In India at home we initially used to have only one landline connection. I remember when we had got that instrument I had very enthusiastically filled in the label stuck on it with the phone number. As if it was a very responsible thing to do. Also, I think it's almost second nature for me to name or number things, specially books and diaries. Any book that I buy will have my signature on the first page. All my diaries would be otherwise empty but will almost religiously have my name, number, emergency contact and other useless stuff on the first page. All my notes on loose sheets will have the page, lecture number and date. The naming tendency is slowly going away though while I am making a deliberate effort not to be such a narcissist. :-)Anyways, subsequently while I came to US, another connection was added to the house. Now somehow the old instrument got connected to the new number and a new instrument to the old. The twist in the story being that the dutifully written label of the old phone number was still stuck on the instrument with the now new number. And so this time when I went to India, I had a difficult time making my mind adjust to that change. I would invariably pick up the old phone number to dial thinking it to be the new one or vice versa. It was not much of a big deal though for the other party as they would respond as far as they recognized you or your voice. Only that the call rates were a little different and if you wanted to be more conscious about them you would have to give your mind the trouble.
The extreme happened one day when I picked up the old instrument (with the new phone number) to make a call at my Mom Dad's. Somehow absentmindedly (which by now you know comes so natural to me) I dialed the home phone number itself instead of my mom dad's (the one which was written on the phone I was dialing from but was actually that old number now connected to the new instrument lying just next to it). And you can pretty much guess what happened. The scene went like this - I am dialing our old phone number thinking it is my mom dad's number. And the phone next to mine rings. You know why. But nothing occurred to my mind until then. My eyes only saw the bell ringing on the other phone while I was making a call from the first. I decided to cancel my current outgoing call and pick up the incoming call as no one had received the call yet and I could always call my home later. It was just a normal everyday call. But as soon as I put down the receiver the other phone also stopped ringing. You know why again. But it didnt occur to me still. But the knowledge angels did bless me eventually and thankfully I didnt redial.
It dint happen again.
