fuck

It really wasn’t a big deal. Not a big deal. Just a slight inconvenience, really. I’m not upset. I’m not. It’s all right. Just lost a week’s worth of work on Houses. But that’s all right. Really. I’m okay. I’m okay.

fuckfuckfuck

I’ve been doing work on the book at work. Moments of silence. I write a few hundred words at a time. Short subjects. Every day, I usually get about 1,000 – 1,500 words. They’re not always good, but I always salvage a good idea out of it.

Thursday night, I head down to Wal-Mart to pick up three bookshelves for my room. I’ve got books scattered all over the house and they really need to come up off the floor. So, bookshelves. Big, heavy boxes. helps me out. He lets us borrow his big SUV to move those big heavy boxes.

Big, heavy boxes.

That night, I put together one bookshelf and a half. ( helped.)

The next morning, Friday morning, I get up, put on a pair of jeans, pull my keychain ou…

fuck

The little chain I keep the thumb drive on? The one with the copy of Houses on it?

It’s gone. The chain snapped. Gone.

fuckfuck

Okay, it should be around here somewhere. I check the floor. I check the desk. I check…

fuckfuckfuck

It’s gone. I have no idea where it is. It could be at Wal-Mart, could be in ‘s truck. Could be in the driveway.

It could be anywhere.

It’s all right. I have a backup. It’s a few days old, a few thousand words short. But damn, when you have to re-do something you’ve already done, it’s always hard. Trying to capture what you had before. Best just to forget what I did and start over.

I’m not upset. I’m not. It’s all right. Just lost a week’s worth of work on Houses. But that’s all right. Really. I’m okay. I’m okay.

fuckfuckfuck

That was Friday.

I didn’t write a word all day.

Now, Saturday rolls around. I’ve looked in the driveway, I’ve looked in ‘s truck. I’ve looked in my room and the living room and… it’s just gone. Fuck.

The phone rings.

“John,” says. “I found your thumb drive.”

“Holy shit! Thank you!”

“You’ll never guess where it was.”

“Yeah?” I ask.

He laughs. “It was on my back bumper.”

“WTF?”

“Yeah. Between us driving around and dropping off Steve and everything else. It was still there. I’ve got it right here.”

fuck

fuckfuck

fuckfuckfuck