My SIL finds the best surveys...

I guess I really like stealing things from her blog (sorry Mrs. X!):

ARE YOU:
A morning person? Yup.
Are you a perfectionist? Absolutely.
An only child? Nope
Catholic? No.
In your pajamas? I wish.
Currently suffering from a broken heart? No.
Okay styling other people's hair? As long as they don't have to go anywhere afterwards
Left handed? No.
Addicted to MySpace? What is all the hoop-la about myspace?????
Shy around the opposite gender? Not really
Loud? Depends on how much sugar I've had

DO YOU:
Bite your nails? Used to
Get paranoid at times? All the time.
Curse frequently when you get mad? Unfortunately yes.
Enjoy country music? Yup.
Enjoy jazz music? The old stuff.
Enjoy smoothies? I loooooooooooooove fruit smoothies!
Enjoy talking on the phone? Not really. Why call when there's e-mail? Unless you're Mom and then that's a whole other level of phone talking
Have a lot to learn? Of course.
Have a pet? Yes, two cats and a dog
Have a tendency to fall for the "wrong" person? No.
Have all your grandparents died? No.
Have at least one sibling? Yes.
Have been told that you are smart? Yes.
Have had a broken bone? Yes.
Have Caller I.D. on your phone? On my cell phone I do

HAVE YOU:
Changed a diaper? You don't get through five years of babysitting without changing a few diapers. I'm out of practise though
Changed a lot over the past year? Oh sure
Had friends who have never seen your natural hair color? No, because I don't stay away from my natural color for long.
Had surgery? No.
Killed anyone? No!
Had your haircut within the last week? Yes.

LAST PERSON WHO:
Slept in the bed beside you? Husband.
Saw you cry? Husband.
Went to the movies with you? Probably husband (I don't go often).
You went to the mall with? Hubby.
You went to dinner with? Wait, when was I last out to dinner? I think it was anniversary so that would be with my husband.
You talked to on the phone? A bulk of my job is to be on the phone so I was just on with a customer
Made you laugh? My boss (can you tell I'm at work right now?)

WOULD YOU RATHER?
Pierce your nose or tongue? Um, NOSE! Piercing your tongue makes you more vulnerable to getting sick and i don't have time to be sick
Be serious or be funny? Funny.
Drink whole or skim milk? Skim
Die in a fire or drown? What lovely thoughts you have there
Spend time with your parents or enemies? I love my parents... why would i rather spend time with people who hate me?

ABOUT YOU!
What time is it? 1:35 p.m.
Name? Madame S
Nickname(s)? Bozo, [insert first name]-chan,... depends on who's talking to me
Where were you born? San Diego
What is your birth date? 2-11
What do you want? I want to be able to eat like a normal person (stomachs been upset the last day or so)
Where do you want to live? I'd be fine staying put but we'll see what the moneymaker's job demands of him
How many kids do you want? 2-3 would be fine (I say this knowing full well that I've not had the first one yet so this could change)

I won't go indepth into my feelings about the war in Iraq but does anyone else find this utterly hysterical that "all of the sudden" Bush has decided to "play nice?"

I'm sorry... guess I get a little too gleeful sometimes at the justice of it all. ;)

Let Freedom Ring!

Why, oh will someone please tell me why parents think it's ok to do this to their grown children?

For two years I worked the switchboard at a private university. The switchboard also happened to be the Admissions office. I cannot tell you how many times I took calls from parents who were calling on behalf of their son or daughter asking things that I felt the student should be asking.

And it's not just the parents!! Before I go into a huge tirade about parents who seem to have issues cutting the apron strings I'd like to take a moment to point the finger at high school guidance counselors as well. Though it clearly bothers the crap out of me that some parents do sooooo many things for their kids, at least I understand where it's coming from. However, when a HSGC calls a university to ask some very basic questions about the school and programs and I can hear that student whispering questions in the background to the HSGC I get a little perturbed. And though I was only a receptionist/switchboard operator, I would frequently take care of some of these calls, particularly if all admission counselors were busy. My favorite thing to do ever with the HSGC's that did this was to ask to speak with little Johnny or Jane directly. Sometimes the HSGC sounded grateful but mostly there was surprise that I would be so interested in taking the middleman/woman out of it.

Someday I hope somebody will do a study on the children who received such "generosity" from their parents and other authority figures in their lives. I'd be curious to know how much debt they have (because no one reminded them to pay bills or not to sign up for that credit card) or what their professional life has been like (did they have a hard time finding or keep a job?) and, better yet, what their personal life has been like (think: Everybody Loves Raymond).

Now, before any of you parents out there who are reading this get mad at me I will throw out my qualifier that I am not a parent so I really don't know if I would not behave the same way with my own grown children. However, and this is for the record, if anyone does notice me acting this way with my kids you have my FULL permission to, at the very least, slap me across the face so I can snap out of it.