This woman I used to know

I used to know a woman whose job did not make her very happy. In fact, her job kind of made her miserable. She was irritable, didn't like answering questions, and hated to be interrupted. To tell the truth, she could be a bit of a b-i-t-c-h. The woman I am talking about was me. While I was working in the hotel industry, I was unhappy.

I have been working for OSU Extension for two years now and I have loved (almost) every minute of it.... until recently. June 30, 2010 marks the end of an era for Lincoln County Extension, and July 1, 2010 will forever be known as "Black Thursday."

For those of you who don't know, our office heirarchy is as follows:
County Director/Ag Educator
FCS Educator and 4-H Educator
Senior Secretary
Party Time Secretary

Our part-time secretary retired this February after 10 years in our office. Our Senior Secretary and our County Director will both be retiring on June 30. I will be the interim director starting July 1. That's why it will be "Black Thursday."

We have a new secretary in our office and she is busy learning her very large job. She is doing great, and I know she will be a pro in no time. But every time she asks me a question and I do not know the answer, I feel a little like my old hotel manager self. While she is busy learning her new job, I am busy getting ready to learn my new job. That's scary for me. I do not feel ready for my new responsibilities. I cope with this by becoming a micro-manager, and micro-managers are not typically very friendly. I thought that I had said good-bye to Micro-manager Jessica long ago, but she's back and I don't know how I feel about this.

Don't get me wrong, she has some good points too. She's a hard worker, and she can do tasks pretty quickly. She's organized, but she is easily irritated if those around her do not match her organization.

I guess she's just really picky and finicky.

If you are caught in her path over the next few months, please forgive her. She means well. She wants to do her job well. She just sometimes gets caught up in it and forgets to be happy.

Let's hope that her visit is short.