Friday, April 2, 2010

Do you really 'talk' on the phone?

I was forced to ask this question to myself and everyone around me after a 
particularly harrowing experience on the phone with a 'friend', an ex-gym trainer and 
a very distant relative - who all, believe it or not, decided they had to call on a single day. Here are my experiences and 
trust me, none of these do I want to have again - 

1) Talking with a 'friend'
The friends that I am referring to here, are not bosom buddies or people you cannot live without- they are
simply people who you have to live with if you want to have some amount of fun in your
non-happening college or workplace or whatever- someone  you are not particularly fond of, but someone
you can kill time with- do you know such a person? Haha.. imagine being on the phone with such a person
for no rhyme or reason just wondering why you are having the conversation in the first place. The other person calls you and asks you his/her queries, you answer his/her questions with some smalltalk and yes- that is supposed to be the end of the conversation. But implying this to some people seems to be the most difficult job on earth! HOW do you get off the phone with a friend who refuses to hang up? 

2) Talking with my ex-gym trainer 
The call begins with a - "Hello Maim, you haven't been coming to gym lately" and hey! I cannot believe 
what this person is talking about because I haven't been to the gym for over an year now..I explain that to him and the trainer shoots back with another dimwitted question - "So, you don't exercise anymore" I am about to tell him to mind his own business and flatly say "No" 

And YET, he comes back with a "Not even a morning walk, Ma'am?" and I am all set to pull out all my hair..just how, how, HOW are you supposed to be really rude on the telephone - if it is an art, I am really unable to get the hang of it..because somehow I just cannot bring myself to shout or be rude with someone on the telephone!

3) Talking with the very distant relative 
Trust me guys and girls, this is the absolute worst of the lost. A person you hardly know or remember calls up, and expects you to recognize him/her over the telephone. The feelings that run through your mind are indescribable - you feel a sudden urge to slam down the receiver and then later, if the person calls back, tell him that there was a disconnection OR you deal and dodge the question to the best of your ability. The 'formalities' that follow always leave me squirming because I never know HOW to talk with a relative who I know so little about, who is elder to me, because of this inane fear that I will be at a risk of being asked a question about some other relative! Some other relative, about whom, too, I will have no clue at all.

Well well well, 
all this may paint me as an insensitive person but really, I am not.
The problem is - I can visualize the person on the other side and I perceive the voice as another human, another being, another entity, someone who you MAY bump into any time without warning and at that time, you would not want to be sorry about the manner in which you spoke to them over the phone!

My question is : Do you?

23 comments:

Karthik Ragubathy said...

I somehow have a feeling the first one has a reference to me =/

Karthik Ragubathy said...

Btw Nice article

What irritates me more is that they chose to call me at the times when i am thinking upon ideas to change the world ( read:sleeping )

I Hate people who call me while i am sleeping . And when I tell them that , they tell I am sleeping all the time :-/

The Second types are the ones that i loathe. Bank Executives , Offer Monsters , Advertisers and the list goes on..

The Third One , well I have no choice .. I try my best to avoid them if I can but if they somehow call me up ..They start with the same old " How are your studies going on ?? " , How come so less marks , see your cousin he is in IIT and shit stuff

They serve no other use than rubbing salt on their wounds

Nicely written post :)

Firebolt said...

Geek God : Response to your first comment:

Please haan, you know better - the first one is NOT directed at you

=]

Firebolt said...

HEHEHEHHEHE

Totally agree with the third category that you mentioned and described yaar.. really they REMEMBER everyone who is successful at getting somewhere (read: good college/school) and then if you're not good, they dont even remember the grade u study in!

Stuti said...

Aahahahahahahahahaaa!!!

Happens dude, happens!

And when you drop hints and answer in monosyllables, such as hmm and ha and yaa, and they STILL don't get it, that's the time you end up really controlling your tongue! Hee hee hee!

I empathize!

Stuti said...

And yes, VERY nicely written :-)

*huggs*

vaidehi said...

Can relate to this ;)

Anonymous said...

And the first one refers to me pakka.....!! Nw muxt hang up as soon as possible....! ;) N btw, U r improving at prolific speed....!

- Sugar Cube - said...

HOW do you get off the phone with a friend who refuses to hang up?

