15 Seconds of Fame

I found a feature the other night on the Comcast website that interacts with your home voice mail if you subscribe to the service. This feature allows you to listen to your voice mail over the internet as well as sending you an email notifying you that you have a voice mail. I find the email feature particularly useful because there are times I just forget to look at the phone when I’m home to see if the light is flashing, let alone make a call from my home phone to hear the fast dial tone. Now, I have some notice that I need to check my voice mail when I get home…and a work-days length of anticipation to boot. (Not allowed to stream audio at work & deparate for something to look forward to.)

The one thing I’m finding incredibly interesting about this emailed information is that it also tells you the length of the message. I have to say I’m finding that I’m on some level beginning to judge others by the length of their message. It's not something I would have generally paid attention to (unless you are a total rambler and it’s THAT obvious) but, now that I have this timing data available up front, I’m finding that I’m actually more eager to find out who has called and is able to spell it all out in 15 seconds or less than I am to know the source of the minute and a half message. Pertinent information allowing me to know who called and why and how to get back to them can actually be contained in 15 seconds. How exciting it is to know that I might know someone who has proven themselves to be that effective a communicator!

And as an added bonus, there is the fair warning to perhaps hit the bathroom before checking the messages when I get home...the next one was a bit chatty, it could be awhile.

Thank goodness for redial

My primary care physician's office lost a few doctors and I sense they are overloaded with patients now. They no longer schedule appts beyond the current week...meaning you gotta get on the phone and call Monday morning to get an appointment for the week you want to be seen.

I've just spend the last fifteen minutes on the phone redialing trying to get through to the doctors. Busy signal, busy signal, busy signal. I feel like my health care is in the hands of Ticketmaster. When I finally got through, I have to say, I got the same rush as when I would call for Buffett tickets.

RING - RING - RING -- SCORE!