JOURNAL
23 November, 2008

This is more of a note than a journal entry, but the main way I can tell that the economy has gone down the Crapper is because I've been getting a lot more calls from collection agencies recently. It's the problem with having a common last name like Jones and actually, something I've been putting up with for years. Not the collection agencies part. Just the random phone calls from people looking for some Keith Jones or other. My personal favorite was the call from the California National Guard wondering why I hadn't shown up for the first day of basic training. Yeah, that was fun, happened years ago, and only took a minute or two to straighten out.

These days, I'm glad I've got caller ID. I mean, I've never been big on answering the phone. Only doing so when and if I felt like it. But, I don't answer the phone anymore if I don't recognize the number.

Good news there is that I've never had to explain to any of these collection agencies why they've got the wrong person. Never had to explain that my middle name isn't Daryl or Darren or Darnell or whoever it is they are looking for.

I pay cash, use one of two credit cards, and pay attention to my credit report so I know they can't be looking for me. I just don't want to have to explain that to them.

Every so often, there is a story in the newspaper about how dogged and vicious these agencies can be once they've made contact, which also explains why they keep calling and leaving messages. I've been tempted to change the out-going message to point out that my middle name isn't Daryl or Darnell, but I'm worried the agencies will take this as a sign they've made contact and redouble their efforts. So, I don't. It's really to the point where I don't even bother to look at the caller ID anymore.

I check the phone when I feel like it; after all, it could be my parents.