they were discussing the apparent trend to greet or say goodbye to a business associate with a hug or even air kiss. Have you seen this at work?

Oh, hells no. No one at this office job gets hugged. Ever. At the krav job, it varies. The standard male to male greeting is giving daps, and some guys don't give daps to the women. Or, at least, to me. So there's a bit of squeezing. It all depends on how touchy feely the guy is, and how off-the-mat touchy feely we are to each other. Some will never get hugged.

I hug friends just fine. I don't have any friends at work, just co-workers I like. Some of the kravvers are friends in a way that leaves the centre, and in a way where we don't have to talk about krav all the time (although it sure is fun). They're up for hugging, if I like them enough.

Daps?

Danish American Princesses

Whoot! My tax returns just hit my bank account. Whoot! I can pretend I'm not a complete financial mess for at least a few weeks!

they were discussing the apparent trend to greet or say goodbye to a business associate with a hug or even air kiss

Yeah, this sounds like one of those NYT "trends" articles where actually it's just at this one place, and only among like three people.

My department is very chummy and we all hang out socially from time to time, but we don't hug, and we REALLY don't air-kiss.

Giving daps is an elaborated high five greeting. The one that I end up using most often is when the initiator makes a fist (like this, but more relaxed) and uses it to tap the top of the recipients similarly held fist. The recipient reciprocates, and then they butt fists, like they were clinking beer steins, except with no steins.

It can get more fancy with finger wiggling and altitude variations, open palms, etc.

I am curious about dap, too. Assuming ita's male co-workers don't go around giving each other Danish Americsn Princesses, which I feel pretty comfortable in assuming. That they don't.

ETA: Late post.

That's our hello dapping. There's also congratulatory ones that involve slapping each other's open hands and sliding the palms away with fingers wiggling.

And, boy, does it look dumb written down.

Nah, ita, my students give me daps all the time. It took me about 2 months to figure out which dap for which students. Major variation depending on age, sex and gang affliliation.

For me - and this is Only Me - flirting is not always with intent. I can comfortably flirt with a wide range of people, and it's rarely serious. Hitting on is much like (verbalizing) ita's "You. Let's." with a "Now" often added in.

I flirt with mushrooms. It's just fun. And I love to hug and be touchie-feelie with friends, but I am VERY my-FUCKING-bubble with people O don't know.

And air-kisses at work? EW. Ew. Ditto with hugs.

I'm with the whole loves-to-flirt crowd, and it's definitely about engaging with somebody at the level "Hey, you're sparkly and cool!" and not about intent.

I was going to say I don't really have crushes, but I certainly have a few Buffista crushes so that's not accurate.

But I don't pine. Well, I pined after JZ but I solved that by asking her to marry me.