Beth Labonte's Blog, page 13

Ask Secretary4Life

Dear Secretary4Life,
My cubicle neighbor has been coughing for weeks now. It's extremely annoying and getting to the point where I'm considering asking to move my desk. Is there a polite way to suggest that he go see a doctor?
- Can't Take the Coughing in Missouri

Dear Can't Take the Coughing,
Seriously, where the fuck is my stapler? I literally just put it down and now it's gone.
Best,
S4L
******************

Dear Secretary4Life,
One of my male bosses has been making very inappropriate remarks to me about my personal appearance. I think I should report him to Human Resources, but I'm afraid. What should I do?
- Uncomfortable in Utica

Dear Uncomfortable,
Anyone know how to change the Poland Spring bottle?
Best,
S4L

It Could Be Worse. And Weirder.

It's hard to one-up people when you're a secretary.  Say you run into a girl from high school and she became a lawyer.  Or maybe you run into a guy you used to know and he's now a doctor.  Maybe they're even married to each other.  Maybe they're the Huxtables!!  God, how bad would that make you feel?  Luckily for me, however, I went to high school with this freak show:

Former TSA employee faces child pornography charge

BOSTON (FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com) - A Beverly man and former TSA employee arrested on child pornography charges appeared in federal court on Friday.

Andrew W. Cheever, 33, appeared before on a complaint charging him with possession of child pornography. Last December, State Police executed a state search warrant of Cheever's former residence in Lowell. The initial search identified approximately 2,000 images of child pornography and several uniform items bearing the TSA logo.

Read more: http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpp/news/local/former-tsa-employee-faces-child-pornography-charge-20110902#ixzz1XDu6STy5

So the pressure's totally off.  Before this happened I was only one spot ahead of the guy who was arrested for smearing fecal matter all over our elementary school.

Secretaries rule!

BK Does it Again!

What did I tell you?  I could have an entire blog with nothing but pictures of sad looking Burger King signs:









Try a California Whopper is what it's attempting to say.  I understand that half the letters are trying to commit suicide, but what's with the huge gap between "Try" and "A"?  That part is just totally uncalled for.  

Almost as sad as this sign is the amount of times I sat at this light before I was in the right spot to get a picture. 

Valor - A Greystone Novel

The below is my review of Valor by Taylor Longford, which can be purchased below from Amazon:










For me, the test of a really good book is this: when I'm not reading it, do I wish I was reading it? As far as Valor goes, the answer was a definite YES. I read this book in two days, and when I wasn't reading it the characters kept popping into my mind.



I will admit, when I saw that this book was about gargoyles, I wasn't sure what to expect. I pictured the winged lions that you see on the sides of buildings. How on earth were they going to be part of a young adult paranormal romance? Boy was I wrong. These gargoyles are a pack of extremely good looking, romantic, and tough, young men. Mix Jacob's wolf pack with Edward's vampire family, throw in a pinch of boy band, and you have an idea of the gargoyles. LOVED IT. 




The storyline grabbed me right from the beginning and not once did it drag or feel forced. Longford writes with a great sense of humor and a talent that can easily match that of Amanda Hocking or any other self-published sensation. I highly recommend this book and look forward to seeing more in this series.

The Executive's Coloring Book

Check out this hilarious coloring book from the 1960's from A Hole in the Head.  Seems to me the only thing that's changed in 50 years is that telephones now have more than five buttons.

Tuesday

"The beginning is always today."
- Mary Wollstonecraft

Happy Friday

April Ludgate - The Best Worst Assistant on Television

We all know Pam Beesley - the receptionist, turned paper salesman, turned office administrator on NBC's The Office. Pam used to be cool, the way she sat miserably behind the reception desk wearing bland colored cardigans and dreaming of a more fulfilling career. But then she went and married Jim, had a baby, and stopped being so depressed and mopey about her life. And frankly, that's when her character lost its appeal for me.

So I take you now to the best portrayal of an administrative assistant currently on television - April Ludgate from Parks & Recreation. If you are looking for a lazy, deadpan, apathetic, role model, April is your girl. To quote her boss, Ron Swanson:

"I need to find someone to fill in for April. Now I know I'm not going to find someone who's both aggressively mean and apathetic. April really is the whole package."

Judging from the lack of April clips that I could find online, she is not getting as much attention from the administrative professional community that she deserves. This is a video from when she started out as an intern and should give you an idea of the awesomeness of her character:







And here's another great conversation between April and her boss:

Ron: Who the hell is 'Fwarp'?

April: I don't know. I couldn't really hear him. It sounded like his name was Fwarp.

Ron: Get his number?

April: No.

Ron: Good girl.

So tune in! Season 3 of Parks & Recreation was absolutely hilarious and I can't wait for Season 4. 

Geeky Girl Reviews

Thank you Geeky Girl Reviews for the great review of What Stays in Vegas!

This book is a funny, quick and easy read. I read this book yesterday afternoon and I could not put it down. It took my about 2 hours to finish reading this book. I thought it was very well written with a awesome bunch of characters (some you will love and some you will hate). If you want a quick and funny chick lit then look no further.

Check out reviews of other books, movies, household products, gadgets, and more at Geeky Girl Reviews

Sounds like a plan!

Thank you @justanumber5!