Would That Be "Big Sister" Watching?

I always feel like somebody's watching me
And I have no privacy (oh oh oh)
I always feel like somebody's watching me
Tell me, is it just a dream~Beatfreakz

Now that I've given Adventure Guy quiet a laugh at my rendition of the above lyrics as I was searching them out on the Internet, I'm free to share the experience today that brought them to mind.

Today, I misplaced my lifeline, otherwise known as my handheld computer. It has everything in it that I need to coordinate the various aspects of my life: the soccer games, the gymnastics meets, the evaluation conferences, the contact information for all of the important and not so important people in our lives. I realized that I didn't have it at about 5:30 today. Mid-panic session, I ran into one of my friends in the hallway. She informed me that she was sure we could find it and helped me search around my office, my secretary's office, and the bathroom--the only places I'd been since I returned to my office. No luck. She then began questioning if I had really had it when I came into the office after having been at teacher conferences. I swore I had. She then said, "Let's check the cameras."

All-American High is the proud owner of 32 security cameras strategically located around the campus. They've been around for a couple of years, and I tend to completely forget about them unless I need to check out some specific event. I certainly don't think about them as I go about my day-to-day business around the school. But tonight was one of those occasions they came in handy. My friend, Mathwhiz, and I took ourselves right down to the other assistant principal's office and let ourselves in to view the camera monitors (it's good to have a master key). We were able to track my earlier progress from the cafeteria, down the sidewalk, and to the door. It's really a rather bizarre feeling to watch yourself on camera going about your regular life. But, besides noting that I should keep up with my newly reinstated gym efforts, I could see that I did, indeed, have my handheld with me when I entered the building. We were working out the details of switching from one bank of cameras to the other when my colleague walked in. Did I mention that to get a really clear picture on the monitor, you need to turn off the lights?

After he recovered from the shock of unexpectedly finding two women in his office sitting in the dark viewing video footage (don't go there), my colleague graciously helped us switch over to the other bank of cameras. We then discovered that either an invisible thief managed to swipe my handheld, or it was still in the office. Mathwhiz kindly returned with me for another comprehensive office sweep. I believe it was when she was busy crawling around my conference table that I happened to roll my chair over a bit to look more closely under my desk. I was then forced to call the aforementioned colleague and point out that a camera beneath my desk chair would have been handy for this security issue. I don't know how it happened or how we missed it in the first two rounds of searching, but the handheld had fallen under the chair and I'm assuming had been hidden by the base before I moved it. Nothing like feeling stupid! Mathwhiz will let it go, but I'm sure I'll be hearing about this incident from my colleague for a while. Cause really, our team is like that.

It's been a long day, and I am now going to bed. Where I'll rest assured knowing that my handheld is safe and sound.