a blog for the beleaguered
We know that Kate Moss was recently heartbroken over losing her assistant of seven years, Fiona Young, but she was a good enough sport to let Fiona leave her job in style. Fiona left her assistant job in order to become a full-time mom, and Kate threw a lavish baby shower which was attended by celebrity guests like actress Sadie Frost and designer Luella Bartley. It’s nice to see one famous supermodel who treats her assistant with courtesy (cough:::Naomi:::cough).
Many assistants fall victim to Stockholm Syndrome, which is when they start blaming themselves for their boss’ mistreatment and internalize their office issues. For many people, SS begins as part of some bigger issue. In my case, for example, I had a deep need to please. I was a great student in college and was really eager for my boss to like me as much as my professors had. When he didn’t, I convinced myself it was because of my own personal failings and didn’t take into account the fact that he treated everyone like dirt, not just me.
Many who have workplace Stockholm Syndrome grew up actively involved in sports and have retained their athletic spirit and competitive drive. This sad post on Jezebel discusses a recent post about young girls involved in Olympic-level gymnastics. Although a coach is not a boss, this passage made us think otherwise:
Ryan talks about Julissa Gomez, a girl who looked “ten years old even at fifteen. She stood 4 feet 10 inches and weighed 72 pounds.” Gomez is a gymnastics cautionary tale: at a competition in Japan in 1988, she did a dangerous vault called the Yurchenko. According to one of Julissa’s teammates, Chelle Stack, said, “You could tell it was not a safe vault for her to be doing. Someone along the way should have stopped her.” But no one did, because the Yurchenko meant higher scores. Gomez hit her head on the vaulting horse during warmups at such a speed that she became paralyzed. She died of an infection three years later.
Scary stuff, and proof that Stockholm Syndrome isn’t always a result of working in an office.
Behind every successful TV show or movie, there are beleaguered production assistants. Many PAs are people just starting out in the business who pay their dues on sets before moving on to better opportunities (just ask Cash Warren). However, the fact that they’re young people just out of school doesn’t excuse illegal treatment. Two PAs who work on The Hills are suing MTV, claiming they worked more than the standard eight hours without being given food breaks or overtime pay. According to TMZ, “For the days in which they worked on location, the assistants claim MTV provided them with already-completed and filled-out timesheets — which reflected an eight-hour day — even though on numerous occasions they worked much longer.” Does the lawsuit include pain and suffering for having to deal with Spencer Pratt?
You can learn more about the lawsuit here.
I once went to a NAFTA theme party in college. Yeah, it seems like a random idea for a party, but basically it just meant you could only drink Mexican or Canadian beer. I spent the whole night chugging Dos Equis. I hadn’t thought about this fateful party until a press release arrived at STA HQ today from Dos Equis. The beermakers are seeking a personal assistant to someone whom they refer to as The Most Interesting Man in the World.
“Dos Equis prides itself on being the most interesting beer on the market today,” said Lisa Pfenning, Dos Equis brand director. “Now we are looking to find an individual who brings to life that ‘interesting’ quality that Dos Equis and the Most Interesting Man in the World embody and bring honor to all assistants around the world.”
On April 24th a New Orleans style funeral procession will take to 6th Street in Austin, Texas to celebrate the life of Steve and performers from around the world will conjoin and perform at the gathering. The evening then turns to celebration with a mansion extravaganza hosted by Carmen Electra. The Austin event will be the official start of a year-long search for the MIM’s new assistant, involving a series of challenges to test
contestants’ ability, agility, charm and savvy.
Interested consumers can apply online by creating a personal dossier for themselves, and a panel of “truly interesting” judges will whittle down the entrants to 10 finalists and then a chosen candidate to be decided by
online vote.
This is definitely the weirdest contest we’ve heard about in awhile. If you’re interested in entering, rules and regulations are here.
Before he wrote the wildly successful James Bond series, Ian Fleming was just another assistant. This article from Reuters traces the interesting backstory of the man behind 007. From the article:
Following an unsuccessful application to join the Foreign Office, Fleming worked as a sub-editor and journalist for Reuters, and then as a stockbroker in London.
