Gretch-a-sketch (old)

Quick raise of the hands—who remembers what you were doing the night of May 11, 2006?

If you’re anything like me, that date has been forever stamped into your brain as the original airing of Casino Night, the Season Two Office Finale. Also known as The Most Singularly Great Work of Television Ever Produced. As a stand-alone episode, it’s fabulous in many regards. But as the capstone to the best season of tv ever, it is monumental. (I’m completely serious here. I’ve watched a lot of shows and nothing, I repeat, nothing can hold up to the begin-to-finish of Season Two. You can disagree, but you’d also be wrong.)

I should point out that this post obviously spoils everything about the episode, but this isn’t a post about how wonderful Casino Night is as a whole. I’d have plenty of material—there is nary a weak joke to be seen. The show needs to utilize Steve Carell’s writing more often, but that’s challenging when your main star is also one of Hollywood’s current comedy darlings. If you want to read a really comprehensive and well-written recap of the show, James (the creator of Northern Attack) wrote one here.

Instead, this is a post about Jim, Pam, and how the journey of two fictional characters completely altered the course of my life. Dramatic, much? Yeah, but it’s also true. I watched a few episodes of The Office back in the first season and loved it immediately. Unfortunately, I was also wrapped up in AP tests, boys, and getting ready to leave for my first semester of college only a few weeks after graduation. The show didn’t enter my radar that fall, because our lousy tv only got fuzzy, tin-foiled reception of ABC and PBS. (This lead to a short-termed McLoveAffair with Grey’s Anatomy.) I caught The Injury a couple months into my winter semester at home and that was that. I trolled the internet for spoilers and read the scripts of the episodes I’d missed. I was in love. Like any good story, a large part of my love was built into the romance of one Jim Halpert and Pam Beesly. Also like any good story, the romance didn’t come easy. This is namely because of one tiny, dull, $80 diamond on Pam’s left ring finger. (Stupid [swear word] Roy! Sorry, I just have to get that out of my system once in a while.)

And you know why nothing happened between Jim and Pam in the five-plus years they worked together? All in all, they’re average people just like you and I who are terrified of pushing boundaries and really exposing who they are. There are exceptions to this rule, but if there’s anything I’ve learned as a psych major, it’s that people don’t like change. Jim and Pam could stay within their carefully constructed borders of flirting and pranking without much modification of their outside lives. Both wanted something different outside of Dunder Mifflin, but it was comfortable. The comfort level was more so to Pam, because she had her engagement to fall back on, but even Jim tried dating to no avail. And heck, who isn’t scared stiff by the mere thought of telling your best friend that you truly, madly, deeply love them? (I kind of hate myself for quoting Savage Garden just then.)

Despite the fact that Jim and Pam were both too chicken to own up to their feelings for so long, it being television, you knew something was going to happen in the season finale. I mean, how nice would it be if real life worked this way? “Oh, it’s mid-May. I guess he’ll be kissing me in the next couple days.” But I digress. In the episodes leading up to CN, progress was made fairly rapidly. Jim was planning on being in Australia for the wedding, they practically acted like a couple during Michael’s Birthday, and Pam eventually realized that Jim wasn’t thrilled with hearing wedding talk all the time. Even the progression of CN seems to echo the intensity of their S1&2 interactions, as seen in the following scenes.

1. The opening prank with Dwight and the coat rack. These two kids work seamlessly together. Good fun and it illustrates just how close they are as friends.
2. ‘Til Death Do Us Rock! Banter and note how Pam grabs Jim’s hand. Physical contact is rare, but when it happens, it’s chaste and Jim still gets worked up by it.
3. The poker scene—they’re both taken in by the glory of the warehouse-turned-gambling parlor and let their guard down a little. Here the flirting is public. The co-workers would have to be blind or Creed not to pick up on the cues that get sent out every once in a while.

Finally, FINALLY, in The Parking Lot of Doom, the dynamic is instantly transformed. My hats off to Jenna and John for some of the best acting they have ever done. I watched this in slack-jawed, stunned silence. That raw honesty that Jim exudes is enough to make millions of girls go weak in the knees. (There’s a brief interlude in which Michael unknowingly sums up the show in a few words. “Love triangle drama. All worked out in the end, though. The hero got the girl. Who saw that coming? I did!”)

