So, my coworker S was telling me about this huge argument she was having with another coworker, B. Long and short of it was that B had a big honkin' screaming fight over the phone with her boyfriend, and apparently lost. While on the phone with him, she began essentially grovelling, and all of her responses were either "yes, sir" or "no, sir." S claims this is not uncommon for this couple - B claims it's simply a sign of respect. The boyfriend does not, to my knowledge, return that respect - there's no "yes, ma'am" or "no, ma'am."

For some reason, the "yes, sir" seemed to bother me a lot. The only time I've ever called gamethyme "sir" has been while being a smart ass, and I don't feel that I respect him any less than anyone I would call 'sir'. Truth of the matter is, gamethyme and I don't usually call each other by our given names. He calls me 'beautiful' or 'gorgeous' (evidence of his blindness, no doubt), and I call him 'handsome' or 'sweetie' (the latter being one I distinctly remember my parents using with each other). The more I think about it, the mroe I realize that I don't really use given names very often. There are exceptions, of course - my coworker C is notoriously engrossed in whatever's playing on her headphones, so getting her attention usually requires three rounds of "C. C. C!!" followed by a paperclip tossed at her back before she responds. In general, I'll use my coworker's given names more often than my friends and family. It seems that the closer someone is to me, the less likely I am to use his or her name.

What do you all think?