apropos of nothing

I never really gave much thought to Mad Men in all of these years that it has been running (however many that is). It probably has a lot to do with my loathing of television - that time is better spent cultivating more interesting hobbies, right? I knew next to nothing about it, and the only things I did know were based on curiosity after many mentions of my similarities to "that red head from the show". That red head from the show, one Miss Joan Holloway, is amazing by the way. I guess now would be the time to thank all of those random strangers, colleagues, (etc.) for the (somewhat misguided) reference. Thanks!

Recently I decided that I would give Mad Men a shot. I had spent the entire day refinishing my childhood vanity so I had been productive. I was exhausted and alone at home and it seemed that watching TV wouldn't be that bad.. Boy howdy is it beautiful! I think I am probably glad that I waited because now I can watch every single episode from the first four seasons at my leisure. That, friends, is pretty awesome. Less awesome is that I no longer need to accomplish anything productive to allow myself TV time. Those rules don't apply to Mad Men.

But I digress....

What I found notable is that, back in my days at that death pit of a former employer I worked for, I heard a lot of Mad Men references. At the time none of them really resonated with me (for obvious reasons). The only thing I picked up on was the rampant philandering because, let's face it, you really don't have to watch the show to be hip to that. Aside from the banging of secretaries and colleagues and subordinates and prostitutes (and mostly just anything with a vagina), there was also plenty of drinking on the job. Although it is hard to describe, there was also the same underlying tone of acceptable sexism. Honestly, the former probably applies more to one segment of the business than the other, but the latter was throughout the entire place.

It's kind of hilarious. (okay, okay, I guess you had to be there.)