A Shout-Out

I have the coolest coworkers. It's true. I work with three other editors: A, J, and B. B is our managing editor; she's in her mid-forties and has been with the company for a long time. Both A and J are around my age and have been working here a short time, as I have. It's really astounding how much the three of us have in common. We share similar tastes in books, movies, and food. We have nearly identical senses of humor (read "dry"). Our political views are closely aligned. And we're all hooked on e-mail.

I've never had the pleasure of working for a boss as cool as B. She's smart, sharp, and organized, yet she's gentle and soft-spoken and manages us democratically. She makes up our schedules each week, and then she essentially stands back and lets us work. She might check in on us twice a week (if that) to see how we're doing and whether we've got too much or too little work, but often she just leaves us entirely alone. It nicely evens out the somewhat oppressive corporate atmosphere that is ever-present in the office; B has her own little ways of quietly rebelling against some of the more draconian office rules (like the one that forbids employees from using the Internet for personal use, for instance. She sends us links to funny Web sites all the time).

Best of all, B is self-confidant and secure and therefore does not lord her power over her underlings in any way, as the big cheese did at my old company. (Well, he was small, like a leprechaun, actually.) She's very trusting and open and shows no desire to scare us into accepting her point of view on anything, editorial or otherwise. I feel very comfortable approaching her with a work question or asking her what she thought of the latest Harry Potter film. For me, that's a perfect manager.

A and J are goofy and nerdy, like me. One of us (maybe A?) came up with an acronym that perfectly describes us: NERDS (Notorious Editing Ring of Derisive Snickerers). A has a gift for coming up with quick, perfectly groan-worthy puns and hilarious little haikus, and J can talk about anything from reality TV to literary theory fluently and without pretension. I like that the three of us are essentially good people who sometimes let our snarkier alter-egos get out of hand and feel bad about it (but not TOO bad) later.

What inspired me to produce this lovefest-on-paper about the women with whom I work? Well, this week has been crappy, because George Bush pulled out a totally undeserved win against John Kerry three days ago. Since Wednesday morning, the grief and anger in our left-leaning office has been palpable. To try to counteract all this sadness and fear, the editors came up with the winning idea of sharing poetry with each other. For the past couple of days, we've been e-mailing each other poems that remind us of our faith in humanity and the (sometimes bittersweet) beauty in our ordinary lives. It's been an exhilerating experience! I've read some gorgeous, moving, jarringly honest verse that has managed to nudge my mood from despairing to hopeful. On top of that, A has revealed herself as a writer of poetry as well, and she's shared a couple of her own works. It's a compliment that she trusts us enough to let us read these very personal, lovely poems. In return, J and I have invited A to read our respective blogs. (Hi A and J, if you're reading right now!) I'm feeling very fortunate to work with such fine people.

Not to be too over-the-top sappy or anything, but I think it's in times of acute crisis and unhappiness that I'm reminded of all the relationships that are important to me, for which I'm grateful.

So, uh, thanks, red states, for reelecting Bush, thereby crushing my soul enough to remind me of all I should be grateful for!

Sigh.