I made a mystery (in 2002)

Some time in 2002 I took apart a dead IBM model 5051 computer which had an equally dead 10MB hard drive in it. The computer went to the dump, but the hard drive was too unique to toss. There had been some bad head crashing, to the point that one of the read heads had been smashed off and was bouncing around inside the drive when I took it apart. I wasn't sure what to do with it; it was of not use in a computer since it was too broke too fix, but it did have a pretty good size space inside it once I'd removed the brassy platters.

I came about the idea that I should use it to store some information I could look back on after reading through old journals I wrote in 3rd grade, and eventually decided on writing a letter to myself, which I would then store in the hard drive as a time capsule. I wanted to try keeping it sealed for as long as possible to make sure I had time to forget what I'd written, originally wanting to keep it closed for 25 years, but I wanted to be able to crack it open before I was terribly old as well, so I weaned back the time to 10 years instead. Since screwing it back together with it's new "data" stored in an aluminum casing, I set it in a closet and tried to forget about it. I still pull it down every once in a while while I'm cleaning and resist the urge to crack it open. I originally taped a piece of paper with "2012" on it to the top, but eventually decided it would be better to replace that with "2012" etched into the metal of the case, so it couldn't be lost.

I still remember feeling somewhat guilty for not putting the exact date I closed it up on there, knowing that I would forget when that was, but I also remember doing that so I would be able to open it any time in 2012 I wished. I might carry it with me to whatever new year's party I do that year. All I can remember of what's written on it is a list of the friends I had at the time, but I know there's more than that. So that's about it, it's a mystery I've set my self up for. Maybe when the time comes I'll write some reflections on the first letter and make up another letter to myself for 2022. I'd like to make it a tradition if I can. It's always good to keep some mystery in your life, even if it's just an old hard drive in your closet.