Top 10 Tuesday

Dear Joey,

It's still Tuesday here, and your own post inspired me, so here's my rant!

I love my job, and I really like most of the people I work with, and most of those who volunteer for us.

But 10% or so really get on my nerves.

Here are the top 10 things I WILL NOT miss hearing while I am on vacation:

1. After asking if my boss is in, and I reply that he isn't, "Well, maybe you can help me..." and then it takes 5 or 10 minutes to get to the fucking question, which I can't answer anyway.

2. "But are you sure?" Yes, I'm sure. I can't answer the question. Which I have already said. Multiple times.

3. "But maybe if..." This is followed by yet another version of the same question. At which point I feel like saying, "Listen up, you clueless fuck! You can ask me 12 different ways, and you'll get the same answer: I DO NOT KNOW!"

4. The question from our education committee chair, who is a nice but sometimes annoying, nitpicky person who always has a bee in her bonnet, and it's always about something unimportant: "Has C (my boss) done X, Y, or Z yet?" Even if he's been out of town for a week on a business trip in another time zone, and X, Y and Z aren't due for two weeks, and they're all relatively unnecessary.

5. From helpline callers: "Well, why doesn't your organization do this?" Hmm. Because we're a mental health nonprofit and not a service provider, a fire department, or a fast food restaurant. And we have a staff of 2.3, 0.3 of which is an accountant. I've been asked for food-related health brochures, copies of ethics laws for psychiatrists, grant information for horse physical therapy nonprofit endeavors (I am not kidding!), etc.

6. "What does (my organization) do?" If you don't know, why the hell are you calling? Oh yes - you're calling about food brochures and horse phsyical therapy grants! Just curious.

7. Hearing a family member ask, of their adult relative, "Well, isn't there a way I can make him/her take his/her medication?" In a word: NO.

8. Hearing volunteers whose chapter of our organization doesn't even have a real budget or any staff tell me we need to be on Twitter, FaceBook, etc. Get a budget first. Hire someone. Until then, be quiet!

9. Taking calls from someone who is nice but rants about the same stuff over and over. I tried to cut this short and make it positive today by asking, "How can I help?" She replied melodramatically, as she almost always does, "Just shoot me." Next time, I am going to reply, "I just might!"

10. Hearing ANYTHING AT ALL from a couple of board members who are just a pain in the ass. My boss, talking to the accountant about one of these members, said, "He is a burr in my saddle at the moment." Then he looked pointedly at me. I said, "Don't look at me! He's a burr in my saddle every morning that I wake up!"