My new mobile number

Numbers are important to me. Ever since I remember, 4 has been my favourite number. There's something comforting about its even-ness and the way it reminds me of a square (all sides and angles equal). Anything to do with a 4 is good. 2's, 8's, 1's and 9's are also preferable (this has to do with my birth date, month, and year). I sometimes like or dislike things partly because of their number, like my work pager and house numbers.

Yes, I know it's weird.


I also memorise numbers really easily. I can recall without a hesitation all of my bank account numbers, various account and registration numbers, as well as the home phone numbers of most of my high school friends (obviously before the mobile phone age). I'm not so good anymore, but numbers are still important to me.

Now I love my mobile number at home, (despite the fact it only has one 4), so getting a new one was always going to be stressful. What if it had too many odd numbers in it? What if there aren't any patterns, or even worse, any 4's??

So when I walked into the phone shop and asked if I could choose my own mobile number, and got a raised eyebrow and a firm "no", I was more than a little anxious.

Pleased to report I couldn't have chosen it better. Lots of 4's, only one odd number, and even the that is part of a lovely pattern.

The poor phone salesman just smiled awkwardly when I told him he'd made my day.