If you lose something, even if it’s essential and must be replaced, it’s best to hold off on buying a replacement until you’ve thoroughly, completely, and exhaustively searched for it.
This thought came to me after a year-end party. As I was putting on my shoes outside the restaurant, I placed my tote bag near the umbrella stand. There was nothing else there, so I thought it would be fine. However, while tying my shoes, I accidentally spilled the contents of my tote bag.
Among the items spilled were the EarPods (with a 3.5mm headphone jack) I’d bought for Zoom meetings and the mesh case from MUJI that I kept them in. I thought I’d picked them up and put them back in the tote bag.
But when the new week began and I looked into the tote bag, the EarPods weren’t there. Since I needed them for Zoom meetings, I resigned myself to buying a new pair. I quickly placed an order through the Apple Store.
Then, later, as I randomly checked my backpack, I found them sitting inside. That’s right—they had been there all along.
It turns out I hadn’t spilled the EarPods and their case that night after all. Thinking I had picked them up and returned them to the tote bag was just my imagination. They had never been in the tote bag in the first place; somehow, at some point, I had moved them into my backpack.
Drinking is scary like that—it can lead to such strange misconceptions.
So, if you lose something, don’t give up right away. Search thoroughly, search again, and search once more before deciding it’s truly gone. Only then should you consider buying a replacement.
You might just be mistaken, after all.
That’s all from the field.
