Go Ahead, Touch the Dial

Sometimes I miss working in the radio industry, and at times I also miss being a receptionist/customer care associate. The following exchange occurred while I was volunteering at a public radio station earlier today. A few minutes after an associate fielded a similar question, I was reminded of the flipside to working the phones:

Me: (normal, neutral tone of voice) Good afternoon, [call letters redacted], how may I help you?
Caller: Hi, I want to listen to the station on my iPhone but I don't want to download the TuneIn app.
Me: Okay. Did you call a few minutes ago?
Caller: No, I want to listen to [call letters redacted] on my iPhone, but I don't want to download TuneIn.
Me: Sure. Did you visit--
Caller: (interrupts, mumbles something unintelligible)
Me: I'm sorry, I didn't hear what you said.
Caller: Clearly, you don't speak English. Forget it.
Me: I didn't hear what you said--
*CLICK*

On a less exasperating note, I'm going to close February with some assorted musings:

+ Told you so. Growing disdain for Rahm Emanuel's aloof approach to running the city of Chicago has forced the first run-off mayoral election in the city's history. (Since the rules were changed in 1995, if no candidate gets 50% of the vote on election day, a vote is held six weeks later.) This throws a relative unknown named Jesus "Chuy" Garcia into the regional spotlight, a grass-roots guy faced with the task of defeating a known name with national political support. Some political wonks are calling this a defeat for Emanuel, but early polls suggest it's more neck-to-neck then one might initally assume. Ultimately, it comes down to the size of Rahm's war chest versus the coalition of alienated voters (a pretty disparate group) that are willing to back Garcia. In short, for the first time since the 1983 three-way showdown between incumbent Jane Bryne, Richard M. Daley, and eventual winner Harold Washington, Chicago has a real mayoral race.

+ In the wake of the Derrick Rose and Patrick Kane injuries, Spring Training couldn't have come soon enough. (Expect my annual baseball haiku in late March.)

Family Update: My mother's condition is improving slowly but steadily; rehab from bypass surgery usually takes a few weeks. My sincere thanks to anyone reading this for the kind thoughts.

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