Flip a Coin

Several big life decisions have been looming over my head lately. They all came to a head today making me unfocused and anxious most of the day.

It started when an old employer forwarded me a job opportunity that she recommended me for. She said that I was the first person she thought of after reading the requirements. I was flattered and so grateful that she is still looking out for me, even though I have not worked for her in almost two years. Shows how much networking really can help in life.

I read about the position, what was required, what was expected, and what it paid. The position did sound like something right up my ally.

Problem number 1: I already have a job that I am not actively looking to leave. This may have been different 6 months ago, but not right now. While I still want to get into a field I love, I have unfinished business at this one. I don't actually want to leave until I accomplish what I need to there.

Problem number 2: I really want to move. The east coast has been driving me insane! I need to get away and fast! I can't think about taking a new position if I'm leaving the area, but this one sounds almost perfect for me.

These 2 main problems, also caused other ones to spin off.

What if I still haven't finished what I need to at my current job when my lease is up?

What if this new career opportunity is what I'm meant to do?

What if I can't find another opportunity that is comparable to either of these?

All of this went through my head while I was showering. I usually relax in the shower. I can't relax when freaking out. It was not a good start to the day.

Then, a very wise woman told me to flip a coin to make any and all of these big life decisions. I was at first very confused. This is a smart, successful woman who I respect professionally and personally, would she really make a life decision based on a coin flip?

Luckily she explained a bit further before I had to also rethink how I felt about her as a person. She told me that if I flip a coin, with heads being move and tails being stay and I get heads, I will know everything I need to. It's the reaction you have to the outcome that makes the decision. If the coin says move and I am disappointed then I guess I'm not ready to move.

Her theory scares me as much as elates me. I would love to just MAKE A DECISION and be done with it so I can plan accordingly. But, if I realize I'm not ready to move a brand new can of worms is opened about what to do with my life here.

Can I flip a coin to decide if I'm going to flip a coin to make this decision?

One Step Behind

                          

It's been tough getting back into the swing of things after spending a week at home for the holidays. I feel like I'm not managing my time well, and my life as a whole just feels a bit unorganized. I'm trying to make some positive changes in my life. I recently took on another piano student, and I just started my first book of 2012, The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin. I'm also trying to keep up a normal workout schedule and eat right to keep up with my 2012 resolution.

Even with all of these positive things, I still feel behind when it comes to daily activities. Every time I leave the house with hair that's still damp from the shower, I think about how I need to start waking up earlier. Every time I throw on a boring but safe combination of work clothes I think about how I should lay them out the night before. Every time I load groceries into my car and notice all of the random crap in my backseat, I think about how I'll vacuum and clean it out in the next few days. All of these things are such simple tasks, but I
can never bring myself to do them when the time comes. They never happen.

One blog that has been helping me shake this winter slump is called Smart Pretty and Awkward. It's geared towards women and I love reading the short advice in each daily post. The advice isn't preachy at all, just simple tips from the author on self improvement.

Do you ever have days (or weeks.. or months...) where you just feel a step behind everyone else? How do you get out of the funk?

HelloGiggles-Top Ten Signs You're An Adult

This article from HelloGiggles called the Top Ten Signs You're An Adult is completely true for me, especially number 1. Check it out and let us know if any of these signs apply to you. I'm guessing at least five of them apply to most post grads!

P.S. It's New Year's Eve tonight! I will be staying in with my parents tonight to ring in the new year and I can't wait. Especially since I was just visiting some friends in NYC yesterday and we mistakenly ended up walking through the crazy crowds in Times Square. People were already in the corrals to watch the ball drop, at 6pm last night. I know some people thrive on stuff like that, but getting pushed around the sidewalk by tourists with huge backpacks is not appealing at all to me.

This is actually the first New Year's Eve that I haven't had to be someplace wearing something sparkly. I think I'll start out tonight with some wine, a bath, and a face mask. We hope 2012 is the best year yet for all of our readers! Just want to say again how much we appreciate everyone we've connected with since starting TRPG.

Old Friends

I wrote a post last year about how I feel lucky to have maintained such a solid group of high school friends, but I just wanted to revisit the subject since I spent Monday evening with these same old friends and it was an awesome time. It's great to have people in your life that have accomplished such varied things, but are also still so grounded and easy to pick right back up with after not seeing each other for a year (or years) at a time.

