Sunday, October 5, 2008

Phone Etiquette

With the invention of the cell phone came the devolution of human manners. I think it's safe to say that most of commit the cardinal sin of talking on our cell phones while driving. Unless you're my Mom, in that case you can't shift the car and talk on the phone all at one time (sorry Mom). How many of us have completely ignored a cashier at the grocery store in order to not interrupt the very important phone conversation about who did what at last nights frat party? Or, my ultimate favorite rude cell phone behavior at the moment, answered their cell phone in the middle of class... I thought I had witnessed the worst of the worst cell phone behavior moments, but today a woman in Target topped my list.

After chugging down two fountain drinks at lunch with Jackie, it was no surprise that after 45 minutes of shopping in Target I was ready to burst. Leaving Jackie at the check out I darted over to the restroom. I entered the restroom and noticed that stall one and stall two were occupied. I thought nothing of the woman's voice coming from inside one of the stalls as we all know women flock to the bathroom in groups where we then gossip for ten minutes before returning to the real world. As I entered a stall to do my business, it occurred to me that the conversation I was unintentionally eavesdropping on was completely one sided. Moments later a toilet flushed and the occupant of the stall left the restroom. It was at this moment I realized I was in the bathroom with one other person; a person who was locked in a stall, pants around their ankles, and talking on their cell phone in a very busy public restroom.

I washed my hands but skipped drying them as I was fighting the urge to either giggle or blurt out some nasty comment about phone etiquette. It was an interesting mix of disgust and humor that someone could be so carefree in their cell phone usage. I couldn't help but wonder, what did the person on the other end of the phone think of all the flushing in the background?

I found Jackie moments later and blurted out the entire story. This led to a ten minute conversation on bathroom stories which only goes to show, you're never to old to enjoy a little potty humor. Maybe it's the redneck in me shining through.... I guess that explains the copy of Up Shit Creek sitting in my bathroom.

After Target, Jackie and I made our way to the mall for pedicures. It was so relaxing. I picked out this wonderful pink polish, which stayed looking wonderful for all of two hours. Figures, when you pay to get the polish placed perfectly in the lines of your toes you are DOOMED to mess it up somehow.

As I sit inside the "warm" house stewing over my messed up toe, J.R. is outside running around the pitch black yard with a head lamp muttering something about "God damn moles" under his breath as he injects the ground with poison. I have to say it's rather entertaining to watch the little ball of light bounce around the yard from inside the house. At least he's staying busy.

Although the day was relaxing, it's back to the world of stress and homework. This week promises to be another week of homework overload. I can't wait to see what finals week will bring.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

In church, last sunday - DURING A PRAYER - someone received, answered and proceeded to talk on their cell.

Unknown said...

Oooohhhh, can you get J.R. on video and post it. That sounds hilarious!!!! hahaha
Val en ABQ

Mary said...

(1) Moles know the difference between poison and insects. Trust me, it used to be my job to kill them. Get a couple of Victor traps. I'll find the website for you if you need me to.
(2) I talk to my mom in the bathroom all the time. She does the same for me. We just warn each other, first. And I don't do it to anybody else I know, its just weird.
(3) My brother and I do an instant I-gotta-go-call-ya-right-back when we get to the front of the check out line. I HATE it when people ignore the cashier.

Love,
Me

liberal army wife said...

1. HANG UP and drive. my fave bumpersticker and one of my hugest (is that a word) peeves.
2. Potty calls - only when DH was deployed. if it rings and I'm "otherwise disposed" and it's NOT DH from the Sand - forget it.
3. HANG UP and walk! I get run into by those terribly important folks with their terribly important Blackberrys all the time. watch where you are going!
4. Mute the damned thing in the restaurant - the store - and definitely on the Metro! OK, so I'm a curmudgeon when it comes to cellphones. I won't apologize. I detest talking to someone, and having them grab the phone/blackberry and proceed to dismiss our conversation for something that is NOT more important. Again - caveats ~ Kids calling (you never know if it's urgent or just the "mom, he said I couldn't have a sandwich, you tell him I can"call) or deployed family - if they can get to a phone/get connectivity, they talk to you. No matter what. I pulled off 35W more than once to talk to either DH or the Kid when they were downrange.

LAW

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Stephanie F said...

This brings up an interesting question. When is it considered acceptable to talk on your cell phone in public? Walking down the street? Through the mall? Is it acceptable to talk on your cell phone in an elevator? On the bus?