Red-Headed Stepchild

This has been a hard week. Five days, five desks. Today I was scheduled to be at a specific desk, but the attorney is home sick with a cold so they decided to reassign me. Eventually. I sat at that desk pretending to read some secretarial procedures handbook while waiting. I feel like the red-headed stepchild of the secretaries. Often forgotten and not accounted for, plopped at whatever desk is available, often last minute.

Finally they asked me to go to a different floor - a secretary had called in sick. I was told it's a busy desk. I get up here, and bitch is all ergonomical up the ass - fancy mouse that looks like it belongs on Star Trek, partially split keyboard, gel wrist pads, etc.

There is no guide here. Every secretary is supposed to have a floater guide for when a floater (me) is covering their desk. This way I will know things like whether or not I'm supposed to answer the attorneys phones, who gets mail, how the attorneys work, etc. It can be very useful. Back in the olden days when I worked for Tuna and Nice Partner, I went so far as to put on mine that if a woman called for Nice Partner and simply said, "Hi, is he around?" that was Nice Wife.

So I'm guideless here. I looked up who this secretary works for and found out the senior paralegal (who the bulk of the work comes from) is out today. Then there are two associates - one of whom has been on the phone since 9:30, the other of whom is pregnant and did not seem very friendly. Obviously she is excused from being friendly what with being pregnant and all, but she was sitting when I introduced myself and I did not see that she was all knocked up, so at first, just thought she was a bit aloof. For anyone wondering, no, she does not have the pregnancy glow the secretly pregnant secretary at the other firm had.

I also want to mention that I ran out of yogurts accidentally (yes, this is not all an act - I eat yogurt about five days a week and wear green regularly and am in fact wearing a green shirt today) and have not had breakfast. I am hungry. But not hungry enough that I want to eat the congealed mess of whatever the hell is in the purple M&M-with-bunny-ears-on-it coffee mug left on the desk.

Okay then. Just wanted to share. For those of you who are able to do so, please eat a healthy breakfast, and think of me. Thank you.