My OCD roommate told me that he regularly scans his receipts and saves them to look back on everything he’s purchased through out the year. I’ve been making fun of him for about three years because of it, but the reality is he’s probably the single most responsible person I’ve ever met. But still, I need to poke fun when I’m sitting with him on a Friday night and I see him scanning and saving everything.
Any time I use my roommate’s computer, it’s as though I can hear his voice saying, “Don’t take water or food by it.” Unfortunately, I typically block out his voice and take water and food. Recently I was using his computer, and while I was mid-sip with my ice cold water, I dropped my cup, and it spilled all over his laptop. As his screen froze, everything seemed to go in slow motion…
I tried to restart it – no luck. I tried to turn it upside down and let the water drain – still didn’t turn back on. I was in a slight panic. I called him immediately and before telling him I asked if he had his files backed up on an external hard drive. He quickly said no, and I decided I’d wait for him to get home before I broke the news.
All I could think about were his receipts and all the time that went into scanning them, and who knows what else was on there. But I was sure he was going to freak about the receipts. He got home and I blurted it out…
Me: Hey, I spilled water on your computer and it shorted out. It won’t turn back on, I’m so sorry! I’ll get you a new one! Seriously!
His response wasn’t what I expected. He was very calm.
Him: Why do you always take a drink by my computer?
Him: I’m sorry! I’m sorry you lost all those receipts! I’m so sorry.
Him: Oh, I didn’t lose it; it’s backed up.
I reminded him he told me he didn’t have anything backed up. He then corrected me and said: “You asked if I had it backed up on a hard drive. I have it backed up in the cloud. The cloud is much more reliable.”
Saved by the cloud! He told me he had it backed up via ElephantDrive and it regularly syncs from his computer so he never has to worry. He’s able to control how often it syncs, and apparently it was very often. To be honest, I was impressed there was something that could live up to his security and syncing standards.
As I said – saved by the cloud. But I still have to buy him a new computer.
