Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Pocket Dial

A few days ago, a friend purse dialed  me from her cell phone. After saying hello several times the only response I received was hollow reverb and the jangle of what I presumed were car keys against her iPhone. Nothing scintillating. Thankfully.

I have both received and placed several unintended calls via cell phone before usually nothing more than tedious white noise for the recipient. But the mishap a few days ago reminded me of two other misdials that weren’t quite so boring.

First: Almost a decade ago, when cell phones were finally small enough to fit in your jacket pocket, albeit uncomfortably, I tucked mine in and went and saw the movie Traffic. When I exited the movie some two hours later I had over 50 missed calls on my cell phone. Never a good sign, my heart tightened when I saw they were from my Mom and one of my brothers. I listened to the first few messages and it was my Mom’s panic stricken voice asking me to call her immediately. I dialed quickly and when she heard my voice, she shouted in the phone: WHERE ARE YOU?

Short story: I pocket dialed my Mom during the uber intense part of the movie when the daughter has a drug overdose and her idiot friends debate what to do with her before basically dumping her at the hospital ER entrance. This scene my Mom heard in full detail since we arrived to the theater late and were seated in the front row. So for over an hour, my Mom was filled with dread when she could not reach me on my cell phone. WHOOPS! Sorry for the heart attack Mom. And thankfully the next wave of phones had a lock mode. Verdict: AWFUL pocket dial.

Second: Five years ago, after a fun night out, I drove four friends home. I dropped our male friend, R., and his date, T., at his abode, I drove the remaining three of us toward our neighborhood. A few minutes later, my cell phone rang and because it was the friend we just delivered home, I answered it on speaker phone. As I said hello, the three of us in the vehicle were treated to a full on argument between R. and T. Thanks pocket dial.

I had actually never heard R. raise his voice. And while I should have hung up immediately, we were mesmerized. The argument was about one of our friends, Kristy, still in the car with me.  T was ruminating that R. still had feelings for her. What? Still had feelings? We didn’t even know he ever had feelings for her. I felt like I was watching a live version of Ross and Rachel.

I think we were intrigued by the voltage AND content of their debate. I disconnected and told him the next day. He inquired how much we heard. To which I responded, “That depends on how long the debate went on. We either heard a little or a lot.” He laughed. He asked me if our friend, Kristy, was in the car and heard the source of the debate. I replied, “Oh, that cat did a triple lindy right out of that bag.” The conversation was ugly, and obviously not intended for us but the light at the end of that tunnel was he ended up with the girl he wanted to be with, whom today he calls his wife. Verdict: Dodgy at the time but HARMLESS pocket dial.

Third: A friend of mine was sitting at the airport with a colleague. Both were conferenced into a call which included their boss. When the call was over, his colleague who believed the call was disengaged said, “I’m curious how a _______ moron like him ever got to be an EVP” referencing said boss.

To which the boss, still on the phone, responded “Being in the right place at the right time?” Verdict: HILARIOUS WHEN HAPPENING TO SOMEONE ELSE pocket dial.

Let these be lessons to us all.

49 comments:

Intense Guy said...

I never get any juicy pocket dials... or drunk calls for that matter (thank gosh!)

I always call the pocket dialing phone's owner and say, "You wanted me? Your phone called mine..."

At least my phone is "hot" and "wanted". :)

Dual Mom said...

So funny. And a very good lesson for someone who is cell phone illiterate like myself and just purchased a fancy new smart phone....you know, the type you swipe. Yeah, tell me how easy it is to accidently call someone when you don't have to actually push buttons?

Kat said...

I hate when that happens, but it certainly does make for entertaining blog fodder. Your poor mother - the movie story is priceless. When Cait got her first cell phone, she accidentally purse dialed me while on a band trip. When she got home, I asked her all sorts of questions about the shenanigans I overheard. Poor kid, she really thought that I DID in fact have eyes everywhere :)

Unknown said...

That last one was hilarious!

Jinksy said...

Must have a clever phone - this has never happened to me!

Herding Cats said...

The first story = I feel for your mom.

Second story = amazing!

Third story = Paranoia.

Matty said...

Straight from Ripley's Believe It or Not.......someone I know somehow dialed me in the middle of sex. Yes....that's not a typo. Sex.

I kept saying hello but all I heard was noise. Then little by little I got the gist of what was going on, and I could even hear them talking to each other.....my oh my!!

I never told them.