From 2008 ish. Just a few awesome friends hanging out at a laser roller rink

I also think spending time with my diverse group of friends helped to reinforce that there really is no right or wrong at this stage in our post grad life. All of my friends are living such different post grad lifestyles. A few are in serious relationships, some work 60 hour weeks, others are in a completely differently field than they expected, some are in grad school, a few live close to home, and others live across the country.

As a group of friends we've progressed from slightly dorky high schoolers to (still dorky) young adults that are busy working, financing new cars, and renting apartments that cost more per month than what we would make in an entire summer at our high school part time jobs. We get tired at 11pm now and only drink beer that actually tastes good.... we're growing up.

A few of my favorite high school girls. And bonus points because we were actually still in  high school when this pic was taken.

I was sad to say goodbye to my old friends for what looks like another year, but I know we'll be back together, reminiscing about happy times before we know it. And maybe when we all become extremely successful we can take awesome friend-cations and visit each other more than once each year.

Winter Beach

Strangely enough, Rochester has not seen any type of major snowfall yet this season. Day after day I hear news reports about how this time last year we already had seen four feet of snow. This year? Nothing!

I figure our luck will run out soon, so I drove about 15 minutes away from the city to Lake Ontario beach to snap a few shots before the snow hits. Due to some lake effect snow last night, there was some actually snow on the beach. I was also literally the only person on the huge beach, which was a little bit eerie. Walking around the abandoned beach made for a peaceful way to spend an afternoon. Makes me wish I lived walking distance to a place like this, maybe minus the snow though. 

The coast of Lake Ontario

This lake is HUGE. Can you see Canada on the other side? 

Gotta love that winter sky

Judgey

I've noticed a few peaks of judgement in my life so far. One was in middle school, where the girls are mean, the boys are short, and everyone has some sort of braces contraption in their mouth or new glasses. The next peak was senior year of high school. As my class prepared to make the leap from our small town lives to college, people were judged based on their college choices (or lack thereof). The third judgemental peak has occured in the year since graduating college, where the question "so.. what do you do?" seems to start off every first conversation. I finally feel like this judgement is simmering down as I enter my second year as a post grad. Maybe the fourth  peak will be when everyone starts to have babies and get married? Who knows..

I can't say that I have never looked at a Facebook profile or heard some gossip about a high school acquaintance and thought about how my life is so much more put together then theirs. I'm sure people out there have done the same to me. Since I feel completely rotten when I do judge others, I've been trying to instead think with an open mind about people who are living lifestyles that are different from my own.

For example, a few of my good friends have moved back the Hudson Valley (where I grew up) after going away to school. When I graduated college, moving home was the last thing I wanted to do and I couldn't imagine why anyone my age would choose to live there. But I've come to realize that there are family reasons, boyfriend reasons, school reasons, job reasons.. there are countless reasons why these people have chosen to move back to their hometown, and the ones I know seem very happy.

Another type of judgement I've noticed in the post grad world stems from job choice. I am much less judgemental about jobs for some reason... probably because my job is not glamorous and mostly serves to pay the bills. I can't tell you how many times I've overheard grad students throwing digs at post grads who aren't following their passions or are stuck working retail jobs. I've seen those that were lucky enough to land their high profile dream job look down on those who haven't yet, instead of embracing how luck and timing have worked in their favor.

I think we could get a lot more out of our lives by trying to minimize our judgements as post grads. Like Shikole posted a few days ago, this is the time of our lives to set our own goals. While we are the only ones who can determine our own happiness, I think we can also work on appreciating each other's goals while we're at it.

Why it's Hard to Adjust to Post Grad Life

I've been thinking a lot lately about why I am having a hard time with life in general. I have always been able to adjust quickly and easily to whatever situation was thrown at me. Sometimes it took me a few days, sometimes a few weeks, but it has been over a year since graduation and I am still not entirely adjusted. But, at least now I think I have pin-pointed why.

