mistaken identity

Speaking of having a name that's not uncommon.... I got a call this morning from a guy named Marty. I have a friend named Marty, but this was someone else, with a rather pronounced Minnesotan/Ontario accent.

Although I couldn't place him, he insisted that he knows me. He told me that he's Gwen's fiancé, and that I know her from working with Hobie (sp?). I told him it wasn't ringing a bell. I don't know anyone named Gwen, nor Hobie.

"Oh, sure. We've been over to your house a few times." No, I'm pretty sure you haven't been.

"You know Hobie?" No, I don't. "Oh, sure you do," he insisted. He went on to say that I'd been working with Hobie's escort service about two years ago.

Now, THAT I would have remembered. No, sorry, I'm not the Jen Willis you're looking for.

And, now that I think of it, I should have asked how the HELL he got my wireless number.

Later.... after spending fifteen minutes on the phone with the Department of Labor trying to track down how many people in the United States make their living as professional psychics....

I must be getting rather cocksure here in my mid-thirties. I called Marty back and asked to know how he'd gotten my wireless number. I'd done a Google search on the number, and it's nowhere on the web (that I can find). It's one thing to be mistaken for a call girl, and quite another to have someone call my private number looking for a call girl. (I'm not sure how these are different, but they are.)

It turns out that he'd had this number for Jen -- the gal he knew -- from several years back, but never knew her last name. So, apparently, someone named Jen had my number before I did. I think that's pretty sloppy work on T-Mobile's part. If this is really what happened, I'm amazed it took nearly two years for me to get this call.