To paraphrase Captain Picard, if I’m going to be damned, it might as well be for what I really am! Sometimes I really wonder why I got married at all given the no win situations one can often encounter in such a union. I guess sooner or later every man gets the classic “Does this make me look fat?” question or some variant from which there are no good escapes. Today my turn came when my wife asked me to answer some survey questions for an MBA class she’s taking. These questions were all of a personal sort and to my eye designed to be answered by someone who has worked with her. I knew right away that there was probably no escape from pain!
Now I could either just fudge a lot and answer the questions in an overwhelmingly positive way or I could act answer the questions as accurately as possible as the trained ex-physicist I am. I ultimately chose the latter simply because I try to be as honest as possible whenever I can. It’s just easier to keep your facts straight when, well, they’re really the facts. So honestly, I told her, I’m not qualified to answer the questions because I don’t work with her and thus have not observed her in the working environment. This of course, went over like a lead balloon much as expected. But at least I can still live with myself, even if it means sleeping on the couch. It probably won’t, but it sure does feel like it right now.