My apologies and an update

Firstly, my apologies for posting ZERO times last week. My computer decided that its hard drive didn't exist, so I've been working on unfamiliar library computers and generally adapting to computers that aren't my own and connecting to things like Facebook and Blogger through my phone. (Yes, I can access Blogger through my phone, but I've had to use my phone for a lot more now, which tends to run down the battery.) Hopefully I'll be able to sort out my computer soon; if worst comes to worst, fall break is this weekend and I can take it to the Apple store.
Right now, though, my academics are taking precedence. It's weird how something like that works. My computer was kind of a big distraction - after all, there were games, podcasts, music, and an Internet connection in my lap! Who wouldn't get distracted? The sudden deprivation of all of those at once was kind of jarring, but it pointed out where all my lost time was going. At the same time, I really want to be able to get my computer sorted out. It's partly motivated by all the music and other entertainment-based things on there that won't (or can't) go onto my phone, but it's also motivated by preservation. I have photos on there that I haven't put online; there are bits of writing and editing that aren't on flash drives. I'm glad I hand-write my novels, because I still have the notebooks; what I don't have is the typed-up versions that have been already edited. The edited versions often have notes on them - the bits, for example, that are highlighted to remind myself that "THIS IS THE FIRST MENTION OF THIS IMPORTANT DETAIL; MAKE A NOTE OF THIS NUMBER BECAUSE YOU DEFINITELY REFERENCE IT LATER."
Luckily, I do have the handwritten drafts of my novels, which is always important, and I've found other writing on the various flash drives in my backpack. I'm pretty sure I have printed out copies of some of my writing elsewhere, too - though now I'm worrying whether I threw those out in the Great Paper Purge of Summer 2014.
If I had to assign a moral to this story, the moral would be in four parts.
The first part is to back up your files in a place that isn't your computer's hard drive.
The second part would be to back up your files somewhere else. If the first layer is your hard drive and the second layer is something like iCloud or DropBox, get yourself an external hard drive or a flash drive or something. Put everything there, too.
The third part, of course, is to take care of your computer. Make sure your software is up to date - both with the manufacturer and with the antivirus company.
The fourth and final part is to hand write or print out at least one draft of all the files you hold dear, especially with something like writing. This is to have a square one to go back to: if your hard drive gets infected, and DropBox crashes, and someone steals your external hard drive, your super important files will still have at least one copy. It might not have the important updates and the edit with THAT REALLY IMPORTANT REVELATION THAT CHANGES YOUR STORY FOREVER, but it will give you a chance to take a second look at that scene that you considered deleting.