This bud's for you (or martini in Kathee's case, or tequila in Stephanie's case, or Starbucks in Leisa's case, or...)

What do I do, you ask? (I know you didn’t, but humor me, would you? I’ve got to start somewhere). I am an Executive Assistant at a title company. It’s amazing how glamorous a title company… isn’t. But fortunately, I don’t do the title work. I do the work that my boss needs me to do so that he can do his job. And that is a whole different ballgame.

I had never been an Executive Assistant before now. I had no idea what would be involved in this position. I have determined that sometimes ignorance is bliss, though. Being an EA means that you can’t be ignorant anymore; it means that you need to be a jack-of-all-trades to do this job well. You have to be ready for anything, ANYTHING! be it planning a meeting, arranging travel and lodging for 21 people who may or may not want a smoking/non-smoking king-size/double, bar/mini-bar room; picking up lunch for my boss; creating a document in a program you have never heard of before and having it ready lickety split; driving to and from a place three different times in one day really does shoot holes in any worthwhile time you had to do anything else; that real men do eat salad; and/or handling an offensive caller with grace and tact can avoid a lawsuit in the future. It probably would be useful in this job to learn rocket science, but I have to leave something for next week.

I have also discovered that I love this job. And I have mainly learned that it’s best not to go it alone.

So now I salute those who have helped me through the trials of doing this job.

I have several mentors at my company who are guiding me on this quirky path. Kathee, a.k.a. She-Who-Knows-Everything, has taught me that if you don’t know the answer, make one up quite confidently and most anyone will believe you. Stephanie, a.k.a. the Report Queen, has taught me that it is good to laugh – mostly at others expense. Barb, a.k.a. California Girl, reminds me that you don’t have to be in the same town or even state to find a kindred spirit. Leisa, my in-house cohort, is a great example of how it is worth coming into work if there is coffee in sight. And Tony, my boss, makes me rethink everything I’ve learned so far and wonder if I shouldn’t be serving fries at MickeyDs.

And Dianne (no I wouldn’t forget you!) reminds me that I need to get back to work. She is such a mom… Yes Ma’am.