Posted on 04/24/2006 2:59:03 PM PDT by pcottraux
So, after the card/gift/cake moment, me and the other admin rummage thru a book of caterers to decide what she wants to eat. We decide on lasagna, salad, cookies, pastries and assorted drinks. My manager comes back to me later that day (Thursday) and asks for an update on the invites. It’s all wrong again. Now, I have to invite all these other people from some of these other departments that are somehow related to our department, and MOVE the conference room to a larger one with a window. Great. So finally by the end of the day, we get everything sorted out. 25 people. Conference room with a window. Luncheon set. (Lasagna, salad, cookies, pastries).
So Friday rolls around and I give the manager the latest update. The manager seems happy and finally I think I am done. The day ends and she requests no changes…
That's putting WAY too much excess responsibility on you, the newbie.
I’m speechless now. I don’t know whether to SCREAM in frustration or PANIC because now I have ONE hour to find a friggin’ cake. This was originally supposed to be a low-key 7-person 30-minute coffee cake quickie, not some full-blown production!!! Even the admin whose birthday we were celebrating was shaking her head in disgust!!!! And last week, when the manager ‘demanded’ that we invite more people, move the room, and order a full blown luncheon, the admin was ready to ‘have a talk’ with the manager to try and put a stop to it because she felt she had already gone too far with her birthday already. It was just way too much and she ended doing all the planning for her own party anyway. What fun is that?! Plus, she had a doctor’s appointment to go to later (and the manager knew about it—but didn’t give a rat’s ass.) Needless to say, all the planning was driving both of us mad, and the whole last-minute “cake” thing was the icing on the cake. Pun intended....there's just a little bit more...
Wow. Keep going.
Anyway, so then she puts me right on the spot and says, “So WHAT are YOU going to DO about it?!?!?!” Now I’m fumbling. I said I’ll call around and see if I can get something delivered. Now there’s this long pause. I kill the silence by trying to, at least, defend myself, to no avail, by explaining that I thought this was specifically a luncheon and we had already discussed what food was ordered and, that perhaps someone else was going to handle it. (Like YOU!!!!!!—I wanted to say. Remember when you, yourself, brought the coffee cake in for that other gal’s birthday last week?!!?!?!??!?—I didn’t say.)
So she says, well, NO ONE else is handling this! This is all going through YOU. (i.e. YOU. Lowly admin. YOU handle it.) Then there’s this other long pause before the manager says, TRANSFER me to the other admin!!! I want to TALK to her! Well, the other admin (again, this is the one who’s having the birthday) overheard my end of the conversation, tore through her rolodex, found some cake lady from somewhere, dialed the number like a bat outta hell, and was able to get the very last available (ready-made) cake in the shop.
So while the admin is FRANTICALLY purchasing her OWN birthday cake that she could care less about at this point, I tell the manager she is on the other line and the manager demands that the other admin call her.
So the other admin gets off the phone and says there is a cake ready that one of us can pick up in 30 minutes.
HALLALUIAH—THANK GOD!!!
So then the admin’s phone rings. It’s the manager (surprise). So I slink away back to my own cube and overhear her side of the conversation which went something like this,
“Oh No!!! It was ALL my fault, I completely forgot to tell her to order a cake!!! No really, it’s all MY fault. She didn’t know!!! No, really, everything is FINE. I already have the cake ordered, it’s all set. Everything is all set. No, really. She did not know because I didn’t tell her. It’s all my fault, really!”
Anyway….needless to say, after that incident, and when the party was FINALLY over and we were DONE with the whole friggin’ thing. I was utterly relieved and completely worn out.
Oh, by the way, only 20% of the cake was eaten. Everyone was too full from the LASAGNA the eat the friggin cake!
AAAARRRGGHHHH!!!!!!!!!
The end...or is it???
Sounds to me like everything is the manager's fault. Why the fixation with cake? I mean come on...the admin WHOSE BIRTHDAY IT WAS didn't care for crying out loud! The manager was clearly on a controlling power-trip. It was about pleasing THE MANAGER not THE BIRTHDAY woman's!!!
But other than all this, is the job still going good?
Other than that, it's actually a very easy job. I also found out that I will be transferring to a different building with another manager next month. (YIIPPEEEE!!!!!) And he's really nice and has a great personality. After today, I am counting the days, hours, minutes and seconds till I get to move.
Wow, being transferred...that was quick. Still, congrats on the hopefully better place. Believe me, we've all had our fair shares of pointy-haired managers (you know what that means).
Will the new place be a better drive?
...Or a worse one?
Sending you PM...
Hooray! I get the special message!
Hey... Scientology is a religion of peace!!
BTW, sorry I wasn't here last night - I got carried away on the Undead Thread!
Well, I'll overlook it THIS time.
I'm late... Good job!
Yes!!!!
EVERYone's been showing up late...or not showing up at all. I'm thinking people aren't used to the new time yet.
I just haven't been online. LOL!
Wow. Being off-line...I thought the off-line world was only a myth!
Nah, it does exist. Work has been keeping me busy.
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