Sometimes technology is not our friend. Last night I had a nice cup of Yogi Tea, and then I went to bed early because I had to be alert for a presentation I was to give today. I had trouble falling asleep, because I was thinking over what I was going to say. But finally, I did fall asleep. Until 4 am, when I was awoken by a "beep."

Anyone who owns a cell phone knows that noise -- the sound of a cell phone with a dying battery. I reached over to my night stand, fumbling in the dark, and found the phone (after knocking my alarm clock on the floor). I shut it off and tried to go back to sleep.

Then -- "beep!" My other cell phone! This was bad, because it was somewhere else in the room. I tossed and turned, wondering if I could just sleep through it. And then again after a long interval... "beep!" I kneew I had to get up.

The problem is, these things are hard to find because the beeps are so far apart. So I fumbled through a mound of stuff. I knocked my bicycle lock onto the floor, which fell with a loud thump. My downstairs neighbor must love me. "Beep!" Finally after going through several places, I found it, and by now I was fully awake. I turned it off, but I was also so frustrated at having my sleep ruined that I threw it at the floor -- and I hit my foot. Violence never solves anything, and sometimes it doesn't even make you feel better! Finally, with an aching foot, I went back to bed and managed to fall asleep.

Getting up in the morning was not easy. But thankfully, the presentation went well.