Spitting mad

Have you ever gotten so mad that your voice shakes? I hardly ever get that way, but it has happened from time to time I'm embarrassed to say. My blood reaches a boil, thanks to my Italian heritage :o)

Now I feel bad because I told the guy off. Okay, maybe I should start from the beginning....

I purchased tickets for the Atlanta Ballet's performance of "The Nutcracker" that was held on December 7, 2006.

Since then, the Atlanta Ballet has been soliciting sales for upcoming performances. I receive e-mails quite frequently along with material in the mail. They also started calling me on my cell phone, which is the phone number I provided when I made my original purchase.

THEN, I started receiving calls on our home phone -- which is really my husband's business line. I finally realized someone looked up our published phone number online in an attempt to reach me.

So, just a little while ago, the home phone rings and my husband's answering machine kicks in with his business message. The individual hung up. Immediately afterwards, my cell phone rang.

When I answered, the individual identified himself -- you guessed it, calling on behalf of the Atlanta Ballet. I asked if he just called the other number and hung up. He admitted he did.

I lost it. I told him this is borderline harrassment. I was most angry about his calling the one number, hanging up and calling the second number. I told him our home number is on the do not call list and my cell number should be the only one in their file. I told him I didn't appreciate someone looking up another phone number in an attempt to reach me. I told him I get frequent calls and e-mails. He said he would revise my file to read "do not call." I made it quite clear that I'll order online if and when I'm ready. I think at this point he was visualizing my head spinning!

As it so happens, there is a flyer from them in TODAY's mail. I forgot to mention that to him, but it probably wasn't necessary. I think he got the point.

I'm no longer shaking and should probably delete this but, to keep it real, I'm going to keep the post. Hey, it's only fair to show the good, the bad, and the ugly!