The Office "The Benihana Christmas"

True story folks, I swear on all that is Christmas and all of my awesome (hopefully) presents... True Story. Last night was at the Xmas party for the art house theatre I work for. My friend Nancy (who BTW loves HEROES) came in about an hour late, walked over to the table I was sitting at and sat down next to me.

She reaches into her sidebag and pulls out a Dry-Erase marker. She removes the cap and draws a black line down my arm. "What the hell was that for?" I asked. She looked at me and said I'd find out soon enough and let out an evil chuckle.

All night I kept waiting for the mark on my arm to make sense. She showed it to our friend Sarah and she almost fell out of her seat with laughter. WTF! I start getting annoyed because I seriously have the patience of a fruit fly. Nancy said I needed to wait and in time it would be revealed for all its awesomeness.

I got home from the party at about 11:45 and sat down with some Harney and Sons Holiday Tea, lit the tree and reached for the remote. I selected The Office's 1 hour Christmas show. About 35 minutes later I let out THE BIGGEST LAUGH on earth. A laugh that should not happen at 12:20am. Brilliance. The moment in the show was brilliant but the moment in the restaurant earlier was even more so. Nancy my friend, I tip my hat to you as do all of The Office blogger folks out there!

Okay, onto the show. Not that I can talk about it too much because this episode was definitely on that will reveal its genius the more its watched. There were so many subtle moments and smart gags happening that I really need to see them again to reprocess the funny. I will say that I loved the episode and think it might be one of the best this season. It was not laugh out loud funny but it was high cringe factor funny which is always better than the gaffaw moments. And, it was a little sad - was it not?

I felt horrible for Michael Scott when his Christmas Carol broke up with him. You knew it was coming but sweet lord when he photoshopped his head onto her old family holiday photo you just wanted to die! It was so horrible and insensitive and he just doesn't get it. In Michael's little mind he's doing a very sweet and family thing - painful! I love Steve Carrell. His canceling Christmas is sooooo great. I enjoyed every second of Andy's pick-me-up lunch at Benihana! I loved his "new girlfriend" - both of them. And of course I almost died with joy over the marking of the correct "new girlfriend" so he could tell her apart from the other asian girl. Horribly racist, but pretty brilliant on his part.

Before I forget... Creed taking from the Toy Drive box. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I love that they continue his cleptomaniac storyline in little bits here and there. The reason I thought of this is because I just got back from going to Starbucks with my friend Shelly and we walked by the Food Drive box on our floor and there was really nice spaghetti sauce and pasta in there and she goes "Oh, now I know what I'm having for dinner... though I wish it was Angel Hair instead of regular spaghetti." Yeah, these are the people I hang out with so I can appreciate Creed!

One of the best moments of the night was Pam and Karen bonding over their hatred of Angela and the creation of a second party planning committee. It was cute. It was like middle school. Pam finally found someone her age to hang out with, someone with similar interests... in Jim Halper. That poor boy looked so terrified through most of the episode. His worst nightmare - Pam and Karen becoming friends. He doesn't do well with the love triangle as we all know. I did however appreciate the stand he took as #2 in the Office!

Another favorite moment was Pam's gift to Jim. How amazing that for months now she's been sending Dwight messages from the CIA! Genius! It's so JAM it's not even funny. Her present was that he gets to pick Dwight's big assignment. It was so hard to watch the joy on her face and his turn so quickly as he realizes maybe he shouldn't be doing these pranks with Pam anymore now that he's dating Karen. Sure he disguised it as a work related new position of authority-wouldn't be right scenario but deep down we know it's because of Karen. So sad. Poor Pam. But luckily folks, in the end it all paid off! Jim sent Dwight his final instructions from the CIA. The last we see is Dwight on the rooftop of a building ready to be picked up by helicopter. At the last minute he gets a text saying to abort the mission and to throw away his cell phone. And that he does my friends. JAM WINS!

Other great moments:
- The tension when Stanley stood to decide which party to attend.
- Karen telling Pam that Roy's cute and that Pam should date him. Hella awkward. I love that not all the information has come out yet.
- "Why would I be disappointed?"
- Andy's wingman luncheon
- The used bike
- Oh God, The Goose! I almost forgot about the goose
- The Karaoke cord in the planter
- James Blunt's "Good bye My Lover"
- Sandals, "All Inclusive!"
- Using the Nutcracker's base
- Ryan's endless excuses
- Dwight holding Angela's hand
- Pam felling bad for Angela
- Oscar's return: "too soon"

And finally folks, my favorite moment of the evening...
Angela: "And maybe some green streamers..."
Phyllis: "I thought green was kinda whorish?"
Angela: "No, orange is!"
Poor Phyllis, wearing the orange. The woman cannot catch a break! I love Angela so much. She's amazing and I love that there is no reasoning behind her cruelty. So to celebrate the holiday's and Angela's cruelty I present you with this Office Xmas Design!

Orange Is The New Whorish Green