My boss is being temporarily reassigned, starting Monday. Rather unexpected and for my part, unwelcome. His absence means that I will be doing his job as well as my own and I will be expected somehow to cram it all in an 8-hour day.

It's not the quantity of work I mind. I'm happiest when I have something substantial to concentrate my mind. The part I dread is having to listen to the complainers, the whiners, the make-excuses-for-my f**kup people. I have very little patience for them, because they are users. They use up your sympathy and your time as a prop for their own inadequacies.

By contrast, the others who do not whine and complain often have legitimate needs. I set myself a goal early on: remember to call them regularly and ask, "How's it going?" because often they're trying to carry the burden of a team project all by themselves. For them I have plenty of patience and loads of sympathy. I encourage them to call, vent if they need to, and share the hardships and the successes.

So starting Monday, for the next few weeks, I'm the head of my queendom. The chief cheese. The weird wahine. Now if I just had a secretary who knew how to take a simple phone message....