Not good. I began my day by knocking a full mug of tea onto my desk. Apparently enough of it hit my computer to kill it; it will be going to the shop to have the keyboard and motherboard replaced and a separate shop will be attempting to recover data from the hard drive. Unfortunately I’d developed a bad habit of storing files on the hard drive because accessing the network is slow and obviously only works while connected. Actually, though, the biggest thing I’ve lost is my email archives. Of the files, there are only a few I really need and those can be recreated.
My boss is offsite at a meeting this mornng. Given that we’re trying to cut costs because of an industry downturn, he is not going to be pleased with me. I’m not that pleased with myself, either. This is not the first time I’ve knocked over a full drink, though the other times it generally did not worse than leave the carpet stained. This is why in the US I’ve generally brought in a lidded mug for my tea, and I should have remembered to do that here too. I can’t help clumsiness, but I can do some mistake-proofing. Damn.
There seems to be a very strange policy in effect by which I will have to pay for the repairs myself then get reimbursd. I’ll have to ask the boss about that, too, because while it may be a cultural difference, that just seems wrong.
ETA: After lunch I knocked over my Coke. Fortunately it was in a bottle, not a can, and out of paranoia I had put the top on. However, it did fizz al over when I reopened it after that. The computer escaped unscathed this time, but for at least the rest of today, I will be drinking nothing but water, out of a sealable sippy-cup (aka sports bottle.)
Yikes! Sorry about your spills, hope your data is salvageable. (salvagable? salvagible? gads, none of them look right) In any case, I lost a keyboard to a massive spill and understand your frustrated embarrassment.
As an upper to cheer you up I offer a mental picture of the cardinal sitting not 3′ away pecking seeds out of the drying weeds I pulled out of the garden but haven’t yet composted. He’s so red as to seem a bit unreal. ~LA
Oh no! I killed my last computer with coffee that way.
I’ve always been afraid of something like that; it’s why I keep my cup on the floor. Only the carpet suffers, and it’s a cheap one anyhow. Despite my sister’s warnings, I never kept a plastic cover over my keyboard — but I never get crumbs in it either. Just dust.
It’s not as destructive but definitely more colorful to spill coffee on a copier — worse with cream and sugar. My friend Vee said, “I didn’t know it had that many lights!” We never told the boss it was his son who had been the culprit.
I’m a transcriptionist and my whole life depends on a healthy (working) keyboard, and I’ve just gotten one of these lovely things
http://store.grandtec.com/glviinkeusb.html
The virtually indestructible keyboard – any liquid spilled on it never gets inside it…it flexible too, and completely waterproof… I’m love it and I’ve even just ordered another one because I wear off the letters typing so much. I’ve ordered a white one for a change.