My Top 10 No-Good-Can-Come- Out-Of-Any-Conversation-That-Starts-With…

Certain conversation starters make me push the panic button. They send up red flags and a chill down my spine. We all dread them. You know the ones. I have some personal favorites. Most of mine are tied to yearbook and newspaper deadlines because that's what I do 24/7.

So here's my Top 10…

#10… "Before you get mad, I've got it under control…no one shot the freshman football games and there aren't any more games left so…"

#9… "We have a situation… the server's down and I didn't save…"

#8… "Ok…so…uh…so… Andy ate that old pizza that's been sitting out all weekend and it had green stuff on the pepperoni…"

#7… "If you promise not to kill me, I need to tell you something… Remember when we were PDF-ing files? Well, I accidentally deleted page 10…"

#6… "Don't kill the messenger… but did anyone tell you the date on the front page is wrong…"

#5… "Now, don't worry, but… I lost the lens bag along with…"

#4… "Before you start, let me finish… I don't have my story, but I do have my notes…"

#3… "Shnikeys!… Has anyone seen my notebook? You know the one that had all my interview notes…"

#2… "Oh no, she's coming… Quick, hurry. The backroom smells like onion rings and there's styrafoam cups all over the place…"

And, my #1 (drum roll pah-leese) No-Good-Can-Come-Out-Of-Any-Conversation-That-Starts With…

"Do you have any paper towels?… I just spilled coffee all over my desk and, uh, the laptop…"