141:30

I am one of those people who keeps lists.  It's hard for me to imagine people who don't.  

I have lists of varying lengths and immediacies.  

There's the to-do list for the next few days. 
The long term list. 
The future purchase list, for when I win the lottery. 
A list for things I've asked Alexander to do and am still awaiting. 
A list of museum exhibits I'll probably never go to. 
A list of books I will likely read. 
And even a list of Groupon expiration dates.

Today's list is filled with mind-numbing to-do's. If nothing gets crossed off, it really won't matter.  

But one of the items is something I've been putting off for weeks.  

When I send an email from my J. Hilburn account it doesn't show up in my sent mail folder. But call apple re: mail is something I've yet to cross off my list, as I know it won't be a five-minute call.  

Looking at some of the other unrewarding things on my to-do list (go to cleaners, wrap and mail baby gift, research using Harvard Dental School Faculty for next cleaning), I decide to finally call Apple.  I am lucky to get a senior tech person from Ohio named Misty.

After some unsuccessful troubleshooting, Misty concludes that we need to call J.Hilburn for confirmation on some settings. This results in a three-way conversation with Scott, the tech guy at J. Hilburn. Eventually the problem gets fixed.

By the time I hang up, I know of Misty's three boys (7,8,9) and she knows of mine. I know it took her a while to lose all the weight she gained from being pregnant for three years. And I know she is incredibly knowledgeable and patient. I look on my phone and see that it says: 141:30. It's taken two hours, twenty minutes, and thirty seconds to resolve this problem.

Abraham Lincoln is quoted as saying, "Whatever you are, be a good one." He would have liked Misty.