At the start of World War Two, Fleming was recruited into naval intelligence. He became personal assistant to Admiral John H. Godfrey, who served as the model for James Bond’s commanding officer, “M”.
This story of the assistant-cum-writer is especially cool when you remember that Gareth Owen, assistant to former Bond Roger Moore, is also writing a book–in this case, Moore’s memoirs. Headspin!
Oh man, this news is almost too good to be true. STA’s favorite fictional assistant and STA’s favorite evil celebrity boss are going to go head to head. ABC announced yesterday that Naomi Campbell will guest star on Ugly Betty’s season finale. I can only hope that Naomi tries to mess with Betty and that Betty kicks major ass. I may have to liveblog this.
That reminds me…Ugly Betty is finally back tonight with its first episode since the writers’ strike ended. The episode is about Betty’s 24th birthday.
Happy day-after-Admin Professionals Day. I’m sure you’re exhausted from the huge party your company threw in your honor and still hungover from all the fancy free cocktails that were sent your way on golden platters. Or not.
Anyway, just had to share this comment on that post that came from a fake email address and was signed only “RCL”:
There’s a big difference between a maid and a personal assistant. And neither is a profession.
There are so many fucked up things going on in those two sentences that I barely know where to start. But I’ll try.
First of all, how many personal assistants have had to serve as de facto maids/housekeepers/nannies to their bosses? A LOT. Take this one, this one, and this one for examples.
Second, a “profession” is defined as “a vocation or business.” That’s kind of clumsy, so let me translate. A profession is a longterm job that you do because it enables you to earn money. And for a lot of us, being an assistant is precisely that: a thing we do for a couple of years, whether it’s one or four or thirty, because it pays the bills. So, you’re not just wrong, you’re grossly ignorant.
[I warned you guys about the whole no-bread-makes-Lilit-grumpy thing. I just didn't realize the grumpiness would take the form of extended manifestos.]
In an editorial on the website MercuryNews.com, Patty Fisher defended the rights of domestic workers, saying, “Behind every super-successful two-career couple, there’s a person who makes it possible for them to work such long hours and still come home to a clean house, clean laundry, freshly scrubbed children and home-cooked meals. Call her the maid, the nanny or the personal assistant. Whatever you call her, she belongs to one of most exploited professions in the country.”
Behind every great person, there is a great assistant. Behind every board meeting that goes off without a hitch and behind every conference call with eighteen participants that results in an international merger, there is an assistant. The executives may get press for signing a contract, making a deal, or winning a sponsorship, but there would be no article without an assistant to get the boss on the phone.
Where would companies be without that person whose job it is to get soaking wet running back from Starbucks on a rainy day with a dozen espressos? What would happen if every copy machine in America jammed, and there was no assistant who knew how to fix them? How would any bosses be able to do all their work without a trusty assistant to fact check, screen their calls, and order in lunch?
Assistants in this country don’t just deserve a holiday. They deserve a whole fucking lot of respect. And this website is here to give it to them.
Have you ever thought “This time my boss won’t yell at me because I’ll do everything exactly right,” only to get screamed at yet again because your boss doesn’t like the way you seal envelopes? Why did you take back that good for nothing boy or girl friend who promised not to cheat on you this go-round?
LiveScience.com has some interesting things to say about why people make the same mistakes multiple times. There’s a phenomenon called “error learning.” Take, for instance, a time when you’re struggling to remember exactly the right word:
The period in which people continue to rack their brains for the answer could be referred to as “‘error learning,”‘ Humphreys said. “‘You”ll keep on digging yourself the wrong pathway, you either have 10 seconds worth of that extra bad learning or you have 30 seconds worth of that extra bad learning.”‘
In a follow-up study, the researchers found the best way to tackle mistake-learning is to repeat the word (out loud or in your head) once you find the correct answer. And instead of trying to recall the elusive word, stop and ask a colleague or look it up on the Web.
The findings should apply to other situations, including music and sports. “‘Music teachers know this principle’ they tell you to practice slowly,”‘ Humphreys said. “‘If you practice fast, you”ll just practice your mistakes.”‘
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