If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
When did suits and ties become associated with "the hired help?" Should we blame "Casual Friday," that quirky early millennium idea, no doubt created by a flip-flop manufacturer, where employees abandoned traditional business attire?
"Is it healthy?" No matter how often the Foodcommander, in his capacity as a chef for private dinner parties, finds himself confronted with this question, he will always be unable to conceal a frown; at the very least, he will slightly raise one cocked eyebrow.
Are voicemails the new texts? Leigh Koechner, star of HooplaHa.com's No Mundane Moments, thinks so. It's no secret that etiquette these days is far...
Not knowing "who" and "how much" to tip can end up costing you more in uncertainty, embarrassment and cash. Here are commonly asked questions and also a General Tipping Guide when traveling in the United States.
In middle age, we might have the mistaken notion that we'll be better at breaking up, more mature about it, able to face it and do it well.
I have been a horrible wedding guest. I've not sent an RSVP back and still shown up. I've not bought a wedding gift. I've brought a plus one when I wasn't really given that option. And once a friend asked me to be in her wedding, and I never called her back! Then I planned my own wedding.
Not one person asked me how I got the black eye. Not the waitresses or the bartender, not the clerks behind the counters in the shops. Certainly, not the gas station attendant. Nobody asked. In fact, most people just kept their eyes averted from my face.
I will never know why she approached me out of all the people in the room. She was powerful, yet willing to ask for help, and she did not ask the most important people present that night, but arguably (and visibly) asked the very least important person.
When I thank someone for a favor or service rendered, what I've often noticed creeping into our daily conversation is the use -- make that the overuse -- of the response "No problem." Just when was the appropriate "You're welcome" put out to pasture by so many people?
Why is it that we feel everyone has to be alerted about everything about our lives? We have become a society of over-sharers. As if the me-generation wasn't self-involved enough, it has evolved into the please-look-at-me generation.
All women expect you to act like a gentleman but the definition of that word has become decidedly cloudy in today's complicated world.
With so many different tasks to complete, purchases to make, and personalities to deal with, bridesmaids may have to solve some etiquette challenges before they can pop those champagne corks.
Recently, all of my friends started having babies. I realized that I have a lot to bone up on if I'm going to be prepared for all of the showers, parties and religious ceremonies associated with this influx of little people.
Perhaps I am just getting old. Maybe it's the new normal to arrive twenty minutes late, to arrange a meeting so you can spend its duration broadcasting to the world where your physical but not mental presence is and to never snail mail.
Being on all three sides of a guest list -- inviter, invited and uninvited -- can help children not only become more resilient, but also more conscientious and empathetic. It's up to parents to use parties as opportunities for chats about friendship, kindness, and etiquette.
"Hello." Have you ever thought about how you say that all-important word that starts every single chat?
