Taboo.

Taboo.

T+A+Boo. What does this elusive word mean to you? One of my favorite pastimes is dissecting words, numbers, pictures, ideas, text messages and facial expressions to decipher the thoughts tumbling around in one’s head and the possible motivation behind the decisions they make. You may be thinking right now that I seem slightly crazy and maybe a tad neurotic. You may also be right. I am self-diagnosed lactose intolerant, after all. While I am most definitely not a left-brained thinker, hence my lack of analytical thinking and aversion to anything math or science, my top strength (according to Strengths Finder) is strategic. That’s me alright, always the strategist figuring out a right-brained way to go about accomplishing my missions. So when I think about the word taboo, I don’t look back into Latin origins or come up with an intricate super confusing formula to make myself feel superior. I simply take the word apart. T and A and Boo. Say it quickly now, “T n A, Boo.” That’s better. Tits and Ass, Boo.

Boo, a lovely pet name one of my besties and I refer to each other as. A simple, “hey Boo, how’s your day?” tends to paste a smile on my mug. In other situations, “Boo” is also used in reference to one’s significant other. Ok, so my bestie and I are not significant others; don’t get me wrong, if I swung that way I would totally tap that hottie, but…shoot got off track there. What was I saying? Oh, yes. Boo. Please refer to Jay-Z and Beyonce, Rihanna and Chris Brown (pre-DA) Lil Kim and who-the-hell-knows, or P.Diddy and his flavor of the week. You can always flip on E! News or surf over to TMZ, or hell, just look at the top songs downloaded on iTunes to hear how the term “Boo” is used by pretty much any top 40 artist. Most commonly, it is followed by something like “hop in my bed” or “take your clothes off” or “sweat drippin down my b**ls”. You get the idea. And then you throw in the T n A part and you are set for a riot of an evening.

Well, in my case, taboo has quite the significance. Would you consider it a social blunder if your best friend hooked up with your personal banker after she just opened up a checking account for you, got you a new credit card with a sweet max limit, made you a car loan and helped you finance that new house of yours? If you just answered yes, you have just classified their act as taboo.

Last weekend, I may have participated in a similar liaison that you may consider taboo. That is if you answered “yes” to the above question a social blunder, taboo, if you will. My job environment tends to throw me into situations in which I am surrounded by men. No, I am not a stripper or hostess. I plan events ranging from simple business lunches, sports banquets, educational seminars and leadership conferences to tail gates and lavish wedding receptions. You see where I’m coming from? It’s raining men…often quite literally. Throughout my career I have been very quiet and demure keeping to the side and hiding in the background only there to make sure the event is running smoothly and maybe to pin on some boutonnières. You wouldn’t believe how many people are afraid to pin on a damn flower. It’s not rocket science. Anyway, back to the story. On this particular weekend we had a two day event, maybe it was a wedding ceremony and reception, but if anyone asks, you didn’t hear it from me.

A strategy was forming and there was no stopping me now. The best man. Sure, when I first saw him on Friday night I thought he was funny, adorable, a snappy dresser, had dreamy eyes and supple pink lips. Whoa, someone slap me I’m starting to swoon. I left thinking nothing of it, ran a couple miles and killed myself on the stadium stairs before heading to bed for some much-needed sleep in prep for the long wedding Saturday.

Little did I know, best man was also a strategist. Saturday went by, flirty eyes here and there, slow smiles secretly passed between pinning on those aforementioned damned flowers and asking simply “are you lining us up for our entrance?” I had to resist. I was a professional for God’s sake!

As you have probably assumed by now, he was definitely on a mission and I was not putting up a fight. It was the first time I have given in to the suave I’m-hot-and-I-know-it guy. First time I’d participated in the wedding party flirtations, first time I gave my number to a member of the wedding party, first time I went out with the wedding party, and certainly the first time I snagged the best man. I swear I was drugged.

Mission accomplished, good sir. You snagged the wedding planner. Tell all your friends, tell your brother (the groom) and your family (all of who I met, by the way) and please, make sure to thank your new sister-in-law for choosing to work with me.

Unbeknownst to him, I have just told the whole world via the Internet of my accomplishment. Was it really his strategy and mission, or was it mine? Afterall, it was taboo. Tits and Ass and all, Boo.