Funny Figures

My soon-to-be-ex landlord and I communicate only via our mobile phones, with the occasional bill passed between us via the mailbox (where she still gets her mail, and I rarely get any). Her mobile number is

09__ 135 838

and as above, I've separated them the way most Taiwanese parse the number: groups of 3. But whenever I dial her number (if I'm too lazy to find it in my addressbook), the way I remember it is slightly different:

09__ 13 58 38

And the reason is really simple (and kind of mean):

1-3 sounds like "one life" or "the entire life"
5-8 sounds like "won't prosper"
3-8 is kind of a slang for "naive and silly", bordering on stupid

If that were my number I would have asked to change it immediately; I don't want to have a mobile phone number that insults my character and future all at once! It's funny that she's kept it for so long.

But anyway, she's really cool. The best landlord one could ask for, really. She's been extremely flexible on my potential move-out, she leaves me alone except for once a month when we need to sync up the latest bills (because she pays for most of the bills automatically), and she's respectful of my privacy.