Cool as a cucumber

We were three staff members down at work today. That's support staff, not attorneys, leaving attorneys unsure how to manage without their minions. But manage we did, some of us with more aplomb than others.

I'm not really support staff and definitely not an attorney, so full disclosure forces me to admit it didn't affect me. But being the helpful citizen that I am, I offered to cover the phones over lunch so the remaining staff could have at least an hour of their normal day. Here's what's funny about that. Although I program the phones, install and fix the phones, and repair or arrange repairs for any problems with the phones, I don't actually know how to use them other than to lift the receiver to say hello or dial out to make a call. I don't know how to transfer calls, announce calls, transfer to voice mail, or any of that other stuff. And if two lines rang at once, I would just have to walk away.

So I made the offer, it was accepted, and I got a quick lesson in how to manage the phones. Fortunately, we only had about three or four calls over the lunch hour and two of them were from our own attorneys, so I did okay. In fact, I made it look easy. I guess if I ever want to ditch the accounting gig....

And I didn't even complain. Wish I could say that for others in the office, but oh well. Some people handle a little bit of adversity better than others.

I think that will be my new thing. I'll demonstrate how I handle adversity better, or at least better than others in the office (that's already a done deal). I'll be cool under pressure and calm in a storm. People will wish they had my calm demeanor and envy my tranquility. I'll be unruffled and unruffleable. Half the staff is gone? Let's figure out a way to manage. Computers are down? Why don't you do some filing and paper work while I see what I can do. Front door is dripping oil from the closure cylinder onto the heads of our clients? I'll call the landlords and in the meantime, here's a paper towel for the drips. And I'll be pleasant and sweet to the property management services people and they'll send someone out quickly because of my pleasant and sweet request.

Heck, I'm just this side of meditating I'm so calm. My heart rate must be in the 20's.

Now to work on my calmer-than-thou attitude. Oh well, whatever gets you through the day.