I Don't Want Any Help!!!

Work yesterday/Tuesday was going along smoothly until, well, what I was afraid could happen did happen.  The new work was substantially light.  However, since Monday was an avalanche, I spent the first half of work yesterday/Tuesday finishing up the work I sent out the day before.

Nevertheless, I was able to finally get my head above water and tackle the new work that came in.  That's what I had been forced to do when I started off in The Fourth Department feeling totally lost and helpless.  I learned to fend for myself, and now I feel like I am in control of whatever comes my way.  That takes time ... overtime, and thus money.  But I feel like if I were left on my own to figure this out, don't take that independence away from me.  The time to step in was when I felt like I needed help.

And still my boss didn't like it.  You see, even though what came in yesterday/Tuesday was a mere trickle, he had my supervisor do some of it.  And she did it while I was at lunch.  Mind you, I would feel undermined even if I were sitting at my desk and she came up and told me to give her what I planned to work on.  I really think it was a matter of timing; my boss e-mailed my supervisor telling her to do the work, and she went to my desk and just grabbed the forms, and I just so happened not to be there.

Still, that stings.  I wouldn't have felt good about it, but if she did this on Monday (and she can't because she doesn't work Mondays), I would understand because there was a lot of work.  But by making this decision, I take it as my boss not leaving me alone.  And once again, overtime is the issue.  He also e-mailed me (while I was at my late lunch), um, "encouraging" me to leave before my eight hours are up if I can.  He must be getting his chops busted by his higher-ups, but that doesn't mean he has to take responsibilities off of my plate in order to shove me out the door.

My boss might not be happy, but with end-of-day duties and e-mails and one big phone call that came in, I lingered at work longer than I initially thought I would.  Still, based on how urgently I felt he wanted me to leave, I left 35-40 minutes short of a regular work day.  I would have stayed more than eight hours if I was the only one to do the work that came in, but it wouldn't have been like the two extra hours like it was on Monday, so what's the big damn deal?

I don't want any help!  I want to do it by myself!  And I have worked too damn much for too damn long to have OT taken away from me, goddammit!