Answering machine message: "Mom, Dad, this is Nicole. I wanted to call you because...well, I know this is going to sound a little strange, and maybe like it's coming a bit out of left field, but I wanted you to know that I'm joining the CIA..."

Ouch. This will be a very painful thing for my parents to hear. Not so much because they aren't fans of the CIA (I am not certain if they are or not, actually--it's not a subject we frequently discuss), but because I have already made them exceedingly uncomfortable via the rapidity with which I switch from one of my many interests to the next in an effort to pull in some sort of income. (I apologize for that embarassingly long sentence.) It's worked for me. It does not work for them. We shall see what happens when they return my call.