Sunday, April 26, 2009

Michael’s Merging Miracle

The coworkers of the “Michael Scott paper company” had to routinely wake up at 5:00AM, jump into an old van, and make their paper deliveries. Despite all of their painstaking efforts, a meeting with their accountant confirmed that they were losing money due to their unreasonably low prices and would soon be out of business. Michael got an ill-fated idea into his head, and he proceeded to call up all of their recent customers and ask for more money. They were all feeling down on their luck and Pam was lamenting the fact that she could not get a part time job on the side, but then Jim arrived with positive news. He informed them that David Wallace was willing to buy out the “Michael Scott Paper Company” because they were making a large dent into Dunder Mifflin’s client list. They agreed to meet with David, and through some tactful negotiation on Michael’s part, he managed to secure jobs for himself, Pam and Ryan too, despites David’s reservations in regards to hiring all three of them.

I predicted that the “Michael Scott Paper Company” would eventually merge with “Dunder Mifflin” however, I didn’t think that it would happen so soon! I thought that the writers would play with the idea of the two companies competing with one another for a while longer. Now that Michael will be reclaiming his old job it will be interesting to see how the dynamic has charged since Dwight, his former sidekick, has demonstrated that his allegiance to Michael is not steadfast. Also, Pam has been promoted to a sales job and Michael’s favourite man Ryan is back in the mix, these developments will likely have an impact on the office atmosphere at Dunder Mifflin.

Pam: “You didn’t happen to bring any coffee did you Michael?”
Michael: “Milk and sugar”
Pam: “Oh, awesome! You’re a lifesaver! Wait…is this just milk and sugar?”
Michael: “That’s what I said.”

Dwight: You don’t crack a case. That has a pejorative connotation, its like calling a policeman a cop. You solve a case!” Dwight then proceeds to tell Jim how he solve the case of the beet bandit as Charles looks on disapprovingly and eventually informs them "You two are morons."

David: “You’re talking about a multimillion dollar buyout. Your company cannot be worth that much.”
Michael: “Our company is worth NOTHING! That’s the difference between you and I”

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Dastardly Dwight

Trying to get an edge back into the paper company, Michael asks Dwight for inside information on some of Dunder Mifflin’s clients. They arrange clandestine meetings for Dwight to hand over the secret intelligence, but to Michael’s great dismay, Dwight double crosses him and brings Charles along to their meeting. Charles tells Michael that he has to stop pestering Dwight for company secrets immediately. Trouble escalates when Dwight invites the employees of “Michael Scott Paper Company” out to lunch only to be a no-show. While they are away from the company at the restaurant, Dwight uses the opportunity to sneak into the “Michael Scott Paper Company” office and rob their possessions, while taking their client list and depositing a fish in the ceiling. Michael then proceeds to call Dwight on the phone to have him listen in as he obtains one of Dunder Mifflin’s top clients. In response, Dwight races over and barges in on Michael’s meeting. Its quite a change to see Dwight working against Michael, his “personal hero.”

I thought that Andy was far too gullible when Jim tells him that he was breaking up with Pam, due to the brief advice that Andy had provided. Especially when Jim says he is emotionally needy and he proceeds to cry on Andy’s shoulder. Andy has known Jim for quite some time. By now he should be used to Jim’s pranks, and a little more sceptical about Jim’s unusual actions.

After learning that Dwight has sabotaged the “Michael Scott Paper Company,” Michael tells Dwight that he will eat the sandwich that he had order for Dwight. Dwight says “And I knew you would do that. Their meatball parm is their WORST sandwich.”

“Paper is the MANURE! On time delivery is the SOIL!” This is Dwight’s reaction upon hearing Michael misquote him.