Necromancy:The Art Of Living said...

That last one is pretty funny. Sadly I have yet to receive an interesting pocket dial. All the pocket dials I get are swishing of pants or coats or hearing a car drive with some music. :( My friends I guess are boring I guess. Luckily I have not pocket dialed anyone (knocks on wood) yet and if I do I hope it's a good one for the person listening! I lock my phone every chance I am not on it so I do not pocket dial anyone.

BigSis said...

LOVE that last one. I also used to love that commercial where the buy "butt dials" his wife.

jules said...

I love the Ross and Rachel style one. And seriously, what is it about hearing your friends argue? So intriguing!

Mrs. M said...

An occasional purse dial happens once in a while too....I have been called many times. Fortunately I am not often the caller. (Fingers crossed).

Anonymous said...

That is exactly why I don't have any co-workers stored on on my cell phone. I've been known to do a lot of bum dialing myself so it's just wiser for me to hand-dial them than to take the risk that I might accidentally call them at the worst time. Very funny post. I'm glad one of the stories had a nice happy ending! - G

Little Ms Blogger said...

Pocket dialing DOES NOT hold a candle to drunk dialing or drunk texting.

Yes. I've been guilty of both.

Pollyanna said...

Oh, how I wish I would get a pocket dial and hear all the details of what goes on behind closed doors in someone else's life. It's like reality TV without the TV.

ThatsBaloney said...

I am paranoid this will happen to me one day. My MIL does this all the time but so far nothing interesting to hear.

Julia said...

This makes me extra thankful that I'm always careful to lock my phone.

That Traffic story is hilarious though! Although I'm sure it wasn't for your mom at the time.

foxy said...

I'm always worried that the SECOND you say something crappy about someone, your phone will magically have just called them without your knowing. Huh... maybe i should just keep my crappy thoughts to myself.

Missy said...

The last person I dated who I was over the top for I pocket dialed in the middle of a rousing rendition of Sara Barielles Gravity while driving in my car. Luckily he didn't pick up the phone. Unluckily he had a two minute recording of my not-so-beautiful singing voice which he forced me to listen to. Did I mention he was a musician in a popular punk band? Yeah, I still can't believe it didn't work out.

Anonymous said...

Hmm, after breaking up with a boyfriend and on the way home from a party with my (male) neighbor I pocket dialed the single man and he heard me oh so tipsily referring to him as a psycho, needy pansy. Double ouch.

I hate the voice dial! I've called my boss and my MIL with this darn feature and of course I was complaining about them at the time!

Kristina P. said...

I call it butt dialing. Always so embarrassing.

McKenzie said...

Got a good chuckle out of those stories haha. I've gotten quite a few calls from someone else's pocket, nothing near as interesting as yours though!

Kir said...

I may have to do a post like this for sure...
but yours were hilarious...and since I love a happy ending, that Kristy story had me teary...I'm such a nerd. ;)

Unknown said...

Good stories. And I am sure we all have similar stories of misdials. LOL

SimplySandi said...

Pocket dial is so scary! I don't have any stories this good, but while I'm loving my new iPhone 4, it does seem to random dial from my recent call list. It tends to do this while I'm on a call already. Crazy!

Vivienne @ the V Spot said...

Oh lordy! Thanks for the laugh this morning. Just to be clear... R ended up married to Kristy?

Jen said...

Aw the good ole pocket dial. Thank goodness for the lock function now.

Loved this post, too funny.

Jenn @ Youknow...that Blog? said...

We call it "ass dialing" ;) I've had many and done a few myself when cell phones didn't lock (and pre-flip phone era) and had several recently from Knarf (of Main Street, and mentioned often on my blog) but they are generally him in his car, singing along to the radio. Harmless, and often funny.

Love your stories :)

Noe Noe Girl...A Queen of all Trades. said...

I just may have to start locking my phone!
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Anonymous said...

HAHA! Pocket dialing is hilarious...

carma said...

so R's true colors emerge!!!

Grand Pooba said...

Oh my god that last one was the best! Hope he didn't lose his job!

My friend purse dialed me the other day during an argument she was having with her husband. I didn't answer the phone but was left with a very interesting voice mail, ending with my friend saying

"Josh! Stop being so anal!"

And then it disconnected. It was so funny! I told her of course and she laughed, all is well :)

purse/butt/pocket dialing, I love it!

Unknown said...

