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It's often said that art imitates life. So it's no surprise that there have been an abundance of movies and TV shows over the years that have focused on the workplace, and all its joys and pitfalls. Check out these notable quotes about the working world from a variety of productions on both the big and small screens, and then ...

Do you have a secret office crush? Do you want to tell that witch in accounting where she can stick that file? Is your coworker's fashion sense less cosmopolitan and just more... confused? Dish, rant, spill in AdminSecret's popular Anonymous Forums. Tell all in this totally-fun and totally-safe discussion zone. It's like your own online journal/ punching bag/ best listener ever. ...

There's one skill I wish hadn't disappeared from our kitchens - the one our grandmothers had of turning leftovers into a hearty meal. Delicious chicken soup would be made from bones that apparently had nothing left on them; aromatic bread pudding produced from a stale loaf, eggs and dried fruit; and mouth-watering bubble and squeak concocted with the Sunday roast's leftover ...

Where the Jobs Are Worried about the future? You're not alone but it doesn't mean you're going to have start loading the family up in a truck and go pick grapes in California like John Steinbeck's Joad family in The Grapes of Wrath. What it does mean, though, is that even in a recession some communities will fare better than ...

How To Reduce Stress With Inoffensive Office Humor It’s been well-documented that humor and laughter can reduce stress and provide many other benefits. And few areas of life are more stressful than the workplace. So, not surprisingly, it’s been found that office humor can be a good stress-reliever, reducing job stress, boosting morale, bringing people closer, and perhaps even warding off ...

Beverly Helm-Renfro remembers what she was told by state Sen. Barack Obama when she began working as his Statehouse administrative assistant in early 2000. “He said, ‘Now, I have people that come in with HIV. I have people that come in that have disabilities. I have people that come in that are homeless. I never want to see you treat them ...

Who would have predicted that lipstick would become a footnote in the history of presidential politics? It’s Sarah Palin’s doing. The vice presidential candidate introduced the unlikely topic as the best laugh line in her speech to the GOP convention last month. In case you missed the prime-time address, or the millions of TV replays, Palin told us that the difference ...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Someone in your house have the sniffles? Watch out for the refrigerator door handle. The TV remote, too. A new study finds that cold sufferers often leave their germs there, where they can live for two days or longer. Scientists at the University of Virginia, long known for its virology research, tested surfaces in the homes of people ...

Have you ever arrived at work and realized you forgot something small, yet critical, at home? Like your I-must-have-it-everyday-or-I’ll-die chapstick? Well, here is AdminSecret’s list of office essentials, must-have supplies to stash away at your desk to help you avoid those minor panic moments in the future. [photo:12935] Beauty Supplies Dry Shampoo Available in spray or powder forms, dry shampoo will ...

Do you review and answer e-mail at night or on the weekends just to catch up or stay ahead of the game? Are you struggling to meet deadlines? Are you spending too much time on things that don't drive production or revenue? If this sounds familiar, an administrative professional could be the answer. According to the International Association of Administrative Professionals, ...

Lil Wayne's assistant says he "occasionally" saw a handgun and people smoking marijuana on the rapper's tour bus. But Terry Bourgeois also testified yesterday he never saw Lil Wayne with a gun and didn't know whether one was on the bus in July 2007 when the rapper, 26, was arrested on gun charges. A police officer had testified she boarded the ...

Everyone's favorite executive assistant, star of The Devil Wears Prada, Anne Hathaway, has gotten a lot of press lately. But the spotlight hasn't been from her lead movies roles. Rather, the attention is on her association with ex-boyfriend, Raffaello Follieri, and his scandalous financial affairs. Turns out, Follieri's administrative assistant was the informant to the Feds (not Hathaway as many tabloids ...

RALEIGH, N.C. — Two cultural exchange trips to Europe by first lady Mary Easley and others incurred nearly $46,000 in "unreasonable and excessive expenses" as taxpayers footed the bill for items such as caviar and ballet tickets, State Auditor Les Merritt said Thursday. The Department of Cultural Resources said Easley traveled to France in May 2007 and Estonia and Russia in ...

We're so addicted to text and email we're losing the delicate art of conversation. So do we need to learn to talk again? 'We must have a natter.' Only a few years ago, if any of my friends uttered those five urgent little words, I'd have scurried for my diary to fix a date so that whatever was so important could ...

