Previous Questions of the Day in (07) July 2010

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Date	Question
01	I have a friend from high school who told us that she never learned to skip. We thought that was so funny. Who doesn’t know how to skip? With that in mind, is there anything you wish you could do, that you have tried to do over and over, for which you realize you just simply have little or no talent?
02	There’s a saying, and I’m paraphrasing, “It’s better to stick with the “devil” you know than to chance it with the “devil” you don’t know.” With that in mind, if you have to choose between a familiar but unpleasant situation and an unfamiliar situation that could possibly be pleasant, which would you pick?
05	Theo didn’t think it was possible for him to really start to have romantic feelings toward Paula, a coworker with whom he’s been working on a particularly difficult project. He has always had a very strict policy of not dating women with whom he works. Despite this policy, he finds himself thinking of what it would be like to be in a relationship with her. Because they have had to work so closely together, Theo and Paula have gotten to know quite a bit about one another, and Theo is convinced that Paula may be “Ms. Right.” Even though Paula seems to like him very much, he can’t determine whether her feelings for him match his feelings for her. He thinks to himself that she may just see him as a good friend and colleague and nothing more. Theo wonders if he should tell Paula how he feels and risk the friendship they’ve developed if she doesn’t feel the same way, or should he just wait for her to express more than a friendly interest. What do you think?
06	Simone’s good friend, Alicia, from college has fallen on some hard financial times. Alicia calls Simone and asks if she can move into her spare bedroom for a few months until she gets on her feet again. Since her school days, Simone has always lived alone. It was her roommate experiences in college that made her not want to share living space with anyone once she obtained a job that would pay her enough to live on her own. Simone’s never had anyone stay for more than a few days’ visit, and she’s not accustomed to having anyone in her space for a long period of time, but she’s always gotten along well with Alicia, and of all her college roommates Alicia was the one who Simone was able to deal with best. The women hash out an exact move-in and move-out schedule, along with the amount of money Alicia will pay Simone for utilities and part of the rent for the agreed-upon, three-month living arrangement. It is now two and a half months into the agreement, and everything has gone quite well. Alicia has consistently paid her agreed-upon share of the bills, she’s cleaned up behind herself, she’s never failed to clear it with Simone before having any company in the house, and she’s always been mindful when she needed to clear out for a few days to give Simone some alone time. Simone has been pleased with Alicia’s conduct, but she’s very much looking forward to having her entire home back to herself in half a month. Even though Alicia has been an exceptional housemate, Simone just really prefers having her living space to herself. There are just certain things you can’t do when you share space with someone; like walk to the kitchen naked. About a week before she is to move out, Alicia asks to have a talk with Simone. Alicia invited Simone out to lunch, and Simone gladly accepts knowing that Alicia won’t be around much longer and they should get together as much as possible in these last seven days. Over lunch, Alicia talks about how well things have worked out, and she thanks Simone for helping her get back on her feet. Then she suggests that they extend the living arrangement for another nine months. Alicia explains to Simone that she’s now in a position to pay half of everything, and she will also continue to be considerate of Simone’s home and space. Simone looks at her friend and sees the joy on her face. She realizes that Alicia is anticipating a positive response to her suggestion. Simone smiles warmly and excuses herself to the bathroom. As she closes the door to her stall, her mind is racing about what her answer should be. What do you think Simone should do?
07	You cannot have Heathcliff Huxtable from “The Cosby Show” or Ward Cleaver from “Leave it to Beaver” as your father. You have to choose between Homer Simpson of “The Simpsons” or Peter Griffin of “Family Guy.” Who do you pick and why?
