Administrative Nightmare

An excerpt from an email I sent my boss.  Names have been changed to protect the innocent...

"I had a dream (I mean nightmare) that I was at the upcoming reception/dinner and there were only 12 people in attendance. We were in a huge room with mostly empty tables except for two. I couldn’t figure it out and then realized what had happened -- I hadn’t invited anyone! I then went to the washroom pondering what had happened and walked into the men’s washroom instead, “Hello, Mr. Harper.” Drat’s! That’s not how I wanted to meet the Prime Minister of Canada.

When I did find the ladies washroom my sister was there and we were talking about how it happened that I could have forgotten to invite any guests. I didn’t want to go back in the room and finally decided I was going to stay in the washroom for the rest of the evening. I woke up in a cold sweat, thinking it had actually happened…

I obviously have that on my mind so sometime today I will be sending out a request to the management team asking them for ideas on who to invite and to please keep an eye out for me on the night of the dinner that I don’t stray into the men’s washroom."

Looking someone in the eye

I was at an Admin Forum recently and we had an excellent speaker who talked about how to have better communication in the workplace.  He stressed the use of a good firm handshake and the importance of  looking the person in the eye so you could see their eye colour.  I was up next speaking on a panel and told the audience something my grandson had said when he was looking into my eyes.

He was on my lap and gazing in my eyes as only a three year old can.  I of course was thinking he was looking at me because he was so happy that I had come to see him and was probably thinking how much he loved me.  He finally piped up, "Granny, you have red cracks in your eyes!" 

French Fries anyone?

One of my former assistant's duties was to wipe down the boardroom table each day.  Our office was trying to go green as much as possible and since she and her friend are from the younger generation they were especially conscientious in this area.  The morning of the Board meeting they made a solution of water and vinegar to use to wipe down the table.  Too late they realized their error as the smell of vinegar permeated the room, but the meeting was going to start in 20 minutes.  They tried everything, even rewiping the table, but to no avail.  It was an interesting meeting with the strong smell of vinegar in the room throughout the day.

Working 9 to 5

Here is a link to a good Monday morning song about working 9 to 5.  Don't we know it... 

Email bloopers

...he will defiantly have it back much earlier than end of next week. (You have to wonder if she really wanted to give it back).  Ass promised, enclosed please find... (I have an idea where his mind might have been).  Ah, you gotta love email.  It certainly makes my day more interesting.

Unknown

I received a Christmas card today from a local business.  It was addressed to Patricia Unknown. 
Did they really think my last name was "Unknown" or did they put Unknown and were hoping to verify my name before sending it out?  In any event, it got sent and now I am left wondering about my identity.

Office blunders: We all make 'em...

A friend of mine asked someone in her office to send a fax for her.  The person wanted to help and said no problem then promptly sent the fax to my friend's fax number instead of the number it was supposed to go to.  You can imagine her surprise when she received her own fax. I don't think she will ask her to re-send it...

Someone I know sent her boss to a meeting at someone's home rather than the office.  He knew something was up when he arrived in the residential neighbourhood.

Another friend sent a courier with an urgent package that had to get there on time, but transposed the numbers and delivered it to the neighbour, two doors down.  Oops!

What can you do, but apologize and move on and try not to let it happen again.  It does go to show you that those urgent things can always be fixed.  Human error is almost always taken into consideration.

Singing away at the office

Someone made my day today.  She sent me an email asking me to have my boss sing a letter. I was tempted to ask him to sing it for me...

Work wife

When I interviewed for my current job my boss mentioned that the admin role was similar to that of a work wife because we are so involved in everything they do.  I told him my last boss said I was worse than his wife. He hired me anyway...

One letter can make all the difference

I read an email the other day and had to look twice at this sentence:  “Our job could be to look at, asses, and recommend a course of action.” I wonder what the recipient thought when she received that email.