Houston, We're Ready for Takeoff!

So, like any hard working girl I like to have web Sudoku up at all times so I can play a game or two in my "down time". I'm the master of Sudoku. I credit my job for allowing me to advance my skill and technique in this game. I've learned how to do this game pretty fast as well, I get over 300 calls a day, so I really don't have a lot of time to ponder what number can go where. Due to the high volume of calls I receive daily, you can see how frustrating it is when you're trying to figure out if it’s the 8 or 9 that goes in that square when the phone rings and messes you up.

To catch you up to speed, I answer the phone through my computer, more specifically my keyboard. Since the phone's program is through my computer I don't actually pick up a receiver, or even use a standard phone. I actually don't know how I would even transfer a phone call if I wasn't able to type their name in and hit enter! Anyways, here's my story.

So it was after my lunch break (aka my 30 minutes of bliss), when I sat back at my desk. I logged back into my emails, and immediately popped up a Sudoku screen and started in on my puzzle. Now I'm weird that when I have a blank square, and it’s not an obvious answer, I count down from 9 to determine what numbers can go there. One would think that once the phone rings, and I have to switch over to that screen, I would just stay on that screen until finished with the call. Nope, not this girl. I do the quick alt-tab trick and immediately go back to my game, totally forgetting that I'm even on the phone. So instead of answering the phone like I normally do, the caller got a great earful of me going "Hmm..9-8-7-6...uh... Good Afternoon, thank you for calling...."

YES. You read that correctly, I answered the phone while doing a COUNT DOWN! I can't even imagine what the caller thought was wrong with me.

Luckily the caller only laughed for a couple seconds before asking for the payroll department. I guess this is what I get for all those times I laughed at those callers that I have caught singing on the other end. But seriously, that cannot be as bad as a friggin count down! There really is no way to come back from that. As my co-worker Ben pointed out later when I relayed the story, I should have said sure, let me transfer you in 3-2-1 to complete the countdown.

Maybe I should look for a future in becoming an announcer for NASA: "The space shuttle will begin take off in 9-8-7..."