Infuriating Bosses

My boss is making me crazy(er).

He sent me an e-mail yesterday morning asking "get me to Chicago 1st thing tomorrow morning, returning last thing tomorrow night". Okay. I got him the information. "Outbound at 6:00 a.m." No good. "Don't they have a red-eye to Chicago tonight, returning tomorrow night?" Okay. No, they don't. "Alright, then, what were the times tomorrow again?" I told him. "How about going out tomorrow morning and coming back first thing Saturday morning." I went back and got him the times for that. "No good. Too early. See if they have something going out around 8:00 a.m. and coming back on Saturday about the same time." Okay. "Well, don't they have anything in-between 6 and 8?" No, they don't.

He finally agrees to go out on a 6:00 a.m. on Friday and return on an 8:00 a.m. on Saturday. I book it. Great price. $300+ round-trip.

I come to work this morning. He's already in Chicago and sent me an e-mail, "what times are the last flights from O'Hare to LaGuardia on American tonight?"

Okay. I get him three flights AND the information that changing his cut-rate ticket at this point will result in him having to shuck out an additional $700.00. He goes ballistic (via e-mail). I call the travel agent and find that if he'd booked a fully-refundable ticket yesterday it would've cost him $1,100.00 round trip from NYC to Chicago. In other words, it would be the same.

I haven't heard a word from him since.

Naturally, I'm sitting here feeling as though I am, somehow or other, the failure in all this.

My rational mind, though, says, "he's insane and he's taking it out on you. You are NOT responsible for his shitty life. You are NOT supposed to be a mind-reader or a fortune teller." I know all that, intellectually. Still, I'm feeling "less than" right now.

Infuriating bosses have the nagging habit of bringing out the lack of self-esteem in me.

I hate when that happens.