An Unfocused Wednesday Mess!
Over the past few weeks Toney has received at least three wrong numbers on her cell phone, from people trying to order room service. And I find this to be both amusing, and curious.
Clearly, It would be a golden opportunity to engage in some good old-fashioned phone fun, turned inside-out. Caller ID and other technologies have all but ruined the proud sport of crank-calling, but when the calls come to you… Man, that’s good stuff.
I’ve tried to convince her to take their orders, repeat it back completely wrong (”You say oats and olives?”), take it again, then promise to send their food up straigh’ away. But Toney’s far too nice for such shenanigans, and the whole thing goes to waste.
But how could it even happen? While staying at a hotel, you don’t dial a full seven-digit number for room service, do you? Isn’t it generally a three or four-digit extension? How could all these hungry people be calling her phone? I don’t understand.
Any ideas? And have you ever had a similar experience? Do you have any interesting wrong number stories to tell? If so, we need to hear ‘em. Use the comments link below.
Toney and I were talking about something the other day, which had never occurred to me (not really). All four of us, we realized, have alternate universes outside the home.
Even the kids spend large parts of their days with people we’ve never met, in rooms we’ll never visit. And Toney and I work and interact with whole sitcom casts of characters, most of whom the rest of the family will never lay eyes on. It’s kinda strange.
We come together several times per week, at mealtime or whatever, and tell each other about what’s happening in our other worlds. And I have all of Toney’s main characters pictured inside my head, and she has mine. The boys tell us about kids and teachers from school, and I have no idea who most of them are. Toney knows more about their alternate worlds, but it’s like an old time radio show to me.
I never really thought about it, the fact that all four of us have significant experiences on a daily basis that don’t involve the family whatsoever. And no, I haven’t been smoking pot, thank you very much. Sheesh.
Do you have an opinion about the flu shot? It’s that time of year again when the social pressure starts to build, and we have to make a decision. We’ve never gotten it, for us or the younglings, but agonize annually.
When we lived in California the company would have a team of nurses come in and give the shot to any employee who wanted it. And it seemed like everyone who took them up on their offer was sick within days. But maybe that was skewed perception, I don’t know.
One of the main reasons I resist the shot, I think, is because I feel like I’m being manipulated into it. But is spite a valid reason to forgo such a thing? My instincts say yes, but my brain isn’t completely sure.
What do you think? Are you pro-flu shot, or against it? Have you ever gotten sick from one, or is that a myth? I’m pretty certain we won’t be participating, once again, but I could probably be persuaded to change my vote.
And speaking of sick… Half my co-workers seem to be hacking and coughing, and wiping snot halfway up their arms. It’s a disgusting display, and I’m doing my best to stay away from that roving pack of Typhoid Marys. But seriously, I’ve gotta be immune by now, don’t I? I’ve had two ass-kicking colds during the past couple of months; my system must be bulked-up and resistant to such things at this point, right?
Yeah, it’s a theory I’m clinging-to…
And since we’re talking about snot, there was a kid in my grade school (William P.) who sneezed one day and ejected a rope of nostril-putty that nearly reached the floor. The class howled in protest, and the kid immediately snorted the entire thing back into his nose. It just snapped right back to where it had come from, like a yo-yo, or a tape measure.
It’s been 35 years, and that scene is still (to paraphrase John Kerry) seared, seared in my memory.
Last night we turned on the heat in our house for the first time this year. We probably should’ve done it earlier, but Toney believes it’s a slippery slope and tries to delay it. Whatever. All I can tell you is, I’m not uncomfortable and bitching under my breath anymore. Well, about the temperature anyway…
And how accurate is this thing? For some reason I don’t believe it. I’m highly skeptical, and don’t really know why.
And that’s all the time I have for today, boys and girls.
I’ll see ya tomorrow.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to the RSS feed!
Filed under: Daily
Frist. Which just makes me that much more awesome!
Howdy pardners !!!
3rd…………WTF never made the top 10. Damn…….life is good!!!!!!
Jeff,
I work in a hospital and they make it mandatory that you get the flu shot. I bitch and moan every year and have to give in. So much for freedom of choice. I have to say that I also get sicker than shit from these bastards. Stand tall Jeff Kay…..I live vicariously through you.
The heater is on and is it still not bourbon season?
Quattro!!
top 10!!!
