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» babble   » current events   » international news and politics   » You're drunk...who you gonna call?

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Author Topic: You're drunk...who you gonna call?
Hephaestion
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Babbler # 4795

posted 09 December 2004 03:03 AM      Profile for Hephaestion   Author's Homepage        Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Tooooooooooo funny!!

quote:
CANBERRA (Reuters) - An Australian phone company is offering customers the chance to blacklist numbers before heading out for a night on the town so they can reduce the risk of making any embarrassing, incoherent late-night calls.

A survey of 409 people by Virgin Mobile, a joint venture of The Virgin Group and Optus, found 95 percent made drunk calls.

Of those calls, 30 percent were to ex-partners, 19 percent to current partners, and 36 percent to other people, including their bosses.

The company also found that 55 percent of those polled would grab for their phone first the next morning to check who they had drunkenly dialed, compared with just eight percent who went for the headache pills first.



From: goodbye... :-( | Registered: Dec 2003  |  IP: Logged
verbatim
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 569

posted 09 December 2004 03:10 AM      Profile for verbatim   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Now that's a useful service. Really.
From: The People's Republic of Cook Street | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
'topherscompy
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Babbler # 2248

posted 09 December 2004 03:38 AM      Profile for 'topherscompy        Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 

[ 02 May 2006: Message edited by: 'topherscompy ]


From: gone | Registered: Feb 2002  |  IP: Logged
Anchoress
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Babbler # 4650

posted 09 December 2004 03:57 AM      Profile for Anchoress     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Hmmm... choices choices.

1. Pay the telephone company to block my phone so I can't make a call I'll regret later.

2. Drink less.


From: Vancouver babblers' meetup July 9 @ Cafe Deux Soleil! | Registered: Nov 2003  |  IP: Logged
'topherscompy
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posted 09 December 2004 04:20 AM      Profile for 'topherscompy        Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 

[ 02 May 2006: Message edited by: 'topherscompy ]


From: gone | Registered: Feb 2002  |  IP: Logged
Debra
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Babbler # 117

posted 09 December 2004 08:08 AM      Profile for Debra   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by 'topherscompy:
i don't use the phone after drinking, not since the time i got that automated buh-duh-da-dup -- the fingers you have used to dial this number are too fat. to obtain a special dialing wand, mash the keypad now. message. talk about your wild'n'crazy fortnight.

what i need is an instant hunt down and baleet that last email service. or that little paperclip dude to pop up and ask "are you sure you want to tell your _sister_ that you _always thought we were a good couple_ and that you _wish we could have just one more night together to prove it_ "


Well I'm going to pretend I didn't see the sister bit.

But yes I would pay for the email blocking.

We drinkers need to chant to ourselves NO drunken phoning, NO drunken posting, NO NO NO NO drunken emailing.


From: The only difference between graffiti & philosophy is the word fuck... | Registered: Apr 2001  |  IP: Logged
Michelle
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posted 09 December 2004 08:13 AM      Profile for Michelle   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
This is funny!

I didn't know this was such a widespread problem. I knew someone once who was prone to doing such things, but I didn't realize so many people did that.

Maybe I've just never been that drunk, or just not prone to it, but I've never done that. No desire to do so whatsoever. Usually when I'm drunk, I'm having a great time with friends. And when I get home, I'm just ready to crash. No phone calls necessary.

I once called an ex-boyfriend when stone-cold sober, just to hear his voice (this was more than a decade ago). I lost my nerve and said "wrong number" and hung up when someone who sounded like him answered, and then agonized for days afterwards that he might have had call display and known who it was. Maybe that cured me from ever calling ex-boyfriends again, I don't know.


From: I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
Puetski Murder
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posted 09 December 2004 11:11 AM      Profile for Puetski Murder     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I used to drunk dial a lot. What cured me was when they made the switch to having 416 in front of the number. I would always forget, and dial the seven digit number. Then I would remember I had to dial 416, but redialed the seven digit number. I got frustrated after a while and gave up.

The most ridiculous drunk dial was when I was at a party, I decided to call my ex-boyfriend of two weeks to let him know I was out having fun (Because I am a wo-MAN!) I rang up his cellphone, only to hear him say, "hello?" from 5 meters away. He was at the same party I was. In my defense the party was giant.


From: Toronto | Registered: Feb 2003  |  IP: Logged
thwap
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posted 09 December 2004 12:23 PM      Profile for thwap        Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Drunkenly making phone calls that you regret in the morning? Doing this enough that you might need that service?

I guess i don't have a drinking problem afterall.


From: Hamilton | Registered: Feb 2004  |  IP: Logged
Trisha
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Babbler # 387

posted 09 December 2004 02:09 PM      Profile for Trisha     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
That service won't help people who dial wrong numbers when drunk then keep calling them back because they somehow remember the wrong number instead of the one they were trying to dial.

Now if someone would only come up with a way for drunks to remember the real address of their favourite boozecan people in my neighbourhood would get more sleep.


From: Thunder Bay, Ontario | Registered: Apr 2001  |  IP: Logged
Anchoress
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posted 09 December 2004 02:15 PM      Profile for Anchoress     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
I had a friend who had a phone number very close to that of Transit Information. He ended up changing it (of course) not because of the typical 'wrong numbers', but because of all the drunks who called him over and over because they didn't believe him when he told them they had the wrong number.
From: Vancouver babblers' meetup July 9 @ Cafe Deux Soleil! | Registered: Nov 2003  |  IP: Logged
paxamillion
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posted 09 December 2004 02:28 PM      Profile for paxamillion   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by 'topherscompy:
you forgot the other two options:

And you were missing ....

