Who Needs College?!

I always knew I'd be a good secretary. Whenever I go into my Mom's office I always love scoping how many green files she has neatly stacked on her desk with white papers stapled to the front. She always has her desk set up like I feel an organized desk should look. The calculator in "on" mode with the neon blue "0" ready to go and the touch of a button. A Diet Coke always within arms reach, but not close to the computer keyboard, just in case a quick jolt of caffeine is needed. Of course my favorite part would be the ever changing (and multiplying) pictures of myself in simple frames or tacked with a colored push pin to the gray side of her "cubical". I can hear the click her Mom's fingernails on the typewriter. Yeah, I said it TYPEWRITER, my Mom is hardcore and old school like that.

Long story/memories later, now that camp is over and after 5 years of college I'm kinda a secretary. I don't really know how else to put it. Let me describe to you what I've been doing to past couple of days and you tell me. It consists of answering phone calls with "This is Jill, how may I help you?"  Multiple runs (well, literal walks across the street) to the bank. Approximately 4:30-5:00pm 2 block walks to the post office. Updating databases and keeping clients files current. Probably my favorite part of the day, writing receipts. No seriously, I love it. I think it's the same reason I liked Accounting class in High school. Notice I said High school, NOT college, it sucked and was really hard in college. Because like 6 column worksheets in accounting there is a rhythm to writing receipts. It's a pattern, it never changes. A debit is always a debit, as a credit is a credit. Just like there are labeled columns on an accounting worksheet, the receipt always tells me what to put where. I love the constant repetition of filling out receipts.

This is why I love office work because I can have the constant mail and bank runs, but there are surprises as well. I got a call from the local grocery store today saying they had to get rid of white chocolate covered pretzels because they weren't up to "store standards" translation: some of the pretzels were broken and cracked. She wanted to donate them to us because we are a non-profit. I said "give me 10 minutes." What she didn't tell me on the phone was that they were JUMBO white chocolate pretzels with M&Ms perfected placed in the yummy chocolate. Also this just wasn't one pack...try 30! As I walked into the office with a bucketful of neatly wrapped packages of 10 beautiful looking/tasting pretzels each, I'm wonder to myself "how many packages can I take?" Good thing I now have office keys in my possession (evil laugh).

I didn't go into all the details of my everyday, but I gave you the nutshell. Sounds like a secretary. Not in a bad way at all, I love my job, and they directors I work for are uh-mazing!  I should think of ways to incorporate my major into office life though. Maybe timed relays around the building? We could use staplers as batons, oh, that could get messy. One bad hand off and I'm using my First Aid certification. Eh, good practice for me either way. I've already introduced shooting every little piece of paper into the farthest possible trash can. Harder then it looks.

Tomorrow I move "off the mountain" to the town where the office is conveniently located. So instead of a 40 minute commute navigating windy roads and forgetting to lock the gate. I will have a 5 minute drive/bike (the directors have an extra). I like the small town life too. The bank tellers know me by name already and I quickly found a great sandwich place with cheesy onion bread, and there is a coffee/breakfast place directly diagonal from the office, $3 for a large coffee and homemade cinnamon bun. Yum!