I allways get the flu shot. Never got sick from it. NEVER. I had the flu about 10 years ago and have been getting it ever since. Even if I gert sick from it it couldn’t be as bad as the flu. I can say that for sure…
Your wife’s cell phone might be a digit off from a drug dealers. Some dealers like to use codewords or silly ruses to differentiate between the fuzz and their junky clients. Not that I would know anything about that sort of thing.
Oh yeh I forgot to talk about the automatic thermostats. We hace one on each zone. they work great. We get up at 5:30 so the heat comes on in our room at 5 am. It goes off at 6 am. Done for the day. It comes back on at 9:30 pm and we go to bed at 10. It goes way dowm at 10 for the night. The down stairs one is set similarly. They save us a bundle on heating costs and once I set them. I forget them. Sorta like Ron Popiel, “set it and forget it” If you don’t have them I strongly suggest you get then. Some utility companies even give you a rebate for buying them.
For a time I had a second line in my house that Iused as a home office/fax number. Before I got it it was a local reservations number for British Airways. I’d get several calls a week asking for information on arrivals and departures.
And yes, now and then I’d yank a chain, but only rarely. Usually I only did it if the peron on the other end completely ignored me when I answered the phone with “Acme Novelties, this is Jorge”.
One caller comes to mind. She asked me when a flight was arriving. So I banged randomly on the keyboard for a bit and then told her that the flight was diverted to New York and would not be continuing to Detroit. She got upset and started making demands. Then she told me (rather shrilly) that the person she was expecting “doesn’t speak any english!”. When I said that’s OK, lots of people in New York don’t speak englsih” she pretty much came unglued. She demanded to speak with my supervisor. I just said no. She ranted for a few minutes and hung up. Then she called back. When she get me again she was really pissed.
That same number was also close to the number for a movie theater. I remember one guy who left a message. He was calling for his neighbor who was apparently one twinkie away from being cut out of his house and wanted to know if the theater had sets large enough to accomodate a man of that magnitude. He really wanted to see Saving Private Ryan as I recall.
Flu shots. Here’s what I learned in Microbiology. The flu shot we get is really a vaccine for 3 specific strans of flu (there’s lots and lots of strains out there). Last spring virologists and immunologists looked around the world and did they’re best to guess which 3 strains would likely find their way to North Amercia and would be nasty enough to infect a lot of people.
If they’re right this year then the flu shot will work. I believe last year they were wrong about 2 of the 3 strains so a lot of people who got flu shots ended up with the flu. Most years they get it right.
My company gives them out so I get ‘em. An ounce of prevention, right?
Also, I try and look at what doctors and nurses do. Generally it seems like they get the shot. So if people who are better informed and educated then I am say it’s a good idea and lead by example then I’m inclined to follow.
I’ve never ended up feeling sick after getting immunized.
And your cold viruses may or may not be the same as your coworkers. If it was the same you’re fine. If not, not.
We turned on the heat on Sunday after installing a new filter.
I don’t think that flu shots have the ability to make you sick. I’ve never had one. I’ve used Zicam with great success. I use the nasal swabs as a preventive measure when I’m around a large crowd of sickies.
When someone calls my phone and ask for a name I don’t recognize I always say, “Sure, just a second.” Then I set the phone down. After a minute or two I pick it back up and say, “This is Bruce (or Tina, or James, or Lisa, or whoever).” And most the time they just hang up.
just think how that concept of alternate universes would seem if you WERE smoking pot…
as for phone calls–I had a six month relationship with a guy in Alabama who dialed my number by mistake, kept it and would call me on holidays to wish me happy whatever, he published a book and wanted to send me a copy but that seemed kinda strange so I just went and bought it–interesting–I changed phone numbers so whoever got my old one might have a new friend
heat will be on next week in our house–it’s 100 years old and ALWAYS cold in the spring and fall
When I lived in Denver, I got a guy named Roger’s old phone number. This guy got a ton of phone calls and I was constantly telling people calling that Roger didn’t have that number anymore. Everyone from friends, to the school where his kids went, to credit card companys, etc.. were calling looking for Roger. This went on for a couple of years, and I was not exactly nice to the callers as time went on. Eventually however, the calls came fewer and farther between and eventually they stopped. Seven years went by and one Sunday evening the phone rang and the man on the other end asked for-Roger. I told him not such a nice way that Roger hasn’t had this number in 7 YEARS and “you people” need to stop bothering me. It turns out that the caller was his brother and they hadn’t spoken in 10 years. He was calling to re-connect with his long lost brother. I talked to the Rogers new number. I felt kinda bad for being such a bitch to him at first- but that soon passed.
