anything on my list before I headed to check out. I frantically started shifting things around in the cart wondering where on earth my cell phone had gone.

Yeah. It's that bad.

I'm fine. Really. Just mad at myself.

Not happy.

My jump drive has gone missing. Not just any jump drive. The jump drive that contains not only my collection of to-do lists, but contact lists, my writing, everything. Yes, I should have backups. (I do of the writing, but these are the most up-to-date.) I know this. Could I survive without it? Of course, but I don't want to. I can't think of all the things on there I won't be able to replicate. Crap.

I had it when I left work. I checked my purse because I've been known to forget it in my work computer. Then I went to the doctor. Then to Target. Then home. Then it was nowhere to be found when I needed to use it last night.

My pregnancy brain doesn't allow me to remember if I carried it inside when I grabbed by cell phone out of my purse when I got home. Those are the two things that assist my brain in being at functioning capacity. They work hand-in-hand. I cannot be without one. Now I am.

My mind is full of explicitives and I want to be at home, digging through the kitchen and every crevice of my car (again) in an effort to find it, but I'm stuck at work.

Two things really, really bother me:

#1: I don't want some random person having access to my writing and to the friends and family contact info I have on there. (Though if they actually go snooping, perhaps they'll call or email one of them?)

#2: I need my to-do list. NEED. I need my to-buy list. I need my recipes. I put such an effort into getting it all organized and now it's just gone. My brain is lost.

Target hasn't had anyone turn anything in and my doctor's office doesn't start phone hours until 8:30. Only 10 minutes, but 10 minutes is torture and there's no telling if they actually found it. It bothers me that I can't mentally retrace my steps to pinpoint when it went missing or if I happened to carry it into the house and leave it somewhere out of the ordinary. My mind and memory are betraying me lately--call it pregnancy brain or whatever--but this is really bothering me.

If I get it back or have to somehow re-establish a new jump drive, I will be doing the following:
--Password protect everything
--Back up everything on another computer every few days
--Glue my flippin' contact info on it so it can be returned to me easily if found.

::glares at clock and taps fingers impatiently::

Exams, Edward Cullen, and Toothless Smiles. Oh my.

Something wacky is going on with my subconscious. Last night I had a dream that I was in school--college I believe. I had been skipping my chemistry or physics class for a couple of weeks. (I can't remember which it was. Some sort of science.) I'm not sure why I skipped it, but it occurred to me as I went to class that I had missed two exams. I was looking at the syllabus to make sure and sure enough, I had. It was the same date in my dream as in reality. I had no solution for my dilemma.

Random. A tad stressful, but mainly I remember waking up and thinking "What a boring dream."

The night before, I had a dream I was at the movies. It was mid-day. I was at concessions and Edward Cullen (AKA Robert Pattinson) appears beside me to refill his popcorn. Apparently we were there together. Now this scenario would make most Twilight fans' hearts go aflutter, but I wasn't paying much attention. I was too distracted by the fact that I was wearing my wedding ring. I was holding out my hand in front of me as I waited for my drink and popcorn, letting the light sparkle in the diamond thinking how pretty it was. Meaning, it actually fit.

Now that would be awesome.

The other night I also had a dream that Brady and I went to hug, but he accidentally bopped me in the mouth. Classic case of skull versus teeth. I lost 2 teeth, one on each side of my mouth. One was my canine tooth on the right side that I had to have 2 surgeries to pull down from the roof of my mouth in the midst of my 4 years of braces. I didn't realize that one was gone until we had rushed from one dentist to another and the receptionist pointed it out to me. I then had to have a procedure to try to reattach them.

That was it. Yes, I have a fear of losing my teeth. I also watch a lot of hockey and seeing the toothless smiles of Stastny and McLeod may have contributed. All in all though, kind of boring. I wasn't freaking out about my teeth as I have in previous dreams of that nature and in the first dream, I wasn't terribly upset either about missing the exams. Mainly, I was bored with my own subconscious.

I wouldn't say these dreams are honestly worth the loss of quality sleep. They're rather dull. So this got me thinking--Wouldn't it be wonderful to be able to control what you would dream about? At this point, I'd have myself swaying in a hammock on a beach somewhere sleeping. That should produce some quality Z's. Because I'm due to have a child in 99 days and I need to get some good sleep, people!

Oh yes, I also now snore. Loudly. Thank you, pregnancy hormones. (If you're wondering, here's the science of it: Increased blood flow causes blood vessels to expand, which leads to swollen nasal passages. Higher levels of estrogen also cause swelling of the mucous membrances.) I've given up on Breathe Rights. They are useless at this point.