[footfootfoot]

A few weeks ago my computer had a rather serious contre temps or as we say in my neighborhood, got all fucked up and shit. In the middle of three projects with looming deadlines. After a week of all nighters with about 3-4 hours sleep I re-installed the system and all the software, rebuilt my image databases. etc. etc. and managed to get the projects done only slightly, but acceptably, late.

In the process I managed to name my boot drive D: and my secondary drive where I keep my tunes, C:

No biggie, it worked ok. I also had a small problem with my printer dialogue box overflowing. Again, no biggie, I could live with that.

Fast fwd a week or two and the baby sitter is over, she's 20, a super math genius, scouted by Stanford and the CIA while she was in 10th grade, etc. I casually mention to her the drive letter issue and the dialogue box. (She works about 40hrs/wk tweaking the local HS computers, and is all "I'm going to go work for microsoft..." whatever.)

She says, "No problem, that's an easy fix, take ten minutes."

That was at 4:00pm on Saturday. by 4:30 I no longer had a functioning computer and at 9:00pm she left for the night saying she'd be back in the am to get it all right. Haven't seen her since, which is why she is still walking...

I've spent every waking hour since then re-reinstalling the entire system, all my software, fonts, passwords, everything.

My photo databases with hundreds of hours of work are gone.

I am trying to see if I can resurrect them from my back-up drive, but I have some doubts about that. For some reason the back up drive is very light on files...

I've been taking solace in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado...
...My object all sublime
I shall achieve in time
to let the punishment fit the crime
the punishment fit the crime...

My crime is forgetting that 20 year olds are not rational, responsible, or living in reality.