So, I woke up today thinking it was going to be a productive day, with me sitting in the lab on my new laptop diligently working on my thesis proposal, grateful that I had the foresight to take classes only on Monday and Tuesday, leaving the rest of my week open for such endeavors. "Why Angela, you sly thing, you even have the luxury of a quiet place to work with only minimal interruptions from equally diligent students!", I boasted.

I was so wrong.

I inadvertently offended my adviser by *gasp* joking around a bit in an e-mail about how busy he was this week. This somehow got turned into a scathing comment on how he's unpopular and not-respected in the department. 

!!!

He later apologized for misunderstanding me, but not before giving me a coronary and causing my imagination to flip through scenarios about being kicked out the program, moving back in with my parents, and working at a go-kart track for the rest of my life.

In the midst of this, the GIS lab had become populated with people who HATED GIS HATED THE TEXT BOOK HATED THE PROFESSOR AND HATED THE PROGRAM FOR REQUIRING THIS RI-GODDAMN-DICULOUS CLASS.

Wonderful! Drop out of school, then. I don't care. Do you have a GIS question for me, or would you like me to wheel in a T.V. tuned to Dr. Phil? Go cry to him. (I'm usually not this cold.)

Then, there is this swirling mystery over a man who keeps trying to contact me by going to my office and calling the GA phone, yet never leaving any contact information. I have a worst-case scenario/person in mind,and if it is this person SHOWING UP TO MY SCHOOL/WORK LIKE A STALKER, I may...well, I don't know actually. Burn Utica to the ground?

So guess how much work I got done on my thesis proposal? Just guess.

Bears.  You never know when they're going to attack.  In a movie theatre.

My psychology-major roommate really enjoyed the altoid gag.  As did I.

Worst wedding.  Wow, Michael is so needy.

PAM.  Guh.  I had a feeling this was going to happen, and I've been telling myself for the last three weeks that I would totally understand if Pam slept with Roy just once, because she's had it really shitty since November and here's someone who's pursuing her and it's not scary, it's really comforting and familiar, but did this have to happen this week?!  I've had a really stressful week, and its only going to get worse in the next few days, and Grey's Anatomy was the complete opposite of comforting, so did The Office really need to air the most heart-rending episode this side of Branch Closing?  Geez.

Usually, I'm all for the drama, the angst, the misunderstanding because it's going to be so worth it.  But this was the one week I needed just fluff.  I think I might need to watch The Sound of Music after this.

Oh! But Toby was so happy!  That may have just made up for everything.  (And BTW, I totally pulled a Ryan at a wedding once, but instead of trying to bat it away, I was trying to bat it toward my friend.  I thought I was being sly, but the photographs are down right embarrassing.)

Ohhhh. Yes.  Just one word, and the whole show is filled with hope again.  Yay!

I kind of felt bad for Andy.  A smidge.  Just when Michael roundly shot him down, and he became sheepish after punching a hole in the wall.  And that was an overreaction.

Ryan and Jim's relationship is getting so interesting.  They both acknowledge that Ryan's an ass.

There need to be more sassy black ladies on The Office.

Angela's such a mess without Dwight!  But not so much of a mess that she'd let Kevin on the PPC.

This was a wonderful episode. Probably my favorite one since.....the...last..one?

Angela was on fire. I mean, I couldn't look directly into her eyes in the closing scene for fear of bursting into flames.

The whole Dwight and Jim dynamic is something I feel like I've waited for the entire run of the series without realizing it. The scene with the phones, and the client was...gah! Brilliant. The hug! They love each other! Like brothers!

I knew Phyllis would pull through for Pam. What a gal!

ANDY. Is pure evil. Heavens. I hate him, but not in the way that I want him gone from the show, it's in the way that I fear how much I love to hate him.

I really like how awful Andy is at selling. And Dwight is so good at it. Michael, are you listening?

This episode really set up good plots for the following episodes. So much happened!

