The 411 on my lack of 411 to you via a phone conversation

Alright, dudes. "Here's the deal," as my boss would say. The reason I seem to be unreachable by phone is because I honestly am! I am busy, and when I'm not, the last thing I want to do is spend an hour "shooting the shit" on the phone. I work all day 'till 5pm, so don't expect me to answer the phone during those hours, and then I play music roughly 2 - 3 times a week, so don't expect me to answer my phone from 5pm to at least 10:30pm those evenings. Then it doesn't help that all my friends are not friends with each other. Soooooo, instead of having one big weekly dinner, or happy hour, gathering with all my friends, I spend at least 3 out of the 4 free evenings I have trying to have dinner with some of those friends to show them I care, because I do...so don't expect me to answer the phone during those times, either! I have an insane dog who equals to having a todler. I walk him after work for roughly an hour, and then rush off to one those "dinner nights" with a friend.

You see, I am honestly missing your phone calls; I'm not just screening them because I don't want to talk to you...well, most of you, that is ;). When I actually do get an evening alone to myself, the LAST thing I want to do is grab my phone and spend all night trying to "catch up" with all those I didn't get a chance to see during the week. So people, give me a break, please! Send me a text, or email, and I'll get back to ya in a heartbeat because texting is short, sweet, and to the point, and I have time to e-mail during the day 'cause I'm a work in front of a computer. So lay-off with the guilt-trips, because trust me, they don't work. The more you harass me for not having phone convo's with you, the weaker you make the possibility of me of calling you back, just so you know.

I know texting and e-mail is impersonal, and this whole diatribe sounds insensitive and selfish, but sometimes I need to be a little selfish just so I can keep from having a nervous breakdown by hopefully getting a few hours to myself a week. I spend my days at work answering the phone and fake laughing with people about their bullshit I could care less about; and when I'm playing music, I'm suposse to be the "entertainer" talking to a crowd, either through song or word, for at least 3 hours straight. And then as soon as I take a break at a show, I'm expected to converse with each person there. I'm exhausted, and crave some good ol' alone time, so please cut me a little slack.