Those of you who use Microsoft Outlook for email know the chime that dings when an email comes in. You’ve heard it a zillion times. On average, I’d say I receive between 150-200 emails per day at work and sometimes more, which means chimes go off around 750-1000 times per week, or 3-4 thousand times per month. Minus out the emails that come in at night (which are few) and, well, you get the picture. Lots of chiming.
Here’s my point: if I’m brain-deep in a financial model in Excel (an occurence which seems to be happening more and more lately) I sometimes hear the chimes. If I’m putting together a term sheet or marking up a legal contract in Word, I sometimes hear the chimes. If I’m preparing a presentation using my least favorite application, PowerPoint, I sometimes hear the chimes. But when I go to check email – nothing has come in. Am I losing my mind? Or has the chime gotten such a hold of me because I hear it so much? Has it has become automatic in my brain? I even occasionally hear the chimes when I’m cooking dinner or reading a magazine…..and sometimes I swear I hear it in songs. Damn chime.
This is not so much different from our dehumidifier at home. When it’s full, it lets us know with three quick beeps. I always joke with Steph when it goes off that it is the bane of our existence. We are slaves to the chimes that thing spits out. Now, lately, I swear to friggin’ god I’m hearing the dehumidifier beeps, too and then when I go check it – it’s fine – not even close to full. Then, even more bizarre, when it is actually going off, I cannot hear it. What the….? Does anyone else hear this stuff in their head?
…..and don’t even get me started with the voices I hear.*
* Just kidding on that one…..