1. We have no built-in goal. Through High School and College alike we had a built in goal: graduation. There was an end point, there was a plan, there was light at the end of the tunnel. We were working towards something. Once we graduate most of us have 1 goal: get a job. Ok, well what about after we have a job?
2. No Built-in vacations. Since we entered the schooling system we have had built in vacations. Summer was longest, followed by 2 weeks for Winter Break, one week for spring break, and some 3-4 day weekends sprinkled through the rest of the year. We could relax, read for pleasure, travel, whatever we chose. Now most of us have 10 vacation days a year and have to fight for holidays and weekends off.
3. The repetition. Every day includes the same tasks, people, problems, solutions, places, etc. No longer do we have 2 or 3 different topics to focus on in a given day. We can't change what we focus on every semester. We have a job, and a boss, and some co-workers, who may change slightly, but the focus is still the same every day.
4. Our support system has scattered. In college most of our friends lived in the same city, if not the same house. You could easily grab coffee after a class, have a mini-freak out, and feel better about life. Now our friends have scattered to different cities, sometimes even different countries. And mini-freak outs are turning into major ones.

These are the three main reasons I came up with that are making this Post Grad thing difficult. I know that they do not apply to everyone, but they are broad enough to be relatable. While I know that there are ways to remedy numbers one and three, I am not at the point of acceptance yet. I am half in denial that this monotony is now my life and therefore will not yet try to fix it. I keep hoping that one morning I will wake up and something magical will happen and it will no longer need fixing.

And then I realize that in order to actually get my life together I need to set some goals and make some changes. Here's hoping I have the energy to work on that very very soon.

Thanksgiving is my Favorite

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love that it is centered around food and being grateful for things in your life. I love that it is one of the few holidays not centered around religion. I love that I get to see my sisters during this holiday.

My 2 sisters who are no longer in high school arrived Wednesday night. The youngest got stuck with Mom, but she will get her turn eventually. I was excited this year because I had decided to make my own pie crusts for the apple pie. I also had

a new idea for my turkey: Garlic Rosemary.

Things I am grateful for this Thanksgiving 2011:

1. My friends and family

2. Having a job, even if it eats my soul

3. All of you for reading our blog so loyally

4. My health. I know it sounds cliche but my immune system rocks and I am very thankful for that.

Instead of shopping for Black Friday, my sisters and I went to the National Portrait Gallery and then to Chipotle for lunch. Definitely one of the better decisions I've made lately.

Stupid Questions

My job is very stressful. If that has not been abundantly clear in previous posts, now you know. This week especially I have had an abundance of stupid questions asked to me. I know what you're thinking "But Shikole, there is no such thing as a stupid question! My professor told me so!"

False. Read on and you will understand.

Example 1: Client tells me on Tuesday they would do anything to get Fios installed by the end of the week. I make this happen. The Fios tech calls at 9:30am today to tell me he is on the way to do the install. I alert the client.

Client response "No, now isn't a good a time, can you stall them until noon?"

This is not a valid question. Do not ask me such ridiculous things.

Example 2: A new hire is placing an order for a client on the client's credit card.

New Hire: "Who's address should I put as the billing address, ours or the clients?"

This is not a valid question. Do not ask me such ridiculous things.

Example 3: Client emails with an "urgent" problem. It reads: "I tried calling So-and-So and got a recording saying his voicemail is full and I can't leave a message. Can you fix this?" Well, Lady, this usually means that So-and-So needs to empty their voicemail.

This is not a valid question. Do not ask me such ridiculous things.

Example 4: At 6:30pm, after normal business hours, a client calls because she can't figure out how to email a picture from iPhoto. I explain to her that all my technicians have gone home for the night and we will assist her in the morning.

Client response: "Well why don't you just text Boss Man and tell him I'm waiting at my computer for help?"

This is not a valid question. Do not ask me such ridiculous things.

Today all I wanted to do was scream at the top of my lungs until everyone stopped asking me questions. It was the only way I could think of that would be effective. Or maybe I need to find an anti-stupid drug to put in the DC water supply. For now, I will settle on wine as a resolution.

Back to Earth

I apologize for being M.I.A. lately. Between work and trying to write a novel my brain has been fried. I promise I will have my 10 questions video made soon-ish. At the moment all my charm is being used at work and all my creativity is being used on my novel, leaving little to make a good video. Some important things to think about while I am being a hermit:

1. Mississippi voted down the personhood amendment, so there is still hope for mankind.
2. I have a new iPhone 4s, so tweets at least will keep on coming.
3. Lie to Me is an amazing show. I am recently obsessed but have no time to watch.
4. The holidays are right around the corner, help me find good recipes?
5. Pinterst is my new favorite thing, find me, follow me.

