The phone is the instrument of the devil...

from JoeUser Forums
Argh, such a useful device, but such an irritating one too.

Try taking a nap to rest a little and fight off the cold that my wife has passed to everyone else in the family and no less than 3 -- though it seemed like a dozen -- calls come in separated by approximately 15 minutes each. Just long enough to start to fall asleep again when the phone ring, ring, rings...

I swear that the thing is a curse sent straight from hell. It's here just to irritate the heck out of me and prevent me from getting some much needed rest.

I'd take the damned thing off the hook completely, but then the darned thing wouldn't be available for my in-laws to use to contact us if they have problems and need assistance. Ooops, I should also mention that the in-laws are some of the people that called in the group of calls referenced above. Of course that wasn't an emergency call, just one to check on us. Ugh.

Oh well, now that I'm determined to be up and around for the evening the thing sits silently mocking me. It laughs at me knowing it'll disturb me at just the right moment, interrupting my TV watching, my video gaming, or something else just to break my concentration and enjoyment.

Such is life with A. G. Bell's brainchild.
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1,828 views 8 replies
Reply #1 from JoeUser Forums Top
Anyone want some cheap phones? Let the thing wake me one more time and I may have to just disconnect 'em all. If you're lucky I'll stop at just my house and not start on a national campaign
Reply #2 from JoeUser Forums Top
Oh well, now that I'm determined to be up and around for the evening the thing sits silently mocking me


typical. wait till you get in the bath or go to the loo - it will ring   
Galactic Civilizations III
Reply #3 from JoeUser Forums Top
Turn the ringer down and let the machine pick it up. Then you can check the messages at your liesure for emergency calls or whatever.

Better yet, use a phone that has distinctive ring tones which are very common these days. Doing so will help you recognize calls you definately want to ignore and makes the above suggestion even more appealing.

I suppose if your going to rely on a phone, you need to take the good with the bad.

I sympathize with your rant
Reply #4 from JoeUser Forums Top
Better yet, use a phone that has distinctive ring tones which are very common these days. Doing so will help you recognize calls you definately want to ignore and makes the above suggestion even more appealing.


Thats not going to help when he is trying to sleep     

I suppose if your going to rely on a phone, you need to take the good with the bad.


yeah, you have got to live with it. Personally I just unplug when I want a rest.

Reply #5 from JoeUser Forums Top
Better yet, use a phone that has distinctive ring tones which are very common these days. Doing so will help you recognize calls you definately want to ignore and makes the above suggestion even more appealing.


Sadly, Jennifer1 was correct with her comments here:
Thats not going to help when he is trying to sleep


I have one of the most annoying ring tones reserved for my in-laws. Even if I used a quiet one (say a nice little lullabye) it would still wind up waking me up. I can turn the ringer volume way down, and yes, I can let the phone ring over to voice mail but some people are just too persistent.

In the case of my in-laws, bless their heart, if they don't get an answer within 4 rings (give or take), they assume that they mis-dialed and call again. Not just one disturbance, but two. My best hope is to just get the phone as soon as possible, tell them I'm trying to rest and then call them later.

For others, I have to hope that the callers are nicer and smarter and don't try calling say my wife's cell phone and then call back on our regular line when that doesn't get answered. Some people don't quite get that "do not disturb vibe" even when it should be going off like crazy.
Reply #6 from JoeUser Forums Top




Sadly, Jennifer1 was correct with her comments here:




Thats not going to help when he is trying to sleep




Then you need to fall back on my first option: "Turn the ringer down and let the machine pick it up. Then you can check the messages at your liesure for emergency calls or whatever."



Some people can be as persistant as they like. If you cant hear the phone ring, *shrugs* 1) you wont be bothered by the phone and 2) their persistance becomes futile unless they choose to actually drive to your house and bang on the door.



If your wifeis home, she can choose to turn her phone on/off as well.



Another option is to turn the ringer down as I previously mentioned, and set the message on the machine to say that your fine and sleeping/resting/dont want to be bothered, and you will prompty return their call at a perscribed time, or whenever is convienient.



That should really take care of the phone. Should someone be so persistant as to arrive at your home uninvited after hearing that message on your machine.....well that would plain piss me off, and those people would be quite clear to the fact that I did not want to be disturbed, as the time for subtlety would surely have come to a halt.
Reply #7 from JoeUser Forums Top

I know exactly what you mean!  isn't that frustrating how the phone rings just as you're drifting off to sleep,  just as you step into the shower,  just as...you fill in the blank yourself.

I hate phones! No....I detest them!  hate is too strong a word.  With me it's usually the dang doorbell buzzing just as I"m sound asleep,  like today.  The neighbor ( the nosey one) rang the bell,  and when it took me a couple of minutes to get to the door, she thought I was sick....

I wish I could disconnect the doorbell like I do the phone!

Reply #8 from JoeUser Forums Top

In the case of my in-laws, bless their heart,

Why Terp, you going southern on us?