The flu shot is free at my company so I have gotten it for the last five or so years and I have never been sickened or know anyone who has but I have heard several ‘friend of a friend’ illness stories.
I checked out the world names map and it seems to be fairly accurate in that the names you would expect to find in a particular country are there in the expected quantities. The strange thing is that of the different names I tried, and I tried some off the wall names, Argentina insists on being pale yellow (excluding Spanish names). Liegl, Boettcher, Sposa, Hall, Morris, Ireland…and none in any other South American country? Is it some sort of Noah’s Ark of last names down there? Two of every last name? Any body else get this?
Did the coments page change– or is it me?
I have never had the flu and I also have never had a flu shot. I do not do “sick”.
In Florida we will turn on our heat for probably seven to ten days at most. I finally installed an A/C system that has heat in our office so I will not be covered with a blanket during daylight hours this year. Seventy degrees is beyond freezing for me after 20 years in FL.
It’s high eighties now and muggy as all get out. It was 82 at 8:15 this am. So, it felt like fall for a few minutes there.
As I said before I run several business phones through my cell phone– annoyingly I have been getting dozens of those computer calls “You may have just won..”. Also, local Toyota dealer left a computer message at the house this am– BIG SALE this week. So I would prank those callers except they are a machine and do not respond.
I don’t know if it is ever bourbon season. I know that it does stop being mojito season though, soon.
Good Afternoon Surf Reporters………
Story to follow after these messages…..
I have never had the flu and have never gotten the shot - I’m 45 years old. I also have not had a cold since the fall of 2005. I guess if you guzzle enough alcohol on a consistent basis, that does the trick. That and a lot of chili (with Dave’s Insanity Sauce) and vegetable soup in the winter. Yeah, that’s it.
I’m on Vicodin today- sorry
The world would be a dark and scary place without Jeff Kay.
I’m not acceptable to the flu shot on the basis that when I was immunized/innoculized in my early childhood, I became deathly ill to the point of almost being hospitalized.
I get one major sick spell a year*knock wood*, and at that it only lasts a day or so. I’ve been in my current job for just over three years and have called off once(just ONCE, dammit) from being sick.
I agree with Bill in WV, the amount of alcohol I consume on a daily basis must be some sort of sterilizing agent and deterrent against viruses.
When I worked for ‘the good hands people’, one of our work numbers was one away from a Pizza Joes(evey goes to Pizza Joes!!)
I’d answer the phone “Good Morning / Afternoon, Allstate Insurance.”
And as if they never heard the salutation would immediately start ordering with much fervor.
I’d sometimes interupt them with the fact that they had called an insurance agency.Other times, yes, when I was feeling a wee bit michievious, I’d play along with them, saying “uh-huh, uh-huh, OK. Would you like to upgrade the drinks to 2 two-liter bottles for just another 99 cents? Yes? OK, great , is this for pick up or delivery?”
Then of course they’d call back irate their order was late, and I would be insistent they were talking to a licensed insurance agent, not some zit faced pizza slinger.
Good times….
I have only had the flu one time, it was immediately after I received my (first and only) flu shot.
My old phone number was one off from the local Days Inn. I would get people calling for reservations all the time. And yes, I took their reservations! It’s not like this town is hopping with tourists so I am sure they were able to get a room once they showed up. Good times.
My new phone number obviously belonged to someone as at some point because I kept getting phone calls for some guy. They eventually stopped. Thank goodness. Now if the political parties would quit leaving messages on my answering machine, all would be right with the world.
Never have I gotten a flu shot. I have heard of too many people getting sick with them and I rarely get the flu anyway. And hell, if I did, I could use a couple days at work.
My husband’s old cellphone used to get calls from a rap artist who would periodically call to let his “dawg” know when his next album was “dropping”. Meanwhile my old cellphone got calls from a collection agency looking for somebody named Taneshia.
Our current land line gets repeated calls from a woman talking excitedly in an Asian language we cannot identify. From watching Korean soap operas (don’t ask), my husband picked up the phrase for something that we think roughly translates into, “Whatchoo talking about, Willis?” (without the Willis part) and so, on occasion, I’ve screamed that into the phone. It does trip her up a bit, but she still calls.
