The Office

I have never been the kind of person who has been addicted to TV shows, and with the exception of a a brief stint with the paranormal investigations of Mulder and Scully in The X-Files, I just haven't ever been able to keep interested long enough. All of this has changed in the past month or so however, and I am not hooked on NBC's hit comedy, The Office. I don't know if it's because I have recently entered into the every day working world or that I have a soft spot for British humour [albeit now transformed for US audiences] but something about it just keeps me in stitches for a half an hour every Thursday night at 8 or 8:30 [they like to vary the time slot on me.] Here I sit in my IKEA chair, eating macaroni and cheese and sipping on a Pellegrino all while laughing my head off at Dwight spraying a co-worker in the face with pepper spray.

I think part of the appeal is that they have been so able to show how varied relationships between co-workers can be. Being freshly released from architecture school, I have brought my passion for design and dedication to following through on an idea into a world that doesn't always reward one for putting for the extra effort. Some people really are there from 8 to 5 and can only count down the minutes until the clock hit 5. I think that everyone at one point has felt like that at work, and that is what makes The Office so appealing because we can all sympathize with one of the characters. Everyone has got a story about a crazy co-worker who collects bobblehead dolls and sucks up to the boss, or a story about a boss who wants to be so hip and cool with their employees that they schedule a booze cruise as an office team-building exercise and end up getting drunk and dancing like a fool in front of everyone. Throughout all of this the pressures of our jobs are lifted from our shoulders and we feel like our job is great compared to Toby, the poor guy who as to listen to the office couple nag at each other all day long.


All that, and Steve Carell is just so damn funny!!!