McMinnville has some funny phone-fu.
It is ALWAYS necessary to dial the 503 area code first, even if you're calling next door. It is SOMETIMES necessary to dial "1" first. The only way to know which is which is trial and error.
If you guess wrong, you get the loud "Boop-boop-boop" sound, and then a recorded voice tells you you're an idiot. You hang up for a second to make it stop, but when you put the phone back to your ear to dial correctly, the voice is Still There, still loud. You have to leave the receiver down for three seconds.
The phone book says "Newbert" is a local call, but when you call Newberg you'd better dial that "1".
This unfortunate aspect of the Yamhill County phone system would've been a dealbreaker if I'd known about it before I moved here. It's me, though. I have a short phone fuse. Surprises or frustrations on the phone bring out the chimpanzee in me. Payphone steal my money? Automated phone systems of any kind? The kind where you have to TELL it your choices? Don't get me started.
Basically the handset is a short-handled beatin' stick, and my first reaction is to use it to beat the rest of the phone to death.
1 comment:
This made me laugh outloud! I'm surprised I haven't seen you do this in the thirteen years I've known you.
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