Dr. Mel & Dr. El (Not Doctors)

Dr. Mel & Dr. El (Not Doctors)

Here to give you questionable advice about friendship, fashion and whatever the eff else.

Dear Dr. Mel & Dr. El, 

I know somebody who constantly asks if this other person likes her. The trouble is that they're both of the same gender! My friend sorta feels she has a "sixth sense" about this but this is like her 3rd girl crush AND at work! She knows better not to mix work with play! It's all very dramatic at the level of the TV show GLEE and its love triangles.

Basically, I think my friend is in denial and is trying to flip it so it looks like the so-called feelings are coming from someone else towards her instead of vice versa, if that makes sense.

Is there a way I can smack some sense into her? 

P.S. She wants to know if straight flirting is any different from "alternative" flirting.

P.P.S. If this or any of the above sounds offensive please forgive me and my friend's inquiry.
 
Anonymous

*****

Dr. El: Dear, Lovely Anonymous Lady, it sounds like your friend is looking for some sort of affirmation that her behavior is "normal".

Dr. Mel: Which really means she's looking for your acceptance, because we all know there's no such thing as normal.

Dr. El: Dr. Mel wouldn't know normal if it crawled out of her loofah while she was showering.

Dr. Mel: Ignore Dr. El. She is being un-doctorly as usual.

Dr. El: But we've digressed. We don't condone smacking sense into your friends, especially if they're stronger than you. They might smack back.

Dr. Mel: Instead, you might explain to your friend that in the eyes of the flirtee, there is no difference between straight flirting and "alternative" flirting. If she's confused about the impact her flirting might have, a bar is a much better place to try out her lesbian sea-legs than the workplace. I suggest Cubby Hole in NYC's West Village on Saturday Nights.

Dr. El: That's where Dr. Mel tried out HER lesbian sea-legs.

Dr. Mel: Not true at all! That was Meow Mix which doesn't even exist anymore, but...um...er...we've digressed again.  Let's get to the point already!

Dr. El: Fine! If you want to be supportive, take your friend to a gay-friendly establishment of some sort and encourage her to try and meet someone new. Perhaps when she's surrounded by lesbians and bisexual women she will feel more confident about her feelings and she will engage in some healthy direct flirting rather than turning the office into a prime time dramedy.

Dr. Mel: Well done. I knew there was a reason we were friends.

Do you need answers to pressing questions about love and life? 

Yeah, you do.

Email Dr. Mel & Dr. El at notdoctors@melandel.com

And let us know what you think of our advice, if you like, by commenting below.

We totally care what you think.

Mel earned her Doctorate from the Barnes & Noble School of Self-Help Books while El secured her degree from the University of Says Everything She Thinks. They are experts in all things except knowing how to drive a car which they both insist they are going to start working on tomorrow morning.

Dr. Mel & Dr. El (Not Doctors)

Dr. Mel & Dr. El (Not Doctors)
Here to give you questionable advice about friendship, fashion and whatever the eff else.

Dear Dr. Mel & Dr. El,

So the last time I saw your show a light went off for me.  I'm pretty sure that my roommate's boyfriend is totally gay.  He works in finance and they've been dating since we graduated college last year and I'm convinced she's just arm candy so he can mingle with his buddies and bosses undetected.  I've tried to talk to her about it, covertly, but it's hard to tell her that her gaydar, which didn't work so well in the first place, might be busted.  I'm also worried that maybe he's just really polite and metrosexual?  It's difficult to figure out if a guy's gay, without the tell-tale poor grooming and ill-fitting clothes.  Do I rock the boat, or just leave it be and hope I'm wrong (or they break up)?

Help,
Gaydar-Intact

Dr. Mel: Dear Gaydar-Intact, you've come to the right place! With our vast experience dating men who were borderline gay, we're uniquely qualified to answer this question scientifically.

Dr. El: Indeed. I personally discovered that my college boyfriend was gay when I found blush and foundation in his shaving bag.

Dr. Mel: Touche.

