Patient: “I wanted to give you my new number.”

Employee #1: “Okay, whenever you’re ready.”

Patient: *navigates through phone menu* “[Number], [number], [number], four, six, one, ten.”

Employee #1: “Uh, can you give that to me again? I think we have an extra digit in there.”

Patient: *navigates through phone menu again* “[Number], [number], [number], four, six, one, ten.”

Employee #1: “Okay, you’re giving me eight digits. Can you just read me out the actual numbers?”

Patient: *navigates through phone menu again* “Uh, I have to get to it again! [Number], [number], [number], four, six, one, ten.”

Employee #1: “That’s still eight digits.”

Employee #2: “Why don’t you try calling us and we’ll see if it pops up on the caller ID?”

Patient: *fumbling with phone* “I don’t think I have any minutes!”

Employee #1: “Do you want me to take a look at the screen and see if I can figure it out?”

Patient: *navigates through phone menu AGAIN*  “Okay, it’s [number], [number], [number], five, four, six, one, ten.”

Employee #1: “Now that’s nine digits.”

Patient: “Let me write it down!”

(The patient wrote down [number], [number], [number], four, six, one, zero.)

(It’s my very first appointment with a GYN Oncologist, and he has to examine my tumor, which has grown in the space “between the playground and the sewer.” There is a female nurse attending who is slightly older than both the doctor and me.)

Doctor: “Unfortunately, [My Name], I’m going to have to do a rectal exam, also.”

Me: *resigned to it, but salty* “Whoa! On the first date, even!”

Older Nurse: *totally taken aback* “But this is a safe date! This is for your health and well-being!” *several more comments indicating that she’s horrified at what I said*

Doctor: *never missing a beat* “Yeah, but I didn’t even buy her dinner!”

(Gotta love a doctor with a sense of humour!)

(I am in the car with my mother and brother, and we stop by the drive-thru of a popular chain coffee and donut shop.)

Employee: “Welcome to [Restaurant]. How may I help you?”

Mom: “Could I have a small white hot chocolate and a small plain hot chocolate, please?”

Employee: “Okay, so, two large hot chocolates?”

Mom: “No. A small white hot chocolate and a small plain hot chocolate.”

Employee: “So, a small white hot chocolate and a large plain hot chocolate?”

Mom: “No! A small white hot chocolate and a small plain hot chocolate.”

Employee: “Two small plain hot chocolates?”

Mom: “NO! A small white hot chocolate and a small plain hot chocolate, please!”

(Much to our alarm/amusement, the employee begins laughing!)

Employee: “Okay, a small white hot chocolate and a small plain hot chocolate?”

Mom: “YES. Thank you!”

(To this day I still have no idea what was going through that employee’s mind. I sure do know what was going through my mom’s!)

(I am donating blood at a traveling clinic that has come to my college. I have a rather intense needle phobia and like to use donating blood as a way to get over this fear just as much as an opportunity to help others. However, when the needle is in me I become visibly tense and my breathing quickens. Sometimes the nurses worry that I am going to pass out or go into shock, so I always warn them about my fear, assure them that I will NOT pass out, that I’m just anxious, and ask them to count to three before they stick me, which reduces my anxiety. They are usually very understanding of this request.)

Nurse: “Okay, we’re all set now. You’re just going to feel a pinch and a sting.”

Me: “Can you please count before you do it?”

Nurse: *legitimately confused about this request* “Count? Why?”

Me: “I have a bit of a needle phobia. I’m not going to pass out; I just don’t want to be surprised by the needle.”

Nurse: *still with a confused expression* “Okay…”

(She then proceeds to count to three as fast as she can… WHILE she is already sticking me with the needle. Lo and behold, I panic, push myself several inches up in the chair, and feel tears begin to stream from my eyes involuntarily.)

Nurse: “Oh! Well, I didn’t know you were gonna jump up in your chair like that!”

(She leaves to tend to other donors. I begin to calm down, but tears are still streaming down my face as a result of the unpleasant surprise.)

Nurse: *coming back to check on me, notices my face* “Is… is something sad going on in your life right now?”

Me: “Nothing other than the nightmares I’m gonna have tonight…”

(I work in the electronics department for an office supply chain. Some of our displays for copiers and printers are fake, but customers don’t realize it sometimes.)

Customer: “Hello, I need someone to show me how to change the toner on this copy machine.”

Me: “I apologize, ma’am, but that’s a fake display. I can describe the process but I won’t be able to show you on this model.”

Customer: *becoming irate* “No, I need you to show me on this machine!”

Me: “Like I said, unfortunately this machine is just a plastic display. I can’t open the part that holds the toner.”

Customer: “Then you need to find me someone who can! You don’t know anything!”

(I walk away to find a manager to handle the situation. After several minutes of helping her, she finally leaves.)

Me: “So, did she ask you to show her where the toner went?”

Manager: “I picked up the copier off the shelf and shook it to show her it was fake. I think she figured it out.”