>> Say you can't hear and that there's some connection error.
>> Tell them your mom needs you for some work urgently.
>> Be rude "Ok ..then ?? I've got work"
:D lol
Tried and tested :P

I cannot talk much on phone even with my closest pals.[ Face to face communication beats everything ]
I mean I really have to be tooooo bored to speak on phone with someone.
And usually I end up not even hearing half of the stuff that the other person is saying :P

The 3rd one..talking with distant relatives ..lol..I so understand the situation!! :D
It annoys the hell out of me.
I tend to drag words and more often than not reply lazily :P
Then , the best I do is..quickly pass over the phone to my grand mom or mom :D Like you know
" Oh yeah..you..Hi..I'm good..wait a min.."

Haha..I can't stop laughing just recollecting what not I've done to avoid talking on phone :P

Nice post chicka :D

Mr. "Niraj" Lemon said...

Nice article...Its the spice of life when you don't want to talk to somebody but still have to spent time talking with them.

Many a times it i was the person who was the sufferer and many a times the other person as well..coz for some we mite me the unwanted guest to talk...Wat say??

Other side of the coin...lol

Urvashi said...

hmm.... nice article re...!!

somethin so close to our daily lives..kind of happens mny a times wid me...the relatives part is definitely boring...

n other cases..it happens tht sometimes frnds may call up jus 4 timepass widout any reason n wen i really hv some work to be done then..they feel i m avoiding them..it has happened so so so many times with me... :( :(

Firebolt said...

@ Stu : *hugs* Thankieeee baby!

@ Vai tai : :D

@ Vaibhav : Thanks re.. and yes - it does NOT contain any reference to u! :P

Firebolt said...

@ Sugar :
Definitely, nothing like sitting face to face and talking.. and yes- I am going to try out those 'tips' the next time someone decides to bug me on phone.. hehehehe.. gosh this sounds so mean =P

I just try and hold back all the frustration while talking on the phone.. lol who knows when I bump into them!

GAWD!

Thx, though! :D

@ Niraj :
Hehehehee .. I get your point..
I am sure I've bored a lot of people to death too, and the worst part of it all - without realizing!

=P

Firebolt said...

@ Urvashi :
Really, that's the most difficult situation to handle but I am lucky most of my friends are understanding people.. and most of them dont have that DANGEROUS inferiority complex!

vision91 said...

Nice one Sukhs,

Phone conversations can really bore you especially when it is a conversation with uninteresting parties.

Firebolt said...

You bet Saabs..

Inevitable and unpleasant :P

Anonymous said...

Achha fakt mala he saang pahili/pahila(frd)wala ph konacha hota???
mala kalun jaail...LOL

nd gym instructor stupid talwalkar wala na??

hahahaha.....

khub jyast hasayla yet aahe mala ajun kahi nah....

pan hote assa kadhi kadhi ....
sod...

Firebolt said...

ROFL Chengdi,

Yes.. you are right about the second category - it is indeed Talwalkars' gym instructors.. godddd kitna pakaya re!!

=P

About the 'friends', nahi re..
phone pe bataungi =P

HEHEHHEHEHEHEHHEHE

Anonymous said...

ok ok... fne... =P

Impulsivator said...

Ahhahahaaa!! Man this was AWESOME!

I'LL TEACH YOU - IM AN EXPERT! :p

1. you suddenly yell out, 'cominggg mom!' so they can hear.... then, 'sorry got to go.. i'll call you back... see ya.. bye..!

2. banks, ads, every company you name it - just be blunt! after thier intro it goes summat like.... 'sorry m not interested..bye..' phone down!

3. simple... u fine? yes im fine.. here talk to mom..!

master these and you'll sing my praises! :p

and yes, this is what i really do.

Firebolt said...

@ Sanz :

LOOL you are my official phone GURU =P

We must start advanced courses, soon!
But yes - I will surely follow your tips!

tharangni said...

>>Reply to my post>>
@Firebolt ~ Thanks! :D Even i was going kinda crazy for not blogging! :D But i guess that's how im gonna be in my holz... cuz i wont get any laptop then! X(

Firebolt said...

@ Tharangni:

No laptop in holidays? Hawwww =[