Clichés Give Me Comfort in a World Gone Mad

Girl Friday feels down trodden and defeated lately. Let’s examine all the possible things that could have zapped her Superheroine powers…

When it rains it pours: After rushing around to get all the bosses prepared for their conferences, I had a momentary break from the storm. I didn’t spend the break preparing for the next storm because I had no idea what to prepare for, but now I’m really paying the price. I have ten travel files to reconcile. Joy. I have four candidates arriving for interviews and I’m responsible for coordinating everything for them, and arranging meetings with our large staff. I have conflict resolution training to coordinate and that involves stuffing students into bad time slots that are good time slots for directors. If I was 20 years old the last place I’d want to be at 8:30 AM on a Friday is in a directors office learning to resolve conflict by saying, “Tell me how you feel about that?”

Looking for greener pastures: Being recommended for jobs has opened up a whole can of worms. My direct supervisor really seems to resent my quest for a better job. She’s spoken with a director about it already and makes me feel, in general, very uncomfortable by discussing my opportunities with forced interest. Instead of showing me that I’m appreciated and trying to give me reasons to stay, she is pushing all my buttons and it really makes me want to leave at a dead run.

My own worst enemy: I find that I’m too honest during interviews. I feel confident and know I’m an engaging person, but I refuse to jump through hoops. I don’t lie about skills I don’t possess or evade answering questions that make me uncomfortable. I’m honest, I’m real, but I do try to show people that I’m more than just the sum of all my parts. I have a lot of potential, but I fear it might be overshadowed by unwillingness to paint pretty pictures.

Today is better than yesterday: I went to my interview yesterday. It went fine. I dazzled them with…um, something. I don’t know what they think of me, and I don’t know what I think of job. I told my nosy boss as much and she just got all huffy about it. I ended up being gone for two hours—so I took one hour as my lunch and then came back to work and stayed an hour and a half extra. I had lots of stuff to get through, but I did finish something major that has been weighing on me. So far today in between my mountains of work, I’ve eaten a chocolate croissant and caught up with Notorious M.A.G. and The Pink Fairy. Today is already better than yesterday!

Posted in Clichés, Life, Office Stories | 3 Comments

So Much for Being Smooth

I thought I was being all stealthy by not saying where my “appointment” is, but I screwed up by printing the job description for the interview I’m going to in ten minutes and forgetting it in the printer tray.  Oops.  There goes my career as a secret operative of a clandestine anti-terrorist organization.

My boss should really avoid making pointed comments…for they always end up on the internet.

Posted in Office Stories, Random | 2 Comments

10 Things About Girl Friday You Never Knew You Always Wanted to Know

I have been meaning to update, but work and life has been nuts.  I still haven’t had the chance to take pictures of my place since the latest addition of a dining room table and new kitchen floor and baseboards.  I swear I’ll get to it soon.

Some things to chew on while you wait…Ten very random facts about yours truly.

1.  I am a total foodie, but I rarely like my own cooking and I derive almost no joy from cooking.  I really just like the pictures in cookbooks.  My mom gives me cookbooks every year for Christmas and they suck because I can’t even use them for entertainment purposes because they just have text, no pretty pictures.  I guess it’s because the food is ugly?  These books have dishes with names like Cheesy Burger Divan Pie.  I would never eat something like that…

2.   I steal pens. I order them for my desk at work and somehow they all end up in my purse.  If I don’t steal them first, annoying coworkers will steal my pens and leave me with just the half-chewed pencils (and it’s not me that chews pencils, I swear!).  I also steal notepads.  I have at least ten in my house from various offices I used to temp at and my current job, too.  What can I say?  I never know when an idea will strike!

3.  I am terrible at remembering people’s birthdays unless they are in the month of May. I could know you for ten years and only vaguely remember the month.  I will check my old cell phone bills and or credit card bills to figure out the exact day if possible.

4.  I kill plants.  I can’t keep anything alive.  I over water, I under water, etc.

5.  I am a stationary whore.  I can never bear to use the last card from a set either.

6.  In elementary school we had to participate in the May Dance.  Each grade had to learn a traditional square or folk dance.  The topper was doing the dance around the May Pole with the ribbons in sixth grade.  It’s that time of year so I guess I’m all sentimental.

7.  I live by the beach but I don’t remember the last time I walked in the sand or got in the water.

8.  I love watching Gilmore Girls, but I hate Rory.  I’m not really sure I have ever liked her…She makes me feel very unaccomplished.  And when I whine I don’t get all doe-eyed, I just look like a brat.

9.  I iron my clothes, pair all my socks, and make my bed with military corners.

10.  I am only nervous right before an interview, and when I used to dance I got nervous right before I went stage.  For about 15 minutes I am full of nervous energy, but then…it’s show time.  Hopefully today’s interview won’t make a liar out of me.  It’s an interview at the main administration building for the university.  Wish me luck.

Posted in Life, Listmaking, Random | 2 Comments