I bet I'd look good in Prada

"The Devil Wears Prada" is the image that is on continuous replay in my head while I am at the incredibly low-paying, but proving to be high-networking job.

I have been asked to attend numerous meetings. Sure, no problem. My handy-dandy planner is filling up quite rapidly.

I have been asked to do numerous things very last minute.
Sure, no problem. I feel these are all tests and I am passing with flying colors.

Today I came in an hour early because there was a meeting and I needed to make coffee and get the room ready. Sure, absolutely. Up early and with only three hours of sleep I go into work 10 minutes before I had to be there. As it was a meeting and I didn't know how visible I would be with all the high-important people, I dressed nicer than normal and wore my hair in a cute ponytail. I have keys to all of the rooms....except for the room I needed into. Of course.

Boss Lady calls me at ten after eight. She is running late and she asks if I have things ready. No, don't have a key.

I walk across campus to get the key from the department secretary.

It is incredibly humid here today.

By the time I walk back to the office I am no longer cute. I am sweaty and gross.

The very minimal make-up I wear has been sweated off and the hair is now twisted up into a knot. I had a feeling I shouldn't wear flip-flops today. Good thinking on my part. There were several trips across campus today on the very humid and over-cast day.

When I get back to the office, with the key, I discover Boss Lady is also already there and has everything finished that I was to have done and why I came to work early.

Okay. Whatever. Not my fault.

There is a meeting for our Homecoming event at one. I inhale lunch, take a quick break, and head back to the office.

Now, when I told Boss Lady I would be back at one, she seem surprised that I was going to attend the meeting..however, it was expected, as the dept. assistant, that I would be there.

Oooooooookay.

I take my seat among all of the important people and assume I will just be a warm body and learn more about the event.

I should really stop assuming things. That whole, ass-you-me, thing.

Oh, I should point out: Boss Lady mispronounces my name. She makes it all fancy and more French-like than it needs to be. This isn't unusual. My name is always mispronounced, but c'mon. And it's not as if I can correct her in the meeting.
Perfect. All of the important people will not know my name. Excellent. Master Plan is going well.

It's just Party Girl.
It's not Par-tay Girrrrrl.
Ya know?

I am going through all of the papers, looking at the agenda, paying attention, but not really focused on every word that is being spoken, when I hear my overly pronounced French name said.

Huh?

I am now in charge of getting the funding and writing the grant for the Homecoming event.

Huh?
What?

I quickly shuffle through the paperwork to find the form. The deadline, it's next week. Okay. I will meet with Boss Lady tomorrow and figure out what needs to be said and written up. Can do.

A few minutes later I hear Boss Lady talking about the department's incredibly under-whelming organization.
Side note: Last week I told Boss Lady that I would be happy to help with the underwhelming organization. She said that I couldn't be a member because I am a grad student and it is an undergrad group. However, perhaps I could be an "active" member and be the rep at some of the bigger campus meetings.

Calendar is now full of meetings.

Back to the above point: I once again hear my name being mispronounced and it has been announced that I am in charge of the incredibly underwhelming department organization.

Huh?
What the hell just happened?
And it's not like I can ask right at that moment.

The underwhelming org. is being referred to by it's initials. One of the important peeps leans over to me and asks what the initials stand for.

Side note: the only reason I know what the initials stand for is because I looked it up on line one morning last week and also took one of our department's pamphlets. Yay, for nosiness.

I need to leave the meeting early and go to class. Turns out classes have been canceled for the day. (same prof, two different classes.) I get another meeting out of the way early and all five+ cups of coffee have suddenly kicked in and I am talking 255 miles an hour. Needless to say I was sort of in charge during that group meeting with the peeps in my grad program. I kept asking if they were annoyed with me. They assured me they weren't. Then again, maybe they just didn't understand what I had asked with the words coming out of my mouth in an incredibly rapid fire manner.

After said meeting I walk back to the office and ask one of the other grad-students who is in charge of organizing the homecoming event, what the hell happened and did I hear correctly?

She isn't sure what happened during the course of the meeting; it turns out she was just as dumbfounded as I was and yes, I am apparently in charge of the department organization. She can't believe I was blind-sided like that.

Me neither.

I will be talking to Boss Lady tomorrow for some clarification.

Ah, Master Plans and networking. Be careful what you wish for.

Now. Who wants to join an incredibly underwhelming organization? Of course by the time I am finished with it the org. will be all sparkly and new. So, who wants to be part of that?

...Sparkly and new looks good on a resume, right?