The Backup Post

While freaking out preparing to go back to work on Friday after 16 days of laziness vacation, I started thinking about a backup plan. What happens to my blog on the days when I'm too busy to write or too tired or uninspired or I don't have anything interesting to write about (i.e. brain freeze but not the kind you get from eating ice cream!). What happens if I go back to work and end up with writer's block? How devastating would that be for all of us?!?

In those (rare) occurrences when I'm not able to perform (ahem!), I wondered if I should have a few backup posts for my blog which got me thinking (big surprise!) about other backups in my life:. What backups do I have in my life? How many backups do I have? Why do I have backups? Is it good planning or a lack of trust/faith or is it low self-esteem? Most importantly, what is a backup?

According to the Oxford dictionary, a backup is help or support (no police backup could be expected), someone or something that can be called on if necessary; a reserve (I've got a security force as backup; a backup generator), a copy of a file or other item of data made in case the original is lost or damaged, the procedure for making backup copies of files or other items of data, or (North American) an accumulation of something caused by a blockage, as in traffic or water.

According to Wikipedia, a whopping 67% of internet users have suffered serious data loss, thus emphasizing the need for a backup. Don’t I know it! When the hard drive in my iMac died, it was a sad day because a) my iMac died, b) I didn’t backup my data, and c) the data couldn’t be recovered (photos, music, videos, documents... gone!). The worst part was hearing the same question, over and over again: You didn’t backup your data? Well, I went out and bought an external hard drive to backup my (future) data so I wouldn't make that mistake twice! Well, actually I have made that mistake twice (that’s the second computer that dies resulting in lost data!) which kind of sounds like my dating life (but sadly my dating life has resulted in more than two mistakes!). The good news is that I did have a backup ...another computer in the house! So what other backups (things that can be called on if necessary; a reserve) do I have?

• If my electric toothbrush stops working (or it accidentally falls in the toilet), I have stockpiled regular toothbrushes.
• If the electric smoke and carbon monoxide detectors stop working, there’s a battery backup (and I have backup batteries!).
• If I lose my iPhone charger, I have an extra one.
• If I lose my keys, I have an extra set.
• If my feet get wet on my way to work, I have an extra pair of socks and shoes in my office (don’t ask!).

Well, it seems like I already have a number of backups in my life so now, I guess, I should be thinking about backup blog posts. What about having the word of the day or quote of the day or maybe even sentence of the day or joke of the day or poem of the day or recipe of the day or mathematical equation of the day or fractal of the day or scientific discovery of the day? All blogs that I could have in reserve! I could come up with a witty title like Word 4 Blog or Blogging 4 Words or A Word...just as it is! Okay, I might have to think a little harder when it comes to the (backup) blog post titles but you get the gist of what I’m saying. Here’s an example backup blog post:

A sentence...just as it is!

"She was normally the paragon of resigned pragmatism."

Sentence taken from Freedom by Jonathan Franzen

Doesn’t that seem like a fun blog post? After reading the Sentence of the day (or Sentence 4 Blog or Blogging 4 Sentences or A sentence...just as it is!), you could set a goal of using the sentence in a conversation that day. It could go something like this:

Manager: Did you hear about what happened the other day at our meeting?

You: Yes, I did.

Manager: Can you believe she agreed to that?

You: I can’t believe it! She was normally the paragon of resigned pragmatism.

It sounds like fun to me so I think I might give it a chance. I’m especially excited about the mathematical equation of the day :)

Of course, this blog post also has me thinking about the possible backup deficiencies in my life. What if I run out of gas, I don’t have a gas can in my car or what if my car breaks down for reasons unknown and I don’t have the proper tool to fix it? Oh wait, I forgot...I have CAA! Okay, how about this: what if I’m asked to attend a function at the last minute and I need a date but don’t have one because I’m single? Oh wait, I forgot...I have Fran! Well, if anything, this blog post has made me feel rather confident in my backup planning abilities (no, this is not the time to psychoanalyse me!). What about you...have you thought about your backups?

So have I resolved my dilemma? To have or not to have backup blog posts: that was the question! Am I truly prepared for post-vacation blogging? Well, pragmatically speaking, I normally resign myself to being a paragon of back-ups...need I say more?