Buffalo Gal

A high-brow colleague at a tres chic job I once held asked me through clenched teeth if I was possibly the reincarnation of an aggrieved peasant in the French Revolution.
I took it as a compliment.
I'm a Buffalo gal. I believe in underdogs. And I did use my place at the big table to point out, whenever appropriate, the possible effect of various decisions on hourly wage staff.
It was the least penance to pay for the creature comforts hard work/good luck had brought to me.
I'm proud of my working class roots and, as far as I know, having a bleeding heart of my stripe does not require medical attention.
And thus it was harder than I imagined to leave a non-profit (especially for me) arts job to not only return to the private sector, but a spectacularly successful firm.
Yes, the partners have worked very hard for a couple of decades to get to the place it is right now, but, no, they actually didn't NEED me. Nothing needed rescue or turnaround.
The first few days were a wave of creeping niceties I had forgotten ("let me know if you need any supplies, "I noticed you don't have a planner, may I order one for you?" "if you have any questions at all just ask me," "I'll be glad to help." )A lot of excitement, a tremendous amount of action... but much less stress than I had come to expect as normal.
I quickly got used to the quick flash of admiration when I told people outside the agency where I work. I like the assumption that clients consider what you have to say because you must be good to work there -- probably because
my colleagues are good, really good.
Even though the pitch occured before I arrived and I had nothing to do with it, I was the first to holler when it was announced today that we had landed an important account. Is this what it was like to play for the Bulls in MJ's glory days?
I popped a CD in absentmindedly this afternoon and put on my headphones to concentrate my attention on a paragraph with which I was struggling.
B.B. King and Eric Clapton were singing about "Riding with the King." I looked around and had to laugh.
Turns out it's a pretty smooth ride.

Copyright 2005 Judi Griggs

Buffalo Gal Judi Griggs I'm a communications professional, writer, cynic, mother, wife and royal pain. The order depends on the day. I returned to my hometown in November 2004 after a couple of decades of heat and hurricanes. I can polish pristine copy, but not here. This is my morning exercise -- 20-minute takes without a net or spellcheck. It's easier than sit ups for me. No guarantee what it will be for you. Clicking on the subscribe link will send you an email notice when each new entry is posted.
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Previous Entry :: Next Entry Read/Post Comments (0) Share on Facebook		2005-10-07 9:00 PM Riding with the king A high-brow colleague at a tres chic job I once held asked me through clenched teeth if I was possibly the reincarnation of an aggrieved peasant in the French Revolution. I took it as a compliment. I'm a Buffalo gal. I believe in underdogs. And I did use my place at the big table to point out, whenever appropriate, the possible effect of various decisions on hourly wage staff. It was the least penance to pay for the creature comforts hard work/good luck had brought to me. I'm proud of my working class roots and, as far as I know, having a bleeding heart of my stripe does not require medical attention. And thus it was harder than I imagined to leave a non-profit (especially for me) arts job to not only return to the private sector, but a spectacularly successful firm. Yes, the partners have worked very hard for a couple of decades to get to the place it is right now, but, no, they actually didn't NEED me. Nothing needed rescue or turnaround. The first few days were a wave of creeping niceties I had forgotten ("let me know if you need any supplies, "I noticed you don't have a planner, may I order one for you?" "if you have any questions at all just ask me," "I'll be glad to help." )A lot of excitement, a tremendous amount of action... but much less stress than I had come to expect as normal. I quickly got used to the quick flash of admiration when I told people outside the agency where I work. I like the assumption that clients consider what you have to say because you must be good to work there -- probably because my colleagues are good, really good. Even though the pitch occured before I arrived and I had nothing to do with it, I was the first to holler when it was announced today that we had landed an important account. Is this what it was like to play for the Bulls in MJ's glory days? I popped a CD in absentmindedly this afternoon and put on my headphones to concentrate my attention on a paragraph with which I was struggling. B.B. King and Eric Clapton were singing about "Riding with the King." I looked around and had to laugh. Turns out it's a pretty smooth ride. Copyright 2005 Judi Griggs Read/Post Comments (0) Previous Entry :: Next Entry Back to Top