mr. flea and I talk on the phone at work once on most days. He and Casper are both usually asleep when I leave for work, so it goes, "Did she wake up happy or pissy, and when? What's she wearing? Are you working from home or work today? Assorted logistical day-care pickup conversation, depending on answer to the above. Will you be home for dinner, do you think?"

Actually, logistics and kids make perfect sense to me in terms of Reasons To Call.

I think I may just be a crankaboo.

DH and I work together, but when we are not both in the office we talk often. When he is out of town he calls several times a day. He knows I hate the phone so he makes it brief. I email him a lot, a whole lot.

Well, I'm off to go hear what a terrible person I am.

I beg to differ.

I dumped my home phone and changed my cell to that number. I love this. Now when teachers, or doctors, or my family, or anyone I care about calls my home number it rings in my purse. I worship the parties reponsible for caller id. If I don't know who is calling, or if I don't feel like talking, leave a message. My phone is for my convenience.

I used to have a co-worker who was on the phone to her daughter almost CONSTANTLY.

This is the daughter who still lived at home AND commuted to work with her mother.

Joe and I talk a lot on the phone during the day. Like others have said, Ellie and I are asleep when he leaves, so he usually calls to say good morning at a more normal time. He also calls me towards the end of the day so I know when I'll be home. And we usually call each other if something notable has happened during the day (i.e. one of us resolves an issue the other was worried about/working on). I used to wish he would call me less, but most days I'm very happy to talk to him, even if it's only for a few minutes.

When the kids were younger, I'd usually talk to the DH at least once a day. We split taking/picking up the kids so we'd have to do the logistics/info phone call mid-morning. Now that the kids are older, we don't talk during working hours on most days. Although there are some days where we talk 3 or 4 times.

If either of us is having a particularly craptastic day, that can warrant a second call.

Oh yeah!

Married/en-coupled folk, I've asked this before, but I can't remember your answers -- is this typical? Or calling even once a day during the work day?

Yup. We have stuff to coordinate -- what's for supper? Can you pick me up to run errands? Did you find out if the kid forgot his trumpet? Many of those can't be coordinated by E-mail because they're time-limited. And once the conversation starts, I am going to say "Have you still got that cold?" and "I love you" as well as talking about the current issue.

If it's two calls with no content but "I love you, kootchy-koo..." well, just assume it's Twu Wuv. It isn't as if your co-worker actually chooses an office environment in which you can overhear.

Every day? Twice a day? What do they have to talk about when they get home?

This makes me laugh because, well, you're asking a group of people who can make a conversation about which hand the fork goes in last a week. What do we talk about all day, every day?

I've been in offices in which there were people who'd call someone - spouse, s.o., daughter - several times a day and treat everyone in the area to what was going on in their lives. Open offices are a problem ... but I'd really like to encourage people to use a little discretion. I really, really don't want to hear it.

Right now we have a woman in my office who's going through some sturm und drang, so I get to hear her call several times a day and then recap with her friends in the office. It's been going on for a month.

I've spent the last two work days talking on the phone about why my insurance won't cover stuff. I pity my officemates. Fortunately, it's nothing too gynecological or graphic.

This makes me laugh because, well, you're asking a group of people who can make a conversation about which hand the fork goes in last a week. What do we talk about all day, every day?

Yes, but, here I'm "talking" to a variety of people. Or, sometimes, talking to myself. But talking to the same person, twice a day, everyday, and then going home to them... I don't know.

It's obvious that I'm not married, no?