do you ever wonder what your boss's house looks like? or if you're like most of us, your many bosses' houses? can you picture them according to their personality? one of our bosses is one of these santa-fe-fantastic dressers with the funky jewelry, long gray-white hair, perfect-though-heavy-ish makeup, and carries herself in that elegant way that you always know when she's in the room. naturally, i've heard her place in lincoln park is fabulous with lots of fancy art and possibly breakable things.

i like this stuff. so imagine my excitement when i found out my next career advising meeting with other-boss was at his house. completely different guy. you also always know when he's in the room, because he enters with a big "hi, kids..." for his various underlings. fleece jackets covered in dog hair, talks almost as fast as my blogmate, constantly quoting his own publications but in such a funny way it never occurs to you (well, it never occurs to me) that it's a little weird to be so self-referencing... so he's pretty well-known in his field, and his wife is a famous psychologist or something. their place? perfect for them. big old two-story, older-looking couches and chairs paired around not-new-but-expensive-looking area rugs, fireplace naturally flanked by thousands of dated books, fancy art side-by-side with huge sparkly collages of their children's accomplishments. kitchen with maybe 15-year-old appliances and white formica but equal exchange coffee and croissants from local bakery on understated-fancy copper serving tray. kids' soccer ball right next to souvenirs clearly from exotic travels.

does it take a certain amount of time or money to accumulate a household that matches your personality? i wonder what my own place says about me... cheap, likes hand-me-downs (or tolerates them and paints them orange), has an excessive love of plastic crates filled with outdoor toys that she doesn't use often enough, keeps books clearly from college classes on her bookshelf to make it look like she's well-rounded. needs more closet space, or to throw away more things.