As for the flu shot, I was never really big on them, but my current doctor is a bit of a shot Nazi so every year they wrestle me to the floor for one. It’s not that I have a fear shots or anything, I just think the flu shot is a total crapshoot. And for anyone who wants to scare themselves witless over the next big influenza epidemic, may I recommend the book “Flu : The Story Of The Great Influenza Pandemic ” by Gina Kolata.
CC: My Americanized German surname appeared in Argentina also, but not the German version. Huh, go figure.
on a side note………
Why is today’s update “An Unfocused Wednesday Mess” when it’s only Tuesday?
Apparently Obama is a very Japanese name… secret Muslim, secret Japanese, secret white man…
Oh, and I have had an interesting wrong number issue. It was about a year ago. I kept getting these calls from Germany. It was a British lady trying to make arrangements to ship me a horse that I had purchased. After calling to see if my mom had bought another horse and somehow my cell phone number got placed in the transaction I was able to confirm that this, indeed, was not a horse I was at all involved with.
This was right after I started working at my current job and my coworkers (who all enjoy ease dropping) thought that these conversations were hilarious, not only because of the content, but because I couldn’t immediately discount the possibility of being involved in shipping a horse from Frankfurt to Dallas.
You can get sick from the flu shot - it’s an attenuated virus, not a dead one, at least usually it’s attenuated. So, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that if you were suceptible to the peraticular strain of virus used in the shot, you could get some symptoms. Imagine how bad it would be if you didn’t get hte shot though.
I still don’t get a flu shot. Don’t get the flu either. Pneumonia’s more my bag.
Unless “Johnson” can’t be found anyplace on the planet, I’m betting my work computer has some really crappy software onnit.
I usually just take messages for wrong numbers. This doesn’t happen as often any more, since I don’t use the land line, but I occasionally get the opportunity. Sometimes the caller will ask “well where’s she at?” and I make up a story (movies, the store whatever). I’ve had several people get suspicious that the person they were calling is lying about their whereabouts, as they had said they would be home.
The flu shot will often make people mildly ill since it contains dead (partial) strains of the virus. It works by getting your body to develop the antibodies to that particular virus, which is really just getting sick on a small scale.
I get messages on my home voice mail on occasion from Jeff and my buddy Steve’s mother (who still lives in Dunbar), letting me know what time prayer meetin’ starts and what she’ll be wearing that night. Bless her heart !!
I worked in a gas station in high school. One morning another employee, Thad, didn’t show up for work at the appointed hour of 6 am, and my manager waited an hour and called him at 7 am. Whoever answered the phone claimed to be Thad and when asked why he wasn’t at work he told my boss to “fuck off, I quit”. Dan, my boss, had a fit and immediately prepared Thad’s “Record of Employment” stating he was terminated with cause (making Thad ineligible for unemployment insurance). That was the end of Thad, or so we thought…
Turns out that Thad was in the hospital when Dan phoned (that’s why he was not at work) having his appendix removed, and therefore most definitely did not tell anyone to fuck off or quit. Dan must have dialed the wrong number and got pranked. Kinda awesome when you think about it.
The company that I work for has a similar name as a national retail store that we are all familiar with. Apparently when one calls directory assistance the phone company gives out the number of our company. This can make for some great hi-jinx ! Here is the dialogue from one encounter:
Phone Rings
Me: $*@&$ Homes
Caller: Automotive Department Please
Me: Please hold
I put him on hold & after about 3 minutes pick up again
Me: Men’s Wear!
Caller: I need the Automotive Department
Me: Please hold
I put him on hold & after a few minutes pick up
Me: Houseware Department
Caller: I’M HOLDING FOR THE AUTOMOTIVE DEPARTMENT!!
Me Please Hold
Again I put him on hold & after a few minutes pick up
Me: Lingerie Dept.
Caller: LISTEN YOU DUMB M.F’s I WANT THE AUTOMOTIVE DEPARTMENT NOW!
Me: I’m sorry sir you must have the wrong number.
Then I promptly hung up. Throughout the entire call I could just sense the callers fury increasing each time I put him on hold. It felt kind of nice to give someone else the same run around that I normally receive each time that I call that same national retail store!
I don’t get flu shots either. I’m skeptical.
The surname locater was right on for me. Kinda creepy.
