BILLY RHYTHM'S PHONE MI-5

Billy Rhythm says: "We got a new phone system at my office this week. This MI-5 is inspired by that event."

1) When you answer the phone, do you say anything special?

No. Just the typical hello. If I should receive an office call at home (which is rare), I just say "This is Lisa. May I help you?"

2) Other than "Bye" or "Bye-Bye," do you say anything else when you end a conversation? Do you ever use any other closing?

I think I might say "see ya". I almost always say "I love you" before saying "bye" when I'm speaking to Dwane, the boys, Ma, or Mom.

3) How about your cell phone... Do you use a lot of minutes, or do you hoard them? Love your cell, or just a necessity/tool?

I love the convenience of my cell phone, but I rarely use it. I just have a Tracfone, and it's there in case I break down. (With all of our 100K+ mile cares, a break down is always a possibility.) I turn it on only when I'm away from the house, in case the school needs to get me while I'm gone.

4) Is your answering machine message funny? Cute? Straight ahead, all business?

"You've reached the home of Dwane, Lisa, Eben & Caleb. Please leave a message, and we'll get back to you as soon as we can." If I know that my boss is going to need me, I might put on a special message, just so she'll know where I am and when I'll be back.

5) What phone habit do you find annoying? People who return calls based on their caller ID? ("Someone from there called me.") People who talk on their cell in the car? People without answering machines? What?

Hmmm. Nothing really jumps out at me. Eben doesn't talk on the phone a lot (at least not yet), but his friends will often call early in the AM. They haven't learned yet that he sleeps late. I'll tell them that he'll call when he wakes up, and then they'll still call back before he's awake. That kind of bugs me I guess.