You might be sad if you knew how I looked forward to tonight’s episode of The Office ALL DAY LONG.

Because make no mistake: my life is TERRIBLY EXCITING.

I was actually a little surprised by all the bittersweet in this episode, what with Michael’s excitement over a potential new girlfriend being almost completely wiped out by his conflicted sense of responsibility for another woman who doesn’t even love him.

And don’t even get me started on Jim and Pam. Because that whole thing made my heart hurt. For both of them.

Nonetheless, a few highlights:

1. “Good news. I’ve married. Tell Father.”

2. “If the devil were to explode, and evil were gone forever, what kind of party would you have?”

3. “I am downloading some N3P music for a CD mixtape.”

4. “Hazing is a fun way to show a new employee that she is not welcome or liked.”

5. “Act-TIIIIIIING!”

6. “Holly is sweet and simple, like a lady baker.”

7. “I SAID OKAY.”

8. “I LOVE PIE!”

And earlier I was going to say something about how there wasn’t near enough Andy in this episode, but never mind all that because I sort of want to kick him right now.

Thoughts, interpeeps?

Trust me when I tell you that I have NEVER BEEN MORE DELIGHTED to blog about “The Office” than I am at right this very minute, because earlier today I thought that the blog had dissipated in a cloud of “parse error: syntax error” smoke.

No kidding: between the fear that I had singlehandedly RURNT THE WHOLE DANG THING and the realization that no one could get to the “Bite Back” post to donate mosquito nets, I’m think my heart rate elevated to a level that enabled me to enjoy all the benefits of an aerobic workout while doing nothing more than sitting nervously on the edge of the sofa.

Fortunately, sweet Anne came to the rescue and fixed everything for me (there may still be some Internet Explorer issues, but they’ll get ironed out soon). I am forever it Anne’s debt because there were about five hours this afternoon when I thought it was going to take a peanut butter scalp massage to make me feel better.

(SEGUE’!)

(THANK YOU!)

This was sort of a strange episode of “The Office” for me, what with the revelation that Ryan has a bit of a drug problem, not to mention Toby’s inability to suppress his love for Pam. And also: NOT NEARLY ENOUGH ANDY.

Still, there were some funny moments - here are my favorites.

1. “If any of you…makes fun of his half beard…”

2. KELLY KAPUR

3. “If I’m not in my bath with a glass of red wine in one hour, you’re both dead.”

4. “DO YOU HAVE POWERS?”

5. Meredith’s football-related injury

Chime in with your own favorites, but for the love of pete don’t look at the blog wrong or the whole thing could blow up in an HTML-fueled fireball.

Regardless, I can’t wait to sit here with a glass of olives and a glass of maraschino cherries and read all of your comments.

I’m livin’ the dream, y’all.

I’m livin’ the dream.

Tonight’s show features the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, so I hope everyone has their Phantom masks ready!

I KNOW I DO!

(Too much?)

(Yeah. Thought so.)

And before I even see anyone perform, I will tell you that I am very concerned about two contestants tonight: Brooke White (ALW has big songs that don’t lend themselves to subtlety) and Jason Castro (for pretty much those very same reasons).

But hopefully they’ll both hit a home run and we can pretend I never even wrote that previous paragraph.

Syesha Mercado - “One Rock And Roll Too Many” - I have never heard this song before. But I think it was a smart choice for that very reason. Seconds into her performance, it was clear that she was IN HER ELEMENT…I think she’s probably way more of a Broadway star than she is a pop star. Even when she had pitch problems, she seemed to be enjoying herself, and that’s the first time I’ve thought that all season long.

So all that to say: it wasn’t a perfect performance, but it was Syesha’s best night by a mile. Loved it.

Jason Castro - “Memory” - Okay, we just fell out laughing when he said, “I didn’t know a cat was singing it.” So funny. And you know, I really wanted to like this more mellow version of “Memory” - which, in fairness, worked in parts - but this song is such a showtopper that his version fell flat. This performance showcased his vocal limitations way more than it highlighted his originality. It just didn’t work. And that’s probably not a great thing for sweet Jason Castro.

Brooke White - “You Must Love Me” - Hey, the hubby just pointed out that it was smart of her to pick a song written for Madonna since Madonna isn’t really known for her huge range. But even still, the whole thing felt awkward, like she was trapped in a song that was just way bigger than her voice. It was a sweet performance, but unfortunately, it wasn’t a particularly good one.