I used to get the anual winter crud (sickness) but since I can remember, but doesn’t everyone gets sick in the winter at leat once? Two years ago I had a flu shot and got the worst sicknes on record. Last year I passed on the shot and my co-workrs all had one, everyone in the office got sick twice…..me?…..snot free since 2007. No flu shots for me anymore….rat bastards!
Get a shot if you are under 5 years old or over 60 (or pregnant) Thats what they tell me anyway.
We’ve had our current number for over 4 years and we still get wrong number calls for the same three people. 2 of the people get calls from collection agency type places, one gets calls from mental health services. After I explained the situation to one mental health care place, she had the gall to ask me if I knew the person in question or what their new number was. As if I just inherited the number from a close friend or family member. I just laughed and asked “Now, how would I know _____?”
I try to use the caller ID to ignore some of the calls, but sometimes, it’s a recorded message and the company will continue to call (at all hours) until I take time out of my day to call back and have them remove our number. Gah!
Surname locator was 100% accurate for me.
Happy Tuesday, Surfers!
We used to get calls late at night from an old black lady, and she would ream us out for different things from not taking out the trash to stealing her car. Her name (Bertie) was on the caller i.d. It was kind of fun, because anyone in the house who answered a call from Bertie would just listen to her and then apologize or whatever. If someone came home and wondered if they had any calls, they might get, “Oh yeah. Bertie called. She wants to know why you took her mail out of the mailbox.”
Then one day I saw her picture in the obituaries. No more calls.
Remember when the flu wa scalled “The Crup” ? That’s what my grandmother called it. Maybe just be a midwestern deal?
I am against the flu shot. I’ve tried it three times, and three times I got the worst cold/flu I’ve ever had. Stuck in bed, aches, pains, feeling like total crap. So never again. I don’t get sick in general (yeah, get the odd cold, but nothing that is more than a mere nuisance) so the flu shot was an obvious connection. Got it three times to rule out coincidences, ain’t no coincidence.
My phone number was a digit off from some girl. People would mis-dial regularily. One particular afternoon I got a call, is Sue there?
Me: “No, sorry, you just missed her, she’s in the shower right now”
Unknown female caller: “Why is she in the shower at ‘this’ time of day?” (interesting question to ask I must say)
Me: “Well, we where.. you know… having some fun together…”
unknown female caller cuts me off: “Oh… I… Uhm…”
Me:”Want me to take a message?”
unknown female caller: “Uhmmm no, I’ll be seeing her next week”… hangs up.
I had a good chuckle from that particular call. Not an original idea though, but given the frequency of callers it was getting for sue it was a bit much, so I figured, next call I get, we where bumping uglies. I sure hope ’sue’ was good looking though. A few more of those and I think sue finally started stressing what her phone number actually was when she got the third degree from her friends who she was banging. I wonder if her mum ever called me?
And then there where the calls for ‘George’, the previous owner of my phone number. These where older folks, so they got spared since they actually where polite over the phone.
Do not get flu shots.
First, the influenza virus is dead in the vaccine. So, the drug company must add an “adjuvant” to the vaccine. This adjuvant tricks your body into thinking you are sick, so your immune system goes searching for a foreign body. Your immune system finds the dead virus cells, and attacks them, and your immunity is then built up and ready to fight this type of virus. All vaccines work this way. So, many people feel sick after getting a flu shot. No different than your baby getting a fever after getting an MMR vaccine.
Furthermore, drug companies use a mercury derivative as a preservative in vaccines. Mercury is a heavy metal, and causes brain damage. Want to lower your IQ?? Keep getting those flu shots.
None for me, thanks. Whiskey shots? I’m in.
Jeff, I can’t think of a good, grown-up reason not to get a flu shot.
I understand that the vaccine itself is dead; dead can’t give you the flu.
However, about 4 years ago I got my shot as I do every year, and still got the flu. The doc sent my er, discharges to CDC Atlanta. Sure enough, I did get influenza, but a different strain from what was in the vaccine. It does happen once in a while.
Even so, there’s no good reason to skip the shot. Unless you are some kind of medical Luddite, which I doubt.
Today’s quote” “Don’t look back, something might gainin’ on ya.”
Satchel Paige, baseball pitcher & legend
Ever since I started doing the two week fast/cleanse every 90 days, the flu bug hasn’t bitten and the cold bug has hid his ugly face. So, flush that colon and stay healthy. I also change my tooth brush every two weeks.
https://www.evercleanse.com/Default.aspx?mid=502229
On the call issue, if I don’t recognize the number, they get the dreaded voicemail que.