And finally, I will leave you to listen to my new favorite song by Childish Gambino, although it is edited. He is featured on NPR right now, though.

Post Grads Hate: Broken Cars

My car is a bit of a lemon. I am very much aware of this. Even so, I love her. She is a trooper and has gotten me through many a road trip, late night Taco Bell run, and basic every day trips around town.

Monday morning, the Shikar, as she is so lovingly named, decided not to start. My first thought was "Shit, I don't have jumper cables on me." My next thought was, "F**k this is probably going to cost money." And finally, I thought enough to call my boss to tell him I'd be late.

I held out hope that my battery was dead until I finally got the jumper cables, tried to jump the car, and got no response. The engine still wouldn't even try to turnover. Which meant one of 2 things: my battery was so far gone it had to be replaced, or there was something else that was broken.

I am very lucky in that Boss Man has a spare car he is letting me borrow while mine is broken, but I still had to get the poor Shikar to a mechanic somehow. Translation: I had to PAY to get the Shikar TOWED to a mechanic. And all this before I would even know what was really wrong with her.

I got the call this morning, at work, with the diagnosis. She needs a new starter. On top of the struts I already knew she needed. Those things are a liiiitle more expensive than a new battery.

I love my car, but I hate how unpredictable the costs associated with it are. I never know when some vital part is going to decide to stop working. And I don't know which part it will be. I feel like a lot of Post Grads have this same issue. We work so hard to budget our money to afford life, to pay off our loans, to be able to take a trip home for one holiday out of the year. When our cars break down it can be really detrimental.

As always, the Shikar has taught me that I am grateful for even having a car, and that I should somehow learn how to plan for these things better.

Sex Dreams

We all have them. And while Allison has been all productive making pumpkins and cleaning her apartment, I've been over analyzing my inappropriate, out of my control, slumber movies.

My latest sex dream made work today very awkward. Although, I don't know if it even counts as a sex dream. Every friend I have said that to today has had the response, "How can you not be sure? Either it was or it wasn't."

False.

My dream involved the cuddling while scantily clad, in the same bed, with hair amiss. Picture that. Now tell me what just happened. Sex. It was very apparent that the deed was done, but luckily I did not have to witness it in my head. So, there is a "kinda" sex dream.

Some of you may be thinking, "Why would you want to miss the fun part of the dream?"

Well, readers, my kinda sex dream was with one of my bosses. That's right, I had to go to work today knowing that in my dream I had had relations with one of my bosses, and then cuddled. I felt dirty all day even though I had not actually done anything. It was horribly awkward.

And of course now I am over analyzing the kinda sex dream. What does it mean that we did it in my subconscious? Am I attracted to my boss? Am I really desperate to get laid? Was it good? Would it be good? I looked up dream meanings on different websites but none of them had a clear explanation for me, mostly because i only had a Kinda Sex Dream. An article at Divine Caroline had the most helpful response for me, but still did not make my day less awkward.

Have any of you had a really awkward sex dream? Please share so I feel the slightest bit less strange about having a kinda sex dream about one of my bosses.

The Game of Life

Do you remember playing the board game when you were a kid? Picking what color car was just given to you to play with and getting in line to "attend college" at the start? When I was younger I actually did the math to figure out how old you were supposed to be when each of the major events happened on the board. Please don't ask me what it came out to, I don't remember and have no intention of doing that much math again.

Looking back at this game now I cannot understand why it was fun because it is so unrealistic. Maybe it was fun, BECAUSE it was unrealistic. Just looking at the Big Green "Pay Day" squares gets on my nerves. Automatic pay day? Really? I wish I got an automatic payday for driving around in my car.

This game made me believe that if you went to college, you got a cool job. That was all: college = job. This is false and the makers of the game should rethink that. Even more aggravating, though, is that everyone bought a house. Everyone automatically had enough money to buy one, wanted one, and got one at the same time. There was no "apartment living" or "crashing on a couch", no, everyone bought a house, even if it was the beat up trailer option.

