I have been a legal secretary for over 20 years. Somehow my job has had many titles over the years:
- Legal Secretary
- Executive Assistant
- Assistant Paralegal
- Litigation Intake Specialist
Call it anything you want but I mostly type documents, make copies and scan. It’s not glamorous, and when not preparing for a trial the daily tasks are pretty mundane. The day before yesterday my boss, who likes my cooking but rarely appreciates it, asked if she could pay me to bring her lunch yesterday because she was tired of lean cuisine.
Not a big deal – I had chicken tacos on my lunch menu with my baja fresh salsa and crock pot refried beans. I also had some tortilla chips in my desk drawer
At about 9:45 one of the other attorneys goes into my bosses office and shuts the door fast. A few minutes they come out and the other secretary happened to be at my desk and they said “happy administrative professional day!” Let’s buy you lunch!
I explained that I already brought food for me and my boss, and my co-worker had already planned some errands to run at lunch. Turns out they forgot, but it was nice to be acknowledged. (??)
I had some tortilla chips in my desk drawer, just enough left for our lunch, when my boss comes out at 10:15 declares she’s hungry and reaches for the chips. I tell her she can’t have any because there is only enough for lunch, so I bring her some crostini with hummus leftover from a birthday last week.
She took one bite of the crostini and said “Biz take a picture of the bite out of the crostini and put it on your blog that I asked you to make me something to eat on Secretary’s Day.”
Just to give you an idea (Helen and Shelley have heard some stories via email before) I’ve worked for this woman for 7 years. She’s never remembered a birthday, I usually get Christmas gifts in the first or second week in January, and before I worked for her? In her 22 year career before me starting to work for her, she had 25 secretaries. Yep. I guess I just have the personality to work with her. Lucky me!
It was rainy off and on, but I saw my window and went on my walk. Again, my blood sugar was hovering around 150 so I couldn’t run. The best part about where I work is that in just a 10 minute walk I am basically in farm country – its quiet, not a lot of traffic.
About the last 10 minutes it started to lightly drizzle. I didn’t care because I keep a hair dryer in the bathroom. 50 minute walk – done! And yes, I realize I need to trim my bangs. 
When I got back, while I was gone my boss ran and got me some flowers and she said she’d take me out to lunch next week. The card read “Biz, thanks for all you do, From All of Us.” I have to admit, they do smell good!
As my boss was telling me “aren’t these just gorgeous?” I could feel my blood sugar dropping like a rock – it was 61. So my hands were a bit shaky putting this lunch together – I used the Mission extra thin corn tortillas – love that you get two for 80 calories!
Tony had dinner duty – smoked sausage and red beans and rice! We’ve determined that Zatarain’s is the best boxed red beans and rice. He cooks it in the rice cooker, sausage and all – but just runs it through two cycles and it’s perfect every time.
That gave me time to do my 30 minute stretch – now that I am back to recording Classical Stretch as a series, I have several to choose from. Yesterdays was called “Help flatten the abs.” Holy shizz was that hard – I think it was about 15 minutes of stretch and 15 minutes of abs – I was literally shaking at the end.
And for Chicagland readers, I was wrong when I said it was on WCIU – it’s actually Channel 20 WYCC if you want to search for it. I just feel so good when I finish it – I know I never really stretched well enough before and can actually feel a difference when I miss a day.
Then it was time for dinner – just put in my bowl, splash with some Tabasco and I was good to go.
I also had my classic breakfast parfait for breakfast, shocker!
Stats for the Day:
- 1343 calories, 40 fat, 188 carbs, 27 fiber and 69 protein
- 57% calories from carbs
- 27% calories from fat
- 16% from protein
- 50 minute walk at lunch
- 30 minute Classical Stretch
Question of the Day: Tell me the worst boss story you’ve had. Could be some interesting reading!
Make it a great day!
I have an assistant and an *appalled* at the way this was handled. That being said, I am lower on the totem pole, try to keep a pulse on how people are feeling treated because that is importat to me, and then usually organize to get the presents myself, and get the bosses or others on a desk to reimburse me after I sign their name to the cards because they forgot.
Enjoy the flowers. Thanks for all you do for your team – including make them homemade lunches?!
I also had an attorney try to sympathize with me about not getting a raise by telling me “I know how you feel, my husband and I had to sell our summer home so I could pay for law school.” Really? My heart bleeds….
Happy Belated Administrative Professionals Day! It’s really hard to pick a worst boss story since I’ve been working for lawyers for decades. I’ve had some yell, scream and throw things at me and act in ways that would make a 2 year old look mature. It’s hard to pick a winner but one of the worst experiences was probably having a lawyer I worked with for over 10 years screaming “KATHY” multiple times behind me and get totally pissed off and irate that I wasn’t answering him. Finally I turned around and asked if he was talking to me and if he was wondering why I wasn’t answering it was because my name was NOT Kathy, he responded “WHATEVER!, I need you to do ….”
Another time we had a crazy person working among us who decided to finger paint the walls of the ladies room and when I freaked out about it the attorney told me “it’s not that bad…it’s nothing compared to what you see in prison.” Really?
Oh, I could go on and on and on…. Still not sure why I think the paycheck is worth the abuse. I keep telling myself it is just a job….
Enjoy the WEEKEND!!!
Wow, your boss cracks me up! Nice touch with the flowers??!!
I worked in an ad agency way back, (I was 18 and in my first semester of college) and the manager had such bad breath, and oily hair. We called him Mazola head…………. he would flip quarters at us *gals* that he was happy with that day. Greasy pig!
Your eats look divine, as usual!
quite comical, but those flowers are lovely 🙂 did she like the lunch she asked you to make?? love that smile after your walk!!
I was out in that rain watching my daughter’s soccer game–I didn’t bring my umbrella but had a hood, so I still got wet. My hair looked almost exactly like that.
I work with my husband–need I say more???
🙂 Marion
She gives lawyers a bad name. When I was doing my externship( as a law student) at the city prosecutors office, I was so nice to the admin assitants because I always remember being one.
Wow, sounds like you had quite an interesting day. It is nice she did something for you, and the flowers are really bright and pretty. I have had all kinds of bosses so I know how you feel 🙂