Telephone
Our worlds are colliding! If you are a frequent visitor to our blog, you know that we often participate in Erica‘s writing community, Yeah Write Me, and we love making lists for Stasha‘s Monday Listicles. Well, our last post was written in response to the Yeah Write Me prompt: “What is the most annoying sound you have ever heard?” And this week’s Monday Listicle topic is 10 Sounds That Drive You Bonkers.
What?? You don’t hear the explosions? Whatever. Anyway, we are going to continue the theme of our post Of Ringtones and Beepers (Go ahead and read it, we’ll wait. It’s only 499 words thanks to Erica) and focus this list on the telephone.
10 Telephonesque Sounds That Drive Us Bonkers
Do kids even recognize this is a phone?
1. Erin’s ringtone. (You REALLY need to read our other post.)
2. “The mailbox is full and can no longer accept messages at this time. Good-bye.” Erin’s voicemail message for over 7 months now. And counting.
2. “Mom, Mom, Mommy, Mom, Mom,” revving up the second your ear touches the receiver when just 45 seconds before they were happily destroying the linen closet.
3. The sound of a phone splashing over the side of a canoe.
4. A busy signal. It is the 21st century after all, who doesn’t have call waiting? We have been denied the flying cars and silver jumpsuits, can we at least not have that berp, berp, berp in our ears?
5. The stupid call waiting beep when you have been on hold with the pediatrician’s office for 30 minutes. You know if you switch over, THAT will the moment the nurse picks up.
6. On-hold Muzak. And worse yet, staticky Muzak.
7. The sound of a smartphone screen cracking.
8. The sound of a teen searching for his or her lost cell phone. We would describe it as a cross between a tornado and a bellowing water buffalo.
9. The sound of our cellphones ringing the second after our home phones quiet. Blowing up her phones makes Ellen feel punchy. Erin is a little more understanding. She realizes the person on the other end of the line does not know she is sitting in her fuzzy slippers, sipping Diet Coke, and screening calls.
10. AUTOMATED PHONE MENUS! “Press 1 if you are sure we don’t give a shizz, press 2 is you think we don’t give a rat’s tuckus,… press 87 if you are now inspired to throat punch a bunny wearing our company t-shirt.”
Go check out what drives everyone else bonkers!
By Ellen Williams Erin Dymowski
Automated phone systems. Bingo! I think that qualifies as one of the most annoying things ever.
Great list considering your worlds were colliding and all! ;P
I especially agree with Marian (above)…#10 – Most.Annoying.Thing.EVER!!!
Diane recently posted..10 Sounds that Drive ME Bonkers!!!#Monday Listicles
I DESPISE on hold staticky Muzack! I totally forgot about that one.
Kim @The G is Silent recently posted..Monday Listicles
The static is the worst! Ellen
The busy signal – it is 2012, right?
The teen searching for the cell phone in our house strongly resembles what I imagine the “end of the world” to sound like. LOL
Ally recently posted..The Sounds That Drive Me Bonkers
See, I knew there were others. I could not be the only one suffering through the “teen lost phone syndrome.” Ellen
I HATE muzak and the automated menus. Especially the ones that don’t seem to pay attention to what you say or what number you press. SO annoying. Great list!
Brandee recently posted..Annoying sounds – oh so many
I know I end up looking like a crazy person yelling, “1, 1, 1!!!!” And that is usually on the first item: “Press 1 for English…” At least I am usually in the car with only my kids as witnesses. Ellen
Beeper Erin, really???! But my VM is the same. Hanging my head in shame. Great list!!
Stasha recently posted..Monday Listicles
Nah, the beeper was mine Stasha…in 1996.
Ellen
Taryn loses her phone all the time, then panics like a crazy person. It’s really irritating.
Bridget recently posted..Monday Listicles
You know EXACTLY what we are talking about. Ellen
This was such a cleaver way to do the list! Automated phone menus are really up there. I hate it when I just want a person and it takes me 20 minutes to figure out how to get one (and then at least that long again before I talk to anyone). Great list!
Stacie @ Snaps and Bits recently posted..10 Sounds That Drive Me BONKERS
Thank you. We do like ourselves a good theme. Ellen
I absolutely hate automated answering systems. You can pay someone to answer the phone surely?
Wayne recently posted..Monday Listicles
The companies should take up a collection to pay someone, at the very least.
Ellen
#9 is all me! If I can’t reach you on your home number then the cell is next in line. Cause I know you really want to talk to me!!
We never screen your calls Mary!
Oh the phone to water….makes me feel panicky just thinking about it. While mine wasn’t over the edge of the canoe it WAS into the big toilet bowl. And as luck would have it, that whole scene happened in slow motion for me so I was sure to remember every.single.second of the horror!
Ducky recently posted..10 Sounds That Make Me Violent
So far we have avoided the dreaded toilet bowl, although I fear it. By Neptune, I fear it. Ellen
Hilarious, as usual–I’m always afraid that my phone will fall out of my pocket in a public restroom. That’s a sound I don’t think I’ll be able to handle:( Great list!
Jennifer Worrell recently posted..Ten Sounds That Make Me Tremble (and Not in a Good Way!)
Thank you! And if you dropped your phone in a public restroom, you’d never get it clean. You’d just have to burn it and that would be sad. Ellen
Your list made me all jumpy and phone-searchy. Also, automated phone menus make me punchy at “press 2″.
BonnyBard recently posted..Monday Listicles – Shut up, just shut that shit up already!
My teen daughters are confused when they hear a busy signal because they don’t recognize it as such. They say there is a funny sound, hand the phone to me and I enlighten them.
Um…we don’t have call waiting. I know it’s ridiculous. But you don’t get a busy signal – just voicemail.
Katie E recently posted..Monday Listicles: 10 Sounds That Annoy Me
Amen to #8 and #10! Great listicle!
Jill recently posted..Dear Homewrecker
Haha, all of these are reasons I now spend as little time on the phone as possible. Email and text messaging are godsends for someone as easily annoyed as myself!
Amanda recently posted..10 Sounds that Drive Me Bonkers
I adore texting. Avoids that problematic interaction thing.
Ellen
As for #10, I often just press 0. That will, on occasion, connect me with a real live person. This strategy works less and less as the telecom people have caught onto 0-pressers like me…
Ellen recently posted..Ten Most Annoying Sounds–Listicles!
Love your list! #2 happens quite often here
Sara recently posted..Annoying Sounds.
So what I’m gathering from your list is you love your phones more than anything in the world? No? Haha! I’m a severe phone-a-phobic. I hate talking on the phone. Even the ringing of the phone bothers me. I totally get your list!
Delilah recently posted..So This One Time at Target….
I am now annoyed with anything phone related! But really the busy signal?! Oh and automated politician messages I have been getting lately!
Audrey recently posted..Monday Listicles – 10 Sounds That Drive Me Bonkers
OMG I’ve heard that sound of the iPhone splashing over a canoe only it was a kayak! (-:
#3 and #10 are my favorite, or rather least favorite! The constant “Mom” thing will be the death of me.
Stacey recently posted..The Mom Olympics