Cut to the dimly lit and abandoned office. Pam does what any sensible girl would do and calls her mom (from Jim’s desk, of all places). The “Yeah, I think I am” line is merely another log on the fire of heated speculation that filled out that summer. What follows is the clincher for my already-obsessed mind—Jim strides into the office and wraps up Pam in his arms and kisses her so passionately and tenderly that even Wesley and Buttercup couldn’t compete. Ladies, am I right in saying that all we really want is to be kissed like that? Guys, it wouldn’t hurt to take notes of Jim’s technique. Fade to black and fin.

The beauty of these scenes lies in the fact that I can watch them over and over and still get as emotionally involved as the time before. The kiss encapsulates everything that I think love should be— straightforward, sincere, ardent, and reciprocated. I don’t know everything about love, but I do know that I want someone who loves me as fervently as Jim loves Pam. It’s like what Mac said in Juno, “In my opinion, the best thing you can do is find a person who loves you for exactly what you are. Good mood, bad mood, ugly, pretty, handsome, what have you, the right person will still think the sun shines out your ass. That's the kind of person that's worth sticking with.” Holla, J. Jonah Jameson! To my hopelessly romantic heart, the Jim and Pam narrative is a romance that will go down in history with the likes of Elizabeth and Darcy. I don’t know how their tale will end, but I know it will be epic.

(Okay, I’m going to try my hardest not to go into S3, because the JAM story line was so disastrously screwed up from the beginning right up to the penultimate episode. Beach Games was good and The Job was great, but neither can make up for the [swear word] that was the Jim and Karen catastrophe.)

Tomorrow night is the Season Four finale, a season that has been far too short, thanks to the [swear words] over the AMPTP. I’m not sure what to anticipate, but I have very high expectations. I do not think it will match the majesty of Casino Night, but I’m still going to wear my Dunder Mifflin shirt, eat grilled cheese, and (fingers crossed) maybe slightly relive how I felt two years ago.

Dinkin' flicka.

Does anyone ever (Edit: Fetch! I hate it when I don't catch my mistakes, especially when it's 24 hours after posting!) really make those recipes they have on the back of the box?

I didn't think so.


1. Apricot Jam--With a name like Smucker's, it has to be good. (Honestly, the name Smucker's doesn't sound that appealing. Good jam, though.)


2. Leftover cream cheese frosting from Pioneer Woman's Carrot Cake. (Ree is my latest blog obsession! Anyone that can convince that it'd be fun to give up my modern comforts and fall in love with a smoldering hot cowboy and herd cows has to be someone very special, since I'm, uh, mildly terrified of cows. Shut up!)


3. Peanut butter and melted marshmallows--some assembly required. First, you take the graham. Wait, wrong recipe! (I'm on roll with the Sandlot references! "I thought you said the great bambi...") Okay, place about 6-8 crackers on a pan and spread with your choice of peaunt butter and top it off with three mini marshmallows. Place under the broiler for a few minutes until the marshmallows are golden brown. Sandwich another Ritz on top. Then you scarf. Kind of messy, but good! (Have lots of milk nearby.)


Tangent time! I love Target more than Jenna Fischer loves, well, Target. Enter here to win a $100 gift card.

Dear Mom,

I wish I could be there when you realize that your favorite (okay, and only) daughter is writing a letter to you ON THE INTERNET. Heaven forbid! Anyhow, I just wanted to thank you for being an awesome mom to me for these past almost twnty-one years. From you, I’ve inherited a love for the library, atrocious handwriting, common sense, a complete lack of coordination, and let’s not forget my striking good looks. You’ve taught me many important lessons, including (but not limited to) the following:

1. You can do everything, you just can’t do everything at once.
2. Nobody ever died from not being able to fall asleep. (Actually, this isn’t true, but it got me through many a sleepless night in my youth.)
3. Find people who are not only good to you, but good for you.
4. You’ve got to get up every morning and show the world all the love in your heart. (Technically, this belongs to Carole King, but it wouldn’t be a letter to you without acknowledging our mutual love of the best female singer/songwriter out there.)
5. You’ll want to wear a slip under that skirt.
6. Also, nylons. (Well, at least I follow #5.)
7. You don’t need to measure out everything in the recipe exactly.
8. Nothing quite makes a home like fresh flowers do.
9. Beauty is pain. There’s no getting around it.
10. Do things that help restore your soul.

The year I came up for my sophomore year, you mailed me a piece of paper the size of an index card. It reads: “Love learning! Eat well! Be happy! Be healthy! Laugh lots! Always remember—you are loved!” I’ve kept that card by my bed ever since and tried hard to follow the rules listed. Really, I don’t think there’s much more anyone can ask for in this life.

