May 19 2002
Give & take
It’s raining. RAINING!! And it’s MAY. I don’t remember it raining here in May since the bad old El Nino year when it started in September and went all the way through May, including every single day in February. Normally, it only rains here in the winter, so you can pack away your umbrella in March or so and not expect to see it again until November. So this rain is unexpected and unwelcome, like the call I just got from AT&T:
Them: Good evening, is your mother or father home?
What I think: It’s 10:30 in the morning here. Where are you calling from, Russia? I haven’t lived with my parents for over 20 years, my father’s dead and my mother lives 500 miles away, so you really aren’t going to have a meaningful conversation with either of them by calling this number.
What I say (forbiddingly): Who are you calling?
Them: Mrs. Susan Peakall.
Me (even more forbiddingly): This is Susan.
Them: Good evening (!) this is AT&T…
Needless to say, the conversation ended suddenly after that. But I still wonder: do I sound like I’m 10 years old? Where is it evening now? Why can people like this call you on a Sunday and annoy you, and you can never call them back and annoy them? Phones, though they can be convenient at times, are mostly deeply annoying.
Of course, this does not apply to talking to Candi for an hour this morning. She’s one of the few people I’m always glad to talk to. I’m so happy that she and Brian liked the book Amber put together. She thought of the whole idea and got everyone to participate. She even got my brother to send something, and I’d love to know how she did that! Anyway, great idea and beautifully done, and no-one deserves it more than Candi, who gives so much more than she gets.