Let Refresh Mind

Do take it seriouly with closing eyes

It's probably a good time to review the do's and don'ts of workplace dating.

DON'T be afraid to take your relationship into the real world, because eating together in the breakroom doesn't count as a date. Romance isn't often found within 10 feet of a vending machine and a unisex bathroom.

DO get to know each other before you doodle his last name all over your desk planner. I suggest riding to work together because carpooling saves gas, you can you use the coveted HOV lane and you'll learn pretty quickly if he does anything annoying, like using his arm as a seatbelt, thwacking you in the chest every time he slams on the brakes.

DON'T be a cliché or put yourself in any situations you've seen in a romantic comedy. If you're a lawyer, don't go for your secretary. If you're a nurse, don't date a doctor. And if you're a veterinarian, you're out of luck. Most important, DON'T EVER date your boss. The person who determines your Christmas bonus shouldn't be your boyfriend. If you are the boss, DON'T date your subordinates. You're the one who makes the office org chart, so keep your hands off anyone whose name is written in the boxes on the bottom rows.

DON'T do anything, um, physical at work. It's hard to get those smudges off the copy machine and people start to get suspicious if both of you need extra manila folders every day -- or perhaps several times a day -- at exactly the same time. Also, there are cameras in the elevators. Or so I've heard.

DON'T document anything in e-mail, just in case someone in the IT department decides to hold it over your head after you tell him no, you're definitely not interested in being his Viking princess at some comic convention, even though he already made you a furry hat.