Just Another Monday

Today was a decent day. After braving yet another huge storm on the Interstate, I went into my office and devoutly checked my email. My heart was thumping and I almost braced for the verbal slam I just knew would issue forth from Headless Wonder. She was going to curse me, threaten to get me fired, congratulate me on my outstanding use of grammatical sarcasm! As I scanned down the list of messages, I realized she hadn't written back.

Oh darn. Now. Onto my meeting!

Head lifted a bit higher, I ran to my first meeting. It was regarding the ER throughput issues we inherited from the success of the Physician First program. My next meeting was with the Ladies' Auxiliary Board. I saw my CEO boss coming down the hall and so I entered the boardroom...and was hit by a wall of "you-only-wear-this-when-you-are-over-80" perfume. The room was full of little old ladies with white hair and perfectly manicured nailbeds. I sat down by Eleanor, one of the ladies I often chat with at the Information Desk while I politely chew my way through fistfuls of Laffy Taffy.

Then it dawned on me. These are the doctors' wives. The Ladies' Auxiliary. It's the luncheon club for the volunteers who roam the hospital searching for choice pieces of gossip! My boss was doodling and after glancing at his 'notes' a second time, I realized he was formulating his fantasy football draft! BUSTED! I introduced myself and when my boss had to leave for another meeting, I gleefully excused myself in tandem. Those ladies have valid business, as they do a fair bit of fundraising...but they kept talking OVER each other. I kept waiting for a cat fight to break out (except they wouldn't want to chip their nails!).

After that meeting, I found my Finance guru and completed the administrative budget. I only had to ask my boss for clarification on three line items and we were ready to go. He glanced it over and clicked 'submit.' A cold wave of fear washed over me, that he trusted my unproven financial genius so readily. Then I realized that, surely, someone else had looked at it...right? Maybe he didn't see where I budgeted $9.99 for the Bejeweled Blitz cd rom?

However, even though I now know how much everyone makes, how much the tropical plant leasing service costs, and how much we pay our lobbyists to plead our cases at the state level, I'm trying to not let it go to my head. Knowledge really is power and because everyone knows I know all these numbers now, I'm trying to keep a low profile and play it cool.

I can no longer plead ignorance!