My daughters gave me a DVD of season 1 of The Office for my birthday. To “wrap” it they enclosed it in Jello. If you’ve seen the show you’ll get the joke. I’ll explain it for the rest: One of the practical jokes one character plays on a co-worker is to put his office supplies, such as a stapler, in Jello.
Yes, we ate it after recovering the DVD. It doubled as a birthday cake (we’re not big cake eaters). Mmmmmm . . . Jello!
It was my favorite flavor: Red. (A restaurant in Tulsa pulled off the neat double oddity of listing “Red Jello” – not strawberry, not cherry, but red - as a vegetable.)
P.S. My wife gave me a TiVo and had some interested friends set it up. I am usually somewhat of an ”early adopter” with technology and such – digital photography, computers, MP3 players, etc. The notable exception has been in the TV area. The friends were aghast that I was still using VHS tapes to record TV shows and were glad to help out. They deemed it an “intervention.”
To make matters worse, the TV in the living room is so old that they couldn’t connect the TiVo to it. They had to put it in the game room, which of course disappointed my daughters to no end (it is their primary TV). In theory, this was my gift. In theory.
Hopefully this just leads to less commercial watching and not more TV watching!
Filed under: Family / fun
Maybe you could explain something for me. What is so funny about that show? I’ve watched it twice, and both times it was a total snooze fest.
It’s an absolutely hilarious show. I don’t like the camera work (sometimes to jerky), but the way the characters sometimes directly address the camera is a technique that I think works great.
The first season came while I was taking an MBA class on HR techniques. I tried to convince the professor to watch it. In fact, I wanted to watch her watch it. The guys would be sued so many different ways.
TT, I understand that you don’t get it. My experience is that people either love the show or find it “a total snooze fest” like you. There’s no in between.
Happy Birthday Neil! How messy was the DVD? How did they protect it?
P.S. I don’t get the jello from the office. I’ll ask my son, he’s a bigger fan than me. I had to miss some shows for my class.
Hey Randy – I added an explanation to the post re. the joke (I realize that was a bit of a tease). One of the practical jokes one character plays on a co-worker is to put his office supplies, such as a stapler, in Jello.
We started watching it over the holidays while at some in-laws and got hooked.
Yes, that could be a training class for what not to do. In real life the guy would get fired weekly.
The DVD cleaned up nicely. Gotta love the plastic covering.
Happy birthday!
I knew you had to be mortal, somehow.
Happy Birthday Neil!!! you have been an encouragement to me and all believers.
Neil,
TiVo is the Anti-Christ. If you spell it backwards, in the original Greek, it says “666″…
p.s. Happy birthday!
Happy Birthday! Excellent wrapping indeed.
Regarding the TiVo, we use to have DVR with our cable. I think it is really similar to TiVo? Anyway, we had to cut the budget when Tieki Rae went off to college in order to afford to purchase plane tickets a few times a year. So, the DVR and digital cable were one of the casualties.
It’s been over two years, and I still get grumpy when I rewind a tape to record a show with the archaic VCR.
Someday we’re gonna get that back! 
Congrats on your TiVo — though it does make me a bit jealous.
Happy Birthday Neil!
Might be time for a new T.V.! Be sure you get digital. The regular T.V.’s won’t work after 2009!
I’m very good at wrapping gifts but that runs rings around anything I could do at this time. Happy birthday!
“The regular T.V.’s won’t work after 2009!”
They’ll work, as long as you use Cable or digital. They won’t work for free T.V. though- you know the old rabbit ears.
Be sure you get digital. The regular T.V.’s won’t work after 2009!
They’ll work, as long as you use Cable or digital. They won’t work for free T.V. though- you know the old rabbit ears.
Actually, you can get a converter box. The government is giving out coupons for something like $35 off and the converters only cost about $45 or so. Basically, you can get the converters for free (or close to it).
Hi Neil,
Happy Birthday. Technology wise, I’m behind the curve on the television as well. We have an older model that takes a converter in order to use the DVD. But we do have a high-tech set of rabbit ears so we can pick up all five channels from Augusta.
My wife wants me to start saving now so we can get a digital television after the prices come down, sometime after the deadline. I’m hoping to get another three years out of tele.
Blessings
Happy B-Day Sir!
BIG LOL on all this. Happy BDAY!
Happy Birthday, Neil.
I don’t watch television anymore, not a matter of principle, I just don’t have time. But my son loves “The Office” and insisted that I watch the DVD we got him for Christmas.
I like it, like the farmer in the old song. I am going to watch it “next fall when the works all done”. Right now though, I have to go work on W-2 forms and 1099’s.
Hahaha, that is absolutely amazing. We did something similar once at my Christian fellowship’s Christmas white elephant gift exchange. One of the gifts was a calculator and a stapler in jello. Needless to say, it was one of the most popular gifts that got traded around as much as possible.
Happy birthday!
Pardon my well-developed cynicism, but won’t the prices go up after the deadline? After all, supply and demand… and demand will be much greater. It’s a seller’s market at that point.
theo…
no deep subjects of supply and demand on a frivolous thread! *mock glare*
I think right after prices will go up, but eventually all the fat, lazy people who didn’t know the law was going into effect will have bought their televisions, and the astute, money-spending people will have bought theirs beforehand anyways, so the rest of those who like to save money will then be able to purchase their TV at a lower rate. Whew… long sentence. I won’t be, though! I’ll be at college! who has time for TV there?
Sooner or latet they will be selling them on E-Bay.
Since the changeover won’t affect cable or sattelite viewers and conversion kits will work, I think prices will begin to decline once the hyper wears off. Watch out for price increases when the rebates come out. I’m betting that will be the hottest selling item when tax rebates hit. But by late summer or even summer next year, prices will start falling like a rock.
Moi? Look, usually I take totally serious threads and turn them into utter nonsense, so a little supply & demand in honour of our accountant friend’s birthday seems in order.
Happy birthday, Neil!
We got DVR (same as tivo I think) just this week and we are having so much fun with it!! We’ve just been using a VCR to tape stuff but we thought we’d give it a try. I’m glad we did – it’s SOOOO much easier!
By the way, in this picture you look a little different from the picture in your avatar. I wasn’t sure that was you at first.
Hi all – thanks for the bday wishes! Much appreciated. 45 ain’t so bad.
W&F – true LOL re. “*mock glare*”
Theobromophile – yes, supply & demand related comments are welcome on any thread
MLBH – Ha! The avatar pic is about 7 yrs. old. I should Photoshop some white hair into it in the interest of “truth in advertising.”
Re: mock glaring
[Innocent look] Moi?
In the interests of truth in advertising, I should photoshop some red onto the natural blonde in my avatar. Mine is about two years old, which was pre-Independence Day 2006, when I liberated myself from blonde stereotypes. (Redhead stereotypes are so much more fun. I can throw a temper tantrum, and ’tis considered normal.)
Re: Moi?
yes, moi.
or you could get a new avatar, theo
Like one with an animal on it, instead of a (non-redheaded) me? :p
If you’re a fan of The Office, I recommend also watching the British version. If I remember it rightly, I think a fair few things were changed when they wrote the US version. Plus Gervaise beats Steve Carell for cringe-worthy humourous acting any day.
Neil:
Happy belated Birthday! Your daughters are pretty clever. I love The Office as well. I wish to perfect a good Stanley impersonation!
Best,
Joseph
How cool!! I just started becoming a fan of the show, The Office. Happy Belated Birthday!!