08	I loved “The Muppets” when I was growing up. If you watched the show, which Muppet was your favorite and why?
09	Todd works for a very non-conventional company, where personal and professional seem to cross more often than to which he’s accustomed. For example, his supervisor, Gordon, expects that Todd will socialize with him and other employees after hours, and Gordon has a habit of calling Todd at home or on his cell during his off-time to discuss things he’d like Todd to do when he’s next at work. It was very difficult for Todd to adjust to all this when he first started working for the company, but the salary, hours and benefits are amazing, including free, catered lunch daily, a car service to and from his home and 30 days of vacation each year. Now that Todd has been with the company for several months, he’s learned to live with the relaxed environment. One evening, during his four-day vacation and while he is at a family outing at his oldest brother’s home, Todd’s cellphone rings. He looks at the display and sees that it’s Gordon. There’s a lull in the family activities, so Todd decides to take the call. Gordon has had a brainstorm, and he wants to share it with Todd before he forgets. After sharing his new idea, Gordon asks Todd to implement it when he comes back to work from his vacation. Todd agrees to make it happen, ends the call and dashes across the lawn to play soccer with his nephews. About two weeks later, Todd is at work and Gordon storms into his office with a scowl on his face. Todd is shocked and can’t imagine why Gordon is so angr. Gordon launches into a tirade about how Todd has cost the company several thousand dollars because he didn’t implement Gordon’s idea as Gordon had asked him to. At first Todd is confused and doesn’t know what Gordon is talking about, and then he remembers the phone conversation with Gordon while he (Todd) was on vacation. Gordon tells Todd they both have to meet with the company president about this situation, so Todd follows Gordon out of the office. When they’re in the company president’s office, Gordon is allowed to speak first since he is Todd’s boss. Gordon lays the entire blame on Todd, never mentioning how and when he informed Todd of the task. Todd is livid, but he keeps his face calm, and he doesn’t interrupt Gordon’s version of the incident. When the company president asks Todd for his version of the incident, Todd is torn about what he should say. Should he explain that Gordon called him during his vacation time, but didn’t follow up with any kind of email or memo as a reminder, or should he just take the blame, even though he believes Gordon is in the wrong, since Todd knows he has to continue to work under Gordon? After some thought, Todd begins to explain his version of the incident… Who do you think is in the wrong?
12	Anthony’s father (may he rest in peace) was his hero, but “poppa was a rolling stone,” and had several other children, some of whom Anthony has met and some whom Anthony hasn’t met. Just recently, within the last year or so, Anthony was contacted by a man, Felix, claiming to be one of Anthony’s father’s sons. DNA tests confirmed that Felix and Anthony are indeed brothers through their paternal line. Anthony and Felix have kept up with each other through Facebook, texting and phone calls since they found out they are brothers, and Anthony mentions to Felix that he (Anthony) is getting married in about six months. Felix congratulates Anthony, Anthony thanks his brother and invites him to the wedding. About a week before the wedding is to take place, Felix calls Anthony and lets Anthony know that financial hardship will most likely keep him from coming to the wedding. Anthony expresses his disappointment and tells his brother that he was looking forward to finally meeting him face-to-face. Felix then asks Anthony if he can stay with Anthony, which would allow Felix to be able to afford to come to the wedding. Anthony tells Felix that he needs to discuss it with his fiance, because she and their children have already moved into the home they will share after the wedding. It’s true that Anthony’s fiance and their children live together in the home that they will live in once the wedding is over, but the reality is that Anthony isn’t sure he wants someone staying in his home, with his family, whom he’s never met, brother or not. What do you think Anthony should do?
13	When you’re building something and/or putting something together, do you read all the directions first or do you just dive in and get going?
