Crap. I just remembered I have to be at work an hour early for no apparent reason tomorrow. Bleh.

My mother worked before she married, after she married, and within months of popping me from her womb. The only breaks she took were because we moved countries and she had to get new grants for more research.

I read somewhere that Jamaica is one of the few countries in the world that valued girl babies over boys. Not sure about the veracity, but female breadwinners are completely and totally accepted, perhaps even more stereotypical than the man bringing home the bacon.

Oh, I love Free to Be. I have the DVD.

Weirdly, a friend has the CD of the songs, and on the incredibly-bizarre-to-the-modern-listener track of You Don't Have to Change At All, Michael Jackson's part is just gone.

I have no earthly idea where my SS card is. I've known the number by heart ever since I applied for college, but the card itself has vanished into the ether.

I actually still have mine, and know where it is. Which is incredibly out of character for me. My Canadian SIN card is long gone, and I don't know the number, so at some point it's going to take some doing to replace.

What I find interesting (and irksome) social commentary is that it states my father's profession, but there is no such box for my mother. There's more info on my dad on that form than there is on the woman who carried me. @@ 1975!

I've mentioned this here recently for some reason, but when I was born in 1970, my mother's (Canadian) citizenship did not transfer automatically to me, whereas if my father had been Canadian and I was born outside Canada, it would have been automatic. By the time my sister was born (1980) they'd stopped smoking that particular crack.

But on their marriage cert (Canada, late 60s), he's recorded as "divorcé" while she at 26 was registered as "spinster."

I've mentioned this here recently for some reason, but when I was born in 1970, my mother's (Canadian) citizenship did not transfer automatically to me, whereas if my father had been Canadian and I was born outside Canada, it would have been automatic. By the time my sister was born (1980) they'd stopped smoking that particular crack.

That's really cracktastic, because you can guarantee who gave birth to you, but your father? NSM.

I know! Hello? And for citizenship, which is kind of a big deal.

I adore Free to Be, You and Me. I don't have the DVD, but I do have the CD soundtrack and all the kids have listened to it.

My grandmother always worked, which was unusual enough in the fifties, and she worked in the trucking industry. My grandfather always cooked and cleaned right along with her, so my dad grew up that way, too, which was great (my mom was diagnosed with lupus when I was thirteen, but had been ill for years before that) because he never had a second thought about housework or cooking.

Only one of my friend's mothers worked when I was a kid, though. Suburban New Jersey, 1970s, and Ann was practically the only kid I knew whose mom worked.

Did Michael Jackson go all Men-in-Black on your CD too? I'm just fascinated by that.

I am back from teaching and from Full Force

with Cult Jam?

Heh. I got an SSN when I was 10 or so. I think it was when I got a savings account. My brother and I got them at the same time. I was disappointed that our numbers weren't sequential. I still have the card.

Both my parents worked my whole life, except when my dad took a leave to work on his 6th year degree (and then he got to take care of me during the day since I was an infant). Of course, given that they were making about $15K a year combined as teachers, they didn't have much choice. Stupid old payscale for teachers.

the incredibly-bizarre-to-the-modern-listener track of You Don't Have to Change At All,

That's the one with "And I don't care if you're pretty at all/And I don't care if you never get tall/I like what what I look like, and you're nice small," yeah? Not completely irrelevant...