I HATE! When People Are Distracted While You're Trying to Have a Phone Conversation

I hate this more than life - no joke. This really may be my Number One Pet Peeve. I realize that I've probably said this about several other of these blog posts, but I am 100% serious about this one.

I ABSOLUTELY CANNOT STAND IT when I'm on the phone with someone, trying to have a conversation, and the person on the other end of the phone is either simutlaneously talking to some else, watching TV, or doing any number of equally distracting things while I frusteratingly struggle (usually in vain) to maintain the verbal exchange.

If I'm on the phone with you, stop talking to your friend who's in the room with you, turn off the TV, stop IMing, or pause your X Box game. If I took the time to call you, you should at least have the decency to stop what you're doing for five seconds while I communicate whatever it is that I have to say to you. I'm not a huge phone person; usually whatever I have to say will only take a few minutes. I'm not expecting to have a long-winded philosophical conversation everytime I call you. It's pretty safe to say that I will never want to have a long-winded philosophical conversation with you. You're not that interesting and frankly, niether am I. So do me the favor of turning off the TV for a moment, telling your AIM partner that you'll "BRB", or momentarily setting the controller down on the table.

Follow these steps and it will save you from my wrath, as this one of those instances where I will inevitably become enraged if I catch on to the fact that you're multitasking while speaking to me via telephone. If you're in the middle of something important (or you can't possibly stop what you're doing for two seconds to talk to me), tell me you need to call me back. I would MUCH RATHER wait a few more moments to speak to you (and we all know I'm the most impatient person in the world), than try to compete with whatever other activity you're engaged with at the time.

On this same note, another easy way to annoy me is if I'm speaking to you and you do not respond. If I've caught you at a bad moment when you're distracted by something else, please give me the "1 Minute Finger" or tell me to hold on or simply say "I'll be right with you". ANYTHING is better than being flat-out ignored. Having dealt with this particular happenstance I-can't-even-count-how-many-times, I'm at the point where, if being ignored by a cashier or salesperson leisurely finishing their personal phone conversation or texting away on a Sidekick while seemingly refusing to look up and acknoweldge my presence, it makes me want to reach over the counter and slap the person in the face.

And I've come close. Just a word of caution.