Adventures in texting

It was really a bad combination. I stayed up far too late one Thursday night. Then I forgot to set my alarm. Luckily I woke up before I was supposed to be at work. Unfortunately - it was only ten minutes prior to the start of my shift. In the rush to get out the door, I skipped breakfast, forgot to pack a lunch, and didn't have time to get coffee. My Friday was busy and productive, but it was also the kind of day where everything keeps breaking. And while I was not to blame for the broken stuff, I was responsible for the fixing of said stuff. My to-do list was growing faster than I could check stuff off.

Don't get me wrong - that sort of craziness is good for me. It keeps me moving and prevents the boredom that comes with repetitive tasks. The challenges keep me learning and growing and stretching my capabilities.

But that Friday was just a bad day. Due to my own negligence, I was tired. With a lunch still in the freezer at home, I was hungry. I was uncaffeinated. Tired. Hungry. And in dire need of caffeine.

I have a problem when I'm that exhausted. I hallucinate. I see things. I don't need to take drugs to have a wild trip, I just deprive myself of sleep. Spending my work day looking at databases, spreadsheets, charts, graphs, and various metrics updating in real time doesn't help ease my dilemma.

There is a coping strategy. I text my wife. These texts help me to keep awake because it forces my brain to function and serves to distract me from the artificial colors and images dancing across my field of vision.

It also gives my wife great entertainment as these texts are not always coherent. In one friday, the following is what I sent her.

First was an update on a person that Bekah and I have been trying to contact.

I also explained my current welfare in hopes that she could take pity on me and bring me lunch. Or coffee. And as evidence of our spending a decade of our lives together, she was able to successfully translate that first sentence without any help from me.

(Adding insult to injury, the air conditioner in our building was blowing chilled air at full capacity. In the middle of winter.)

Then came an update about some changes at my office and a feeble attempt to see how her day was going.

I didn't have my car that day so I needed Bekah to come pick me up. My phone's autocorrect had a different idea.

And right at the moment that Bekah pulled into the parking lot, I had a last minute issue come up. I know what happened that delayed me, but I don't how I was trying to explain it in this concluding set of texts.