On a Date - With Your Cocktail

You are at a new restaurant. You order your typical drink. Or maybe you try a drink you don't usually get, just because you feel like mixing it up.

Have you ever noticed that when we take our first sip of a drink, we pull back, and stare directly into the drink as we assess it's worthiness? Even as we speak, we can't pull our eyes from the drink. Your companion asks, "Is it okay?"  And you study the drink and contemplate its flavor and concoction and maybe nod a little bit while licking your lips, all the while looking into the depths of the icy cold glass.

It's as if you are saying to your drink, "Hello. I think I like you. But you are different than I'm used to. My usual bartender is heavier on the cranberry in this drink, and lighter on the lemon. But just give me a minute. . . . . yes, yes, I can see how that would be, mm-hmm, interesting. I'm willing to get to know you better, let's move forward." And if you really like your new friend, your hand rarely leaves the stem of the glass. As if holding hands while you stroll down the street. "I won't let go, until the end!" You say to your Cosmo as lovingly as Rose did to Jack in Titanic.

But if it goes badly . . . . if the bartender butchers your drink beyond recognition . . . .it's more something like this: "Is it okay?" companion asks. You grimace and pucker your lips, staring at the beautiful thing in the glass that suddenly has turned ugly. How could it be so two-faced? "Oh. No. No. It's. . . I don't know, it's . . . . oh it's just NOT RIGHT. This is NOT OKAY. Who would do this to a Vodka Tonic? I mean, it's just WRONG." You withdrawal your hand and you push the glass further onto the table, away from you. "It's not going to work out," you say. "I'm just not that into you."

Mad Men, the 80's, and Now

I recently started watching Mad Men. And like a good little NetFlix-er, I started from the beginning with the first season.
First of all - freakin, frackin, LOVE it. 

Second, it has me thinking about the workplace and how far women have come in their careers, earning respect, and creating equality. But the series stands out SO much from today's standards (obviously) that it makes me wonder if we are getting close to the end of the spectrum. We have men calling women 'sweetheart' and 'honey' in Mad Men; treating them as if they don't have a brain in their head, as if the ONLY job they could ever do was a secretary job. Christmas was called Christmas, parties were called parties, people said off-color things and everything was okay the next day at work. There were fist-fights in the office, and it was probably sometimes the best way to handle a disagreement.

Now things are the opposite. And with GOOD reason on most issues. But the hyper-politically correct society we live in starts to bother me sometimes. We are ever so easily offended. We must watch our words in the office, our beliefs, our opinions, lest we hurt someone's feelings. Christmas in the office becomes a 'Holiday' or just a 'Get Together'. I'm not saying I don't understand the reasoning for why we are the way we are now, but are we going just a bit too far? Mad Men standards were too loose, now we might be too tight. Is there a middle ground? Was it the 80's?

What will the workplace be like in 20 years?