David Archuleta - “Think Of Me” - I was pleasantly surprised to hear him do a modern take on this song, mainly because for me his greatest weakness has been his tendency to pick out songs that sound way too old for him. But tonight he got it right. I loved this performance - it was clever, effective and memorable. Really well done.

Carly Smithson - “Jesus Christ Superstar” - I had chillbumps the whole way through this performance. She took control from the beginning and never let it go, even when some of the high notes were a little much for her. She seemed genuinely happy, looked great, and WOW - that was a PHENOMENAL arrangement. The band ROCKED IT OUT on this one.

And yes, I did in fact just say “ROCKED IT OUT.”

I do hope you’ll continue to read here.

David Cook - “Music Of The Night” - This was a really surprising song choice, I thought - mainly because I expected him to pick something a little less theatrical, and I also expected him to do something a little funkier. But if nothing else, he proved that he can really sing, and while it wasn’t my favorite performance of his, he did a great job. He can sing anything - no doubt about it. And p.s. - I totally agree with what Simon said.

Should go: It pains me to say it, but based on tonight’s performances, I have to say Jason or Brooke. The musical theatre water was just way too deep for them.

Will go: Ditto the whole “should go” comment.

Best of the night: David Archuleta - and Carly is a close second for me.

Also, I thought the band did an incredible job - they were so much fun to listen to tonight.

If you’d like to link to your own AI post, just fill out the Mr. Linky below, making sure to link to your specific post, not your general blog URL. Thanks!

So Michael’s personal life has definitely taken a turn for the MORE PAINFULLY AWKWARD THAN USUAL in the last two episodes of “The Office,” but there was a welcome hint of sweetness in the last half of tonight’s show.

And as an added bonus: CREED!

My favorite moments?

1. “Please write legibly.”
2. Andy dancing in the parking lot - IT MADE ME SO HAPPY.
3. “Some people sweat too much for comfort.”
4. “I am a man of intensity. Of cool and youth. And passionately.”
5. JIM WITH THAT RING - OH MY WORD AT THE SWEETNESS.

Yours?

So I’m two days late to the AI party, but here we go.

(By the way, I heard through the grapevine that Mariah Carey is the guest mentor on this particular show. And I don’t know if y’all know this, but Mariah and I are about the same age, and we, like, TOTALLY dress the same.)

(It’s uncanny, really.)

David Archuleta - “When You Believe” - This is actually his first performance in SEVERAL weeks when I’ve felt like he lived up to all the David Archuleta hype. Really well done. And I think it helped that he sang a modern song. I would also like to say, on a note that is completely unrelated to his performance, that THE PEOPLE IN THE FRONT NEED TO PUT DOWN THEIR ARMS, OH THANK YOU SO MUCH.

Carly Smithson - “Without You” - Okay, I LOVED hearing her sing in that lower range (as opposed to screaming at me in her upper range). It also struck me that she didn’t try to oversing this song at the very beginning. I think this was one of her strongest performances so far. Very compelling.

Syesha Mercado - “Vanishing” - Wow. I think Syesha made a believer out of me this week - mainly because I didn’t feel like she was doing an imitation of another singer. For the first time, I felt like I saw a glimpse of who Syesha really is. And that was refreshing.

Brooke White - “Hero” - As always, Brooke’s performance was very genuine. But there wasn’t anything extra special about this particular song for me - it felt very plain, for lack of a better word - like she wasn’t sure how to put her own spin on it. It just felt a little generic to me. But I have big hopes that next week will be better.

Kristy Leigh Cook - “Forever” - I think the low notes were a little much for her - and a real reminder of how huge Mariah Carey’s range is. But once she got going, it wasn’t so bad. She actually sounded confident on the chorus, and had the song been a little more fast-paced, those low notes probably wouldn’t have stuck out so much.

David Cook - “Always Be My Baby” - LOVED THIS. Loved the arrangement, loved the performance - and what was so cool was that it sounded like something that could be a hit right now. You’re a clever fella, David Cook. Oh yes you are.

Jason Castro - “I Don’t Want To Cry” - I thought this was a neat song for him - and it also showed how much he has improved as a vocalist since the show started. I loved the acoustic feel to the whole thing - I thought he did a great job.

I won’t do the should go / will go thing because I already know. But given that, I definitely think that the right person went home, because we’re left with a really talented top 6 - maybe the strongest yet.

Also, tonight’s show gave me a whole new appreciation for Mariah Carey - she is quite the songwriter, oh yes she is.

Finally: best of the night - David Cook

So I’m all done now - but be sure to check out everyone else’s opinions below!