The Coffee House

[Designer]

.. existential ennui ..

Now, see, you made me go to the dictionary. Again.

 

[waday]

It's just me and the lawyer and our personalities don't really mesh all that well, but he's also not in the office probably half the time that I am here, so that helps. I just have to figure out how to keep the existential ennui to a minimum during the hours he IS here at the same time.

My wife started at a firm and quit after a week and a half because the guy was such a douche.

To explain douche, he KNEW they would settle for what the complainant was asking for, but actually liked creating more annoyances by having them fill out unneeded paperwork and take time off work. Evil.

 

[Designer]

To explain douche, he KNEW they would settle for what the complainant was asking for, but actually liked creating more annoyances by having them fill out unneeded paperwork and take time off work. Evil.

Do the term "billable hours" ring a bell?

I worked for a "designer" like that once. He couldn't actually design his way out of a paper bag, but he always got a signed contract up front.

 

[bribrius]

Yeah, I'd quit in that situation, too. This guys isn't evil - just really disorganized and random. He'll, for example, take 5 minutes to tell me how to address an envelope, but give me NO direction at something that needs it. "Put this in the blah-blah file." Except that "file" is really half a drawer, could be any one of 4 different cases that each have 10 or so folders to them, none of which are labeled consistently. Or "Write a letter for this" but give no example of how he wants it.

Just frustrating and difficult to keep the boredom off my face. And so I post threads about cacti!

For your own mental health, suggest he pay you overtime to get things organized. Some people are incredibly intelligent, and incredibly flighty and disorganized. he sounds like one of those potential a.d.d cases with such attributes. Since you just started, you are also trying to probably get to know your way around. i would suggest just talking to him. instead of us, and some organizing. Even though i realize all women think men are mind readers.. otherwise he will start wondering why things are wrong, without realizing you dont know how to do it and he never explained it. Honesty up front is a great principle.

 

[waday]

Yeah, I'd quit in that situation, too. This guys isn't evil - just really disorganized and random. He'll, for example, take 5 minutes to tell me how to address an envelope, but give me NO direction at something that needs it. "Put this in the blah-blah file." Except that "file" is really half a drawer, could be any one of 4 different cases that each have 10 or so folders to them, none of which are labeled consistently. Or "Write a letter for this" but give no example of how he wants it.

Just frustrating and difficult to keep the boredom off my face. And so I post threads about cacti!

Oh, that's frustrating. Take bribius' idea and ask him if he wants you to organize the files. Also, ask him if he has any templates/boilerplates to work from. If not, just wing it. That sounds a lot like what he's doing.

To explain douche, he KNEW they would settle for what the complainant was asking for, but actually liked creating more annoyances by having them fill out unneeded paperwork and take time off work. Evil.

Do the term "billable hours" ring a bell?

I worked for a "designer" like that once. He couldn't actually design his way out of a paper bag, but he always got a signed contract up front.

Yeah, as a consultant and having an attorney wife, yeah, billable hours ring a small bell.

Ethics also ring a bell. If you're doing something that isn't helping your client (or frankly not requested by your client--i.e., unneeded paperwork and meetings), and billing for it, definitely unethical and out of scope.

 

[waday]

Whenever I hit a wall, I shift gears into something else for the moment.

Just like when I get a nasty/annoying email from someone. Instead of responding right away (when emotions are highest), I close the email and don't open it up for an hour or so. Sometimes, a day. haha

 

[bribrius]

To explain douche, he KNEW they would settle for what the complainant was asking for, but actually liked creating more annoyances by having them fill out unneeded paperwork and take time off work. Evil.

Do the term "billable hours" ring a bell?

I worked for a "designer" like that once. He couldn't actually design his way out of a paper bag, but he always got a signed contract up front.

Friend of mine was like that. Zero organization. i would go to the bank and it would be over drafted while he had fifty k in customer checks sitting in his drawer he hadn't gotten around to depositing. So i started grabbing the checks and depositing them instead of him collecting them. Payroll on index cards. i learned to pretty much deal with it. The office was more his thing, i was more a buyer. Despite his lack of organization he was a genius at sales. He wanted us to start a new franchise in vermont, then newyork. wanted to send me. uhhh fruck no... We had two customers in new york, i didnt want to go. But intelligent wise, he wasn't incorrect. That is how you expand... He couldnt remember to register his car, but in some ways he was a straight genius.

