Thursday, April 27, 2006

Busy Signal

Last Tuesday at work, one of our vendor applications died. It was my turn to play suck-up, so I called the vendor and explained our issues. My contact, who I'll call Dick, assured me that he would discuss this problem with his superiors and call me back the next day.

Wednesday morning came and went. As did Wednesday afternoon. At 5:00, I started to think that Dick might just have forgotten about me.

Thursday morning, my manager asked for a status. Since I had none, I decided to take matters into my own hands and call Dick back myself. After only two rings, he answered. Casual, breezy, he greeted me with a voice that said, "Your call is interupting my latte."

"Good morning, this is Dick."

"Hi Dick. This is Mete from the-company-that-pays-the-bulk-of-your-salary."

"Hi Mete."

(silence)

"Well, Dick, I was just wondering if you had an update?"

"An update?"

"Yes, an update. On our problem?"

(more silence)

"Remember, you were going to call me back yesterday? Maybe I missed your call?" Between voice mail and caller ID, I knew I hadn't. But I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"Hmm. Yeah. You know, I've been realllllllly busy."

I couldn't pinpoint exactly what irritated me the most. Was it the fact that he never called me back when he promised he would? Was it how he acted like I was bothering him by calling him - our support person - in the first place? Or was it the way he had combined the word "really" with a giant sigh?

Dropping off the face of the earth, saying you will call or write, and then never doing it? It's rude. Despite my first hand knowledge of this, I find myself becoming another Dick. Leaving my friends to wonder where I've gone without the slightest explanation.

What can I say? I've been realllllllly busy.

For the next few months, our calendars are filled with Events. Someone has at least one doctor's appointment every week through June. On top of that, we've got First Communions, baby showers, Mother's Day, Father's day, and no less than ten birthdays to celebrate. Plus, I've recently learned, a wake for an old family friend.

I'm still reading, so even if I don't have the time to write, I'm living vicariously through all of you. And believe me, there's a lot on my mind. Many things I'd love to share with my friends on the other side of the screen. Heck, I've been tagged! I have important weird habits to document!

But for now, all that will have to wait.

Until then, this is all you need to know:

Sing loudly.

Laugh often.

Later.

Friday, April 07, 2006