"We regret to advise that
the person at extension 4..2..6
is not at her station.
Please leave a message
or try calling again later."Later.
"We're sorry, the person at extension 4..2..6
is not at her station. At the beep, you may:
press 1 to leave a message, or
press 2 for more options.
Alternatively, you may wish to try calling again later."2.
"You have selected 2 -- "more options".
Please press 3 to speak to an operator, or 4 to hold.
Alternatively, you may wish to try calling again later."3.
"You have selected 3 -- to speak to an operator.
We're sorry, all our operators are busy at the moment.
Please hold the line and we will attend to you shortly.
Alternatively, at the beep, you may:
press 1 to leave a message, or
press 2 if you wish to revert
to your desired extension.
Alternatively, you may wish to try calling again later."2.
"We regret to advise that
the person at extension 4..2..6
is not at her station.
At the beep, you may:
press 1 to leave a message, or
press 2 for more options.
Alternatively, you may wish to try calling again later."2.
"You have selected 2 -- 'more options'.
Please press 3 to speak to an opera ... ..."3.
"Hello, Operator?"
"Yes?! Can I hep-chew?"
"I am looking for Miss Mary Lim.."
"What extension?"
"Extension 426, but..."
"Hold on ah""...We're sorry,
the person at extension 4..2..6
is not at her station.
At the beep, you may:
press 1 to leave a message, or
press 2 for more options.
Alternatively, you may wish to try calling again later."1.
"This extension is not
recording any more messages
because the mailbox is full.
Please press 2 for more options.
Alternatively, you may wish to call again later."click.
Written 1999
First published in "No Other City -- The Ethos Anthology of Urban Poetry"
(Ethos Books 2000 Ed. Alvin Pang)
Last modified: 20 December 2000