I want to remake The Game of Life into something more realistic so that no other generation of children grows up with such butterfly and rainbows expectations. Changes will include:

• Instead of "have a baby girl" the space will read. "pregnancy test positive" and then there will be 2 options "have the baby" or "abort!" Aborting will get you a life LIFE token.
• Rockstar will not be a career option. It will be replaced with Unemployed.
• There will be no stop sign forcing you to marry or buy a house or get a job, there will be no stop signs at all.
• Loans for college will now be $80,000 instead of $40,000. Maybe college cost that little back in the 60s when this game was created, but not anymore.
• Paydays are not automatic, they only happen when you spin a 10. Then you will realize how lucky you are to be getting paid.
• You walk your little person around the board until you can afford a car.

It is sad how unrealistic everything is when we are children. From Disney movies to board games, we grew up with some very false ideas in our heads. I guess it's time to grow up and play Gin Rummy instead. Gin and Rum are things that haven't changed since we were kids.

Maple Spice Cookies

When I am stressed I bake. And for this Post Grad, it has been an extremely stressful week, month and year. I actually feel like the Friends theme song is my anthem: my job's a joke, I'm broke and my love life is D.O.A. SO to remedy the situation I took a trip to the baking aisle of Safeway to get some supplies.

Today I decided to make a delectable fall treat: Maple Spice Cookies. Sweet but not too sweet with a touch of spice, all wrapped up in a golden brown cookie.

Ingredients:

2 cups Flour

1/3 Cup Butter

1 Egg

1 Egg white

3/4 Teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 Teaspoons maple extract

1 Teaspoon vanilla Extract

1 Cup Brown Sugar

A few dashes each of All Spice, Cloves and Cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 325

2. Combine the sugar and butter (softened) until mixed thoroughly

3. Add the eggs and extracts. Beat until well blended.

4. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and spices.

5. Gradually add dry mixture to wet mixture while stirring. It is ready when it forms a dough.

6. Put balls of dough on greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes until done.

I also like toppings on cookies, so half of these got Maple Syrup drizzled on top and the other half got a thin layer of frosting. Both turned out to be the perfect fall cookie and made my stress levels temporarily decrease. I am sure the sugar also helped.

I'm Not Lost

The Associated Press, as well as other news outlets, have recently taken to calling us "The Lost Generation." All this based on the 2010 Census results that were released this week. While it is obvious that the recession did cause the record numbers of unemployment and living at home that came through in the the Census, the numbers have shown nothing of our determination.

Post Grads have it bad right now. We all know that, the numbers prove that, but the numbers aren't showing things like how many jobs we apply for a week, or how many basement apartments we look at in hopes of sharing with a friend to get out of our parents house.

I resent being called a Lost Generation. It implies that we no longer know what we want. In reality, I think we all know what we want, it is just more difficult to get it. Never the less, we are still trying.

The media needs to give our generation more credit. The statistics are grim but labeling us in a negative manner is not going to improve anything. We at The Real Post Grad want to encourage all of this so-called Lost Generation to prove the country wrong. Let's overcome these statistics and make something amazing!

Drive to Work Playlist

It's very hard for me to be happy on the drive to work. It took me from my nice, comfy bed and will provide a headache for the next 9-10 hours, why would I be happy? Unfortunately I have to talk to clients at work so being unhappy is not an option. The only solution I have found is listening to great music on my commute.

1. Kane Show on 99.5 FM. I know this isn't a song, per se, but the morning show is really funny.
2. Ida Maria "Bad Karma" It is so upbeat but has a message I can relate to while driving into work.
3. Kanye West. Just about anything by Kanye. Top 2 right now are "Hell of a Life" and "Power"
4. Citizen Cope "son's Gonna Rise."
5. MGMT "Time to Pretend"

What songs do you listen to to make going to work a little less sad?

Why I Love My Friends

Friends are the most important part of being a Post Grad. Almost every other part of your life has changed. You need your friends more than ever. And as we have written before, making friends as a Post Grad is not easy. Who else is going to help you move? Or carry you home when you've indulged in a little too much at happy hour? Your friends of course!

So below are the reasons I love my friends.

• They judge me juuuuust enough. I hate being judged as a rule, but I also know that I don't always make the best decisions. My friends judge me just enough to let me know that they care and I might be an idiot, but not too much so I know they still love me.
• They indulge in my culinary adventures. Actually they usually encourage them. How am I supposed to know how fantastic, or vomit inducing, my cooking and baking is unless they try the creations?
• They encourage my creativity. Now that college is over there is less opportunity that presents itself for being creative, unless you've somehow landed a job in that field. From this blog to the writing group that was just created, without my friends they would not exist!
• They are dorks just as much as I am. I need to be able to make casual references to The Cave and be understood.
• They are awesome. 'Nuff said.

