Cal was on his 250th shift in a row at The Streak Registry and would receive a bonus if he finished out the day. As he often tells patrons trying to start new streaks, it’s all about showing up one day at a time. Vegas wasn’t built in a day after all.
The Streak Registry is the official governing body for determining whether a streak counts. They also keep records, award prizes, and settle disputes.
I stood patiently behind a line of other customers watching Cal.
“We can’t accept this streak,” Cal said to the woman two people in front of me. “Streaks are official at the five-day mark. A two-day streak is just completing a task for a couple of days in a row. Here’s information on our official app. You can register the streak there, and it will keep track for you so you don’t have to come back.”
The woman left, and the next patron was a teenage boy, practically in tears. “I need help restoring a Snapchat streak. My girlfriend broke up with me because the app did not register that I sent her a snap.”
“You can pay Snapchat to restore a streak,” Cal said. “We actually get four percent of that money.”
“She says that doesn’t count,” the boy said, but Cal could not help him further.
“It’s tough to be a teenager in this era,” I said as I walked up to the counter.
“You’re telling me,” Cal said. “You would not believe how many relationships die over a streak ending. How can I help you?”
“I wanted to officially register my streak for the year,” I said. “Today is my 250th story of the year—every weekday.”
“Oh yes,” Cal said. “You write Those Stories. Congratulations. We will make a note of that, although it’s not a record.”
“I know,” I said, “But it’s a record for me. I was also told that it’s your 250th shift in a row. How are you feeling about that?”
“You know, it’s just showing up every day,” Cal said with a smile. “Although some people think it doesn’t count because I don’t do weekends.”
“We share that critique,” I said. “I’m actually here because today is my last story of the year.”
“Wait, you’re breaking the streak?” Cal asked.
“I figured a nice round number was a good reason to stop,” I said.
“That’s not how streaks work,” Cal said. “You don’t announce they’re over. You just forget to show up, or you get sick, or you make the impulsive decision to get on a train to go somewhere else. You don’t announce the ending.”
“That’s what I wasn’t sure about,” I said.
“I’ll make a couple of notes, anyway,” Cal said. “Postmortems are part of our jurisdiction. So why is the streak ending?”
“I feel like I accomplished what I wanted to this year,” I said. “I’ve really found my voice, and now I want to focus on some bigger projects.”
“So does that mean no more stories?”
“No. There will be more stories next year, although maybe not quite so many stories,” I said.
“Do you think other people should do streaks like this?” Cal asked.
“I really do,” I said. “You learn a lot. You figure out how to grind through the hard weeks, and I feel like I really settled into a style of storytelling.”
“Great,” Cal said, “I’ll add that to my notes.”
Before I left, I said to Cal. “Enjoy today, but just some advice that you don’t have to take. Next week is Christmas. Maybe make that impulsive decision to get on a train to somewhere else. It might lead to a good story.”