My day

I’m in the Chinese net cafe again, must be brief becuase it’s 3.30pm and I’m getting the 4pm bus to Galway.

So how was the week? Well, the 21st birthday was on Tuesday and for my trouble I received a phone call in work. Not surprising, since I work in a call centre and recieve 600 of the damn things a day. But this one, which took place exactly twenty one years after the day when I was born, was from laughing woman who said she had pills and wanted to kill herself. She said everyone was talking about her and she had been told by the neighbours that she didn’t deserve to live. I panicked and said she sounded fine to me and no-one should tell you that, whatever you did. Which sounded a little cold. But then I realised that all I was going to do was appraoch it objectively, as if I was talking to a rational person, which she was not. I’ve been trained on how to take a bomb threat but never on this. So I calmly asked her for her name and address (her phone number was on my screen). And then I called over a supervisor, a Liverpool girl who seemed to calm her down. I wasn’t up to it. The chance I had to talk this woman out of killing herself on my birthday was gone. A few other supervisors in the centre managed to listen in on the line and record the conversation. She took a few heart pills. The supervisor talking to her tried to get the name of the pills. The line went dead. The credit on her phone went.

Luckily, in this time, I had found her home phone number and full home address on the directory system and we called the police in the Essex town she was in. They called back half an hour later to say she’d been taken to hospital. That’s the last I heard.

So that’s what work is like. More pressurised and yet more satisfying. I think I did all I could in that situation; it can’t be helped if a suicidal woman rings me trying to make me save her. That, according to my wise English teacher in secondary school, is a classic characteristic of female suicide. A guy who wants to kill himself quietly goes about doing it behind everyone’s back. A woman inevitably leaves some kind of window of escape. And that was hers. Ring directory enquiries, get through to me and let me save her.

And I don’t know if I did.

Just saw you on random and wanted to say well done for not panicking. Most people would have. And of course – Happy Birthday.

dilate

March 23, 2002

that’s a strong quote. requires thought. hope you find/found a way to enjoy it despite that. or that perhaps you could take that as a reminder of how precious life is… it could happen. take care, peace. oh, and happy 21st dear, you made it.

hmm, congrats on doing the right thing. and hope your birthday was good on the whole. d’kev

You did exactly right. I think women figure if they get saved then they’re meant to live, if not then they were meant to die…not exactly logical when they did it to themselves, but go figure.—- and thanks for not mentioning how moronic i sounded on your voice machine. lol

Yowie

Happy 21st and have fun in Galway! I think you did the right thing with that woman, I mean you saved her life

zahavah

March 24, 2002

i saw the note you left YESHA settler, and i disagree. you say that because more palestinians are dying, that israel is in the wrong. the only reason more palestinians are dying is because israel is more established and more organized. you think that the palestinians aren’t trying to kill as many people as possible? there isn’t a 100% right side of this issue, you don’t seem to realize that.

thats so scary. I’m sure she’ll be fine. u did everything u could. I don’t think i’d have handled it that well. Don’t worry about it, its out of ur hands now. You’ve done ur part. Sorry bout the notes and entry. I just have issues with that. Its something which gets me more worked up and upset and confused than anythign else(i’ve many entries dedicated to the topic!). I just got mad. sorry.

Caffy

March 25, 2002

You probably saved that woman’s life, you should be proud. And happy birthday.

Embryo

I was in G-g-g-galway, albeit briefly, on Friday and earlier today. So I was.

crescentmoon

well it sounds like you handled the situation very well! happy belated birthday :o) hope the rest of the day was better!!!

I didn’t say happy birthday yesterday, so you’re off the hook. Also didn’t write down your #. Want to send it to me before Friday?

Happy 21st, hope you had a good day despite the call. Anyway I though you did well in the way you handled the caller, fair play!!

11850 does more than I thought! Fair play for being rational and handling it effectively. From your previous entry sounds it sounds like you’re going to get value for money from your train ticket! Lucky you and happy birthday