The job itself was really tame--I was an assistant, and the only thing I HAD to do every single day was sort the mail. I was still in college at the time, and it let me work around my schedule, earn a decent wage, and be left alone up at my desk for many hours at a time.
Let me tell you the timeline of this job.
Day -2: I am laid the hell off, sitting on my bed watching Law and Order: SVU, and desperately need to be paid to get out of my house, because Adrian is tired of me reorganizing the office every Tuesday. I notice a job posting on my university's job listing online--"Work part-time at a small office as a president's assistant! Clerical work, filing, good pay. Will work around school schedule. Please include your GPA." JACKPOT, I'M A 4.0.
Day -1: "Come in for an interview," says Laura. Alright bitches, time to put on pants.
Day 0: I show up at this small office, only a block from my house, in my fancy red shoes and sassy pencil skirt. I can already feel that this interview is going to go well, considering I don't have cheese on my tit, like I did when I interviewed for my last job that I got laid off at. Word to the wise, Cheeseboob? Not a good idea.
There seems to be an inordinate amount of dead animals on the walls of this office. Oh well, he's an eccentric man, probably. HOW COULD HE NOT BE BADASS? He owned a great company and hunted all over the world.
Laura is pretty, tall, and fun. She's chatty in the interview, and I can see that she's cool--this job is going to rule.
I take a test to make sure that I'm even halfway competent at operating basic computer functions. I do pretty well until I have to calculate percentages. I never knew my official score, but can assure you, it must have been awful.
There are even more dead animals back further into the office. Oh well.
Day 1: FUCK YEAH I'M HIRED. Time to razzledazzle.
Day 2: I train on how to sort the mail. Doesn't seem too bad. I get a quick rundown of other things I will do: make travel arrangements, compile things into understandable packets, print out his emails in doubles so he can read one and we file one, send birthday cards. Okay, I can do this.
Wait, is that a zebra on that couch?
Day 3: I am alone up at my desk, trying to sort the mail and keep shit straight. There are piles upon piles of papers all over the office, in every location in which there are not dead animals hanging from the walls, which is quite the feat, considering there are at least 3 dead animals in each office. I notice that the coffee table is made of real elephant feet.
I meet Jen, who works with Laura in the back. Laura and Jen are rad as shit.
I meet Cam, the President. Cam is approximately 80, and it his birthday today. He seems nice enough, and I am sent to get his birthday cake. Remembering that I'm terrible in any social situation, my coworkers, Cam, and I assemble in the middle of the office for beans, cornbread, and carrot cake without the icing.
Mother of God, can a bitch get a glass of water up in here?
I make a couple of jokes that Cam doesn't get, making me look like a total ahole, and we listen to him talk about farming.
Day 19: Okay, what the hell is going on here? Thank God for Jen and Laura, because I would not be able to figure any of this shit out. There is a protocol for literally everything, right down to where to put certain sticky notes, because if we don't do it this certain way we are literally breaking the law, but I don't understand any of it. I look like an aneurysm patient trying to file basic things.
There are so many dead animals. There are herds of them. Herds. They line the walls, the floor, and one on the ceiling. There are two in the reception area that stare soullessly into my eyes, watching my every move. I'm sure there are cameras in them.
Cam is codgery on his good days, and straight up WHOA on his bad. It's a crapshoot sometimes getting things done correctly, mostly because I'm completely incompetent. I don't understand a lot about farming, but Cam will make sure I do.
Jen is funny. THANK GOD.
Day 30: I meet Kent. Kent is apparently an accountant, but I can't, for the life of me, ever recall him being in the office to work. He's dressed in paint stained jeans and a Mighty Ducks sweatshirt. He's a little sweaty and a lot out of breath.
Jen's face immediately contorts in a failed attempt not to laugh when she sees him. I immediately IM her.
Noa: WTF is with this guy?
Jen: That's Kent.
Noa: You say that like it's no big thing. Dude looks like he painted the lines for a marathon.
Jen: That's always how he looks, save when he's wearing a thong and pantyhose underneath those jeans.
Noa: ...ugh.
Jen: Once, he was missing for a while, and then came back 4 days later from Seattle with bruises and no explanation.
Noa: ...I don't even know what to say to that.
Jen: True story.
Noa: Dear Kent, it's weird when you sit on the edge of my desk to introduce yourself. You sweated on my work, and you're wearing a sweatshirt in August. You're fucking weird. Love, Noa.
Jen: Laura thinks your letter to Kent is awesome.
Day 57: At this point, I have realized that working here is awesome and terrifying all at the same time. It's a veritable parade of, "Who knows what's going to happen this week?" Up to this point, here are a few snippets of joy that have actually occurred.
Cam: "OH MY GOD. Is that a tornado siren?"
Noa: "No, it's the vaccuum in the hallway. The cleaning ladies started early."
Jen: Bursts into laughter from the back room.
Kent: "Can I speak to Laura please?"
Noa: "Sure, let me put you through."
Laura: 10 minutes later, emerges from her office, visibly shaken.
Cam: "You know I have two fighting lions at my house?"
Noa: "What? You have two lions that just fight?"
Cam: "Well they're dead."
We just hired a new girl for billing, who is of Vietnamese descent. She is adorable, and we are all afraid for her.
Cam: "I went to Vietnam once."
Dana: "That's nice."
Cam: "You know where they have the best Vietnamese food? In Colorado. Or maybe it's Thai."
Dana: Blank, horrified stare.
It's our other billing girls' last day, so we all go to eat at a hibachi joint.
Cam: Snaps at the hostess, "SEAT US."
Jen: "Oh good. It begins."
Cam: Hands our waitress a White Paper on the dangers of eating meat that isn't cooked through.
Jen: "Enjoy your miso and spit."
Cam: Drinks a couple beers.
Noa: "Happy Birthday Jen! Here's a shitty cake with Twilight on it!"
Jen: "Might have been better if it said Sorry about your Dismemberment."
Noa: "Noted."
Cam: Farts loudly about 6 times as he walks from the front door (directly in front of me) to his office.
Office: NO ONE SAYS A DAMN WORD.
Noa: Can't do anything but laugh.
Cam: At a conference in New York. "Can you fax me a sheet of business cards? I forgot mine."
Noa: "...Sure." Fax.
Cam: Calls back. "These aren't cardstock."
Noa: "..."
Kent: "Oh, Noa, I dropped these two files that I absolutely need today behind these two crazy tall filing cabinets. You're skinny, can you get them?"
Noa: "Okay, no problem." I spend about 5 minutes dangling helplessly behind two 5 foot tall cabinets to reach them, and tear my shirt across the boob on the way up. KENT STOOD BEHIND ME THE WHOLE TIME STARING AT MY ASS.
Noa: "Fuck's sake, Jen, you couldn't have said anything to Kent about that?'
Jen: "No. I was staring in delight, anticipating the horrified look on your face."
Cam: "Do you think I could win in a fight with Noa?"
Laura: "Noa does Jiu Jitsu, Cam."
Cam: "I have a year of judo."
Laura: "Okay, yeah, well then you'll be fine."
Day 76: Jen leaves. Laura and I are indescribably sad. Life holds no meaning for me anymore.
Day 150: I move away. Cam's last words are, "Make sure you send out those emails. Well, bye. Faaaarrrrt."
I can't make this shit up.
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