Catch 22

Oh the joys of returning to work after a holiday. I have on similar occasions sometimes forgotten my password. So this time I had written it down - not the password itself (as that would be a VERY SILLY THING TO DO) but a clue to remind me. Unfortunately I could not remember where I hid the written clue - I had deliberately not stored it with the laptop. But despite this I was able to recall the password itself. All to no avail as it had automatically expired - was I really away that long?