I would have said that the situation called for some full-fat, industrial strength, venti-sized bitching. What you gave it was small, skinny and decaff, and that got me really worried that maybe - my voice drops to a concerned whisper - you’re no

When she has money, Keliesha Gardener heads to Forever 21 or Kohl's to try to snag the latest gear. But with no allowance or summer gig, shopping sprees for this 16-year-old fashionista are as rare as the pink diamond chandelier earrings she hopes to own someday. So she turns to the virtual world of Zwinky.com, where the digital version of herself ...

Express clothing performance is a tall order unless you plan your wardrobe appropriately. If you want to get dressed in a flash and look great when you're done, you need to follow these "express fashion" guidelines: 1. Choose Clothes That Mix and Match Easily Never add a new item to your wardrobe that doesn't work with at least three other pieces ...

BY DAY it passes as demure office attire, suitable for boardroom meetings and making presentations to clients. But by night, this seemingly simple little black dress transforms into sexy evening wear. The dress, dubbed the “ultimate addition” to any girl’s wardrobe, is capable being transformed in under three minutes. Created by designer Tansy Hamley on behalf of website DatingDirect.com, the dress, ...

NEWBURYPORT - Excess niceness wouldn't seem to be a big problem in the business world today. But two local businessmen say that overly nice guys who won't stand up for themselves and their ideas can be a drag on their own careers and their companies. Even, ahem, to the point of requiring a bailout. "They don't want to confront a situation ...

I am almost retired, and have words of wisdom to share with those of you still of an age to change your life. I started working as an administrative while in college, and continued right until this time of my life, which is a lot of years. I just would like to emphasize that if you can possibly get out of ...

How can I find an extra job for the holidays? Are companies actually doing any holiday hiring this year?

If the contest between Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama wasn't enough to get you to brave long lines at the polls, how about the prospect of free products? These are some of the freebies that companies are offering customers who participate in the electoral process: • Ben & Jerry's will give voters free ice cream. • Starbucks will give ...

h3. Where the Candidates Stand As Nov. 4 draws near, many Americans are still undecided about for whom they will cast their vote. While many elections in recent memory have been close, none seems to be quite so momentous. Not only because of the historic implications of electing either the nation's first black President or its first female Vice-President, but because ...

View the job countdown slideshow by scrolling through the pages below These are tough times for job seekers. The U.S. unemployment rate held steady in June at 5.5%, the highest rate since October 2004. The outlook is especially bleak in residential construction and automobiles, and for workers without a college degree. But there are employment bright spots, particularly in technology, according ...

Dry skin and chipped fingernails are not the only reason to pay attention to your hands. For new research shows they contain vital details about our health, including clues to hidden diseases such as cancer. The palm of a woman's hand could be an early warning sign of an ovarian tumour, according to a report in the latest Journal of the ...

I often feel like I don't know the right thing to say. I'll be desperate to find the right words, but in a tough situation, I just don't know what to say to make a person feel better. I often find myself switching the topic of the conversation -- so quick

I had to turn my computer over to the Apple Store yesterday, it wasn’t feeling so well. And I thus spent most of yesterday without a computer to use and I have to say IT WAS AWESOME. I didn’t worry about e-mail (because I couldn’t) and I didn’t sp

Complaining about work might seem natural, but it can also be a huge time waster, dragging down the productivity and well-being of the chronic complainers, as well as everyone around them. Even if you want to stay positive, once a culture of negativity has taken root in your workplace, it can be hard to resist. But that doesn't mean you ...

Sen. John McCain is not just the Republican candidate for president, he is also frighteningly out of touch on issues crucial to U.S. women. Here are the top 10 things every voter needs to know about John McCain before this Election Day.

What with the glass ceiling, the wages and the child care difficulties it's not as if the problems women face in the workplace haven't been well-documented. Now there's a major, and somewhat unexpected, addition to the list - the female boss. University researchers say women who have to answer to a female supervisor feel more stressed than if their superior is ...

If you need a reminder of how things have changed for working women in the past few decades, this quaint little guide for employers from the July 1943 edition of Transportation Magazine should do the trick. Male supervisors of women in the workforce during the Second World War were given 11 tips on “Getting More Efficiency out of Women”. It has ...

In measuring the health of the economy, financial experts typically rely on an index of Leading Economic Indicators. The LEI gauges economic activity ranging in everything from stock market movement to initial unemployment claims, to new housing permits to consumer sentiment. We haven’t scrutinized the numbers lately but unless you’ve been living in a cave with Ossama, we don’t have to ...

