Sunday, July 24, 2011

Who Has Not Had a Horrible Boss?

   Having such a large plethora of bad boss stories stored up, I'll share here one quick Horrible Boss short story:  

100 years ago when I was 22 and out into the real wide working world for the first time (aside from babysitting, cutting grass, being a camp counselor and waiting tables) WOW, was I in for a large surprise! I was apparently so sheltered and naive during my childhood, I thought the bullying, the caddy comments, the raised eyebrows, sideways glances, and outright rudeness all were officially a thing of the past. We were all adults now and we were supposed to act as such. Man, was I wrong. I have no idea why I thought adults in a corporate business environment were supposed to be professional.
   My first job was in a "Devil Wears Prada" world. Once a week or so for lunch, seemingly always in frigid temperatures, I had to walk 4 long blocks in New York (long blocks are the cross street blocks between Lexington and Park), to fetch hot french fries for my supervisor (not the big boss I adored working for). Not just hot under the heat lamp fries, mind you. We are talking freshly cooked searing hot fries straight out of the grease, and a big hamburger and soda.
   Trying hard to please my boss, I would wrap my scarf not around my head, but around the fries and hold them inside the matching Sherlock Holmes coat my Mother had given me for Christmas. Her idea of style, but it was a heavy coat and not so warm.
   Fries and hamburger inside my coat with one arm, cold soda and purse outside my coat with the other arm, I would run from 57th and Second Avenue back to 57th and Madison hoping both hot and cold fine cuisine would meet with approval. Delivering the lunch to my bosses desk first, I would then hang up my coat, sit at my desk and begin to quickly and quietly eat my yogurt I brought from home and go back to work.
   If I heard a disapproving scowl: "These are cold", and saw a french fry flying down onto the bosses desk, it was going to be a long afternoon. However, if I heard a full, muffled mouthful of fries saying: "These are good", at least I knew the long afternoon may be better.