I always get a flu shot and I’ve never gotten sick from one. I think it’s a crapshoot - but a worthwhile choice.
So far, 4 annual flu shots and NO flu. Even the Boy has received the flu shot for 2 years and no sickness. Yea!!
Just recently I’ve received two messages on my cellphone.
The first one was from some skinny b****. She says, “Hey GF, I’m at Nordstroms’s and I found a dress. It’s a size 0 and I think you’ll like the color. Call me back.” I don’t want to hear from anyone!! that is a size 0.
The second was some guy trying to get a hold of his “counselor” to tell them he had obtained a job and what is the next step for his sentence. WTF?! He called twice and I finally called back to the number to tell him he’s NOT leaving messages with his counselor.
On the surname thing, my mother’s maiden name scored 3.67 per million in the US, .64 in UK and .03 or something Spain. I think they must’ve made that one up.
We used to be one number off of the city bus schedule line, so on very snowy days we would get the standard “the bus runnin’ t’day?”. The answer was always NO, unless for some reason we were feeling nice, or worrying about our karma or whatever.
I’ve never had a flu shot and can’t imagine that I ever will… I see no good reason for it. Then again, I’ve also declined to have my daughter vaccinated, ever - Neither of us ever get sick and I attribute it to the lack of all kinds of nasty crap being injected into us. Do some online research on vaccines… there’s so nasty, horrible stuff in those.
Just wash your hands, don’t touch your eyeballs or suck on your fingers and keep your colon cleaned out - you’ll be fine.
flu shot - I have gotten the flu shot since my teens, and the one year I didn’t get it, I got the flu for the first and only time of my life. absolutely miserable, and almost ended up in the hospital. I’ve never skipped again.
surname - I tried my two family names (one Scottish, one Irish) - both seemed pretty accurate. the only surprise was the fairly high numbers in India.
Wrong numbers - when I was a kid we were a reversed number away from a pizza joint. It was standard practice to take their order if they sounded drunk.
Once in college, some girl called our apartment and started screaming at my roommate - something along the lines of “who are you?! I found this number in my boyfriend’s jeans pocket!!” My roommate told her that she had no idea who her boyfriend was, but if she can’t trust him, maybe she should dump him, then hung up on her.
I had an elderly man call my old number about once a month asking for Robert. He and Robert were in some war together and all of the members of their squad had died of old age or in the war. He was half blind and despite the fact that he had one of those phones with the big digits on it he still slipped and called me about once month. He and Robert talked every friday.
He was a cool old guy and we would chat a bit, he had some great stories to tell and I just listened to him. I was sad when I moved and had to tell him that I was changing my number.
I wonder of him and Robert still talk.
I could have sworn when I first saw the post today it was called “An Unfocused Tuesday Mess,” and when I got home from work it said Wednesday. Am I going mad?
Funny cell phone story, I was in Buffalo, NY for a race over a long weekend, and I got a call at 2am from a number I did not know. Well I was with a group and thought someone needed to contact me, and I was up all night from an injury anyway, it was a wrong number from the 215 area code (near me)and when I answered, a woman asked where are you? I said Buffalo, Where are you? She sounded confused and drunk, and hung up.
I never get the flu shot, and I have been lucky. But, I do believe Tiff, It is right, it going to make you sick before it protects you, it gives your body time to get used to the infecting bug.
I don’t get a flu shot anymore. The last time I got a flu shot it was during my lunch break. By the end of the day I had symptoms- felt hot, was sweating randomly. The next day was more of the same with random headache and body ache. I sort of felt out of it. It all erupted into the worst 2-3 days of diarrhea since I was 4 and drank from a stagnant pond and got giardia.
So no, no flu shots for me.
The real killer is that it was two days before my wife’s company Christmas party at a Ruth’s Chris and four days before my company’s party. I was bitter.
Yeah, there are no ‘Garcias’ in Mexico. Wicked accurate, as they say up here.
The flu shot works, every time i get one i get the flu!
A long time ago in MD my parents phone was one digit off from the new Pizza hut, and after a week or so we decided as a family that we would take all orders, telling every one that their order would be ready in 20 minutes. Every now and then we;d go up and sit in the parking lot if we had a high call volume, just for kicks.
Nor are there Nguyens in Vietnam, or Abduls in the Middle East. Fishy!
