My brother had a hamster....

I've said it before and I'll say it again: The best part about my job is the people I work with. The people you sit beside on a daily basis are the people that know exactly what you're going through at any moment in time, and understand without any explanation whatsoever, why you're banging your headset against the wall. I've given you a rundown of some of my favourite coworkers in the past, but today I'm going to let you get to know another one of my favourites. She's a loyal reader, coming in every day asking "Why haven't you updated your blog yet?" So lady, this one's all about you today.

The Voodoo Priestess

Recently, we had a conversation about religious beliefs, and she had told me that she believed in the Voodoo priestesses. Why? "Because that **** is real, girl". Ms. Voodoo is one of the funniest girls I happen to work with. She is one of my favourite people I like to listen in on when taking a call. There are times when I find her chatting with customers about the most asinine things, only to find out after the fact that yeah, it probably was an appropriate topic of conversation. Some examples of my favourites:

• A few years back, she had a caller complain that his cable kept cutting out. She thought the wires at the back might have been chewed by mice, or rats. Not wanting to offend the customer by implying he might have vermin in his home, she tells him a story.
  "So my brother had a hamster, and this little bugger liked to chew the cable wires behind the TV. It was awful, and we had to keep getting a new one. I don't know why my brother didn't just put him in one of those little ball things so he could run around. Check your cable cord and see if that happened to you"
  When she was done the call I asked her "Did your brother REALLY have a hamster?", to which she replied matter-of-factly "HELL NAWW"
  
• We had decided that we would go on break together. I was done my call and ready to hit the break button, but she was still on a call. Was she discussing the customer's bill? No. Was she explaining how to use the website? Nope, not that either. When she finally got off the call (10 minutes later), I asked her what took her so long. "I told my customer I wanted to buy my nephew rollerblades and she told me to buy him a video about rollerskating instead" Well...as long as we're all on topic and all.
  

The best part about Ms. Voodoo is how she'll tell you like it is. She has an opinion on everything and will tell everyone how she feels. While this trait can be seen as negative in many people, it's not the case for her. Everyone loves her. She definitely makes it easier to come into work every day and do my job. She always jokes with me about how when I finally make it as a big PR person, I'll have to hire her as my assistant. While it is a joke, in all honesty, if it ever came down to it I'd hire her in an instant. A hilarious girl and loyal until the end. She's also giving me ideas for blog posts, so you'll see some of those in the near future!

Sidenote: The article and interview with me in Information Age magazine is out! Check it out here !!