“Green means go, so I know to go ahead and shut up about it.” Michael’s explanation of his Rolodex system after Dwight makes a blunder and insults a client by reading off the back of one of the cards.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Pancake Power

It turns out that “Michael Scott Paper Company” is actually located in a tiny room beneath the washrooms and every time the toilet flushes, they hear the unpleasant noise. Pam and Ryan have difficulty getting along so Michael designated them each a personal corner to sit in. Eventually, Pam got so frustrated with the set-up that she went up to Dunder Mifflin and asks Charles for her old job back, only to learn that the position has already been filled and she is not needed at Dunder Mifflin in any capacity. Michael held a pancake bunch to attract new clients. Turnout is quite low, but some of his former employees come over to see Michael in action. Creed takes a few of the paper shaped pancakes into his coat before tasting one and realizing they are yucky. Nevertheless, the pancake party is not a complete flop because Pam manages to meet a potential client at the party and afterwards he calls to place an order.

Meanwhile, at Dunder Mifflin, Jim is still facing difficulty in dealing with Charles. Jim was asked to compile a run-down, but he did not know what a run-down was and he was too intimidated to ask Charles to explain since he did not want to come across as a fool yet again.

His unfavourable interactions with Charles are likely making Jim reflect upon and further appreciate the dynamic he had with Michael when Michael was his boss. In time, I expect that Jim will leave Dunder Mifflin and join the “Michael Scott Paper Company”


Funny moments of the week

After securing their first sale, Michael remarked, “Who would have thought that the thing that would save this company would be work and pancakes”

The new receptionists name was also Kelly, so Kelly Kapoor, who is still sweet on Charles, took advantage of this fact, and every time that Charles called for Kelly, she appeared and said, “Yes Charles, you wanted me,” hoping that if she said this enough times he actually would want her. Jim remarked that, “its not the worst plan she has ever had”

Entrepreneurial Excitement

Michael greeted Pam at his front door dressed only in his bathrobe, clearly not ready to greet the challenge of starting up his new business, “Michael Scott Paper Company”. Pam proposed that they compile a list to make the daunting task more manageable. Michael decided that they should begin by assembling a strong sales team. Still a Ryan fan, Michael went to the bowling alley where Ryan was currently employed and they recruited him without much difficulty. While leaving the bowling alley, Ryan stole several pairs of bowling shoes. Pam apologized to the owner as they left the establishment in a hurry. The next item on their to-do list was to secure investors for the new business. They visited a retirement home and Michael made an appeal to his grandmother’s investment club. After a brief moment of consideration, his grandmother turned him down with a definitive no. However, Michael did make some progress as he secured a location for the company. The space he found for “Michael Scott Paper Company” is actually in the same building as their previous place of employment.

At the Dunder Mifflin’s office, Charles Miner was under the impression that Andy was a soccer fan because he noticed soccer pictures on his computer. Although he wasn’t really knowledgeable about the sport, Andy tried to make himself sound more informed on the subject to appeal to his boss. Jim got himself into an even stickier situation, as he led Charles to believe than he played soccer and a match was arranged for the end of the day. Jim’s strategy to appear skillful was to touch the ball as little as possible and praise teamwork. His strategy did not pan out. When Charles kicked the ball in his general direction, Jim ducked and the ball hit Phyllis in the face. Dwight turned to him and knowingly questioned, “Yeah Jim, why would an experienced soccer player such as yourself duck at the very last moment?”

I predict that Michael’s new company will be a great success. Granted, when he was the boss of the Scranton branch he sometimes came across as foolish and incompetent, however, in his own way Michael is able to produce positive results. Although sometimes misguided in his efforts, it seems as though he really has good intentions. After all, when he worked for Dunder Mifflin, he had one of the top selling branches so he was called into corporate headquarters to divulge his winning formula. It will be interesting and entertaining to see how he gets the Michael Scott Paper Company up and running.


Funny moments of the week

Jim spoke to the camera and reflected on his past work performance, “I’ve never been a kiss-up, that was never how I operated. I’ve always subscribed to the idea that if you really want to impress your boss you do mediocre work half-heartedly.”