14	For the first time in many years, Ada’s family has all agreed to have their family reunion in her hometown. Because she had been pushing for this for years, she even volunteered to spearhead all the arrangements. Ada is handling everything for the family reunion without incident, and then her teenage son, Marcus, gets into trouble with the law. While visiting a friend he’s not supposed to be seeing anymore because of trouble in the past, they take a joy ride in the friend’s father’s car, and the boys rear-end a city work truck. Neither boy has a license, or even a permit, to drive. Marcus calls Ada on her cell phone, and she shows up at the scene of the accident relieved that Marcus is fine but livid that he’s gotten himself in such a mess. Instead of causing a scene on the spot, Ada waits until she gets Marcus home and then she lays into him. On top of dealing with work and the family reunion preparations, Ada is constantly having to deal with Marcus’ bad behavior. It’s one thing after another, and she’s at the end of her rope. She wants to pull out of organizing the family reunion, but the event is close at hand and many people are counting on her to come through for the family. Marcus knows his mother very, very well, and the one thing he knows she abhors is public scenes that draw attention to her and her troubles with her son. He acts his worse when they’re around other family members, because he knows she won’t yell or fuss at him, and he can get away with his antics until they get behind closed doors. The weekend of the family reunion comes and everything is set. Friday and Saturday go smoothly, and Ada is surprised that Marcus is so well-behaved and so helpful. She even dances with him a few times at the family formal dinner and hugs and thanks him for behaving so well. The final event of the reunion weekend is the family cookout on Sunday. It’s a beautiful day, everyone is enjoying themselves, and Ada is breathing easy because the events are almost done, there were no major disasters and everyone has had an awesome time. She leans back in her folding chair and pans the crowd of family with a smile on her face. As she focuses on the group of people walking up to the gathering from her left, her smile fades to a deep frown. The boy who Marcus isn’t supposed to be hanging around, and two other boys who Ada knows just got back from juvenile detention, are walking towards Marcus, who is walking towards them with a huge grin on his face and fist-bumps to indicate Marcus knew they were going to show up. Ada is livid, but she doesn’t want to cause a scene. She, also, doesn’t want these boys at her family gathering, and she can’t believe Marcus would invite them. What do you think Ada should do about this?
15	Rolanda is tired of her boring job, so she decides to make some changes. She went to school to be an accountant, and she’s been doing that for the last five years, but she’s always had a passion and actually a real talent for fashion design, which was her minor in college. She sends out resumes and includes a link to her online portfolio of clothing designs she’s hoping to bring to life for some firm that will have her. About two months later, Rolanda gets a phone call from a firm who’s very interested in meeting with her. She takes a few days of vacation from her current job to prepare for her interview and to go to the interview itself. The interview goes exceptionally well, and the manager offers Rolanda a position on the spot as a junior-level designer. Before Rolanda can give her answer, the manager interjects that the position is unpaid for a probationary period of six months with the option of the company to let Rolanda go once that period is up if she doesn’t perform as expected. If Rolanda does perform as expect, she will be paid retroactive for the six months she worked without pay, and she will be given a starting bonus equal to 33% of her six months’ salary. Rolanda asks if she can have a few days to think it over, and the manager says yes. The manager asks Rolanda to let her know her answer within the next four days. As Rolanda is riding home, she is torn about what to do. This is her dream about to possibly become reality, but there won’t be a paycheck for six months and she could possibly not see any pay at all if she doesn’t meet the standards. What do you think Rolanda should do?
16	You can only have one form of entertainment this weekend. You can watch movies or listen to music. Which do you choose?
19	When an item is extremely popular, hard to get and/or sold out through its original source, do you ever pay extra to get it from another source, or do you just wait until the original source has it in stock and pay the regular price?
20	The Mancinis are hosting their daughter, Mary Katherine, and new son-in-law, Ahmad, for a week during the winter holidays. The rest of the Mancinis’ children will be home, also, with their respective spouses and significant others. The entire family absolutely adores Ahmad, and they know how well he treats Mary Katherine. Mr. and Mrs. Mancini sing Ahmad’s praises to all their friends and other family members, but they are a bit concerned about his week-long stay. Ahmad doesn’t eat beef or pork, and the Mancini women create delicious dishes for the holidays, many of which contain beef, pork and/or beef or pork broth. Ahmad has repeatedly told his mother-in-law not to change her menu for him. He tells her he will eat what he eats and leave the rest for everyone else. Mrs. Mancini doesn’t like the idea of her favorite son-in-law not being able to enjoy all the same things as the rest of the family, so she’s still torn about whether to change the entire menu or keep it the same. What do you think she should do?
21	It’s been said that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” With that thought in mind, when you’re presented with pictures by a proud parent of his/her child, and the child doesn’t necessarily appeal to your sense of beauty, what do you say?

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Previous Questions of the Day in (07) July 2010