3 writers! I guess they knew the episode was going to require extra awesome.

Oh, Jan. I love how she is finally accepting her awful, awful choices. Acknowledge your stupidity, then run with it, Jan. She's chasing that feeling! I was terrified for Michael for the entire episode. No matter how stupid he is, I always feel so bad for him, like he doesn't deserve the consequences to his actions. He's Michael! He doesn't know any better. When Jan love-throttles him at the end, he has this amazed look on his face like he's not quite sure how any of this happened. Which is understandable, since it's really Jan calling the shots. But when Michael finally surfaces, what does he do? He throws out a completely inappropriate sound bite from Jerry Maguire. All Michael Scott Ever Needed to Know About Life and Love He Learned from Renee Zelweger movies. It's gotten him this far, right?

Rainn Wilson did an awesome job this week. His scene with Pam was really touching. I have to say I was more focused on Dwight's tenative yet earnest comforing of Pam then Pam's desperate sobs. Which is a feat because my admiration for Jenna Fischer's acting knows no bounds. Cupcakes all around.

I actually liked the lack of Jim face time this episode. It's nice to have a step back from his character so we can have a look at what else is going on. And how nice foreveryone to get a piece of Jim's improptu prank on Dwight at the cold open. Hilarious. Ed Helms can do so much in just a short time on screen.

Phone converstion from Thursday:

M. Jeff: "Guess who's on Rachael Ray?"
Mlle Angela: "Jenna Fischer, I know, I just flipped to it."
M. Jeff: "She looks so GOOD. Wow."

And he hates Rachael Ray, so his crush must be pretty strong. Hee!

Oh, Jan. I love how she is finally accepting her awful, awful choices. Acknowledge your stupidity, then run with it, Jan. She's chasing that feeling! I was terrified for Michael for the entire episode. No matter how stupid he is, I always feel so bad for him, like he doesn't deserve the consequences to his actions. He's Michael! He doesn't know any better. When Jan love-throttles him at the end, he has this amazed look on his face like he's not quite sure how any of this happened. Which is understandable, since it's really Jan calling the shots. But when Michael finally surfaces, what does he do? He throws out a completely inappropriate sound bite from Jerry Maguire. All Michael Scott Ever Needed to Know About Life and Love He Learned from Renee Zellweger movies. It's gotten him this far, right?

Rainn Wilson did an awesome job this week. His scene with Pam was really touching. I have to say I was more focused on Dwight's tentative yet earnest comforting of Pam then Pam's desperate sobs. Which is a feat because my admiration for Jenna Fischer's acting knows no bounds. Cupcakes all around.

I actually liked the lack of Jim face time this episode. It's nice to have a step back from his character so we can have a look at what else is going on. And how nice for everyone to get a piece of Jim's impromptu prank on Dwight at the cold open. Hilarious. Ed Helms can do so much in just a short time on screen.

Phone conversation from Thursday:

M. Jeff: "Guess who's on Rachael Ray?"
Mlle Angela: "Jenna Fischer, I know, I just flipped to it."
M. Jeff: "She looks so GOOD. Wow."

And he hates Rachael Ray, so his crush must be pretty strong. Hee!

Thoughts on this week's Office, A Benihana Christmas:

-I love touching moments with Michael. Michael and Jim stole my heart in that one scene on the couch.

-Ryan was awesome. Singing to Alanis! Everyone can get behind Alanis. Cuddling with Kelly! Ryan, coming alive. I like it.

-I thought Phyllis would abdicate quickly to the other party, but I guess not. Maybe she wanted to make Angela feel extra bad by showing her what a horrible time she was having. And, did I miss Bob Vance? Where was he?

-Pam and Karen were adorable. They sort of were acting like bitchy high schoolers there for awhile, but Angela totally deserved it. And Pam needs to recapture some of that feeling I think she missed out on when she was younger.

