19 producer

So my wife wakes me up at 7:30 this morning to ask if I put out the trash. Normally I put the cans out on Tuesday night before coming in to the house, but that night I forgot. Turns out, the garbage truck was pulling into the driveway between our house and the neighbors, so I had to get it out to the end of the drive -- otherwise, we have to deal with full trash cans for a week.

So I jump out of bed, throw on shorts, a shirt and some shoes so fast I don't really remember doing it, and run outside. I was only technically awake at that point, so about the only thing I could do to get their attention when I got outside was hold my hand up in the air like I had a question. Thankfully, they saw me and stopped to get the cans.

As I'm walking toward the truck with the cans, one of the garbage men meets me halfway and says something to the effect of "Sorry. We're a little early this morning, because I have to be at a funeral most of the afternoon."

He said it with a smile on his face, which kind of threw my sleep-numbed brain. So instead of saying something polite like "Sorry to hear that," I mumbled the first thing that came from the bowels of sleep deprivation.

"Uh...that sucks."

From now on, I think it'll be a lot easier to remember to put the trash out Tuesday night. It'll keep me from running through the house basically blind and deaf to everything around me, and it'll save me from looking like a buffoon.