The million dollar question

Tring Tring! My phone rang for the 8th time on this lazy sunday. I reached my phone, flipped it open, reached for the END button. This has been my routine for past several weeks. Although, none of those calls are from some hyper uncles and aunties asking me to get married. All those calls are from some of my long time friends, some acquaintances, and some newly introduced people. There were times when I would chalk out a schedule, whom to call and when to call XYZ. When I would get agitated if a friend dint call me for several days in a row. I still maintain that I am quite social and not a recluse. I still get out with some buddies for dinner/lunch/coffee but I mingle with selected people amongst whom I can breathe.. And most of those phone calls are from fellow graduate studemt friends..one who says 'Yes..I am writing my thesis. Boss asked me to defend in July. Looking for jobs' The other says 'Yeah..close to finishing up' Yet another friend 'Zee' who came along with me to this country says 'I just attended an interview at Yada Yada university in Timbaktoo..I am hopeful I will land up with that one' Then comes the questionnnnn 'Sooooo...how close are you on getting your PhD'? There is no avoidance to that one. The inevitable always happens. My answer sounds like a broken record 'Ya..I am working on my Qualifyin exam. My boss just moved. I will move with him too. I have to yet publish" So much so that, I myself have gotten sick and tired of my own answers. They all have good intentions. But some questions do hurt when you yourself are clueless about the ongoings of your own life. When you yourself are not the only one to decide the course of your life. When there can be several alternatives to one problem. When life just does not give you an answer in a YES or a NO!