5. Stay sober.

I've had trouble with AA sponsees calling in the wee hours while drunk and in a blackout. I turn off my phone at bed time now.

Thing about that service is that people who "aren't social drinkers" might not be willing to admit that they consistently cause problems to others and might decide against using the it.


From: the process of recovery | Registered: Jul 2002  |  IP: Logged
dillinger
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posted 09 December 2004 04:05 PM      Profile for dillinger   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
i developed a three simple rules for myself when loaded:
1. do not operate any motorized or electrical equipment
2. do not use the phone
3. do not hit on women

the last one is pretty key, because when loaded a guy really can't tell that look on her face says, "wow, you're a slobbering idiot" and not "wow, you're sexy beast."


From: Toronto | Registered: Nov 2004  |  IP: Logged
'topherscompy
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posted 09 December 2004 04:53 PM      Profile for 'topherscompy        Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 

[ 02 May 2006: Message edited by: 'topherscompy ]


From: gone | Registered: Feb 2002  |  IP: Logged
Debra
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Babbler # 117

posted 09 December 2004 05:14 PM      Profile for Debra   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
oh I knew or at least hoped you were joking

I have, however, and unfortunately emailed while drunk.

Hangovers are bad enough, hangovers while saying oh fuck what did I do, over and over again... priceless


From: The only difference between graffiti & philosophy is the word fuck... | Registered: Apr 2001  |  IP: Logged
verbatim
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posted 09 December 2004 06:00 PM      Profile for verbatim   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Hi, my name is Tim, and I have

(1) Emailed
(2) Telephoned, and
(3) Posted here

while drunk. Once during a blackout.

However, I don't own a cellphone, (although I have in the past) so this isn't something I'd need.


From: The People's Republic of Cook Street | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
Michelle
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posted 09 December 2004 08:33 PM      Profile for Michelle   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by paxamillion:
I've had trouble with AA sponsees calling in the wee hours while drunk and in a blackout. I turn off my phone at bed time now.

Just curious...doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose of being a sponsor? What if it's the wee hours and someone hasn't taken a drink yet, but they're just about to? Isn't that a legitimate reason to call?

This is a real question, not a grilling - I guess I just sort of assumed sponsors were 24 hour deals. Another thing - if someone has fallen off the wagon and they've gotten drunk, does that mean they shouldn't call their sponsor? Or does it mean that they just shouldn't call them in the middle of the night since there's nothing the sponsor can do about it at that point anyhow?


From: I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
koan brothers
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posted 09 December 2004 10:49 PM      Profile for koan brothers     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Around here it's generally agreed that the time to call your sponsor is *before* you take a drink. This isn't carved in stone though and different sponsors have their own way of handling this situation.

This service reminds me of a comedian I saw once who thought that every bottle of tequila should come with a notepad for the drinker to use to write her/his apologies the next day.


From: desolation row | Registered: Oct 2002  |  IP: Logged
Agent 204
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Babbler # 4668

posted 10 December 2004 11:37 AM      Profile for Agent 204   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
quote:
Originally posted by Anchoress:
I had a friend who had a phone number very close to that of Transit Information. He ended up changing it (of course) not because of the typical 'wrong numbers', but because of all the drunks who called him over and over because they didn't believe him when he told them they had the wrong number.

A couple of my friends of mine were assigned a number that had previously been assigned as the Tri-Cities' access number for a series of long-expired phone cards. A lot of calls came in the middle of the night, and some of them got quite pissed off when told it was the wrong number. I suspect many of those people were loaded.

From: home of the Guess Who | Registered: Nov 2003  |  IP: Logged
Scott Piatkowski
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posted 10 December 2004 12:17 PM      Profile for Scott Piatkowski   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
An old phone number that I had was close (if you transposed two digits) to the non-emergency number for K-W Hospital. I once got a call at 4:00 in the morning from somebody trying to reach the hospital. It didn't improve my mood when they told me that "he's going to die unless you send someone". I managed to force myself to tell him how to dial 911 before hanging up.
From: Kitchener-Waterloo | Registered: Sep 2001  |  IP: Logged
paxamillion
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posted 10 December 2004 12:32 PM      Profile for paxamillion   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message      Edit/Delete Post  Reply With Quote 
Hey, Michelle, thanks for these great questions....

quote:
Originally posted by Michelle:
Just curious...doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose of being a sponsor? What if it's the wee hours and someone hasn't taken a drink yet, but they're just about to? Isn't that a legitimate reason to call?

Defeat it? Not at all. First, there are no hard-and-fast rules for what defines the sponsorial relationship. It's up to the sponsor and sponsee to work out what's best. In our area, there is a 24-hour AA answering service that can be called, too.

I suffer from a mental illness beyond my alcoholism. Sleep disruptions aren't good for that. I'm up front with prospective sponsees about late nights, and encourage them to build phone lists of people they can call in addition to me.

I work with my sponsees on how to do 12-step work, and how to apply the principles of our fellowship to the real problems they face. I'm also perfectly okay with someone having more than one sponsor -- quite okay according to our literature.


quote:
Originally posted by Michelle:
This is a real question, not a grilling - I guess I just sort of assumed sponsors were 24 hour deals. Another thing - if someone has fallen off the wagon and they've gotten drunk, does that mean they shouldn't call their sponsor? Or does it mean that they just shouldn't call them in the middle of the night since there's nothing the sponsor can do about it at that point anyhow?

I don't feel grilled, and I appreciate the questions. What would you say to someone already drunk on your phone? I say that the person should call me back when the drunk wears off. It's very hard to talk sense to a drunk.


From: the process of recovery | Registered: Jul 2002  |  IP: Logged

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