Clanggg! Clanggg! Yesterday I felt like I was living in a Kafka novel. I was being cut off from the world one step at a time with no idea why and no idea how to fight my way back in. First, by mid-morning I became unable to use any search engines, a tool I frequently turn to throughout the day for research. Rather than delivering vital information, I simply found myself being routed through an apparent mobius strip of “redirects” and “jump” sites. I struggled to no avail and finally gave up awaiting IT support. After several meetings, I returned to my computer in early afternoon optimistic that IT had solved the problem, but instead I found my screen black and unresponsive. No function, no activity, the power light the only one lit. Bad signs all around. The verdict: hard drive crashed. Had I done something to offend the technology gods? Had I forgotten to pay protection deposits to our IT director? And why had I saved so many handy files to my desktop instead of to the network? I received a new laptop, connected to the network but continued to feel increasingly cut off. None of my program or file shortcuts existed. None of my hundred or so internet bookmarks survived. None of my personalized email formatting remained. Every task that had been a click or two became a seemingly arduous and interminable process of manual keystrokes. Things that had only taken two seconds now took 15 or 20! The final straw was later in the day when my boss, the founder and president of the Stern Center, told me she’d been trying to call me fro her Blackberry but that the speed dial indicated my phone number was no longer available! I was frustrated, bewildered, and trapped. It was nearly the end of the day and coworkers advised, “Just go home. It will be easier tomorrow.” But I saw the voice mail light blinking on my phone and decided I could at least check messages that way. I pushed the button only to hear, “There are no messages.” Clanggg!