Contact

I was recently in charge of a concert/créche exhibit for my ward. There's a lot to say about it that I'll probably talk about in another post, but the thing that was most amusing and frustrating to me throughout it all was how hard it was to get in contact with people.

Gone are the days where you would simply call someone's home phone, count on them answering, and be done with it. Instead, I compiled this list of ways to contact someone and acquire information:

• Email
• Google chat
• Google docs
• Call a home phone
• Call a cell phone
• Text
• Call the spouse's cell phone
• Email the spouse
• Call a home phone and leave a message, when it turns out they were listening to the message all along and then answer as soon as you're done talking
• Send out emails to find someone's home phone number (this was for people who weren't in the ward anymore)
• More google docs
• When trying to submit the event online, create an entire account with the event website simply to send an email into the void
• When trying to track a package, call several different plausible numbers for businesses in a nearby town, only to get redirected multiple times to a completely useless 800 number and a printing company in Virginia
• Talking in person (probably the most effective method, but it also required tracking the person down)

And so on. I generally found that one or two of these methods worked for contacting a given person -- the trick was knowing the most effective method.

(Or, I suppose I could have been like Joseph's dentist's office, which just does them all multiple times. I have gotten at least two emails, one postcard, and two texts. I guess they really don't want me missing his appointment tomorrow.)

At any rate, I think it's safe to say that any phobia I've ever had of calling or emailing people has been entirely eradicated.

Although, I do still have social anxiety about google docs. Don't let me down, anonymous loris.