I love you!

Love,
Gretchen

P.S. Someday we’ll go to Italy together—I just know it.

I never liked playing tag in elementary school, because I am the opposite of a fast runner. I'd always get tagged first and then spend for-EV-er [/Squints] trying to get close enough to the other kids so I could end the misery and maybe catch my breath, if I was lucky to last that long. But blog tagging? Everyone wins! I believe what it says on the Alamodome--we are all winners! [/Miss Texas]

Elisabeth tagged me for the six random things meme, which I've always kinda wanted to do, so yay!

Post the rulez on your blog:

- Write six random things about yourself in a blog post

- Tag six however many people you want in your post

- Let each person know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog

- Let the tagger know your entry is up.

(Intro: In a fit of brilliance and/or boredom, I decided to do this Six Degrees style, a la Ken Jennings.)

1. For all the post-strike episodes, Office Tally has arranged for fans to ask questions of the writers. Brent Forrester and Justin Spitzer wrote "Did I Stutter?" and actually answered my question! How cool is that? I have had semi-contact with the writers of The Office. I'll let you guys figure out which question was mine... Also, am I the only who thinks it's weird that Dwight keeps putting odd substances on Michael's head? Last week it was vaseline and the week before it was peanut butter. Oh, Dwight! You need to get back with Angela STAT.

2. In second grade, we had a writing prompt about what we would do if we opened a brand new jar of peanut butter and "HELP!" was scratched into the otherwise shiny top? My story involved using a recliner-turned-rocket to go into space to save the aliens. (The aliens were the ones in distress, natch.) To this day, every time I break out a new jar I wonder if this will be the time I find the call for help.

3. Help! is an incredible Beatles album, but it's not my favorite. That honor goes to the one and only Abbey Road. It's so tightly-crafted from start to finish, which is ironic given that the band was so not tight at that period. George Harrison is at his absolute peak and John and Paul aren't half-bad, either. Maybe someday I'll do a full review of what I love about it...there is so much I could write. From the opening shoop of "Come Together" to the bizarre and yet somehow apropos finish of "Her Majesty," Abbey Road will forever hold a place in my musical heart.

4. While other girls dreamed of being the long-lost daughters of Her Majesty the Queen, I dreamed of being the long-lost daughter of Tim and Jill Taylor. Yes, I wanted desparately to be the fourth child on Home Improvement. This show was my first taste into traditional sitcoms and it was the one show we would watch as a family on a weekly basis. Remember when the NASA astronauts visited and Gothic Mark and jokes about Al's mother? Amazing.

5. I had this astronaut uniform as a young'un that I'd decorate with badges from the Forest Service and my grandpa's old Army pins. I wanted so bad to go into space. That dream turned into deciding to be an aerospace engineer in high school and that dream turned into one day of engineering classes in college. Yeah, not for me. I liked the idea of it, but the thought of actually doing that for the rest of my freaking life had me a little keyed up and not in a good way. I dropped those classes like they were hotter than Ben Affleck in Armageddon and moved on.

6. I keep a keychain of Malibu Barbie on my keys. The reasoning behind this is tri-fold. 1) It's really easy to grab out of my purse. 2) It reminds me of my time at the toy store and also of high school, when a few friends called me "Barbie." Blond and skinny will get you that. 3) Depending on my mood, it signifies that a) I can be a strong, capable, multi-talented woman, because Barbie's an awesome girl power symbol or b) I don't want to be conformist (see: high school) and Barbie's the ideal symbol of people who need distraction from the pathetic emptiness of their meaningless, consumer-driven lives. [/Kat Stratford] Plus, she's also super cute and probably has a slew of hot boyfriends, named Brent or Justin.

Tag! The Roommate Edition: Marlayna, KK, and Elise! You're it!

This is one of my favorite movie scenes ever, no battle. Elizabeth Shue, I adore you!

1. Friday night was one of those booooring nights. At least, it was until 9 o'clock, when I looked up times for Be Kind Rewind and five minutes later left the house to go see it. I went by myself and sat down in the back and had such a good time. The movie's about two kinda weird guys--one who runs the ghetto VHS rental store and the other who just hangs around when he's not living in the junkyard. At one point, the psycho neighbor played by Mia Farrow praises the sweded version of Driving Miss Daisy because "it's got heart." Be Kind Rewind at first seemed like an unlikely candidate for a movie with heart, but it's more sincere and sweet than any movie I've watched in a long time. Jerry's version of the Ghostbusters song had me laughing hysterically, as did many other moments. I would also make out with Jack Black in an instant--I can't explain why I like him, I just do.

