The Foreign Service Journal, April 2018

68 APRIL 2018 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL FEATURE Office Management Specialists multitask perpetually, with masses of detail and constant interruption. A healthy dose of humor keeps inevitable mishaps and all the rest in perspective. BY MARSHA PH I L I PAK- CHAMBERS My Kingdomfor aDoor: When Multitasking Goes Awry Marsha Philipak-Chambers, an office management specialist (OMS), entered the Foreign Service in 2005. Currently assigned to Bridgetown, she has served in Gaborone, Kyiv (twice) and Tallinn. This is her third article for the Journal . O ne morning early in my Foreign Service career, when the deputy chief of mission walked through the door, I greeted him with a heartfelt, “Good morning, sir! How was the reception last night?” He paused, briefcase in hand, before replying cheer- fully: “Actually, when I arrived at Frank’s apartment, he met me at the door in his pajamas. It turns out the reception is next week.” I stammered and stuttered, “Oh, my God, I’m so sorry! I have no idea how that happened, but I promise it will never happen again!” I was close to tears. “Oh, it’s OK,” he warmly reassured me. “Frank and his wife invited me in, and we had a nice cup of tea and a good talk at the kitchen table.” I pictured a man in a bathrobe and a five o’clock shadow, his wife in curlers, and my stomach turned. But because, like nearly all my bosses, this DCM was kind, he saw, and helped me see, the humor in the mishap. Still, I remember feeling unsettled and nervous for weeks afterward, sure that I was bound to do something really stupid—like booking rival Russian mafiosi to