The Mighty Randomthought #4

Answering cell phones.

It occurred to me the other day that I've developed a slight apprehension when answering a call on my cell phone from someone I don't know. I'm so used to knowing everyone who calls, and being able to see before I pick up who it is that's calling, that when an unknown number pops up, I'm like, "What do I do?!"

I do remember the days when you never knew who it was that was calling. Every time you answered the phone was a crap shoot. But it's been so long since those days, that I now experience a certain level of anxiety (slight, mind you) when I pick up the phone for an unknown call.

The other interesting thing, is that I've sort of reverted to that childhood difficulty of trying to figure out the right thing to say. Am I supposed to be businesslike, and say something like, "Hello, you've reached the Rossman residence"? For the last 3 years my cell phone was paid for by the church, and so I would always answer with a sort informal-yet-still-somewhat-businesslike-script: "Hello, this is Jeff." But now, I'm so used to saying, "Hey Scott," or "What's up Crystal," or whatever that just saying "hello," seems totally insufficient. What's more, I notice that I do it with an almost horror-movie-style questioning. I feel like I sound like the stupid teenage girl walking down the creaky stairs into the dark basement where she just heard a noise, and says, "Hello?" My "hello," voice sounds like a timid, slightly afraid person who's not quite sure there will be anyone on the other end to answer. Stupid technology...