Phone calls

[muck_a_luck]

Remember this phone call?

Last night, this old lady called me on my cell phone and was really mad because, apparently, I had her brother's number. As in, she called her brother's number, and got me. I confirmed that she had indeed dialed my number. I said, I'm very sorry, but that has been my number for more than two years and your brother is not here.

She got quite irate and hung up on me. She called again immediately, and I let it go to voicemail so she could get additional data, as in, MY voicemail message. She called an additional two times, I did not answer.

I note that this call was from the 252 area code. I am pretty sure I have gotten other calls from that area code where the caller did not leave a message. I wish I could get the guy's actual number, so the next time I pick up one of those, I could just tell the caller the problem.

Still. What is it with people? They call, you pick up, they say that you are not supposed to pick up. Like somehow I have somehow tampered with the laws of physics, or perhaps just the US phone system to aquire use of a phone number not my own...

All I can say is, CJ, when those really rude Holiday Inn people call, I think you should make them a "reservation" get their credit card numbers, and go on a shopping spree.

Comments

[alpha-strike.livejournal.com]

I don't know how casual you are about just anyone on-line knowing who and where you are. Personally, I'm fairly paranoid: I don't use names, I don't mention the city I live in, and I try to eliminate any information that identifies me. Remember this phone call? tells me that you probably work at [street], suite 210 [city, state, zip code] and provides a verifiable telephone and fax number. Are you sure you don't want to redact the law firm name? I'm just askin'...

[muck-a-luck.livejournal.com]

My resume is on that website. All the random people who search for my Boss on the internet can access that page. And then they call us and I give my name to them on the phone. I don't see this as different from any other stranger interaction. I mean, I attended a conference and did all sorts of "exercises" with the random person sitting next to me at the table, telling him my name, how to contact me at work, stuff about my family. Things I don't do in this journal - give out the names of other people, including my immediate family - hence the code names for the children and husband. Give out my personal phone and address info, including mentioning the specific town I live in. Don't mention any specifics about the children's schools or friends. I also don't post pictures that are not locked down of the kids, and rarely post identifiable pictures of myself.

Husband is big on the paranoia, too. But to the extent that Internet interactions approximate RL interactions, I'm OK with people getting the same info they might get from small talk. You know?

[charlietudor.livejournal.com]

Okay, you're right, that was stunningly easy to find you.

I used to use my RL name as my email, ebay, online-in-general name before it occurred to me that that was STOOPIT. When I started in "Star Trek" fandom, as well, everyone always used their real names (30+ years ago!), and I was initially flummoxed when I started THoU by trying to find a hobbit/screen name. I'm glad I did--when I was a kid without a career it wouldn't have mattered that I write salacious material for the internet, but now? Gawd, no, there's too much at stake.

[muck-a-luck.livejournal.com]

I was thinking the other day. What if I wanted to run for office. This journal would get some sort of FOIA demand, and Brain would, too, and then either my chances would be dead, or the first woman president would be a publically acknowledged pornographer! :D

[alpha-strike.livejournal.com]

*Nods* Everyone has their own comfort level. Mine starts with a concealed and loaded firearm every fifteen feet throughout the house. Most rooms have more than one. (My house is about as un-child-safe as you can get.) I have valid reasons for this. I'm pretty close-mouthed in person, so you can imagine how I feel about typing things into the ether. As I said, I was just asking. I wanted to be sure that you hadn't inadvertently disclosed more than you wanted to. You're comfortable with the information you put out there, and that's great.

[muck-a-luck.livejournal.com]

:) I figure the wackos who call Boss and actually know me in real life are probably far more dangerous than anybody whom might stumble onto my journal... Boss gets the occassional death threat. I've never gotten one of those from anybody who found me on the Internet.

[green-grrl.livejournal.com]

I had a similar problem all last year. I kept getting voice mails from Hewlett Packard to Jose at Whatever business telling him that his printer or monitor or etc. had shipped, and could he confirm receipt and was everything okay. So I would nicely call back their 1-800 number and explain that I was not Jose, not Whatever business, had never been Whatever business, and they would have to confirm the order by postcard or means other than my home telephone number that I had had for six years. They were very nice and would thank me for calling in. But every few months it would happen again, so finally I called and asked to speak to a supervisor. I told her that I didn't know if they had some master client paperwork for Whatever business, or if Jose had a typo on his POs, but could she please put a giant note in all caps in the client file that [my phone number] was NOT Whatever business phone number, and that they should ask for the real phone number next time it got used in an order. Knock wood, it hasn't happened again...

[muck-a-luck.livejournal.com]

Doofuses. *rolls eyes*

[cocoajava.livejournal.com]

I have been SO tempted to take the rude folk's reservations and cheerily assure them that the Holiday Inn is anxiously awaiting their arrival!

Personally, I think the Holiday Inn should give me a free pass to MediaWest since [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com], [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com] and [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com] will all be there again this year, and I wanna hang out with my friends for free!

[alpha-strike.livejournal.com]

My father actually did that when he got several calls in a row from the same obnoxious person trying to make reservations at a Sheridan Hotel. It's your telephone, you can say whatever you'd like to.

[cocoajava.livejournal.com]

Indeed! My phone has been badly abused by outsiders for years.... it's time for some payback.