Terms of Endearment

No, not the movie. Actual nicknames for people or ways you address them and phrases used in conversation. What's appropriate and acceptable? What's too casual, or offensive? Referring to a group of males and/or females as "guys" is pretty common. But addressing an email to a group of women and beginning it with "Dear Ladies," is not always acceptable (or so its been pointed out to me). And, when a male co-worker innocently calls a female co-worker "hon" or "sweetie," lawsuits fly. But that same woman can call that same man "hottie" without any second thought from either party. Once, one of my female co-workers, who is black, called me "boo." I thought it was because I was scary white (which I am), but she explained that its a term of endearment. Okay, that's cool. (Now, when she called me "heifer" which is apparently another ToE in her circle, I took offense because I thought she just called me fat. I briefly pondered an eating disorder.)

I digress, but I bring this up because apparently I use the word "dude" alot. Why, I don't know, but its become a staple in my vocabulary in sort of a flirty, funny way with my male friends. Term of endearment? Debatable, but its not like "Yo, what's up dude?" but more like "watch out dude, apple martinis make me crazy" or "dude, that's awesome news!" or "dude, watch the elbow, this nose cost me alot of money" or "dude, you are looking goooood tonight," all said with a smile and a twinkle in my eye. Well, I accidently let this word slip out yesterday in an effort to be silly with someone close to me who, in all fairness, has kindly asked me not to refer to him as "dude" anymore. Oops. He saw no humor in my lame attempt to be silly, just because of that word. Understandable, but after a wretched day in the office where everything was being questioned and everyone was being defensive in some sort of way, I just really was trying to be fun and silly, and as I noted before, that word just comes out without thought. The reaction just made me feel bad. And, I totally admit, "dude" is a dumb and immature word to use in any setting, especially if you are educated and professional and an adult. I would love to rid myself of this word. But sometimes its difficult to just suddenly stop using words or phrases that have become common parts of your vocabulary. I've made a real effort over the years to be aware of what I'm saying and how I'm saying it, especially if it is requested. I do recommend to my faithful reader(s) that if someone uses a ToE that really gets under your skin for some reason, let them know so he/she can work on removing that word/phrase from their vocabulary if they so choose. But realize it takes time, and in the meantime, laugh it off for goodness sake. That's what my brother does when I call him "Little Davie" in a whiny voice even though it drives him insane and I know it. It slips out every now and then, but he handles his response with humor, then punches me in the gut.

Running update: Hill workouts last night were great. We ran about five minutes to the hill location and did two sets of hills for 15 minutes each. That is 15 minutes of continuous running up and down hills, two times, with a 5 minute break. It was challenging, but I was pleasantly surprised to notice that cardiovascularly, I was having no problem. I didn't fatigue, which can happen running up and down hills for extended periods of time, and I didn't take any unscheduled walk breaks. I was tired, but I felt really good after the workout. Coach Rick and Coach Joe did a great job laying out the paths. I think the key to having a good evening workout is having a stressful day in the office beforehand. Works every time!