Chained to my resume-machine, as I am, I get a lot of strange calls.

Lori Curley: Last week, a salesman asked if I was interested in having my chimneys cleaned. "Two gentlemen will service you," I was told. "One will climb on your roof and come down your chimney with a wire brush, while the other cleans your fireplace with his vacuum."

Although I was immediately turned on by the prospect of having my heating system primed by two presumably capable and experienced gentlemen, I was also wary of their gentlemanliness.

Just how gentle is a man who will climb up my roof and down my chimney with a wire brush? Or suck the dirt from my fireplace with a rubber hose? And if they were actual prep school grads, would I have to pay premium for their superior grooming? I would be just as happy to have two normal guys clean my chimney. I grew suspicious. What kind of a company sends gentlemen down ladies' chimneys? When I expressed my concerns the salesperson hung up.

The next day I got an equally interesting offer from a man who wanted to fill my cracks, but our driveway had just been paved so I referred him to a neighbor who I have not seen for weeks. He may or may not have penetrated her cement.

I relate all this to you for a reason, of course, but I cannot remember what it is. Some men are here rewiring my attic and I cannot think straight. I apologize.

Lori Curley, champion mother of two middle-school teenagers, resides in South Orange, NJ. She holds a Masters in Education and has been teaching writing at the college level for 7 years. But can she find a job as a high school English teacher? Or will she pull her hair out first?