Learned something interesting, call this a PSA

I was working on the front of the house. I also happened to be precariously balanced on a ladder when an Amazon delivery driver stopped to deliver something to me.

The driver did absolutely nothing wrong. She walked into the driveway and said, “Excuse me” It was all very proper and respectful, she’d correctly judged that if she startled me I could fall from the ladder. I really appreciate her being aware and thoughtful.

The problem was, that my back was to the street, and I was wearing my Apple AirPods listening to music while I was working. This too is all fine. Where the difficulty happened was that I had the Conversational Awareness feature turned on.

When she said “Excuse me,” the AirPods dutifully amplified her voice and I swear to you, it sounded like she was literally right behind me. I dang near threw myself off the ladder trying to turn around. It startled me.

After a good laugh from both myself and the Amazon driver, and me not falling off the ladder all was well.

It wasn’t until about 1/2 hour later that I realized what happened.

So, in the interest of public safety, if you’re working on a ladder that’s precariously balanced it might be a good idea to turn off conversational awareness. This is especially true if you’re focused on what you’re doing instead of your surroundings.

I suppose I’m still a little twitchy after years of “Crazy Pants” marching up into my yard to scream obscenities, or as in the last incident raise hands to me. “Crazy Pants” is gone but I’d gotten to the point that I wouldn’t even work in the front yard with my back to the street, much less wearing anything that could impair my hearing.

Just a friendly safety tip…

I hope your holiday weekend is going well.