working title

Cranky Sue

I really felt that this infamous coworker required an entire chapter. You have to know one thing before I begin: This was my first “real” job, my first outside of college, and my first temp placement in an office. I had never worked in an office before, so I wasn’t sure what was “normal” and what wasn’t in an office environment. I was given my own desk, something which was super exciting to me, even if it was right next to the bathroom. Cranky Sue’s desk was in the same room as mine, which made sense because we were supposed to be doing the same job. We were the office contact for the technicians out in the field, basically fielding some calls for them and sending them supplies and things. That’s about all I learned which was Cranky Sue’s job. I was supposed to be a back-up for her, but it didn’t quite turn out that way because she missed so much time at work.

The reason she missed so much time was that she had chronic migraines. Let me tell you, she was a joy to work with, and I mean that with every sarcastic bone in my body. She was an absolute terror, a cranky moody individual with the mouth of a sailor. Some of the things I heard her say to the technicians or fellow office employees was downright lewd and obscene. Again, at the time, I didn’t really know any better, and I was just happy to have a job. I mean, what was I going to do, anyway, go to the boss and say her vocabulary made me uncomfortable? It wasn’t anything I hadn’t already heard from my own friends all the time, but it was a new environment for me to be hearing such things.

The office wasn’t particularly “normal” either, but I wouldn’t figure that out until I went to other offices. Every Friday, work stopped about 3pm and the whole staff would start getting drunk in the lunch room. Seriously. I loved their attitude that work and your personal life were two separate things, but I think they could have separated them a little further than they did… I’m sure they don’t still follow the practice of Happy Hour on Friday afternoons anymore, or if they do, I’d be very surprised.

I remember being very happy on days where Cranky Sue would call in sick, so I wouldn’t have to deal with her mood swings and her snapping at me because I didn’t know my job, which was the fault of the person who was supposed to train me. Who was that again? Oh yes, it was Cranky Sue herself, so she should have been getting mad at herself.

So what’s the worst thing that can happen to me when I’m stuck working with a person with chronic migraines? If you guessed, “The person with chronic migraines gets pregnant?” you’d be correct! I knew before everyone else in the office, I think. I heard her getting sick in the bathroom (right next to my desk, remember?) and then talking to her doctor on the phone.

I couldn’t imagine having to deal with a hormonal woman with chronic migraines. Thankfully, I was “let go” not too long into her pregnancy, of course not before she explained in detail how she got sick every time she ate or smelled meat of any kind.

I’ll always regret letting myself be treated the way I was by that first coworker. I never told anyone at the office how mean she was to me, and I promised myself I would never let myself be treated like that again. I guess I should be thankful for that, dealing with her made me stronger and more protective of myself.