Friday, March 14, 2008

Why I Suddenly LOVE MY JOB

Okay, every once in a while something happens at work that makes me go “Hmm, I’m glad I work here.” Examples might be: free key chains from visiting sales people, my co-workers similar sense of humor, people accepting my ever growing shelf of toys.

But on Wednesday, when I got called into my boss’ office, I got some of the best news EVER!

She asked me what I was doing on March 30, because they wanted to know if I would like to go to, ready?, TANZANIA! I’m finally going on a trip paid for by my company! Excitement has been pumping through my veins ever since I found out. Safaris, cool game lodges, animals. I am going to see it all.

But then I had a moment of panic earlier. See, going on Safari in Africa is not like going to Disney World. Or even Europe. How would I know? Because I have been to Disney World, Europe, and actually Africa. To travel on Safari, you need one important thing: Yellow Fever Vaccinations.

So, you think to yourself, I’ll just call my doctor and she’ll shoot me up like a heroin addict in a back ally. Except that there is a shortage of Yellow Fever shots, only about 50 places in Illinois have it, and most places like you to make a reservation to come in 1-2 months before travel. Note 1-2 weeks.

I must have called about 20 places. Mostly I left message for people to call me back. But when people actually answered, the conversations went something like this:

The Office Scribe (TOS): Hello, I’m leaving for Tanzania in two weeks and I need a Yellow Fever shot and anything else you’d recommend.
Idiot Medical Receptionist (IMR): Wait, where are you going?
TOS: Tanzania.
IMR: And that’s where?
TOS: Africa. (Not going to lie, I started to panic a bit. These people give travel shots for a living. Geography might be important so I don’t get vaccinated for, oh, Tasmania instead…)
IMR: We have an appointment in May.
TOS: I leave March 29.
IMR: Do you want the appointment?

At this point I would just slowly hang up.

Luckily, I got a call a few minutes ago from a lovely lady who was almost as excited as I was from the local hospital who told me to come on in next week and she would hook me up. Okay, maybe she didn’t use those words exactly, but that was pretty much the gist of the conversation.

So on those days when work has really got you down, just remember, things can sometimes really work in your favor!*
The Office Scribe

*That doesn’t really mean I think you’ll be going to Africa, but you never know. You never know…

1 comment:

Silvergirl said...

Well, I'm envious! I hope you have a wonderful trip. Good luck with the Yellow fever shot. I guess you have your passport all ready. That's something I need to obtain - a passport.

BTW, I used to have word verification on my blog, too, but it's kind of annoying. Nowadays, I just delete any unwanted comments.