Here we are almost at the beginning of another week. I know I talk a lot about time and the perception of it, but seriously; it creeps by so slowly when you watch it and when you are not looking it speeds right past you. It feels like it has been an eternity since Anna and I got engaged, even longer since we first met. These times are so fleeting in my memory, and time has a way of deteriorate memories to mere still images that flash through my mind. I can not blame time alone for this; my memory is not that sharp either… It has not helped that a lot of good memories have been crammed into a small space of time these last couple of months. It seems like there is always something going on. To preserve my memories and keep an accurate time line, I dedicated myself long ago with keeping a journal. Yes, I know we are supposed to do this anyway, regardless of ones own ability to rehash and reconcile the past. But seriously, how many of you out there actually are diligent about writing everyday, or month for that matter?
I found the best way to remain diligent was to keep an electronic journal, I used to keep a copy of it on my computer at work and computer at home, and then on my laptop as well. This allowed me to access it anytime I had a spare moment to record happenings, or as people from Texas would say “Big Do’ins”, in my life. This, of course, has its drawbacks. For one, it was hard to keep the most current copy up to date in all the locations I stored it. Second, it is kind of stupid putting something personal like that on a work computer. As technology improved, and the invention of the flash drive came to be, I solved the problem by keeping my journal on my flash drive, which stays on my keys, that way it was only in one location, and it would always be with me. Plus there was a smaller risk of it being viewed by unwelcome eyes. Now one might say, what happens if you loose your keys… this would be a good question. The file itself is password protected, which does not provide much security in today’s tech savvy world. There was a space of a year were I did not write, and when I went to make an entry I forgot the password… Needless to say I was able hack into the file and retrieve the entries. It does, however, detour the common snooper. You have to really want to see what is inside the file to get in it, and if someone actually does go through the process of hacking into it, I say, enjoy. Hundreds of pages of my own wandering meanderings are all you’re going to get. Rats, I got side tracked again. Anyway, I back up the file every other week so if I did lose my keys, the loss would not be that great…. Well, except for the fact that I would have lost my keys at the same time. Car keys are extremely expensive to replace now-a-days. The remote and key set costs over a hundred bucks to replace. So I guess that would be a big loss, that and if I lost my keys and I was in the middle of nowhere.
The point! The point is that keeping an electronic journal on me at all times has helped me keep track of my past, and stayed the deteriorate process of time. As I have reflected back on my entries, I am grateful to have records of what was going on, and how the events of life have played out. It is amazing how far back it seems now; kind of funny to read how I was feeling at the time. So a message to everyone, keep a journal, especially during the eventful times of your lives. Good or bad, you will appreciate going back and seeing how you felt at the time. Either you will strive to feel like that again, or you will be grateful that you are not feeling that way now.