Jumping The Shark

A few days ago, I diagnosed a case of tonsillitis over Facebook. I don’t know whether to laugh about this or consider enrolling in medical school, but it did make me feel all smart and doctor-y. One of my friends messaged me looking for advice because her daughter had a white spot on her tonsil. Well, that’s a classic sign of a tonsil infection, so I gave her some medical advice and forwarded one of the articles I’d written on tonsillitis. Playing doctor is a pretty rewarding feeling, it turns out, even without the Mercedes in the driveway to show for my efforts.

This continues to be a very fun place to work. Where else will you find your boss blasting Lily Allen’s “Fu*k You” loud enough to make the walls shake on a Wednesday afternoon? I worked for a music distribution company, for crying out loud, and it was quiet as a church in there. I’ve never worked for a company like this before, one with a philosophy that stresses fun over work. Most Fridays everybody gathers at a pub down the street for drinks after work, and the friendships definitely extend outside the office. My boss texted me his condolences after my football team lost their playoff game a couple of weeks ago, and I was touched by that. I love the small family vibe of the organization, though some people are fretting because in the past month we have added a conference room and a 401K plan, and are looking into a coffee service now. They’re afraid of growing too big and becoming too corporate. I don’t think that’ll happen for awhile yet, but we are in the process of interviewing for another marketing position, which means we’ll be up to 22 employees and I won’t be the new guy anymore. Although, on the negative side, I found out I’m the second oldest person here, only a year younger than my boss. Even the two founders of the company are in their 30s. Gulp. I’m not used to being one of the older people at work, but I guess when you’ve got a small staff and most of them are young, eager go-getters, it’s inevitable. It’s not like I’m the Creed to their Andy, but still, I cringe when I hear Jenny in Design talk about how she does not remember the OJ Simpson slow-speed car chase because she was all of five years old at the time.

Shut up, bitch.

(I kid. She’s pretty cool. They all are, this group of young whippersnappers). Besides, I’m the one going to a rock concert tonight and staying at a cool, retro hotel in Portland, so I can hold my own with any of ’em.

Speaking of Creed and Andy, my daughter Audrey has been watching old episodes of The Office every morning before school, and it makes me sad. It’s hard to see how brilliant and consistently uproarious that show once was. The Office was a favorite of mine for many years, the very definition of Must See TV in my book, but nowadays it’s a hollow shell of what it used to be. I cringe about as often as I laugh now, as the plots have grown increasingly outlandish and the characters, more unlikeable. Jim and Pam would NEVER fight! Come on, guys. And why spend so much time getting Andy and Erin together, only to ship him off (literally) on a boat early in the season? Maybe Ed Helms is filming a movie somewhere. There’s not enough Tobey – there never is – and I miss Ryan and Kelly. Once Steve Carell left, the show spiraled downhill, and I hate when that happens. It’s tough to see a once-great show turn mediocre. The same thing happened with Scrubs and Cheers and Happy Days, plus countless others. You’ve got to know when to bow out gracefully before you’ve become a parody of yourself, and few sitcoms manage to achieve this. Friends was the rare exception. I’m afraid How I Met Your Mother is getting close to jumping the shark (coined for an infamous Happy Days episode in which the Fonz literally jumps a shark and the show spirals into an inescapable whirlpool of corniness), too. Hurry up and meet the mother already, while your show’s pulse is still beating. This has already been the longest bedtime story in the world!

Have a great weekend, y’all. Enjoy the Super Bowl. Go, team!!