Begin the Beguine

This is attempt two at keeping a blog. My first attempt included only one post, months ago. My plans to blog were foiled by the site restrictions at my last job. If I can't blog at the office, then when? In my free time? Because after 9 hours of staring at a computer screen in a gray cube, occasionally I crave actual human interaction. Or maybe it's not so much about the humans as it is the soothing benefits of shuting off all electronic media.
There's something about the availability of cell phones and email that makes people think you should be accessable at all times. I started a new job 3 weeks ago, and one of the first warning signs I noticed was that not only is there a phone list at everyone's desk with their office extensions, but it also includes each person's cell phone number. Perhaps this is a common phenomenon for you, but it startled me. Are they planning to call me alot? Does this mean they expect I should be available outside regular office hours, upon demand? Because one of my favorite features about my cell phone is the ringer volume control. It can be turned off. And I take advantage of that. In fact, my ringer is almost always on vibrate because the sound of a phone ringing is enough to make me want to claw my way up to the ceiling.
There's nothing more annoying than people's phones going off at the most inapporpriate times; in the movie theatre, in the bathroom, in a meeting. It's an obsession. Some people feel they have to answer every phone call under any circumstances. If I call you, and you are peeing, please don't answer your phone. Bathroom acoustics are easily distinguishable, and I don't need to be there for that. My call can wait. Which leads me to another wonderful cell phone feature, voice mail. Everyone's doing it! I'm pretty sure it's free these days, or next to it, and you can just leave me a message. Better yet, don't bother. We've all got caller id and I will see not only that you called, but the date and time and how many times you've called. So there's no need to keep calling.
And while I'm on a roll, let's talk about how often you can politely call someone. I have friends and family members who, when they call and you don't answer, will hang up and call you right back. Some will continue to do this half a dozen times, only minutes apart. Ringer on or not, isn't once enough? What if my ringer IS off? Then you calling 80 times isn't going to change the result. I do not hear your call and I will not be answering. The truth is, the more you call and annoy me, the longer I'm going to take to call you back. Not because I expect it will teach you a lesson, (because let's face it, this is obsessive compulsive behavior and I have no professional help to offer you) but because it provides me with peripheral sense of freedom and being in control of my own destiny. It's the small things, people.

And we're off.