Yeah, I'd quit in that situation, too. This guys isn't evil - just really disorganized and random. He'll, for example, take 5 minutes to tell me how to address an envelope, but give me NO direction at something that needs it. "Put this in the blah-blah file." Except that "file" is really half a drawer, could be any one of 4 different cases that each have 10 or so folders to them, none of which are labeled consistently. Or "Write a letter for this" but give no example of how he wants it.

Just frustrating and difficult to keep the boredom off my face. And so I post threads about cacti!

For your own mental health, suggest he pay you overtime to get things organized. Some people are incredibly intelligent, and incredibly flighty and disorganized. he sounds like one of those potential a.d.d cases with such attributes. Since you just started, you are also trying to probably get to know your way around. i would suggest just talking to him. instead of us, and some organizing. Even though i realize all women think men are mind readers.. otherwise he will start wondering why things are wrong, without realizing you dont know how to do it and he never explained it. Honesty up front is a great principle.

I'm not doing overtime to organize. I'm doing time to organize. That's most of what I've been doing.

And don't you dare pull that "all women think..." b.s. with me. You should know better by now! I don't expect him to read my mind - in fact, I would really rather he didn't read my mind. If I need him to explain something better, I tell him. If I don't know how to do something, I let him know. If I need him to do X so I can better understand his files or system, I let him know. I've actually asked him for several things to help me get better organized and he hasn't provided them yet. I barely know this office yet and I'm already behaving somewhat like Radar from MASH. So, no, I'm not just twiddling my thumbs around here.

I'm just venting here, because there's no one else in the office to hear it in person!

well i dunno. My filing system exists as a four foot high six foot long stacked along the floor. Once in a while a pile gets to tall, topples over. kids get it and color on it. Get thrown back in, mis matched. someone picks it up again. Pieces end up on the kitchen table, Daughter cleans off the table for dinner. Gets tossed on top of the pile somewhere. Then say "hunny do you know where the ....... is?" And if looks could kill i would be dead right there. She has been asking me to go through stuff and get filing cabinets for four years. We also have a shredder, printer, laser printer, whatever else tossed in the papers too with the stacks. When i need one i kinda pull it out, the files of course fall to the floor. What to do, what to do....

 

[waday]

it would be nice if he'd bring me the friggin' hanging files I asked for, y'know?

He won't. I wonder if you could ask for petty cash, and while on COMPANY time, go to Staples/Office Depot/etc?

 

[Designer]

it would be nice if he'd bring me the friggin' hanging files I asked for, y'know?

He won't. I wonder if you could ask for petty cash, and while on COMPANY time, go to Staples/Office Depot/etc?

This might be your best route. If he doesn't want to go shopping for hanging folders, tell him you'll be happy to do it. Be sure to charge him for the mileage. When I worked for my slimeball, he would send me to get his lunch. I always charged him for my mileage.

 

[waday]

it would be nice if he'd bring me the friggin' hanging files I asked for, y'know?

He won't. I wonder if you could ask for petty cash, and while on COMPANY time, go to Staples/Office Depot/etc?

This might be your best route. If he doesn't want to go shopping for hanging folders, tell him you'll be happy to do it. Be sure to charge him for the mileage. When I worked for my slimeball, he would send me to get his lunch. I always charged him for my mileage.

Good point on the mileage! I hated getting lunch for people, but I did the same thing! That, or, I'd use a company car if one was available.

 

[limr30 3]

Oh, and fyi, I'll be deleting all these messages soon given that I was dumb enough to post them in the first place

Edit: Damnit, now y'all are going to have to go and delete the quoted messages!

 

[minicoop1985]

IT HIT 0 DEGREES! IT'S A MOTHERF*@(ING HEAT WAVEEEEE!!!!!

 

[waday]

Edit: Damnit, now y'all are going to have to go and delete the quoted messages!

 

[table1349]

Sorry long day at work so I am just now responding to this mornings missives.

FYI.. the cat is staring at me with a "I know where you sleep" look while the dogs are chuckling. The cat will get over it. With out me he doesn't get fed.

 

[limr30 3]

Edit: Damnit, now y'all are going to have to go and delete the quoted messages!

View attachment 95678

Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?

C'mon...someone? Help? Hey @tirediron you're a mod! You can go in and clean up my mess, can't ya? I shoot Ilford, remember? You like Ilford!