Now how in the world does one respond to someone telling you that they could not go another minute without telling you how much they love you? I'll tell you how I responded. With a dopey grin and the lack of speaking ability. Let's see....then I was able to manage a few squeaking syllables, then the room spun just a bit and I kind of laughed to myself. This prompted Cosmo to ask me what the hell was going on. I wasn't really able to answer...I was still speechless. This all happened last night. I was watching Step Into Liquid [an amazing documentary by the way] and Mon Lion called. Unfortunately, I often don't get a signal in my bedroom, so he wound up going to voicemail. I called him back, of course, but the voicemail...yeah *grin* ...that's been archived. I've listened to it two or three times today alone...

So then I couldn't concentrate on the movie...spent the rest of the evening listening to his voicemail repeatedly, and fell asleep with a smile on my face. This smile has yet to leave me all day, and I have set the office ladies off on every sort of theory as to why I'm smiling. The general consensus is that I got some last night.

Oh. I got some. Not some of what they think, but I definitely got some. *dreamy sigh*

Okay...now, on to the rest of the entry...

Here's a bit of a rant for you. Well...not really a rant, but something to ponder.

When, if ever, is it appropriate to go from naming oneself on the phone with someone, to saying, "It's me."?

I think this, or something like this was the topic of a Seinfeld episode at one point, but I digress...

So, you meet someone, friend, potential bootie call, vague love interest, and you exchange phone numbers. Typically, one starts a telephone conversation with something along the lines of, "Hey, it's frozen, what's up?" In fact, unless I am calling a cell phone number, I'll ask for the person, "Hi, this is frozen, is [whoever I'm wanting to talk to] there?" If I'm leaving a message or voicemail, it sounds something like, "Hi, this is frozen, I was just calling [for whatever reason I was calling], give me a call back when you get a chance." Sometimes, depending on my business with this person, I leave my number.

However, eventually, I get to the point where I no longer identify myself. I either say, "Hi, it's me..." or launch into whatever I mean to talk about.

I'm not sure what subtle, subconscious pattern I pick up that tells me when it's time to make the switch from "frozen" to "me", but whatever it is, it happens. Not to everyone of course, and I'm not talking about family. Family members may have to cycle through your mother, cousin, and sister before they realize whom they are talking to, but they recognize your voice if you talk to them more than once a year. I am only talking about friends and acquaintances here...

What amazes me even more than my sudden switch from naming myself specifically to expecting the person to recognize my voice, is the fact that they usually do. If I call someone up, anyone classified as "personal" in my cell, and say, "Hey, it's me." they will immediately know who I am. This fact is stunning. Granted, I often sell myself far short...one of my biggest faults is dismissing myself as unimportant. In fact, that is a fault that has been bred into me by my family, but it's a fault none the less. So I'm sure that I shouldn't be amazed that people recognize my voice...I tend to place voices to faces within one or two phone calls. If I hear a sneeze or a laugh or a cough from someone who is a fixture in my life, I can recognize who they are. I'm sure I'm not unique in this...I can't be.

So...the fact that I am known by my voice isn't the question.

The question is when does it become appropriate to stop identifying oneself?