Whoever said penguins couldn’t count? I mean, opposable thumbs or even fingers aren’t needed to figure math. I’ve always had a brain for mathematics. I could figure a problem faster than most in my class, and even when I reached the upper levels like Algebra and Trigonometry, I still didn’t have much difficulty figuring out the problems. I did need a special calculator though, small buttons and flippers don’t exactly get along, you know.
Now that penguins have been integrated into society for the intelligent creatures we really are, I was able to gain a job as an accountant. Now that’s the life: surrounded by numbers all day long. Who could ask for better? Not me. Most people that hear I’m an accountant and automatically think I keep the books for FLIPPR. You see most people who know of the existence of the Front for the Liberation of the Internal Penguin Population Revolution, FLIPPR for short, think that all penguins are part of it. FLIPPR is really just a bunch of tough guys that formed a penguin mafia and came up with a long name just so the abbreviation could somewhat resemble the word flipper. Really, all they are is a bunch of bullies. In all my life, I have never seen such a strong stereotype put into place. The second any penguin is seen on the street, there is automatic fear or concern for personal safety.
I see this a lot, working in accounting as I do. Someone comes in to pay their bill, sees me, and automatically they are afraid I might do something to them, or that I am going to steal their money and use it for FLIPPR funding. Sadly, they never take the time learn about the real me. I am actually really easy to talk to, and am willing to hold a conversation about anything with anyone. You know the small chit-chat that goes along with waiting for the computer to process a check and produce a receipt. Usually, my customers are lost in their own world of fear and stereotypes of species to hold any kind of a decent conversation.
I had to work hard to get to where I am today. I fought this stereotype that the other penguins created the existence of to get an honest, legitimate job. I was top in all my classes, worked and studied hard, and I always double check my figures to make sure there are no mistakes. Luckily, I came across an employer who saw my track record with numbers, and understood that the quality of an employee’s work was far more meaningful than the stereotype associated with that employee.
There was one person who felt the need to inform my boss that he had a penguin—a PENGUIN!—working for him. She went on and on about how unfaithful we are, about how all we do is drink alcohol and steal peoples’ women right from under their noses. She explained about how she had a penguin steal her purse, smacking her on the ass as he ran off. She was convinced that I was a shady figure, stealing the company’s money to finance my outside endeavors she was dead-set I had going on in my off time.
I overheard all of this, and boy did it make me feel like crap! I mean, I try to make sure I present a professional look about myself and go about my job like anyone else in the office would. Normally I am overdressed due to the tuxedo that is just part of my body. I know it’s overboard, but I can’t help it. What I look like isn’t something I can change. I was born this way. I have never made fun of someone either in front of them or behind their back because of how they looked. That’s just plain rude any way you try to dress it up as acceptable.
The day after hearing the woman’s comments, I did not want to go into work. I laid in my bed, pondering the hurtful words she had spoken. Who wouldn’t be depressed when they overhear someone saying such rude things about them that aren’t based at all on work quality, but what they are, and what they look like? I finally did go into work, late. I went straight into my boss’s office to explain why I was late. He took the time to hear me out, and then mentioned that he told her yesterday, after she was done spewing her negativity, that if she had that big of a problem with one of his employees, that he wouldn’t be able to do business with her anymore. Now, that is one understanding boss.
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