Caller ID

I've been going through a phase (is it a phase if it's been like 3 years?) where I don't like talking on the phone. Pretty much I only talk to my parents on the phone, or I might call someone if I'm killing time in an airport or something. I'd much rather email, and I'm really good about returning email, mostly, so for me, that is an effective means of communication.

You know how you've got some friends, they've been friends for a while but you don't email or talk to them often? But when you see them, it's just like you saw them yesterday? The other day I came home, and my caller ID box was flashing, which means I have a new voicemail. So I scrolled down the caller ID to see who it might be from, and I saw my friend Mark's name. I can probably count on one hand the number of times Mark & I have talked on the phone. Well, maybe two hands, but it's rare, let's say. Probably the last time I spoke to him on the phone was the last time I was in Houston, where he lives. We email sporadically, generally see each other when we're in the same city for more than 24 hours, and always have a fun time.

So I kind of freaked out when I saw Mark's name. I thought something must be horribly, horribly wrong. It's the same thing when I hear French on my voicemail. I don't even really calm down to listen to the message, I just think "something's wrong!" and start imagining all the things that could possibly be wrong. Because you don't just call from France to chat.

Once I finally checked Mark's voicemail, I was relieved. He was just calling to let me know he'd be in Baltimore in November if I was going to be around. I think it's actually the weekend I'll be in Los Angeles, which is too bad.