Dear Hottywood,  

I’m sending you this inquiry from work. My sisters keep calling me on my job to talk about family drama that has me weighed down. How can I get them to respect the fact that I can’t take personal calls at work and don’t want to be stressed out with home worries while I’m on government time?  

Blood Thinner 

Dear Blood Thinner, 

Your answer is simple. Don’t answer the damn phone! If you have caller ID, like most office phones do now-a-days, when you see their number flash on the screen, ignore it. If they call you on your cell phone, don’t pick up. You can simplify this by giving your sisters each a Grim Reaper specialty ringtone. If you have a smart phone, there’s an app both in the Android and Blackberry market that allows you to block certain callers. Look into it. It’s worth the free investment. 

If you really want to piss them off, buy a dog whistle and blow it in their ear every time they call you, because I know when they ring your phone the first word that pops into your head is “Bitch!” And a bitch is a female dog. See where I’m going with this? 

The bottom line is you don’t have to deal with their drama, especially on your paid (and unpaid) time or on your phone. The word ‘family’ is not synonymous with ‘control’. You shit and piss the same way they do, so their control over you is no greater than yours is over yourself. Deal with them when you want to, not when they want you to. If they can’t handle that it’s their problem not yours, or as some eloquent trashy person would say, “F-ck ‘em!”  

Hottywood