I absolutely will NOT get a flu shot! I’ve personally know 2 people who contracted Guillain-Barré Syndrome (look it up on Google) immediately after they got a flu shot. One was a co-worker in his 20’s who started to become paralyzed within 24 hours of the shot. It started in his legs, and when it moved up to his chest, he could no longer breathe. He was hospitalized in critical condition and put into a medically induced coma while plasmapheresis was administered to try to counteract the effects of the shot. It was terrible to see him in the hospital in a coma. His wife, who had just had their first child, was devastated. After several months and physical therapy, he recovered to about 90% of his former self (still some limb weakness).
The other person was not so lucky. She was the college age daughter of a co-worker. She fell ill within a day of receiving a flu shot, and was also hospitalized in critical condition. However, she continued to get worse and went into a coma on her own. She never came out of it. She is still in a vegetative state in a nursing home (over 8 years now).
Several years ago they built a prison halfway house in the town I live. Unfortunately for me, the pay phone in the hallway for prisoner use had nearly the same number as my home phone, but with the last two digits reversed. I used to get calls in the middle of the night from people asking for their incarcerated loved ones.
Yeah, it radiply went from: “Sorry, wrong number,” to things like, “Sorry, he tried to escape and he’s in solitary now,” to things like, “The priest didn’t call you? He was executed last night.”
And the alternate universe thing is common in my life. My wife constantly tells me things like, “I don’t even know who you are when you are around your friends and co-workers.” “Yeah honey, you see, even though YOU think I’m a worthless, lazy douchebag, there are people out there who actually appreciate my rapier wit.”
Flu shots….I dunno. I got one last year only because I was helping to man a booth at a community health and safety fair. My co-worker and I got roped into getting them from a nurse at a nearby booth. No ill effects, but that said, I haven’t had the flu in the last 40 years. So, who knows.
BTW, Jeff, I was talking to an old friend from childhood days last night, and somehow he got off on a sidetrack and was talking about the genius of Phil Hendrie. I told him about you, and gave him the address for thewvsr.com. Hopefully he’ll enjoy this site as much as I do!
….Oh, and to you, Tadpolegal, don’t EVER be sorry for being on Vicodin. Whenever I am lucky enough to get it prescribed, my first stop after the pharmacy is the Catholic Church to light a candle and give thanks to God.
I got the flu so bad one year I developed pneumonia. Don’t ever want to be that ill again. Every year since I have gotten the flu shot. Haven’t had the flu since. Never got the flu from getting the shot. (???) I plan on getting another one this year. I wish my company would offer them on site.
My wife and I stayed at a B&B in Virginia. The lady who ran it said a local auto parts store put an ad in the yellow pages selling car batteries. There was a typo in the phone book and they got all their calls. After a while they just gave up and started selling car batteries as a sideline and made some nice extra money.
One of my Top 10 movie scenes of all time: Ruthless People, 1986. Danny DeVito’s character answers the phone, listens to the caller for a second, and says, “Debbie? No, Debbie can’t come to the phone right now. My dick is in her mouth! Can she call back later?” Caller hangs up, and Danny says to the onlooker in the room, “I love wrong numbers!”
Classic!
Havent had a flu shot since grade school. Haven’t had the flu either. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
We get wrong numbers at work all the time. I’m on a military base, but our number is not one of the Army’s private lines, so its a regular city line. People call all the time for various different things. They try to sell me insurance, buy pizzas, promise to erase my debt, it’s pretty amusing.
I really enjoy it when I’m having a bad day because it gives me an excuse to be rude as hell to people on the phone and let my frustrations out.
Jeff- are you a day ahead of the rest of us (based on the title of yesterdays post)
When I was a college freshman living in a dorm, I had only been on campus a couple of weeks when I got an early morning call. My roommate answered and said it was for me. Half asleep, I got on the phone and the guy on the other end started rambling on about somesuch. After about 30 seconds or so I stopped him and said “who is this?”. He said that he was my dad and kept going. I stopped him again and said “come on, who is this? You’re not my dad”. He kept insisting that he was indeed my father and we argued about it for a minute. We finally figured out that his son with the same first name as me had lived in the room the prior year and he still had the old number.
If you have kids, then you have little Typhoid Mary’s bringing pestillence and death into your home. Sorry, but it’s true. Once the youngun’s grew up & moved out, bouts of flu and cold’s dropped off to almost none.