threeplusfire: (summer queen)
three ([personal profile] threeplusfire) wrote2004-08-21 09:13 am

the phone rings and I stop breathing

I have been up since 8am baking. I couldn't think of a better way to displace my anxiety.

Last night I went to bed early, tired and worried. I left my cell phone on and by the bed in case Edward or Joan called from the hospital. The phone woke me up twice, my heart pounding. Imagine my surprise and relief and irritation when I saw the caller ID. I didn't answer the phone, because I was too irate. I checked the messages later to stop the beeping so I could go to sleep. While I'm sure my friends had good intentions, who the hell calls at 11:30pm and 1am when I'm worried about a family member in the hospital? I was supremely peeved last night, but I've gotten over it.

When I was growing up, I remember a set of rules about when to use the phone. No calling before 9-10am on weekdays, much later on Sundays. No calling after 9pm, and certainly not after 10pm. I wonder if that was just my family or a secret code of the neighborhood. These days when my phone rings in the middle of the night, my first thought is always that something terrible has happened.

Mostly I was worried the phone would wake Alan. He hasn't been sleeping well at all in the past three days, getting only a couple hours a night. I realize it's been a little sketchy over the past year or so working at Flood because of the shift differences. Perhaps the universal telephone laws are not universal.

Edward said he would call a little later on. I think I will keep making pie, maybe clean for the hell of it.

And now a poll to satisfy my curiousity on the issue.

[Poll #338990]
ext_3482: Saturn Girl (Default)

[identity profile] unlovablehands.livejournal.com 2004-08-21 07:25 pm (UTC)(link)
I honestly almost never answer my landline because most people I want to talk to won't call me on it. When I was at school, I'd answer my landline between 2pm and 8pm. I pick up my cell whenever I'm awake. The thing about cellphones is that you can turn them off/set them to silent, and they are often quieter than landlines when they ring, so I think rules are less strict about them.

At work, I have to call people to let them know their parts are in, and I won't start calling until 9:30am. The people I work with think that's strange.