In an election year, fodder for political debate is always abundant. As a result, discussions about the US presence in Iraq, the offshoring of US jobs, taxes, healthcare and other contentious issues can get heated. If you’re a political junkie or a fan of healthy debate, it can be tough to contain yourself in times like these. What better way to ...

Business casual: What does it really mean? On a bright spring day several years ago, when the sky was bright blue, the tulips were in full bloom, and I was considering playing hooky as I walked into work, one of my accounting clerks sped by me in a flesh. Or was that flash? I still don't know. All I remember is ...

US electronics firm Circuit City says it will close about 20% of its US outlets in a bid to return to profit. The firm said it would shut 155 out of a total 700 stores by the end of December. The move will mean cutting 17% of its US workforce. Circuit City faces tough conditions with consumers cutting spending in the ...

SEATTLE — Computer makers are recalling 100,000 laptop battery packs made by Sony after 40 reports of overheating, according to a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission notice Thursday. The recall applies to certain Sony 2.15Ah lithium-ion cell batteries made in Japan and sold around the world in laptops made by Hewlett-Packard Co., Dell Inc. and Toshiba Corp. Some incidents involved smoke ...

Interesting Read... "Humans have long been baffled by just what shapes sexual attraction. Why do we find some people beautiful and others not? And is there anything we can do to make ourselves more attractive?"

How appropriate that Halloween is just around the corner, given the scary circumstances we're facing in our financial markets. If you're thinking about loosening up just a bit on Friday to celebrate Halloween at the office, make sure your revelry is appropriate for the office. Because shenanigans at the office, no matter how well intentioned, can backfire and hurt reputations - ...

Workplace stress can drain you emotionally and physically. Here are strategies to help you cope with: 1) Fear of job loss 2) An overwhelming workload 3) An unsafe work environment 4) Inflexible hours. For three years, Heather Case had little time for anything but her job. During that period, Case, now 30, worked in public relations in New York City. She ...

It's a gorgeous day, and you want nothing more than to be out and about having some fun. Only problem? You're stuck at your desk -- and it's only 9:15 in the morning. But if your boss lets you listen to music while you work, you're in luck. Give any one of the following 10 CDs a spin. They're guaranteed to ...

When Amber Peetz started her job as an administrative assistant at a five-person public relations firm, she seemed to come with no liabilities. "She got here on time, worked steadily, dressed professionally, and always double-checked her work," recalls Liz Leslie, owner of the agency. "She was meticulous and reliable in every way." About a year into her tenure, however, her behavior ...

Over the last few years, laptops have become powerful, portable, and inexpensive enough that it's easy to get by without a desktop machine. As laptops have become more of a default than a luxury, the range of features, models, and prices has expanded greatly. Sorting through all those options isn't always easy, but these 10 rules for laptop buying should help ...

Most business travelers use the web for at least some portion of their trip—whether it's planning, booking or compulsively checking the Weather Channel. But the web can offer more to make life easier. Here are a few under-the-radar sites to note. Remote file access. One of the toughest things about business travel isn't the travel part—although crummy flights, horrible hotels, surly ...

Is it fashionable to be frugal these days? With endless talk of economic woes, there's ample reason to scrimp and save. At every turn, cash-conserving alternatives seem to be sneaking back into pop culture's consciousness. Here are a few ways to scale back your lifestyle, while still remaining chic. [page] Buy an economical car It doesn't need to be a ...

In a down economy, small-business owners will invariably feel the pinch. And, unfortunately, so will their employees. According to a study by Hewitt Associates, employees can expect another year of skimpy raises in 2009 as employers batten down the hatches to either correct or prepare for the damage caused by a potential recession. But while pinching pennies is good for the ...

What do your business accessories say about you? For most women (or men), they don't say much. Accessories are often an after thought, thrown together without a plan. So when you do meet someone who's got her act together, it often leaves an impression...a very favorable one at that. Most image experts agree that you should allocate 40% of your clothing ...

Having your medical records online.  Is it safe or not?

Once a company has announced plans to cut its headcount, employees face a tricky choice. Here's how to protect yourself.

I saw this on Oprah the other day - Financial Crisis 101. Great advice!

Virtual Assistants are beating the economic downturn. With the economy and job security getting shakier, virtual assistants continue to thrive and assist their clients to do the same.