While appealing to his nana’s investment club, Michael said “My mission is stated as follows, I will not be beat, I will never give up I am on a mission that is the Michael Scott guarantee.”

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Quitting Quandary

After giving in his two week notice, Michael astounded the office coworkers as he became even more goofy and annoying than usual, topping his typical degree of disruptive inappropriate behaviour. As Charles, the manager, interviewed external candidates to replace Michael as regional manager, Michael talked to a potential applicant and learned that there were very few job opportunities at the moment. Michael decided that rather than looking for a new job, he would start up his own "Michael Scott Paper Company." He then proceeded to approach the office staff members and he tried to convince them to join his company to little avail. Charles learned about Michael's activities and he had him escorted off the premises. Michaels crawled back in to make one more plea, and this time he was successful at getting Pam the receptionist to join his new company, with the stipulation that she would now be a salesperson. They walked off together in silence, likely pondering their drastic career moves, and lack of concrete plans for the future.

As an employee, there have been times where I have wanted to escape my job and move on to something better, however, I have learned to appreciate the fact that jobs are not always available, and at times it is best to just stick it out. Granted, Michael was upset about Charles' intrusion into the Scranton branch, however, it was quite foolish of him to quit with no real prospects for the future. I predict that he will be back at the Scranton branch before long.

Funny moments of the week:
When Michael tried to recruit Jim as a salesman for his new paper company Jim told him, "I am not going to do this and you are not going to either. Here's the thing, what I wish for you is that you land a job at a company that A) exists and B) has a salary because they are set up to do that kind of thing"
It was also funny to see Michael literally crawl back into the office after being walked out by security.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Michael's Manager Misfortune

Michael prepared a special "C" shaped bagel breakfast to welcome Charles, the new manager, to the Scranton branch, with high hopes for their impending relationship. However, the manager had no interest in Michael's petty jokes and pitiful comedy routines, and he expressed displeasure with the way that he was running the branch. Charles was focused on maximizing productivity and dispensing with the silly nonsense that was so prominent. Michael was further upset when Charles disbanded the party planning committee that was supposed to be planning Michael's 15th Anniversary party. He was so distraught with Charles' changes to the branch that he went to David Wallace at corporate headquarters to complain. David promised Michael that he could still have his party, but Michael was so troubled that he quit right then and there.

It was not just Michael that got off to a rough start with Charles. When Charles arrived, Jim was wearing a tuxedo, because he was trying to make a statement about observing the dress code, since he had been singled out by Dwight as a dress code offender. Charles was not amused in the slightest, and he felt that Jim was a slacker who was making a mockery of the office.

The incidents that transpired on "The Office" bring to mind the fact that the atmosphere of the office is very dependent upon the leadership style of the individuals in charge. Michael probably falls at the far end of the lackadaisical spectrum, so it will be interesting to see how the office fares if Charles becomes a more dominant presence at the office. Perhaps the reason that the Scranton branch was so succesful was because of Michael's relaxed leadership style, so it would be interesting to see the effect of new management on the staff.

Funny moment of the week:
When Jim approached Charles to tell him that he was the number two in the office and he held the position of assistant to the regional manager. Charles asked if there were any responsibilities that went with the title and Jim said no. It was comical when Charles said in a incredulous manner "you want to keep this made up position"

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Ticket Trouble Turnaround

Michael got a brainwave for a promotion inspired by "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." His hid five golden tickets in the paper shipments, and the customers who recieved the golden tickets were given a 10% discount off their paper order. However, it turned out that Michael did not distribute the golden tickets well and all of the prizes ended up with their largest customer, thereby giving them a 50% discount. Naturally, Michael's bosses were not pleased, so Michael blamed the whole promotion fiasco on Dwight. However, it turned out that the customer was so happy with the amazing discount that they decided to make Dunder Mifflin their exclusive provider of their office suppies. The bosses were thrilled with this news and congratulated Dwight. Michael then tried to get Dwight to admit to the true originator of the idea and it finally came out that Michael was responsible.

