Just because I have a phone doesn't mean I have to talk to you!

Until very recently I had 5 phone numbers. WTF??!! you are probably thinking!

Let me explain;

1 Main Line Company Number
1 Direct Dial Number
1 Company Mobile
1 Home Phone Line
1 Personal Mobile

Doesn't sound so bad when you list it out like that, does it? In fact its a relatively easy accomplishment for anyone. Throw in skpye, a pager and a few PDAs and I could be easily over passed.

Thankfully I now have just 1 number.

Bit of a cut back you might be thinking. Well the closure of my company clearly did away with 3 of the numbers but long before that I can started to cut back. Why, I hear you ask?

Do you have friends or family who if they don't get you on one number, try you on the next and the next leaving you those annoying, ' Oh you must be out/busy/ in a meeting I'll try you on [ insert other phone option not previously tried here]? You don't? Well I do! Some members of my close personal circle, who would happen to have access to all these numbers, would even go so far as to start calling my husband or other friends they might think I am with if they don't get through to me.

Now you will be forgiven for thinking, that to execute such a phone tree in order to speak to me, that there must be some sort of huge emergency or horrendously important message or question that needs answering, for the most part there isn't. Normally its a ' are you coming for dinner on Sunday?' ' or 'can you check you received the test email I just sent to you cause you haven't replied yet' or some other inane task/ topic that could easily be dealt with when I call back in the next 10 or so minutes. [Patience is not a virtue many of my inner circle possess! - Clearly!]

I suppose I am diverging a little and I really should be targeting my rant at those of the 'older' generation (sorry guys, but its true!). I imagine having grown up reliant on a once a week postman, smoke signals or homing pigeons, the invention of the landline and then the mobile phone has greatly increased the quality of their lives but seriously guys; JUST BECAUSE I HAVE A PHONE DOESN'T MEAN I WILL or WANT TO ALWAYS ANSWER IT - IT'S NOT THE LAW!!

Funnily an EXTREME incident of 'not answering your phone' occurred last week. [Thankfully not to me] The exchange, or at least partial exchange, took place between 2 people who are very close to me and both are of the 'older' generation. In the interest of safety lets call them Bill and Ted.

Bill sends Ted a text message. [Ted is on his holidays]

Ted receives the message, but does not reply to Bill immediately. Ted does however forwarded on the news to others, including me.

2 Days pass and Bill rings me. Ironically I don't answer, he leaves a message and I call back 30 minutes later.

'Blá thank god you called!'

'Is everything ok Bill?'

'No! I think Ted's phone has been stolen.'

'You do? What makes you say that?'

'Well I text him 2 days ago and he hasn't responded!'

'I don't think so, I had a text from him yesterday. Besides he would call/ email/ make contact if it had.'

'Oh right, you are probably right.'

So Bill and I finish up our conversation and I think nothing else of it. The following day Ted happens to phone me, we chat for awhile and I relay the 'Bill drama' to him. I think no more of it. Today I log into my email, an account I am not in everyday and I have an email from Bill.

'Blá Ted's phone has definitely been stolen. It's now almost 5 days and I haven't heard from him'

So I am sitting there thinking... someone clearly has high opinions of themselves, because the only reason they wouldn't get a reply is because the phone was stolen and not the fact THEY ARE ON HOLIDAYS!

Of course don't worry I told poor Bill that Ted was fine, that I had spoken to him and his phone was fine! But really does everyone think/ believe just cause we all have mobiles that you are guaranteed/ have the right to speak to us?

In my world... You Don't!

Rant over!