2. Q and Edge tagged me for the book meme, so here goes!

The Rules:

1. Pick up the nearest book.

2. Open to page 123.

3.Find the fifth sentence.

4.Post the next three sentences.

5. Tag five people and post a comment to the person who tagged you once you've posted your three sentences.

From French Women Don't Get Fat, by Mireille Guiliano: "Alternatively, before putting the vegetables through the food mill, reserve 2 cups and add them to the soup just before serving. The 'crunchy' vegetables will contrast with the velvety soup and will also force you to eat more slowly and thus satisfy you will less. This was the evening version; the smooth lunch variant was accompanied with Mother's yummy pancakes."

Clearly, it's from a recipe page. I'm actually not that far into it yet, but since it's non-fiction I felt okay about skipping ahead. So far all the book has accomplished is to make me crave French pastries more. I'm going to be a Bad Blogger and not tag anyone, just 'cause I don't really feel like it right now.

3. Speaking of pastries, I've been on a major cupcake blog kick right now. Heck, who isn't into the cupcake trend? I used the vanilla cupcake recipe from the Magnolia Bakery (made famous by SATC, immortalized by Andy Samberg and Chris Parnell). It's no wonder people shell out insane amounts of money for these, because they are t to the a to the s-t-e-y. (Okay, I KNOW that's not how tasty is spelled, but I can't pass up an opportunity to quote Fergalicious.) I've tried a few different recipes before (Martha Stewart's are too dense for me), but these were heaven. Buttery and moist and oh-so-scrumptious! I also cheated and used Betty Crocker chocolate frosting--next time I'll make the real stuff and actually decorate them.

2. Chuparosa Dress I don't really know what a chuparosa is, but it sounds like something you'd buy for dessert at Taco Town. I'd pair the dress with a light, cottony cardigan from J.Crew.

3. Cute-as-a-button Clutch The detail on this is stunning. I mean, it has real buttons and leather buttons and also tiny leather leaves!

Bonus: Ribbit Necklace You can't tell in this picture, but there's a miniature golden frog on the pendant. I don't pull off chunky necklaces very well, which is why I love delicate accents on my jewelry.

Despite waking up to this:

May is finally here! I've listened to Camelot's "The Lusty Month of May" every year on the first of this month since before I can remember. Check this out it all its promiscuous and uninhibited Medieval glory.

The cons of today:
-Of the past thirteen hours, I spent exactly ten minutes at home.
-Five of those hours were spent at my stupid Brain Lab, where the first two hours were basically useless because of the blasted program not working properly! ARGH!
-Okay, you know how it's the freaking last day of April? Temperatures were most definitely in the 30s today with light flurries of snow! SNF.
-Due to never being home, I didn't get around to doing laundry, which needed to be done in a bad, bad way.
-We were chatting about Twilight at my internship today (maybe a pro?). Listen, I love the books as much as the next girl, but one of the ladies said they were "so well-written." Sure, they're well-written for YA romance/suspense stories about VAMPIRES, but I think she meant in the grand scheme of literature, which slightly annoys me.
-I really needed to drink more water, because when I came home I felt dehydrated. Also, lunch was a pb&j snarfed down at 11:30 AM and dinner was a slice of cheese 'za right after 5. What I said earlier about eating healthier? Maybe after graduation.
-I still have to take a quiz online for my Abnormal Psych class. I should have done that right when I got home, but I needed some downtime, which these days equates to blogging.
-Pretty sure there was more than that, but whatevs. You get the idea.

The pros of today:
-In my neuro class lab this afternoon, we got to take pictures using the super-expensive cameras. I'll put up pictures later this week--some turned out really good.
-When I came home, I made hot chocolate and ate it with some of my roommate's homemade banana bread.
-I also caught my other roommate talking to her banana. You had to be there.
-My former roommate Tif had her wedding yesterday and the reception tonight! I'm so sad I had to miss it, but I'm incredibly happy for her.
-I'm streaming the videos from Madonna's new album in the background. Crazy good.
-It's not really relevant for today, but I wrote this haiku recently about last week's Office. Yay LOTR!

Troy's sales pitch: "Dude, I've
Got this stuff that will take you
There and back again."

-Tomorrow is Thursday!
-Oh yeah, tomorrow is also May Day. For someone with relatively few pagan and communist leanings, my mom loves this holiday more than John Denver loved the Rockies.