Ugh, that bites, askye. And what a worm of an asst. manager. That could easily be an extra chapter or two: the many ways management can dick you over and make the customer hate you; taking advantage of young folks on their first job; just so much unpleasant stuff if you unpack every rotten element of stories like that.

I only worked customer service for a couple years, being dramatically un-cut-out for it. But I'm sure between those couple years and living with an exotic dancer for a couple years, I can come up with some stories.

Oh and: Last month's winning haiku from ThinkGeek:

Client with no specs.
Wants results in two weeks time.
Must. Not. Kill. Must. Not.

Along those lines ... my boss is out the door, on her way to a new job! yay! (yesterday my choices came down to homicide, suicide, or chocolate ... I chose chocolate, 'cause they get so cranky when someone gets blood on the carpet). SHE thinks marketing in the for-profit sector is going to be less time-consuming and stressful than working at a not-for-profit. (insert evil chuckle)

There's a poll on board usage being discussed, please go here for more information - msbelle "Bureaucracy 4: Like Job. No, really, just like Job" Aug 3, 2007 7:52:20 am PDT

Is she crazy? Dear lord. I've done both. For-profit is/was much worse.

I have a really illustrative story about a guy who used to work in marketing for beer companies and quit to go hunt terrorists with the CIA, because it was less stressful. He said his boss (at Madison Ave company) had a heart attack at work because a proposal was 5 minutes late.

Anyone want to help me name a secondary character? Normally this isn't a problem for me, but she's stubbornly nameless.

Her bio and description: She's a Lowland Scot of good family (gentry or minor nobility), born around 1770 (she's in her 30's when we meet her). She's intelligent and wryly witty, and better educated than the average woman of her time. Extremely proper and reserved in public, reveals earthy sensuality in bed with my protagonist--one of her roles in the story is as his confidante/fuckbuddy, though I don't think they're each other's One True Love. She's taller than average, pretty but not beautiful, yellow blonde hair and brown eyes.

Names she CAN'T have to avoid duplication: Charlotte, Anna, Genevieve, Lavinia, Emma, Catherine. She'll share a lot of screen time with the first three, so it can't even be close to one of those.

Any ideas? I'm only worried about her first name for now--if I can just pin that down, it's easy enough to pick out a last name that matches and works with her background.

Julia? Marianne? Belle? Clara?

Elizabeth, Margeret, Elinor, Helen.