Hiding Behind The Initial

For anyone too cheap, poor, thrifty, stingy, or what have-you, to get your home phone number unlisted has probably dealt with a telemarketing call once or twice in the past hour. I could probably list off a bunch of neat little shitty tricks to pull on these telemarketing bastages but it has been done a myriad of times, and invariably you, the supposed consumer, will be hung up on.
Now don't let me rain on your parade, if you want to discuss dildo's with the newspaper salesman go right ahead. However with the clusterfuck of sensitive people these days, you just might cause someone to sin within their strict religion or possibly end up with a criminal record because your talking to a grade 8 student who just so happens to be underage.

Something we did, which at the time seemed silly, but now quite convenient.... when we requested our new number we chose how our name would be displayed in the phonebook. We chose an initial and our last name. However this initial doesn't belong to myself or my husband. So when someone calls us asking for "J. Doe" we know that it's a telemarketer based on the fashion they are asking. Normally I just say they have the wrong number, and the telemarketer removes us from the list and doesn't call back.

Now you may be saying, "Gravity, you cheap cow just pay the 20 dollar unlisting fee, and move on!!"
But I hate to say, it doesn't always work. Some of those pesky little buggers slip through the wood work and find your number and call you.

And now, someone will say "Gravity, use the 'Do Not Call' list, if they call you back you can get 50 bucks man!!!!" And this wonderful convenience, my friend, is only available in the good ol' U.S. of A. and last time I checked I was residing in Canada, where there is no such law, the last time I checked. So here we've come full circle...... Where I hide behind my initial and cross my fingers.