During the episode, Jim, Pam and Andy were all giving Keven advise about how to woo a woman that he was interested in. I though that Andy's advise was so weird when he told Kevin to ignore the women and insult her. I don't think that Kevin would get too far listening to that kind of advise.

Funny Moment of the Week:
Michael disclosing that he has plans to create a men's shoe store called "Shoe La La" that specializes in shoes for "special occasions in a man's life, like the day that you get married, or the day your wife has a baby or for just lounging around the house"

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Valentines Vacancy

Recognizing that a preponderance of office staff lacked a Valentine on Valentines Day, Michael decided to throw a Lonely Hearts party where singles could mingle. Moreover, he was hoping that a certain lady he met at the mobile blood bank would show up. She did not appear. The office staff wasn’t wholeheartedly in the spirit of the party, as Dwight tried to turn his potential suitor into a client to no avail.

Meanwhile, Jim and Pam had a couple’s meal with Phylis and her husband, only to have Phylis and Bob leave them during the meal so they could express their love to one another in the handicapped washroom. Jim and Pam were shocked to learn this, and they didn’t quite know what to say upon the resumption of their meal.

Whenever I go out to meals, it is usually encouraged that friends can take fries off each other’s plates. It was surprising and funny to see Pam bite into Bob’s steak when he left the table.

Funny moment of the week:
The office coworkers went back to the blood bank for the sole purpose of getting free cookies. They pretended to still be woozy from giving blood, however they had cotton balls over their supposed blood wounds, when the blood bank has been using band-aids. Furthermore, as they tried to abscond with the cookies, Creed walked out with bags of blood.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Holly Hope

This week, Micheal continued his lecture circuit of the Dunder Mifflin branches, bringing Pam along as his assistant. She encouraged him that they should go to Holly's branch to do a presentation so that he could either get closure or rekindle the relationship. Upon arriving, Micheal learned that Holly was away from the branch on business, and that she has a new boyfriend, A.J. Micheal proceeded to inappropriately grill A.J. during his presentation. Afterwards, Michael went to her desk and noticed a file on her computer that was addressed to him. He burned the file to his USB key, and he cut a piece of her sweater sleeve for a personal momento.

Back at the office, Jim and Dwight were having great difficulty throwing Kelly a birthday party. They did a lousy job decorating and spelt her name wrong on the cake, much to her dismay. In the end, they let Kelly pick a theme for her party. She chose the theme of nap time and proceeded to sleep under the conference room table until Dwight woke her by banging metal lids together.

I found the whole birthday party story line to be quite amusing. At my previous workplace, it seemed like we were always having a party. They were enjoyable, however, they often detracted from productive work. This was highlighted in The Office, as Kelly was sleeping on company time. Although birthday celebrations are fun, perhaps they should be celebrated outside of working hours.

Funny moment of the week:
When Michael cut off the piece of Holly's sweater for a keepsake.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Emergency Exercise

Angered that the office staff was not paying attention to his presentation, Dwight decided to test them with a practical emergency scenario. He lit a garbage can on fire, heated the door handles, and put firecrackers on the floor causing the room to cloud with smoke. The office dissolved into chaos. Everyone was fighting to get to the door in a state of panic. The pressure of the situation proved to be too much for Stanley and he had a heart attack. Naturally, Dwight got in trouble for his irresponsible actions, and was asked to present the staff with a statement of regret.

In his misguided effort to be a caring boss, Michael responded to Stanley’s heart attack by engaging the office staff in meditation exercises. Unfortunately, instead of relaxing the staff, Michael proceeded to further stress them out. Each time he approached Stanley, his stress monitor would sound a large series of beeps, which would disappear when Michael receded. Michael was distraught to learn that he produced negative feelings amongst his staff, so he told them he would hold a roast and give them all an opportunity to hurl insults at him. By the end of the roast, Michael was devastated. He took the next morning off for some personal reflection. Eventually, he came back into the office and made peace with the staff by hurling insults back at them until he felt they were even.

