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chrysillaSince Tuesday I've been dealing with a weird problem. An older woman keeps calling my landline and yelling at her son on my answering machine for not calling her back.
This happened 7 times on Tuesday, first with two messages I wasn't home for, and then at call #3 I picked up and told her she had the wrong number. She then argued that it wasn't possible, her son had bought a new cel phone that day and this was his new number. She kept arguing, then realized that his area code was *917*, and mine was not. So she apologized and hung up. Then she called me two more times, I picked up and explained *again* and she apologized and hung up. There were also a lot of phone rings that didn't lead to messages, moreso than I usually get from the evening telemarketers.
And then two more times after that when I couldn't get back to the phone. So... clearly she does not understand how phones work. Even after repeated explanations. Every time she got the same answering machine message, and somehow assumed it was magically the other number?
To make sure I got to sleep that night, I unplugged my phone from the landline. I replugged it the next morning, and Wednesday I got four more messages from her, including one text message read by a robot. When I got home I just unplugged the phone again for sleeps.
I forgot to reconnect it Thursday morning, so I reconnected it when I got home and there were no more calls that evening, and forgot to reconnect it before bed. But she'd stopped the repeated calls, so maybe someone else fixed her phone for her, or her son called, or something.
And then at 1am, after I'd been trying to sleep for about 90 minutes, she calls again. Earlier I had been prepared to warn her that since I told her to stop calling me, and she persisted, this constituted harassment and I would pursue legal action. But I was tired and trying to sleep, so I just explained, in a calm anger, that this was still the wrong number and she needed to change the area code *in her cell phone call list* and she blatheringly apologized and hung up again. However, *69 still works on my phone, so at least I have her number.
Friday morning I decided to call her son, since ironically I now know his first name and his phone number, and maybe he could sort it out. Its just my number with the 917 code, right? She might be just stupid, or frequently drunk, or senile, or something else weird was going on.
"*Boo bee beep!* We're sorry, this call cannot be connected as dialed. Please check your number and try your call again."
So yeah, I'm leaning towards senile now (since she may have an imaginary son, and keeps calling the same wrong number with the same answering machine message and leaves a message anyway). Or annoying enough that her own son gave her a fake number so he didn't have to talk to her. Greeeeeat.
It really puts things into perspective that no matter how annoying my work patrons can be sometimes, at least they all know how to use a f'ing phone. This is a pure & perfect kind of stupid.
I really want to believe "Well, maybe *this* time telling her she's wrong worked!" But... no, I don't think that's possible.
Since *69 works, I'm hoping this fabled *60 also works, but it's really annoying how much trickier it is to block a specific number on a landline than a cel phone. After that I guess I'll call Verizon to see what my options are, b/c their website isn't clear. For them, the 'call blocking' feature means other ppl can't see my number when I call them.
On the other hand, its gotten me thinking about how I only really talk to my parents and my neighborhood friend on my landline, and would I really miss it if I were gone? I'd probably get a lot more phone spam on my cel, but there I can block specific numbers more easily. And it would be annoying changing the number on all my work, bank, etc things. Another option is to just disconnect the phone without terminating the phone line, but then I'm paying extra $$ for something I don't use at all. So far, it looks like Verizon doesn't sell stand alone DSL service anymore, but I'm a preexisting customer, so I may as well call and ask about that too.
I'm not sure about *actually* pursuing legal action. It sounds like a good threat in my head, but making it to someone who's called the same wrong number 10 times after she knew she made a mistake, does not indicate to me that it will actually change anything. But I feel stupid myself calling the cops on someone just b/c they're too stupid to use a phone.
On the other hand, I have a weird medical condition and a sleep disorder. I don't have the energy to babysit a stupid old jerk over the phone who's kids either don't exist or hate her. I doubt she cares that she's ruined my day with her b.s., otherwise she would have stopped calling this number after #3.
"Legal actions" like filing charges of harassment are also expensive. And I don't like wasting money on the stupid.
And after four days of feeling suprisingly really good this week, full of getting things done and talking to ppl I actually like, today I'm a brain fried wreck. B/c some stupid, thoughtless, senile old woman decided to call a number she knew was wrong three days ago at 1am in the morning. And not for any kind of emergency either, just to bother her kid at a time when he would also probably be sleeping.
It is bringing up things that don't work in my head, so that's interesting. I can't stand stupid moms, people that don't listen to me, people who make me suffer via their own selfishness or stupidity, or senseless intrusions into my privacy (phone roach?). However, given my chosen profession I should really work on getting over these issues. Or its ulcers forever.
I'm also really unhappy that *one* sleep interruption, relatively early in my sleep cycle, can completely f#$% me the next day. Even if I get back to sleep (eventually, I was really pissed). After four days of increased energy and decreased brainfog. I really don't want to be this sensitive.
