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. 

Sounds like a plan!

Thank you @justanumber5!

Call Center Heroes

There are quite a few things I dislike about my office job: filing, cubicle neighbors who have megaphones strapped to their lips like a duck-billed platypus, and the feminine hygiene receptacle in the ladies room that is eternally left open. But nothing can quite compare to the joys of answering the telephone. Best case scenario, it’s a wrong number. Worst case scenario, it’s an 85 year old man who’s pissed off about the Walmart being constructed outside his bedroom window, has no clue who he needs to speak to, and wants to tell you his life story. Oh, and he clearly hates you.

It’s for these reasons that I can’t fathom the idea of working at a call center. These rugged souls brave the office each and every day, speaking to customer after customer, and they do it all with a “please” and a “thank you” and a “sir” and a “ma’am.” I must tell you, I admire these call center employees the same way I admire people who know how to do math. They were born with something that I wasn’t. Maybe it’s patience, or empathy, or just a general desire to speak to other humans. Whatever it is, it’s commendable work. Nobody would want to call customer service and speak with me. First of all, they wouldn’t be able to hear me over the sound of my eyes rolling. Second of all, they would have to be put 

on hold while I got fired.

"Yes sir, A squared plus B squared equals C squared"

No, when you call customer service you want to get a pro.  You want to get someone who works for a place like the Global Response Call Center. Large companies like Lord & Taylor, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Toyota outsource their customer service to Global Response who spend a lot of time training their employees on the specific brands. As a result, the employees are highly knowledgeable, helpful, and (aahh!) pleasant to speak with! These are people who actually want to talk on the phone. 

I don’t know how they do it day in and day out, but we should all be glad that they do. And if I ever meet one of these people, maybe they can help me with my Algebra.

We Just Decided To Go

"From now on, we live in a world where man has walked on the moon. And it's not a miracle, we just decided to go." - Jim Lovell, Apollo 13