h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Oh, how delightful to discover there is someone else who knows what it's like to be happily installing oneself in one's new home and learn from its use by a caller that there is a working doorbell!

A very strange and rare moment of clarity and confusion is it not! To hear it for the first time, like so many 'first time' experiences is like 'revelation'; especially when it had not been anticipated or even considered. It is the 'anticipation' of many first time events that often leads to disappointment.

Unlike Pavlov's dogs, one has no slobbering or drooling response to a doorbell heard for the first time. There is no 'jump' to get up and answer the door. Rather, time stands still as one wonders what was that, a doorbell? Yes, it must be! We have a doorbell!

This realisation is then followed by a heightened ambivalent moment of indecision, to carry on doing what needs doing or run the risk of meeting some stranger, salesperson, nosey neighbor or other unsavoury character on the doorstep. In your case, happily, it was a known visitor.

By now of course your phone is hooked up and you have also had a similar (though I'm sure, less intense) moment of that first ring.

I'm looking forward to further installments of your report.
May all who ring your bells be friendly and peaceful and welcome.
peace
~jwf~

Thanks jwf! What made it more interesting is that, since the apartment is the basement of a converted house, and the entrance to the apartment proper isn't directly outside (if that makes sense), she had to ring the bell outside the security door, and I've since noticed that there are 2 buttons--one for the apartment directly over us, and ours--neither labelled, of course, just like the apartment doors. The whole house was vacant at the same time (or at least I know that the two apartments sharing the side entrance were--I'm not sure of the front one) but we moved in while they were cleaning the one that shares our entrance, so people were looking at apartment B (we're in C) for awhile. In fact, the fact that the apartments aren't labelled was brought to my attention that Thursday--I had the door open to get some of the coolness from the hall, and and older lady asked I knew which apartment was B. And every time I came home from errands that day, I'd closed the screen door when I left, and found it open. (Yes, we have a screen door on our interior entrance... , huh?) And the outside door and screen were locked, which I never bother to do during the day, but which apartment viewers tend to do (we did).

As far as the phone... Evidently the person that had our number before was named Louise, and has friends of all ages... I would say 'Do I sound like a Louise?' here, but since I'm female, I just might... More so than Tom, anyway...