Dr. El: Here is my solution to your problem: Invite over a really hot gay guy, get everyone drunk and see who ends up in bed with who! Or is it “whom”? 

Dr. Mel: Ignore my colleague. She is a non-doctor with questionable grammar. MY medical advice is this: do nothing. It would be one thing if you had evidence of her boyfriend’s cheating on her with a man. Then you might have a responsibility as her friend to inform her of the betrayal. But if it’s just a suspicion about his tendencies it’s not your place to point it out to her. If she begins to openly question his sexuality in casual conversation, then you can listen to her side of the story and possibly add an observation or two of your own. But until that time, I’m afraid you’ll have to keep mum.

Dr. El: You COULD, however, mention a “friend” who is dating “a guy” that you think might be “gay” and see how she responds.

Dr. Mel: That’s the oldest trick in the book. No one would fall for that.

Dr. El: YOU fall for it all the time.

Dr. Mel: Go back to studying the bones in the skeletal system.

Dr. El: Heh heh… you said BONE.

Dr. Mel: You’re a disgrace to the medical community.

Dr. El: Good thing I’m not a real doctor, then.

Dr. Mel: Good thing.

+++

Dear Dr. Mel & Dr. El,

My friend is always late and it makes me livid.  I feel like it's a disrespect to my time and she always apologizes but it stresses me out.  It's too bad because I love hanging out with her once we are together. Am I being too anal about this?

Dr. Mel: Dear Punctual, there is no such thing as TOO anal. 

Dr. El: Oooooh, yes there is!

Dr. Mel: That's not what I...oh, gross, El....

Dr. El: What? Mel and I are both chronically early and we can always count on meeting each other 15 minutes before our actual scheduled rendezvous time.

Dr. Mel: It’s true. Which is why we understand your pain! It is especially awful for an early person to wait around for a late person, because the waiting time is actually doubled.

Dr. El: But we digress.  There are a few things you could try. The first is to just confront your friend honestly and candidly. It may feel uncomfortable for a moment, but it’s always better to tell a true friend how you feel than to let your resentment build and cause a wedge between you.

Dr. Mel: Wow! That was very eloquent. Go on…

Dr. El: You could ALSO try to fake her out. Give her a meeting time that is actually 15 minutes prior to when you ACTUALLY want to meet. Then she’ll think she’s late but she will really be on time.

Dr. Mel: It’s shady, but I like it.

Dr. El: My final piece of advice is make sure you always have a book or magazine with you, because even if she has the best of intentions, a late person usually remains a late person. So if ideas 1 and 2 don’t work and you decide to just love and accept your friend for the tardy slut she is, at least you’ll have reading material to help you pass the time.

Dr. Mel: Why does she have to be a slut?

Dr. El: She’s obviously running late because she’s getting laid.

Dr. Mel: Sometimes I’m so with you and then you lose me, just like that

Dr. El: It’s hard to keep up with genius like mine.

Do you need answers to pressing questions about love and life? 
Yeah, you do.
Email Dr. Mel & Dr. El at notdoctors@melandel.com

And let us know what you think of our advice, if you like, by Commenting below.
We totally care what you think.

Mel earned her Doctorate from the Barnes & Noble School of Self-Help Books while El secured her degree from the University of Says Everything She Thinks. They are experts in all things except knowing how to drive a car which they both insist they are going to start working on tomorrow morning.

Our New Year's Shmesolution

 

Mel and El have one New Year's Resolution...

to post funny and interesting content on their effing blog.

That's right, friends. Sunday nights will no longer be filled with the dread of another work week, for you will know that on Monday morning, at the playhouse we call Mel & El Dot Com, a delectable taste of humor awaits you.

Look for special entries like:
Vocabulary Lesson
Love it or Loathe it?
 Dr. Mel & Dr. El (Not Doctors)
and
You're Very Welcome

Don't know what any of those things are? You will, soon enough!

Tune in to our blog, Mel and El Have Things to Tell, every Monday from now until the end of your life.

We can't promise to make your life longer but we're pretty sure we can make it a little bit better.

HAPPY 2010.

XO,

M & E