I hope all of you have a great Labor Day weekend and that you get to spend it with your friends!

Random Thoughts Before a Long Weekend

Nothing like waking up with a head cold to start off the labor day weekend right! Tonight I'm packing, consuming as much Vitamin C as possible, and then trying to get to bed early so I can wake up, work a half day, and drive 5hrs home for the weekend.

I can't wait to relax at home and see my parents, but I'm also excited because my boyfriend is coming with me this time around. There is something about showing off your hometown to out of town friends or boyfriends that really helps you to see it with new eyes. I'm hoping this weekend will be a great way to send off Summer 2011.

Speaking of that... where did summer go? How is it that college kids are already back to classes? I guess when your working full time summer really is just a season. I can't complain though, because this summer I managed to fit in some pretty fun activities.

1. Last weekend, I visited Niagara Falls (about an hour and a half drive from my apartment). We stayed on the American side, which I have to say is definitely not as nice or built up (or clean) as the Canadian side, but it's always amazing to see those huge falls.

2. I finally went to see a minor league game for the Rochester Red Wings (Triple-A affiliate of the Twins). They lost, but watching the game with a beer and popcorn on a beautiful summer night was just so fun and relaxing.

3. Saw fireworks. One of the towns here puts on July 4th display that is on par with Disney World fireworks.

4. Went on a double date mini golfing. So cliche, so summery.

5. Exercised outside and swam! I know I still have more time to do this, but after being cooped up all winter, running around my neighborhood just does not get old.

There's more, but these were some of my favorite summery highlights this season. Are you sad to see another post grad summer leave us behind, or are you ready for fall?

5 Classes I Wish Had Been Available

Classes started this week for colleges across the country. While I miss college a lot less than I did last year, I've been thinking of classes that I wish were available to take. I keep reading articles about how college is meant to expand your mind and not to get you a job and they are making me angry. Obviously college is meant to expand your mind, but there is no reason that it can't also prepare you to use your mind in a practical way that will land you a job.

So, a list of classes I wish had existed:

1. Essay Writing in 140 characters or less. Employers need effective social media people. Even Obama's Re-Election Campaign is looking.
2. How to Swallow...your Pride. In college it is encouraged to challenge authority and stand up for what you believe in. In the work place it is a little less so. Telling a professor he is wrong and explaining why you think so gets you some respect; telling a boss he's wrong likely gets you fired.
3. Time Management. In college we would procrastinate for 2 weeks, then pop an adderol or drink 3 Monsters and write your 25 page paper in a night. Not an option at most jobs. You need to manage your time effectively so you can leave sooner.
4. Stupid People 101. Unfortunately once you have a job where you deal with people you will understand this. You can't just tell people to Shut the F*** Up when they are being stupid. That's how you lose clients. You need to learn to manage the stupid people so that it has the least effect on the business.
5. List Making. Personally, I'm already an expert at lists, but there are so many people who would benefit from them. It helps both your organization and you evaluation. If your supervisor wants to know what you did today, all you have to do is show them what is crossed off of that list. No stumbling for words so they know you were on FaceBook.

Those are my top five. Are there any other classes that you wish had been available in college?

Obligatory Earthquake Story

I feel like I need a post about the earthquake yesterday, mostly because it rocked my life in so many ways. It was my very first physical earthquake. I never want to experience one again. Maybe it was because I was not prepared for it in any way, maybe because they are scary, who knows really? I did decide that I think earthquakes are the scariest natural phenomenon. The ground moves. You can can't hide from that. No shelter can be found when the ground itself is moving.

My first thought though when it struck was that the shaking was caused simply by construction. Then it got stronger and things started coming off the shelves. My first instinct was to run, but to run where? I was wide eyed and horrified.

I am sure people near the epicenter were more in danger than I was, but it was still very traumatic. I decided that the next place I live can't be on a fault line, that's how traumatic.

I want to share one of the emails we got from a client immediately following the incident that made me laugh:

"I grabbed the backup device. It is in my hands. Now what?"

Kudos to you for grabbing the backup, many people I know thought of that only after they ran outside, but we really don't control what happens next.