Welcome to Monday
Today is the 18 August which is the 230 day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 135 days remaining until the end of the year.
We’re staying with the topic of “mistaken identities” – or telephone mistakes or “funny wrong numbers”.
I have to admit, I lack Jeff’s ability to remember those things, but I think I could truly say, I haven’t had “a mistaken identity” on the other end of the line. What I have done, though, was during the very first years at my job here in Australia, I answered the phone in German.
We were still in an ‘open office’ with about half a dozen of staff members working there. It was quite a buzz in the office that moment, not sure whether it was stress, or recess or something … the phone rang, nobody answered so I did. Within seconds, the office turned quiet, and I looked up with everyone staring at me.
“You’re talking German,” someone whispered to me.
I didn’t click straight away, and there was a long pause, when I heard the caller say “hello hello … is this ….”
I’m sure I turned red like a tomato, I was so embarrassed.
Any “phone etiquette’s” you’ve broken ?
Believe it or not SEVERAL years ago my husband and I visited London. I was mistaken for Princess Diana more than once. The entirety of Great Britain is in dire need of a vision check! 🙂
Sent from my iPhone
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That’s not a bad thing, right? After all, she was beautiful in- and outside 🙂
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Iris, I can understand. I have found that people will revert to their first language under stress, no matter how long they have been living in another country and speaking the language.
A curious thing that I have noticed is that many people who had ‘lost’ and accent years before will often revert to it when they become old, whether it is an accent form another language or just from another region.
You gave me a chuckle; sorry it was an embarrassment for you. Thanksf or sharing it.
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Oh, so my accent will come back ? LOL … I’d better warn my family, especially daughter #1 who complains a lot at the moment about my “terrible” accent …. *sigh*
Yes, I agree, stress does that to you. I still set off the wipers instead of the blinker in the car when I’ve got everyone talking to me at the same time 😀
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love that anecdote with the phone call.
I’ll be straining for something to write about on Hound Day. Glad I have some time to think about it.
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You’ll be fine, Jeff. You always come up with some really good posts 🙂
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LOL! That’s a great story!
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Thanks. 🙂 Not one of my finest moments, I suppose! LOL
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Sorry about the delay on this. I can’t think of any phone etiquette I’ve broken, but I know I’ve broken card table etiquette where everybody stopped playing and stared at me! I was sitting at a Blackjack table and my phone rang, so I answered it. BAD call at a card table. LOL!
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