When patients are admitted to one of the upstairs units from the ER, we have to call report to the nurse that is receiving them. This task causes me an incredible amount of anxiety, as the faceless nurse on the other end of the line is often kind of mean.

I have always had trouble talking on the phone with strangers, which I believe stems from when I was three and told my grandma that I was going to call my mom. She said, "Okay", not realizing that I didn't know that in order to reach someone you had to dial a particular sequence of numbers. I picked up the phone and hit the buttons until it rang, and had the following conversation.

Woman: Hello.
Me: Hi mom!
Woman: (in terrifying witch voice) I'm not your mother! [click]

Then I crawled behind the couch and cried until my dad came and picked me up.