In my day, I have had a number of interns working for me. Some were good, some were not so good, some were great, and some were just spectacular. These last, I generally lobby very hard to bring into the company permanently.

Also in my day, I have had a number of girlfriends who were kind enough to date me. Some were good, some were not so good, and I liked one of them so much that I decided it would be a very good idea to invite her to fill that role permantently.

Having had such experience in both spheres, I consider myself reasonably equipped to comment on the differences between girlfriends and interns. I don't intend to do a comprehensive study at this point, but I did want to take a moment to illustrate such a difference drawing from an experience I had today at the office.

A colleague called me over to discuss how to phrase something on the evaluation sheet he was filling out for an intern in the group. It just so happened that the intern was sitting right next to my colleague. So, in order to candidly discuss the issue with my colleague, I turned to the intern and said "Earmuffs," at which point the intern put his hands over his ears and started humming.

In all my years as an active woman-dater, I have never once said to a girlfriend "Earmuffs,' and had them do what I wanted them to do. And believe me, it's not for lack of trying. So there you go - a major difference between girlfriends and interns, along with anecdotal illustration.