The girl with a smile and a baseball bat

There used to be this sculpture in the hallway of my university. The sculpture was of a big green monster towering over this little blond girl with pigtails and a pink dress. She had a smile on her face that showed all her teeth and behind her back, hiding from the big green monster, she hid a bat.

I loved that sculpture and i guess it should come as no suprise then that while i worked as an accounts recievable clerk at a engineering firm a few years ago, i adopted the nickname "the girl with a big smile and a baseball bat"

This small asian man from a company that owed us alot of money gave me the nickname. His company owed us $20,000 and after about a year of waiting on installments my boss decided to send me up there to collect.

It took me about an hour to drive the 15 minutes to their offices because i got lost, it was past my lunch time, not to mention it was in the middle of the familiar weather warnings that this great country is prone to each January. So i was cold, hungry and annoyed when i walked through the reception area of this mans offices and found no one at the reception desk to talk to.

There was no way in hell that i was going back now without getting that cheque, so i waltzed through the halls like i owned the place asking for Michael. When i found him he was discussing a project with one of his engineers , " hi michael, sorry to interrupt, im connie from PAR, can i have a word" startled he nodded and walked into the hall with me. Smiling i said " you owe us 20,000" he replied "yes, well, i will have the cheque mailed to your offices by the end of the week" my smile got wider " ill wait for you to sign it to save you the trouble of an envelope" then i sat in the waiting room until someone brought me what i was there for.

He called my boss afterwards and said "  you brought me a girl with a smile and a baseball bat this afternoon, smart move" When i heard about what he called me i automatically remembered the scultpture i passed everyday, and i wondered how anyone could mistake me for that. I didnt have a baseball bat hiding behind my back, or if i did i never used it. But i enjoyed the  fact that people thought i had some secret weapon,  so i laughed whenever my boss would say, "looks like a job for the baseball bat"

Then this morning i saw myself using it, it was subconcious at first.  I sat in a meeting for the first time alone... im usually the one taking notes but this time i was the one giving direction, i was nervous but feined confidence to ensure my opinions weighed.

 I met with  a man who looked at me like most people in this industry seem to " she has no idea what shes talking about" or   " sweety you have a lot to learn" and in both cases they're mostly right.  But this time, i did know what i was talking about. I knew exactly what i wanted, i knew what i wanted the artwork for our trade show to protray, and this man sat there and told me all the reasons we shouldnt do it, that my idea wouldnt read. At first my cheecks felt red with embarrasment but then i felt the bat stir....  a little surge of energy straightened my back,  i felt a smile spread across my face as i told him that i wanted what i wanted, and expected to see it by friday.

I was shocked at myself, i was pretty sure i was going to have to do some damage control, or that i was going to get a biting comment back. But he semmed to look different after my words fell out, like someone had just hit him with a bat, and told me he'd figure it out. Its all about those little victories.