Where do I begin? To tell the story of how long a week can be? The awful story of the longest week to be? The simple truth about the pain he brought to me? Where do I start?

True Conversation #1

Bossman: Can I save this file as something else? I want to keep the file you just gave me on this diskette and make another one. You know, so I have both of them.

Me: Umm... yeah. Of course. Use 'save as.' It's under 'Save.'

BM: You can? Oh. Okay.

(time passes... I walk away from his office door)

BM: Hey! You know what? This file you gave me [on the diskette] had an error on it [a formula in the Excel cell] so I fixed it on the first file, but then it was fixed in the new file! I didn't have to fix it again!

Me: Um... uh-huh... ? And...?

BM: Well, isn't that amazing?

Me: Well. Um. You fixed it, right? And then you saved it, right?

BM: No. I 'saved as.' I didn't fix it on the new one.

Me: (Name) um... you're not trying to tell me you think the computer fixed the problem by itself, are you? Because computers don't do that on their own.

BM: No. I know that. But I didn't fix it on the new one.

Me: Right. But you saved it-

BM: No, I didn't.

Me: Okay. Whatever.

Surrendering, I returned to my desk.

True Conversation #2

Bossman: We'll need 12 copies of this proposal to send out.

Me: 12? Only 12? Are you sure?

BM: They only asked for 12.

Me: [grinning] It's never that easy. How many more are you going to need for the office?

BM: Is it going to be a problem to print out more if we need more? I don't understand the problem...

Me: [mumbling now] Umm... no. I was just saying... you know. That there always seems to be two or three more that we need and we're doing it at the last minute...

BM: I don't understand how that's a problem.

Me: [surrendering] Never mind.

True Conversation #3

BM: By the way, last night I had to use your computer to print something and I got that password thing again. [Long story short, I had to create a new log-in on my PC at work and I put in a password. BM needed to use my PC when I was off last week and called to find it out. When I told him the long, sordid story with all the whys and hows, he still wanted to know 'why' and 'how' then demanded that I change it.] Why haven't you changed it yet?

Me: Because it's a bit involved and it takes time and I've been really busy this week. [All this week. Doing this proposal AND doing the exhibits for the deposition AND trying to get this meeting accomplished next Friday as he should damned well know since it's all stuff HE'S given me!]

BM: Well, I don't know how busy you may have been, but it needs to be changed. Can't you do that today?

Me: [thinking: he won't even be in TOWN until Wednesday night, but I need to have my PC BM-friendly TODAY? Just in CASE? Whatever.] Yeah. Sure. I'll get right on that.

And so... instead of doing the thing he needed me to fax to him ASAP, or doing what Bosswoman asked me to do 'urgently,' I changed the setup on my PC so that, in case the plane turned around midflight and brought BM back to Tampa, he could get on my PC and print a file.

More later. It's after 8 and I think Sweet's finally ready to take me out to eat. Dinner, that is.
posted by SPowers at 8:18 PM | Remember It!

Had a bizarre moment today. Bossman & I are working to get this thing done for the deposition 2 days from now. He's stressing because he also has a social/ business call to make in the afternoon in Sarasota which is at least an hour drive plus it's been raining for 2 days now (thank goodness because we really need the rain!) so he's been really busy & freaking out about all the details so anyway. He's standing at the counter that marks the edge of my 'receptionist space' and he's checking over a proof and then - I swear I could see this happening as it was happening, like in slow motion only it wasn't, you know? - and then his arm moves in just the wrong way and -

CRASH!!

- he knocks a small glass candy jar off the counter onto the floor and it broke. I didn't think it would break, but it did. A lot. Into tiny pieces that will hopefully be vacuumed up tonight. I didn't think there was that much glass in the little jar.

But that's not the kinda bizarre thing. Bossman cursed when it happened. Not a 'normal, polite' curse like 'damn.' The BIG curse. The F-curse. Yup. He actually said it, out loud and in front of me. I almost giggled, but I could see he was really upset and I didn't want to make it worse, you know? How many times do you get to hear your boss curse like that? Is this truly a bizarre thing? or is it becoming normal & expected?

At my HellJob, BossmanJerkyVB cursed a lot and routinely, but at every other real corporate job I've had, 'damn' was too much to say. So hearing him F-curse was worth an eyeblink AND a raised eyebrow.
posted by SPowers at 5:52 PM | Remember It!