Mistaken Identity

So here's my story.

When I moved to my current apartment three and a half years ago (OMG has it been that long?????), I got what was obviously a newly-recycled number. So I kept getting calls for Nadine Curcie. As in, two or three calls a day, minimum. While the situation got really annoying, really fast, especially when the person on the phone pleaded with her to "call back, even if this is the wrong number," it was nonetheless interesting to track the progression of these calls. First, it was:

• "This is ABC hospital calling for Nadine Curcie. Please call us regarding your appointment...."
• "This is XYZ Equipment Supply. Please call and let us know how your wheelchair is working out..."
• "I'm calling on behalf of 123 Doctor's Group. Call us right away...."

Then, we got,

• "This is BlahBlahBlah Credit. Please call us immediately regarding your account."

And, finally...

• "This is John Doe, investigator for the Law Offices of Generic, Hancock, and Everyman. I'm looking for Nadine Curcie. Please call me back so I don't have to call you again."

Though I guess I got a vicarious thrill out of watching these bumblers try to track down someone who'd obviously skipped the state (if not the country) to escape her medical bills, the fact that the majority of my calls and voicemail were for someone that I had never even met made me feel like I was being subject to SPAM at home as well as online. So for the better part of three years, everyone who called my house got this message:

Hello. You've reached Darcy Sharman at (my phone number). If you are calling for Nadine Curcie, please be aware that she is no longer at this number, and messages left for her here will not be returned. If you'd like to leave a message for Darcy, please do so at the sound of the tone. Thanks; bye.

I kept this message for so long because, amazingly, it worked. My SPAM calls decreased dramatically.

You know where this is going. Don't you. Yes, within the last couple of months, after some gentle ribbing from friends, I decided to finally banish Nadine's name from my voicemail domain. Guess who most of my phone calls have been for this week?

Give them points for perserverance, I suppose...