The Email Address Dilemma

Ok, Maybe not so much a dilemma (which makes it sound important) more just an issue of "now why the heck does she do that?"

I have way too many email addresses. Mostly because one will get completely spammed up and I abandon it. Some because I think I need them. And then there is the other one.

I used to have only one. It was cmmouse@someemailservicethatdoesn'texistanymorebecauseitgoteatenupbyyahoo.com. Don't use that one anymore because it got spammed up. On a COMPLETE whim I checked it here a minute ago. It is still active and still getting mail. I apparently haven't checked it since 2/6/2007. And since then it has accumulated 21,277 unread emails. Seriously. 21,277. But in the last week it has averaged less than 10 spam a day. Which is really pretty good when you consider the following:

Shortly after Erin disappeared I felt compelled to start another email address. I just couldn't deal with the missing daughter emails all of the time. I needed to be prepared mentally before I opened them. So I started a carolyn at helpfindachild one. that automatically forwards to the haveyouseenerin yahoo address. (see, two addresses at once) Then we set up the @helpfindachild address on the website with a link to "send info, ask for info, send your tips, media contact" and so on and so forth to feed to that helpfindachild address. And then spiders and bots and whatever the heck else that drives stupid spammers stuff got that address of the website and stole it and spammed it. So now people get emails from carolyn at helpfindachild that are SPAM. You know the kind. Viagra for sale, order this from Mexico, call your long lost hooker, etc etc etc. All of the email you HATE. And now it looks like it comes from me. :( So now I don't know what to do with that email. Except the fact that I know I have to keep it somehow because it is the address people have for media contacts and what not. stupid bots and spiders. :(

And then there is the candlesandbath @ verypopularaddresshosting.com. See, I used to sell candles for a well known direct sales company. And I sold bath products for what used to be a out in the middle of nowhere bath products company. And I thought I needed a cute email to support that biz. and then I used it for all of those things that say "give us your email so we can annoy you for the rest of your life and we'll sell your email to everybody else so they can do the same." And now THAT email address is FULL of spam. every day. not as much as the HFAC address but not a little bit either. Can't really ditch that address. Because. Ok. Not really sure why not but I'm sure there is a reason.

So. I started a "only a select few know it" gmail account. If you have it, count yourself queen or king for the day. Because I DON'T give it out to just anybody. I like that email address. No spam. It's great.

And my work email. Which is actually 2 mail addresses that funnel to one address. I'm stuck with that though.

So what is that? 7 email addresses? Holy Criminy Batman. That is a LOT of emails. So what do I do now? Because NOW I started this new Pampered Chef adventure/Venture and I really don't want to use my gmail address and the candlesandbath one would just be stupid because what does that have to do with cooking? and the helpfindachild address wouldn't be appropriate and is pretty much a lost cause to all of the spammers and bots. and that really only leaves me with the email address with 21,277 emails that need to be cleared and how do I explain to someone what cmmouse has to do with cooking? Oh yeah, NOTHING.

So now, here I sit. Now having written 1000 words about emails. An I still am no further to a solution than I was before. What do you do? What works? What should I NOT do? Does it really even matter? I can't be the only one with this problem. Why has email taken over my life? If it was 1987 again what would I be doing with my time instead?

Oh yeah, life goes on. Long after the thrill of emails is gonnnee.

I should have gone to bed a long time ago. Let's just write this one off to being awake too long.

No. I really do need a solution. So I turn it over to you my minions. What should I do?