About three years ago, I lost it. The jewel case was there, but the CD was not. I thought it might turn up soon, and gave it time. It didn't. By and by I came to realize that I must have lost it outside the house or something, and that I am not likely to ever see that particular CD again, before I buy another copy. For three years, at least, I would occasionally encounter the forlorn jewel case, and sometimes I would even naively open it, hoping I might have somehow found it some time ago and forgot I did -- but of course, it wasn't there.
But like the sad story of losing Serena, this, too, has a happy end!
arnulf are conducting what has come to be known as The Operation (האופרציה) -- we're "ripping" all of my (rather sizable) CD collection into Ogg Vorbis files (a patent-free alternative to MP3) and storing them in faithful Pippin, the Flat server, for easy playback. This entails going over all my CDs, including the ones I haven't put in the stereo in years. And a few minutes ago, I found a kitschy love-song collection CD that my mother won at some raffle or something, and wouldn't you know it, there was my precious Véronique, languishing with gooey love melodies all these years...Bliss!