You've been Screened

I'll admit the worst.

Although not many would admit it ( the shame! ), I believe everyone has done it at least once in their lives. Some people do it furtively in the dark hoping no one ever discovers their deep dirty secret while some honourable souls tend to do it only when pushed by extenuating circumstances. Me? Of course Charming Calvin has his suspicions but he'll never spill my secrets ( unless he gets tickled mercilessly in the right spots ) while my ISO, that wicked wicked man, does the same nefarious deed but he's not exactly the sort of shining example you seek to emulate.

Haven't been indulging in that disgusting habit all that long actually but my work seems to have affected it adversely, possibly making it worse. All depends on the time and circumstance of course but yeah.... I really do screen calls occasionally. Most especially calls that are foreign to me - obviously without caller id.

Seriously. It's embarassing to have the cellphone trigger off during a busy ward round, having it trill endlessly with everyone stopping in their tracks to stare balefully at the unexpected interruption. Or even worse so when my hands are busy juggling IV cannulas, dangerous drugs and thrashing patients ( or demanding nurses? ) - perhaps not the best time to have Gwen Stefani croon Wind it Up.

Or goodness gracious, when I've finally gotten five precious minutes off from a hectic workday to finally rest my head on the couch ( or some forgotten gurney somewhere ).

So my cell is usually set in silent mode which gives me the time to check out the eligibility of the caller before picking up the call. Horrible but it's a necessity sometimes. Trust me, even Calvin gets screened which is why he's stopped calling ( unless in the event of a dire emergency - lately covering the patent inability to cover his medical bills ) which is why we've resorted to an SMS relationship.