UngsungBlog: A (Fantasy) Sports Blog

Shhhhh…don’t remind me of what I’ve yet to post this week.

(And with the way the week is shaping up, don’t expect it any time soon.)

Quick-hitters:

- I might have mentioned this before, but there is nothing like going to the Post Office, seeing the huge line, and then dropping off your packages in the drop-off box because you were smart enough to pay for postage online :D.

- Somehow, I walked into Costco, and walked out with a sub-$40 bill!

I’m going to get a phone call from AmEx, for sure, asking me if I really made that small of a purchase :P.

(BTW, I bought some Ruby Red Grapefruit juice today. When the heck did they make this stuff so sweet? It was actually quite tasty!)

- (Warning: beware of The Office spoilers!)

I gotta say that I was quite disappointed in tonight’s episode. I understand, unlike some people I know *cough, cough*, that some episodes have to be utilized to continue existing story lines, or create new ones; clearly, this was geared for the latter. That being said, the episode really felt like it was simply dragging on and on. Not much in the episode particularly amused me, and I almost wanted the episode to end about halfway through it (the scene with the supposed Mr. Dunder absolutely bored me to tears). Seriously, if the writers needed a story line-driving episode, why did they waste an hour-long episode to do this? If today’s episode was split into two episodes, I would have been very satisfied with each episode separately.

Also, WTF was with Toby revealing the Jim-Pam relationship so quickly? I figured the writers were going to drag the secret Jim-Pam relationship a bit, and then Toby went and blew everything out of the water?!?!

Fortunately, the episode took off at about 9:48PM, when Michael took that right turn right into the lake! I swear it reminded me of a scene in Fear Factor.

(I ROTFLMAO’ed there, admittedly.)

Even with the scene where Michael and Dwight attempt to reclaim the second-to-last gift basket (which was really annoying, but clearly that was the point), the last twelve minutes definitely saved tonight’s episode. And who didn’t love Jim saying, “I guess he [Ryan] can’t get…any…girl he wants,” followed by that trademark grin of his?

One thing that bothered me about tonight’s episode were the number of “I knew this was coming” moments. For example:

• I knew Michael was going to reveal some transgression that happened between him and Jan once the memo was issued.
• I knew Angela was going to break up with Dwight as soon as she invited him to dinner that night.
• I knew the car was going into the lake as soon as Michael took the wrong turn. I also knew that Michael didn’t buy renter’s insurance.
• I knew Ryan was going to ask Pam out as soon as he went up to her, asking for help with the Dunder Mifflin Infinity logo.

These moments are the reason why The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is virtually unwatchable now; I can usually get the punchline to three or four of his jokes during each of his monologues.
My favorite moments:

• Dwight releasing the feral cat into the Vance Refrigeration office.
• Toby: “Let’s just wait and see what happens.” (The look on his face rivaled the look on his face in “Beach Games” when he found out that Pam was wearing a two-piece bathing suit.)
• Phyllis explaining to Pam that she (Pam) should not base who gets new clients on who she’s sleeping with.
• Ryan and Jan’s first meeting (”Hello, elephant-in-the-room!”)
• Pam: “I now find you…repulsive.”
• Michael: “You can’t be on the team. You can’t move on to second grade.” (LOL!!!)
• Michael: “I would like to see a web site deliver baskets of food to people.”

Oh yeah…Creed, Kevin, and Andy were great, as usual. The writers need to give Andy more lines!

- The problem with being a rebate-monkey is that you, sometimes, have to deal with rebate centers and their HORRIBLE customer service. Case in point: I filed ten separate rebates on Symantec products over the past few weeks. For each rebate, I made sure to include everything required; I even highlighted any pertinent information on the rebate form and store receipt, to the point where a blind monkey could properly process my rebate.

Apparently Symantec’s rebate processor hired a bunch of dead monkeys, because they found a way to reject NINE of my ten rebate submissions!

(Tangent: Symantec’s rebate processor is Parago, and they’re known for rejecting rebates for no good reason. For every ten rebates I legitimately file with these guys, I expect anywhere from 2-5 rejections. I have never, though, had any more than half of my rebates rejected at one time.)

Now, I don’t want to hear “Well, you’re playing the rebate game, and you crapped out!” or “Well, now you know how rebate companies stay in business!” I’m fully aware of these facts. But, what really is bugging me is the fact that I have sent Parago a bunch of emails, inquiring about these rebates, and they have yet to respond to my inquiries (and it’s been over 72 hours; usually, it takes 24 hours to get a response).

I hope I don’t have to file a claim with the BBB, FTC, or my state Attorney General.

- Finally, if you haven’t seen this fantastic example of intarweb-uber-pwnage, please take the time to read it.

Cliffs: A supposed “spectacularly beautiful” and “articulate and classy” girl wants $500k/yr man to leech off buy her whatever she wants sweep her off her feet. She goes so far as to ask where these guys hang out, and what a girl has to do to find such a guy. Like she says, at least she’s being upfront about it. Guy responds, using a bunch of economic and financial terms, putting the woman in her place. Hilarity ensues.

Best line of the article:  “By the way, you could always find a way to make your own money and then we wouldn’t need to have this difficult conversation.”

Enjoy!

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