2:35an: My best window for site maintenance is after most folks are in bed; midnight to 5am. US East coasters start logging on at 3 AM, but my nightly backup routine kicks in at 5 AM so I need to have all file activity on my computer stopped by then. That is also a signal to me that my best online hours are over. Yes, I can still work on the site during the day, but to do that is to risk our customers’ experience. I am used to a graveyard shift; it just comes with the territory. I can also sleep during the day while my wife and son are working, or when my son is on night shifts, he’s sleeping too. That is as long as our neighbors do not run their ATVs around our apartment building…
My work week usually start just after midnight Sunday, very early Monday morning. But his morning I am in some kind of withdrawal; a driver hit a pole tonight and knocked out all of our cable service; no internet. Normally I would just go back to bed, but tonight I have lots to get done and no way to do it. Yes, I’m writing this offline, hoping the repair crews will have my internet connection restored shortly.
I rely on the internet so much it’s like I’m in some kind of withdrawal; at every turn I want to do something, but then the realization hits me; that activity requires an active connection. How did I ever get along before the Internet? Well my livelihood did not depend on it back in those days, but my leisure activities were different. My children were young and mostly all at home; so there was always plenty to do; you parents of young children understand. Now, I can’t even text message my kids or grandkids (a few are old enough to have their own cell phones) at this hour. So I’ll just jabber on my blogs, work on our shopping cart conversion (building a monster spreadsheet to import all of our product listings into a new system), and whatever other activities that do not require a connection. Sigh.
