That Grumpy Lady At The Office
The time was 9:12 when I stepped into the office. I was already expecting a scolding session from the secretary; she gave one of those whenever an intern arrived any later than 9 o’clock. Work begins at 8 she would yell, before beginning the same story about how she used to wake up before 5 am to commute to work so she wouldn’t be late at her former job.
“It’s called discipline” she would bark.
What she fails to mention however, is the fact that no one (even her) resumes work by 8 in that office. On my very first day I got there at 8:20 –wanted to give them a twenty minute head start to settle in before presenting myself, no one attends to the new intern right off the bat here –and to my surprise I was the first person there. I was aware that government workers in Nigeria are slackers, but I had not expected it to be that bad. It didn’t take me long to settle in, slacking off became a sweet spot for me and madam secretary always made sure to have a word with me about it whenever she got the chance –even though everyone including her were slacking off too.
As I walked past her I expected to be called, but on this day I wasn’t, there was no lecture. Later that day she called me, she wanted me to go buy her bread and groundnuts –interns were always sent on errands, even though there was someone whose job title was literally errand boy (or man, probably man), he sent us on errands too. When I returned with her request she asked me to wait and seemed more gentle than usual.
“You are a very bright boy” she began in a soft voice. “I give you advice not because I want to disturb you, but because I don’t want you to be like the other people here. Most of us would never really go beyond our current jobs, but you have a bright future ahead of you, don’t get used to being lazy like the men and women you see here. Success doesn’t come easy let me tell you. You have to work, and work hard. So I hope you don’t turn the behavior here into a habit.”
I caught taken off-guard, I didn’t think she cared that much, and her words seemed very sincere.
“I just wanted to tell you that, you can go” she added.
“Thank you ma” I replied before leaving.
Her words lingered with me for the rest of my stay there. She continued to scold my fellow interns and me whenever she felt we erred, but now I understood why. She was still the annoying lady in the office, but she had a genuine reason for being that way (some of the time), one I didn’t see coming.
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“You are a very bright boy” she began in a soft voice. “I give you advice not because I want to disturb you, but because I don’t want you to be like the other people here. Most of us would never really go beyond our current jobs, but you have a bright future ahead of you, don’t get used to being lazy like the men and women you see here. Success doesn’t come easy let me tell you. You have to work, and work hard. So I hope you don’t turn the behavior here into a habit.”
Brother this is one of best advice some one can give you. No matter what you do, do it to best of your ability. The right people will notice your hard work and who knows what doors your dedicated work can open in the future. I love her advice.
#theunmentionables
I agree, I value that advice very much. Thanks for commenting :)
You are more than welcome :)
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