Caller ID is wonderful.

I know it's 2008. I know I'm behind the times. Blame it on me being super cheap and never wanting to fork over 10 bucks for caller ID.

Then I started having to forward my work number to my home line and had to answer the phone every frickin' time it rang.

At first I would think, ugh, another stupid automated phone call and I would hang up. My favorite caller is Tyrone who addressed me as a 'home health care worker,' which I'm so not, but he was a really nice recorded voice. He's called me twice now. And then there is the one telling me my car factory warranty is expiring or has expired, and it's always the second notice, even though it's been the second notice for months and months now (and this one has somehow followed me to work, and I still can't figure that one out). Last week I received a call to remind me to buy my diabetes supplies for the year because it was my annual reminder. I don't have diabetes. The Kohls lady calls all the time too.

Let me back up and set the scene. As previously mentioned, I have to work in our bedroom because it's the only room with an internet connection. My work laptop doesn't have wireless capability, so I'm stuck being wired to the modem of our computer.

Since my husband has this thing about me working at his computer desk (and no, he doesn't do anything even slightly important at said computer desk except download music, watch MMA videos, and look at the internet), I don't even try to work at the desk. Instead I nest on our bed, usually having both laptops up and running, and a cat or two stuck to me like glue. In fact, that's what I'm doing right now, but only with one laptop. If you must know, I have a book next to me, a two books behind me on the headboard, a cat stuck to me like glue and a ten dollar bill where my husband sleeps. I'll just leave it at that.

Anyway. I'm an avid listener of music, and there is nothing more I enjoy than getting all my favorite genres selected, clicking random, and letting iTunes have its way with my music. And now that the latest iTunes has the "genius" feature, I'm like a kid in a randomly-passed-out candy candy store. (If you haven't tried genius yet, it's super cool and by far the best "intelligent" music selector I've used.) I tend to play my music loud. And the volume control is way over there and I'm way over here, so when the phone rings, I have to get up and turn the volume down so I can hear the person on the phone.

And now, I think you can see, how annoying it is to have random recorded and automated phone calls, all day long. I either have to keep getting up and turn down the music and then answer the phone or just give up and turn the volume down enough so if I answer the phone, the person on the other end won't think I'm in the back of a music venue.

So one day I decided it was time for caller ID. I told my husband to order it on our phone service. He never did. Then I realized I can order it online. So I did. At 10 bucks a month. But for my sanity's sake, I don't care. And we hardly use the home phone as it is, so our bill is really low.

Today I came home and was getting things situated before I fed Mateo when the phone rang. I'm still in the habit of just answering the phone without looking at the screen, but this time I remembered. I looked. It said "Prison, 767-XXX-XXXX." I looked again. It still said prison. I didn't answer it because I don't know anyone in prison.

And of course, me being me, as I was getting Mateo's dinner together, I started thinking, what if that was my husband and he's somehow found himself in prison in some area code I've never heard of? Or a friend of his (because I certainly wouldn't know anyone in prison! pssshaw!) or a family member of his (again, my family is too suburban to find itself in prison). But then, wouldn't they leave a message? But what if it was this person's "one call"? And I didn't answer it because the phone said "prison"?

Fifteen minutes later my husband walked through the door, so I told him the prison called, he was just as confused as I was, so I felt much better that I didn't answer the phone.

I'll be working at home tomorrow, and I'm weirdly excited to see what kind of callers will be listed on the phone. If it's from work, I'll know, so I can just sit back and look at the phone screen all day and make up crazy stories to convince myself that perhaps I should have just answered the phone.