Miss Manners tells us that social media have cost us our ability to be courteous and kind. But I think the potential to caught pocket dialing, or sending a text "TO" the person it was really "ABOUT", or having the whole world read your opinions on Facebook, should give us some opportunity to fine-tune our "if you can't say something nice..." skills!

Myya said...

I love the pocket dial... only when it isn't me of course. How sweet is it that your friend got his girl & now they are married... YAY!!!

HalfAsstic.com said...

I get pocket dialed ALL THE TIME! As a matter of fact it seems like the majority of the time I spend on my cell phone is due to being pocket dialed. Mostly by John. SO BORING! I wish he'd at least gossip...
If you ever want to call, use the home phone! ;-)

SmartBear said...

Oh...the pocket dial. Those are hilarious. I once got one from a friend who was home with her newborn son and her other 2 children UNDER THE AGE OF 4. I kept hearing the 2 older ones say "cracker" over and over and when I called her on her house phone to see if she knew where her phone was she laughed and said she was laying on the floor nursing her son and feeding her 1 year old a cracker every 2 seconds to keep her occupied. I went over and made dinner. That was a pocket dial to help a sister out!
Best,
Tina

Kate said...

Oh my lord. I don't have one single pocket-dial story anywhere near as good as those three. Mine usually involve my husband and his wallet, as boring a twosome as ever created.

shortmama said...

I have been butt dialed a few times and usually just nothing. But one time my mom butt dialed me and I could hear her and her boyfriend very muffled...but it really sounded like they were in the middle of some dirty bidness.....thankfully they actually were on a drive and doing the hanky spank me...because otherwise I would have thrown up

J.J. in L.A. said...

The only pocket dials I get are from a brother when he's working construction. Hardly exciting. Too bad my man doesn't pocket dial me. Now THAT could be fun. ; )

Mom in High Heels said...

I pocket dialed my mom once via my bluetooth (which was in my pocket at the time), when Indy and I were on a roller coaster. All she heard was us (and a whole lot of other people) screaming. She was so not happy with me once she finally got me to answer my phone. Oops.
My current cell (a Sony Erickson with a touch face) is the WORST about pocket dialing. It does have a screen lock, but it doesn't come on for almost a minute after I've used the phone, so if I put it straight into my pocket or purse (and it somehow always ends up on the number screen) I'll end up calling Kyrgyzstan or the UAE and starting some international incident.

The Savage said...

Okay.. after turning in my man card for getting the Ross and Rachel reference I received a new notch on my nerd card for having seen and owning a copy of Back to School for the Triple Lindy reference...

This is one of the reasons I prefer a flip phone. No butt-dialing for me!

secret agent woman said...

I had a patient once who pocket dialed her home phone, and got home to find our session recorded on their answering machines. Thankfully, she got home before her husband, who she'd called several choice names, did and was able to delete it.

Emily said...

Those are all way better than any pocket dials I've ever been a part of. Especially that second one...it's like a real life soap! :)

Dan Pearce said...

Hahaha, love the Traffic story. How perfect was THAT timing?

I often think it would be fun to pocket-dial my ex "accidentally" while with another girl. Just to be a butt. But, I've never had the guts.

Single Dad Laughing

Something Happened Somewhere Turning said...

The other day my wife purse dialed me while she was driving in her car. She was listening to the radio and the news had just come on. I sat at my computer at work -- where it is forbidden to listen to the radio -- and caught up on the afternoon news for three or four minutes. And then the news ended and the muzak came on...and she started singing...
I entertained myself for several seconds and then took advantage of the no radio's rule.

Anonymous said...

I won tickets for Brunch at a mountain resort just for uploading pics to the fan page of their bar downstairs! Didn't even know I would win by doing that so it was a pleasant surprise.

Anonymous said...

That last pocket dial made my heart sink. I actually had my boss walk in on a conversation I was having on the phone with a co-worker where I was talking about him, yeah, I kinda recovered from that one, can't even remember what it was about but I'm sure he's forgotten about it by now.

The Absence of Alternatives said...

The 3rd one? Yup hilarious when it happened to somebody else! That's why now after a conference call, I always life up the receiver to make sure the dial tone is there before I make any post-call comment... LOL.

We call it Butt Dialing. You are classier. ;-)

Siesta in Spain said...

the 2nd example is my favorite but the 3rd is the most comical. Love this.

Anonymous said...

My mom pocket dials me all the time and I am so afraid of what I might hear one of these times! Yikes!