Aside from Michael’s unnerving presence, I do not think I would have been able to benefit from the meditation. I have tried meditation before in a peer setting and it did not work for me. The whole time I just couldn’t wait for it to be over, and I found the relaxation pose to be quite uncomfortable.

Funny moment of the week:
Trying to save her cat from the fire, Angela threw it up into the loft, only to have it fall through the ceiling seconds later. As well, Oscar tried to escape into the ceiling to no avail and his legs poked through the roof to the horror of the office staff. Their shocked expressions were hilarious.
This episode was quite comical and entertaining. It was a noticeable improvement from the shows that have been broadcasted over the past few months.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Deceptive Deeds

In this week's episode, Michael's boss asked him to obtain their competitor's client list, so Dunder Mifflin could increase their business. Michael took Dwight on an undercover mission to "Prince Paper", and they took turns going into the shop under false identities to try and trick the owner of "Prince Paper" into divulging client information. Eventually, Michael was successful and obtained the list, however, while exiting the parking lot, he smashed the front of his car, and the owner of "Prince Paper" came to the resue, so Michael began to second guess his actions taking advantage of the owner.

Michael showed his compassionate side in this episode, as he wanted to protect the "Prince Paper" company after they were so kind to him. Nevertheless, business decisons sometime involve letting someone down, in order to maximize personal gains.

Back at the office, the staff spent the day deciding whether or not Hilary Swank qualified as hot. When they could not settle the discussion with a vote, they took turns making arguments to support their position. Eventually, the tie was solved by a comment from Michael who passed by and said that she was hot.

I have worked in an office before, and I am familiar with the fact that there is free time in the day, but it is kind of wacky that "The Office" staff is able to devote so much of their workday to a nonsense discussion about Hilary Swank's appeal.

Funny moment of the week:
Dwight says: "You're heart is a wonderful thing Michael, but it makes some terrible decisions."
Michael: "That's true, it has gone down the wrong path many, many times - Jan, Ryan..."

Friday, January 16, 2009

Surprising Situations

When Michael was called into the head office, he thought he was being summoned to account for a mistake. To his surprise, he was being congratulated for having the most successful branch. The chief financial officer tried to pick Michael's brain to find out the secret behind his success during these harsh economic times, but instead Michael uttered a prolonged unintelligible sentence.

In my experience, at some work meetings very little actually gets accomplished. A lot of the time, it appears as though meetings are merely called for the purpose of the team members seeing eachother face-to-face, to reinforce feelings of togetherness. I've been at several meetings where everyone just sat around bored with nothing constructive to do. While meeting with a superior, I find that the meetings run the most smoothly when participants are given the subject of the meeting beforehand so that there is time to prepare material and collect one's thoughts.

Also, during this episode, Andy discovered that Angela has been having an affair with Dwight. Andy was shocked to learn this news, and he promptly confronted Angela, who admitted that she was still sleeping with Dwight, "a little bit". Andy then confronted Dwight, and they decided to have a duel to determine who belonged with Angela. In response, Angela said, "I will respect the results of the duel".

I am glad that Andy has finally finished with Angela, because she never really seemed to love him. It appeared as though she was only in a relationship with Andy to get even with Dwight for running over her cat. Dwight also called off his relationship with Angela in this episode when he learned that she slept with Andy whilst she was sleeping with him. I predict that Angela and Dwight will eventually get back together sometime in the future.

Funny moment of the week:
When Michael wanted to tell Andy that his fiance was having an affair with Dwight, he asked Andy to accompany him to the parking lot. Michael waited until he was securely in his car with the engine on an then he blurted out, "Dwight and Angela are having an affair, they have been sleeping together for some time." then he drove away.