In the spirit of Melita's posts about her conversations with her boss, here's one I had with my boss a while back. We're always very sarcastic with each other so when I "protest", he knows I'm joking. Sort of.
Boss: How do you feel about ladders?
me: Oh great. This can't be good. What crazy thing do you want me to do now?
Boss: I need someone to clean off the tops of the freezers.
me: Let me guess... You couldn't get (another co-worker) to do it...
Boss: I just figured you'd be gullible enough to say yes.
me: *cough, cough* But there's going to be tons of dust up there... *cough, cough, wheeze* What about my asthma...
Boss: You don't have asthma!
me: How would you know??!!
Boss: Get up there and get it done!
So as I'm about 10 feet off the ground cleaning off the tops of rows and rows of standing coolers, I would occasionally try to tell my boss:
me: *cough, cough, cough, clutching chest* My emphysema!!!
Boss: Stop complaining!
me: *bark, bark* My black lung disease!!
Boss: You know, the sooner you get it done, the sooner you can come down...
Oh well. It was worth a try.
But he's certainly not getting my vote for Most Sympathetic Manger of the month.