The Apprentice 5 Corner Office and Mailroom Assignments, Episode 12

This week, Xbox 360. Wal-Mart. Xbox 360. Microsoft. Wal-Mart. Over the Hedge. Wal-Mart. Xbox 360. Got it?

Gold Rush

As far as I’m concerned, the guys were reeeeeeally lucky this week. I think they barely eked out a win. Their display sucked horribly, and they were probably only saved because Synergy’s idea sucked more. And yet I’ve managed to find someone to put in the corner office! (I know! I’m surprised, too!) I think Sean did a terrific job of trying to keep everything in order. He and Lee had a lot of difficulties that were really out of their hands, mostly with the very unhelpful Adrien. Instead of sitting around and complaining that everything was going badly, Sean took action. He told Adrien to get the job done and, as Tim Gunn would say, make it work. Even when it looked like they wouldn’t have their ceiling in time, he resigned himself to having a less-than-completed display and moved on. Sean worked with what he had instead of worrying about what he couldn’t control. And I’m sure he learned a little lesson about outsourcing the really important things. Sean’s girlfriend was fired this week, so I hope the corner office is a nice consolation.

Speaking of lucky, I won’t make Lee go to the mailroom this week. Since he and Sean are the only members left on Gold Rush, Lee would be an obvious choice for the mailroom since Sean is in the corner office. But I think Lee worked well this week, especially with Sean. He still doesn’t impress me much, and if he wins I’ll be angry, but he was better this week than he has been. For that, Lee is saved from stamp-licking duty.

Synergy

You all know how much I love Roxanne, and how many times I’ve put her in the corner office this season (seven!). But this week, I just can’t. I mean… she sucked. She really did. Her attitude was out of line and she didn’t give the task her all. I know she and Allie weren’t happy with the theme (neither was I; more on that later), but she should have learned from past seasons that working on an unenjoyable task is better than not working at all. (Remember Erin? She’s probably still kicking herself.) Trump would rather see candidates push through than sit around whining about how bad things are. And in the past, Roxanne has been the person who has taken on even the most menial tasks and done them without complaining. So I’m sad that I can’t give her the corner office this week (Allie either), but I’m also not giving her the mailroom.

No, that dishonor falls to Tammy. As annoying as Allie and Roxanne were on this task, I thought Tammy was even worse. First of all, her theme was just ridiculous. A red carpet event for an Xbox? Bleh. It’s been overdone, and it had nothing to do with the product. The guys at least latched onto the 360 part and did something with that. I’m not sure Tammy was even thinking. Off the top of my head, I can think of five other themes that would have been better:

1. There are 360 Things You Can Do with an Xbox 360!
2. X Marks the Spot - An Xbox Treasure Hunt!
3. Xbox 360 - Get Yours Today, Because It’ll Be Obsolete in Three Months!
4. Spend Five Months’ Salary on an Xbox 360! And Pray it Doesn’t Break! Because We Don’t Know How to Fix It!
5. Xbox - Your Neighbor Doesn’t Have One Yet!

Secondly, instead of recognizing that her theme was horrible, Tammy decided to blame the team’s failure on Roxanne and Allie because they had Mean Girled her. Not exactly a quality I think Trump is looking for in an employee. She accused Allie and Roxanne of being juvenile, but she wasn’t any better than they were. A leader should take responsibility for her actions - if a task fails, she should figure out what she did wrong, be a woman, and admit to her failings. Instead, Tammy whined. And whined. And whined. Then she proceeded to yell her way through the boardroom, never a good idea. She blamed Allie and Roxanne for everything, even though they at least made an effort to help her with her task. I figured about two minutes into the boardroom that Tammy would be going home, and I’m glad I was right. Good riddance, and enjoy your return to the mailroom, Tammy, because I might keep you there. Just because I can.

Week 12 Tally:

So now we’re down to two women and two men. I’m sure that’s no accident. I think two people will be fired next week, leaving us with either two men or two women. Maybe all of Trump’s talk about women this season has just been foreshadowing and we’ll have another all-female finale. At this point, I don’t really care that much. I’d like to see Roxanne win, but only if she recovers from her issues this week. Like I said earlier, if Lee wins, I’ll be ticked. I don’t think he’s in any way the best person left. I’m thinking we’ll see a Roxanne/Allie final two, though I would place Sean over Allie at this point. Right now, though, it’s too close to call.

Gold Rush

Corner office:

Lee (1, 8, 9), Lenny (2), Leslie (2), Charmaine (2, 4, 7), Tarek (3), Sean (12)

Mailroom:

Tarek (1), Summer (1), Lee (2), Theresa (3), Bryce (4, 6), Dan (5), Lenny (7), Leslie (8), Charmaine (10), Michael (11)

Synergy

Corner office:

Allie (1, 7, 8, 10, 11), Roxanne (2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11), Andrea (3, 7), Sean (6, 7), Tammy (7, 11)

Mailroom:

Brent (1), Stacy (2), Andrea (4, 5, 8, 9), Michael (6, 7), Tammy (10, 12)

Jenn Brasler is an Assistant Editor of Reality News Online and an aspiring writer from Falls Church, VA. You can e-mail her at luckyjenn@hotmail.com. She will spend the rest of the week trying to convince Roxanne to be cool again.

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