On the other hand, now I know that while I do want to be more social this summer, I should NOT sacrifice my sleep for it. Because it will f#$% me up real good and leave me unable to function later, even if I only lose a tiny bit. Time to start applying my budget skills to my time, if I ever have enough energy for socializing again. Right now it doesn't feel like it :-P
<3 Chrysilla
This happened 7 times on Tuesday, first with two messages I wasn't home for, and then at call #3 I picked up and told her she had the wrong number. She then argued that it wasn't possible, her son had bought a new cel phone that day and this was his new number. She kept arguing, then realized that his area code was *917*, and mine was not. So she apologized and hung up. Then she called me two more times, I picked up and explained *again* and she apologized and hung up. There were also a lot of phone rings that didn't lead to messages, moreso than I usually get from the evening telemarketers.
And then two more times after that when I couldn't get back to the phone. So... clearly she does not understand how phones work. Even after repeated explanations. Every time she got the same answering machine message, and somehow assumed it was magically the other number?
To make sure I got to sleep that night, I unplugged my phone from the landline. I replugged it the next morning, and Wednesday I got four more messages from her, including one text message read by a robot. When I got home I just unplugged the phone again for sleeps.
I forgot to reconnect it Thursday morning, so I reconnected it when I got home and there were no more calls that evening, and forgot to reconnect it before bed. But she'd stopped the repeated calls, so maybe someone else fixed her phone for her, or her son called, or something.
And then at 1am, after I'd been trying to sleep for about 90 minutes, she calls again. Earlier I had been prepared to warn her that since I told her to stop calling me, and she persisted, this constituted harassment and I would pursue legal action. But I was tired and trying to sleep, so I just explained, in a calm anger, that this was still the wrong number and she needed to change the area code *in her cell phone call list* and she blatheringly apologized and hung up again. However, *69 still works on my phone, so at least I have her number.
Friday morning I decided to call her son, since ironically I now know his first name and his phone number, and maybe he could sort it out. Its just my number with the 917 code, right? She might be just stupid, or frequently drunk, or senile, or something else weird was going on.
"*Boo bee beep!* We're sorry, this call cannot be connected as dialed. Please check your number and try your call again."
So yeah, I'm leaning towards senile now (since she may have an imaginary son, and keeps calling the same wrong number with the same answering machine message and leaves a message anyway). Or annoying enough that her own son gave her a fake number so he didn't have to talk to her. Greeeeeat.
It really puts things into perspective that no matter how annoying my work patrons can be sometimes, at least they all know how to use a f'ing phone. This is a pure & perfect kind of stupid.
I really want to believe "Well, maybe *this* time telling her she's wrong worked!" But... no, I don't think that's possible.
Since *69 works, I'm hoping this fabled *60 also works, but it's really annoying how much trickier it is to block a specific number on a landline than a cel phone. After that I guess I'll call Verizon to see what my options are, b/c their website isn't clear. For them, the 'call blocking' feature means other ppl can't see my number when I call them.
On the other hand, its gotten me thinking about how I only really talk to my parents and my neighborhood friend on my landline, and would I really miss it if I were gone? I'd probably get a lot more phone spam on my cel, but there I can block specific numbers more easily. And it would be annoying changing the number on all my work, bank, etc things. Another option is to just disconnect the phone without terminating the phone line, but then I'm paying extra $$ for something I don't use at all. So far, it looks like Verizon doesn't sell stand alone DSL service anymore, but I'm a preexisting customer, so I may as well call and ask about that too.
I'm not sure about *actually* pursuing legal action. It sounds like a good threat in my head, but making it to someone who's called the same wrong number 10 times after she knew she made a mistake, does not indicate to me that it will actually change anything. But I feel stupid myself calling the cops on someone just b/c they're too stupid to use a phone.
On the other hand, I have a weird medical condition and a sleep disorder. I don't have the energy to babysit a stupid old jerk over the phone who's kids either don't exist or hate her. I doubt she cares that she's ruined my day with her b.s., otherwise she would have stopped calling this number after #3.
"Legal actions" like filing charges of harassment are also expensive. And I don't like wasting money on the stupid.
And after four days of feeling suprisingly really good this week, full of getting things done and talking to ppl I actually like, today I'm a brain fried wreck. B/c some stupid, thoughtless, senile old woman decided to call a number she knew was wrong three days ago at 1am in the morning. And not for any kind of emergency either, just to bother her kid at a time when he would also probably be sleeping.
It is bringing up things that don't work in my head, so that's interesting. I can't stand stupid moms, people that don't listen to me, people who make me suffer via their own selfishness or stupidity, or senseless intrusions into my privacy (phone roach?). However, given my chosen profession I should really work on getting over these issues. Or its ulcers forever.
I'm also really unhappy that *one* sleep interruption, relatively early in my sleep cycle, can completely f#$% me the next day. Even if I get back to sleep (eventually, I was really pissed). After four days of increased energy and decreased brainfog. I really don't want to be this sensitive.
On the other hand, now I know that while I do want to be more social this summer, I should NOT sacrifice my sleep for it. Because it will f#$% me up real good and leave me unable to function later, even if I only lose a tiny bit. Time to start applying my budget skills to my time, if I ever have enough energy for socializing again. Right now it doesn't feel like it :-P
<3 Chrysilla