Fonts, Window Salad, and Humble Pie. Mmm.

This morning, I’m eating a big ole’ slice of humble pie and having some coffee. Mmmm!
It all started this week when I released a font that had 2 P’s and no Q. In the introductory email, I bragged about how amazing my work is.
Mmmm.
I was at a work conference with my husband in Texas. I had pushed the release date back on this new font a few times, and I was determined to finish it this week, no matter what. I was in the room working on it when I had a thought. I need to check on that flight info again…
The globe would explode if I didn’t debut the font that very day. A friend had rented a jeep and we were going to have coffee in a bit. Did I bring those other jeans?
My husband sent a text. A false fire alarm had been pulled and the conference center was being evacuated onto the streets of San Antonio. I have to fix the P that I see there in the Q spot.
How did it get there? I would have such a hard time explaining that process to you. There’s nothing plausible.
I replied and asked if he had gotten pics. Did I check that right-side bearing?
My system started throwing up windows all over my screen. Window salad. They wouldn’t close. I wrote my tech contact who is brilliant, attentive, and quick to help. Reopened the ticket and told him to never mind.
I grabbed my credit card and took care of the paid upgrade. I’ve been needing to do that anyway. Plugged license key. Proceeded.
Now I can get this show on the ROAD! Zip this file here, boom, and then get this one moved over here, boom, then I upload there…
I forgot about that stinking P until I got an email about it. I was in flight and almost expired right on the spot, y’all. I had already sold a handful of licenses. I hurriedly corrected the font right there in coach, replaced the files online, and sent out updated copies to those few customers. I made a quip about watching my P’s and Q’s. But it should have been about humble pie. My mom would have predicted this had she proofed over that email before I sent it.
This is what it’s like to be font-obsessive, compulsive, and absent minded at the same time. If I’m not working on fonts, I am sketching them, noticing them, or chatting up my family about them. Even after I’ve published my own, they're still ever evolving. As systems update and technology marches forward, I keep them updated. Everything stays nice and tidy.
Shout-out to fellow font designers and typographers, for their contributions will impact the way future generations see the world. I learn from them daily. They are my tribe and are the ones who really get me.
After I sent replacements one guy replied, “I rarely need the Q anyway. I don’t even like Q’s.”
They’re not my favorite, either.