-Jenna Fischer has the most subtle acting on the show. She's wonderful. The slight concern over Michael on the floor, kinda staring down Karen across the room, but in a curious, not threatened way, her disappointment over Jim not taking the gift, her gentle banter with Roy, kindness to Toby, and my favorite moment, when she realized that Angela deserved to have a good time on Christmas too. Pam teaches us all so many life lessons!

-When Pam went over to Karen's desk, the look on Jim's face reminded me immediately of Relationship George and Independent George colliding. Funny stuff.

-Yes! Jan! (I'm assuming it was Jan on the phone) Being wrong never felt so right.

I was probably spoiled for this episode more than any other, due to my lack of restraint when yahoo posted the clips a full, like week and a half early. There was no new Office last week, I've had a stressful semester, I was weak, I'm sorry! But I don't think it mattered in the end because...EEE! Pam and Jim were VERY cute this episode. Their interactions were limited, not very extensive, but they were HAVING FUN TOGETHER. And that is what this relationship is all about. Not angsty things, not 'completing' each other, but about having simple fun in each others presence. And having your fun and joy expounded by the other person's happiness. And Karen, bless her heart, wanted to be in on the fun too, but Jim was just not having it.

See? See? Angela One said to Angela Two*, he knows! He knows that Pam is simply the one he enjoys being around the most, even vicariously through Andy; (which is, btw, why he Pounced on the chance to coach Andy. He wanted to bizarro-seduce Pam vicariously! He wanted to prove to himself that he knew exactly want she wouldn't want, which means he knows exactly what she would want, and voila, he still knows her better than anyone.)The old spark is still there.

*Angela Two is silly person who lets Some People On The Internet invade her brain with thoughts like "Maybe Jim will stay with Karen" and "Roy and Pam will get back together" and "IT IS SO OVER WITH JIM AND PAM", and Angela One must come over and sooth her with reasonable statements like, "Yes, Karen is lovely, and maybe in another place and time Jim would have been happy with her, but really, we both know he's not over Pam, not by a long shot." and "I'm sure Pam appreciates Roy's new advances in the art of Giving a Damn, but she knows now that he has never made her feel how she feels around Jim, though she will always look upon Roy with fondness."

-There was a baby in the Office. But no Kelly audibly ovulating and dragging Ryan into the supply closet? Curious.

-I am sad that Martin left. He had character potential! The actor who played him seemed very talented. But! This just supports the popular theory that we will have a Stamford-ian leave every episode until there are none left. Which I am in favor of (because that would totally happen in real life, and so we won't have a glut of secondary characters that would take away from the original characters) with one exception:

-Andy. He is a joy. Can't there be a permanent position for Andy? Please? I really don't think Jenna Fischer was acting at all in that last scene with Ed Helms serenading her. She was all "This is the funniest thing I have ever witnessed, but I have to Keep It Together." Which is exactly what Pam was thinking.

- I was expecting not to like this episode that much, because Some People On The Internet (we could shorten it to SPOTI, but I hate that) said it was uncomfortable like Gay Witch Hunt. And Gay Witch Hunt is...eh for me. But I enjoyed Micheal a whole bunch this episode. Prison Mike! That accent was gold. But my favorite Micheal moment was the moment he shared with...

- Toby. This man is a miracle. He KNOWS Micheal. "They're just teasing." If there is one way to get Micheal to recant his childish antics, it's by telling him that other people just wanted to play with him. And Toby understands that so well. Unexpected tenderness. That should be the tagline of the show.

Predictions: I know a little too much about the next episode. (No new spoilers in the New Year! (Um. We'll see.)) But I predict that Jim will come to a realization that he's probably not being fair to Karen. I don't think he'll do anything about it, but the seed will planted in time for Pam to make a big move sometime soon. ANd damn it, I want Pam's art to come into play somewhere! Maybe I've been reading too much fanfic, but it's so symbolic in the show. It has to play apart in Pam and Jim getting together (which they will by the end of season 3. Words? Marked.) preferably by Pam's initiative.