Coworker Conundrum

In this weeks episode, Michael was ouraged to learn that Toby (whom he strongly dislikes) has returned to work. Funnily enough, Toby had been back at the office for a whole week before Michael realized he was there. Throughout the episode, Michael schemed with Dwight to get Toby fired. Michael even went to the extreme of planting weed in Tody's desk, but when Dwight called in the cops on Toby, they were surprised to learn that the supposed weed was actually salad.

Meanwhile, Pam was distraught to learn that one of her coworkers had left the microwave in a digusting mess. Her solution was to leave a note for her coworkers, reminding them that the microwave is a shared office space, and everbody needs to clean up after themselves. However, upon learning about the note the other coworkers were more offended by the note than the mess.

The coworker incidents mentioned in this episode remind me of some of my own work experiences. Unfortunately, in most work situations, we do not get to choose who we work with, and therefore, we may be stuck with a coworker we do not get along with. Something as simple as lack of courteousness with cleaning up messes can lead to great disharmony among coworkers. For instance, as a summer day camp supervisor, I had to deal with staff members who often left messes around, behaving as though they were not responsible for cleanup. I often wondered, who they expected to follow after them and clean up their messes.

Funny Moment of the Week:
Michaels reaction upon learning that Toby had returned back to work (he screamed No! No! No!)

Second Thoughts About Your Subject of Study?

This week, Michael, attended a conference in Winnipeg Canada. Since he was unfamiliar with Canada, he thought he would need a french translater so he brought Andy along. Michael's behaviour indicates that Americans are very unfamilar with their neighbours to the north. This brings to mind the recendent federal elections. It appeared as though Canadians were very interested in the outcome in America, in some cases perhaps more than they were concerned with the Canadian election. In contrast, American voted in record turn-out for their own federal election, but if you were to ask them about Canadian politics, the average citizen probably wouldn't have a clue.

Another major event this week was Pam coming home from art school. She failed one of her courses, and she would have had to stay an extra term to get her certificate, but she decided that art school wasn't for her. She went there in the beginning because she liked art and wanted to see if she could further develop her skills. The end outcome of this endeavour was that she learned it just was not for her. As a university student, this brings to mind the process of choosing a major. Before entering university, it is difficult to know which program you are best suited for. Frankly, it is very difficut to choose based upon the vague discriptions that are given in the course calendars. It is only when you are knee deep in that you really begin to see what your program of study is all about. Many students I know start to completely detest their program once classes are in full swing.

Funny moment of the week:
When Ryan decided to reestablish his relationship with Kelly and she broke off her current relationship with Darrel, only to have him respond with a text message saying, "That's cool"

Private Dialogue In Public..What Are The Boundaries

In last night's episode, both Jim and Dwight recieved some less than stellar job performance reviews. Over the course of the show, it was revealed that Kelly had sabotaged them because they didn't not go to her party in the summer. In the end, Michael sympathized with Kelly's actions, because he too has had trouble getting people to come to his parties.

Throughout the duration of the episode, Jim was in constant contact with Pam, thanks to a handy piece of technology called the Blue Tooth, which enabled them to carry on conversations across vast distances. Although the Blue Tooth proved to be amusing at times, the fact remains that there was no real need for Jim and Pam to be in constant contact with one another. Especially since Jim was at work, it was very inappropriate for him to be carrying on a private conversation all day on company time.

This brings to mind the behaviour of cell phone users, as many people are now willing to engage in detailed private conversations in public. Nowadays it seems that everyone believes that they need to be in constant contact through their mobile devices, sometimes at the expense of being tuned in to what is actually going on around them. People prefer to live in the virtual rather than the physical world. Perhaps at the expense of new experiences and relationships.

Funny Moment of the Week:

When Jim and Dwight were doing a mock sales call under Michael's supervision, and Jim told Dwight over the pretend phone that his name was Bill Butlicker, and Dwight got in trouble for questioning the legitimacy of his name.