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Worldly Distractions: The Big Bang Theory 7.13 - The Occupation Recalibration


crazyforkate

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blog-spenny.jpgspenny

Welcome back! After last week's dramatic episode, there's a lot to be worked out, especially in the ongoing Saga of Leonard and Penny. Oh, boy, I'll need a drink for this.

We get a recap of the career disaster and the proposal, then go on to the real episode. Sheldon's complaining about something, as usual. It turns out he has to use his vacation days. Poor Sheldon is so addicted to work that he can't imagine taking time off. Well, if you don't want those days, I'll gladly take them. Leonard's too wrapped up in his relationship drama to care, of course.

He goes to have an honest talk with Penny. They agree that they don't want to break up (Leonard cries a little) and Penny admits that it was probably a good thing to turn down her proposal the night before. She's frustrated with her career, and has decided to devote herself to being an actress, 100%. That means quitting her job at the Cheesecake Factory. Which she has already done. Leonard's flummoxed. Opening credits.

Sheldon begs Leonard to take him to work, but he refuses. Wait, since when do universities enforce vacation days? I was under the impression that academics could basically research themselves to death if they felt like it. Sheldon tries to follow him out in a puppy-like manner, but Leonard's on to him.

Bernadette shows up at the comic book shop. She's destroyed one of Howard's rare comic books and wants to replace it. Unfortunately, Stuart can't get a new copy for a few more days. Oh, boy, time for an elaborate coverup plot! She offers him free pharmaceutical samples in exchange for his silence. He takes it.

Amy is hard at work dissecting rat brains when Howard and Raj interrupt her with a lunch invitation. Just then, her friend Burt shows up from the geology department. He's even nerdier than Sheldon, and much less interesting. Also, he brings Amy a present and is clearly into her. Amy's horribly embarrassed when the guys point it out to her, and ask for advice on letting him down gently. We'll see where this goes.

Penny runs into a morose Sheldon on the stairs. Vacation time does not suit him. I wish I could be like that, to be honest. It would sure make the next four months easier. Amy's off to do a whole bunch of acting-related chores (looking for agents, etc), and when she sees how lonely he is, she invites him to come along. Seriously, why is Sheldon so depressed? Couldn't he pop in a few seasons of his favourite sci-fi series and lose a few days that way?

Stuart has found the comic at another store, but hates the owner, who is apparently a massive jerk. He offers to take her there himself, because a) this store might try to rip her off and B) it's pretty boring in a comic book store with no customers. Poor Stuart.

Over lunch, the gang discusses Penny's sudden career change. Leonard makes a big show of being all supportive and stuff, but admits he's faking it. And to be honest, it seems like a pretty stupid move to me, too - she's had, what, one commercial in seven years? Not all dreams get to come true, honey.

He calls Penny to check on her, and she mentions she's at the Cheesecake Factory. Relieved, he plunges into a monologue about how glad he is that she's decided not to take the risk, in this economy blah blah blah...but she's only there to return her uniform! PSYCH.

Penny's pissed off, Leonard's apologetic, the friends stare in horror. Ohh, boy, how is Leonard going to get out of this one? And does anyone still care?

Sheldon tries to indulge in guided meditation. It's hilarious. I love Jim Parsons and everything about him. Penny comes out of the restaurant ranting about Leonard and his lack of faith. She asks Sheldon if she made the right choice. Sheldon, surprisingly, says yes. When one has a goal, one should be devoted 100%. He even gave up being a chalk monitor in favour of his physicist dreams. He and Penny are apparently "dreamers", and Leonard just doesn't understand. Between this episode and the last one, Sheldon has proven himself to be very sensitive lately. Is he finally becoming a real boy?

Burt tries to ask Amy out, but she tells him she has a boyfriend. It's incredibly awkward. Hurt, he claims that she's lying about Sheldon, and then moans about how he'll never get anyone to date him. He even calls himself a monster. His manipulation is just plain awful, and soon Amy agrees to go. Though she insists it's not a date, he insists it is. Bastard.

The other comic book store appears to be a happenin' place, full of cool displays and busy customers. The owner (Jesse, sadly not Pinkman) is every bit the bastard Stuart promised, insulting the poor guy's appearance and failing business. Bernadette has soon had enough of this and tells Jesse to knock it off. All she gets is more snark and the "I was just kidding" routine. To her credit, she decides she won't buy the book from him after all and storms out. Inspired, Stuart gives Jesse a little lecture of his own - Jesse might be successful, but at least he has friends. I just want to give him a hug.

Howard and Raj try to help Amy get out of the rock show. In the process, they reminisce about all the times they got rejected. It's quite lengthy. They're not much help, let's put it that way. Amy decides to be brutally honest. The guys try to talk her out of it. No dice - Amy's determined. Finally, the guys offer to tell him for her. Their brilliant cover? Amy's a lesbian. I dunno, Burt seems like the type of guy who would want a threesome out of that.

Penny introduces Sheldon to yoga, which is as funny as it sounds. Let's just say that Sheldon is not adept. (He thought she was suggesting "Yoda".) Leonard returns and gets the cold shoulder from his girlfriend. They soon argue, and it turns into a "re-evaluating the relationship" argument. Sheldon butts in, demanding to know where the three of them will live if Leonard and Penny get married. Despite the interruptions, Penny and Leonard manage to establish that they support each other even when it's risky. Oh, god, just break up forever please.

Bernadette returns to the store, telling Jesse that a) Stuart's store rocks, B) he is a total prick, and c) she still wants to buy the comic book if he has it. Her pissed-off voice is magnificent, though.

Raj and Howard broke the news to Burt, but they paid the price - they're going to the mineral show with him. As they sit trapped in a car, speeding along the freeway while Burt screams "ROCK SHOOOOW" and pounds the dashboard, I believe I have witnessed a glimpse of hell.

Okay, I get that Penny/Leonard is the main pairing of this show - but honestly, it's gotten so stale. This kind of couple has played out a million times in other (better sitcoms). Either shake it up in a unique way or let it die. More Raj, more Howard, more Stuart - that's great! But this episode was kind of dull. Tune in next week to see if they've got their act together.

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  • Posts

    • Xan

      Posted

      The egg apron is a deal breaker for me.  That was just an insult.  "You think you deserve a gift?  I'll show you your place!"

      And I'm a little bit tired of the social media scolds.  If they didn't put their lives on the internet, we wouldn't have opinions.  They did so we do.  If most of us think that he's a bully, he probably is.  I guess it's another case of the husband being so full of himself that he was sure the interview would show him in a good light.  It didn't.

    • Xan

      Posted

      I always find these Trump fantasy worlds very bizarre.  He's never in a nice suit meeting a world leader or even in a fireman's suit saving a child from a burning building.  It's always some fake macho outfit and, in this case, driving a car with a Confederate flag on it.  Their heroes don't seem that heroic.

    • JDuggs

      Posted

      On 12/22/2023 at 11:51 PM, JDuggs said:

      It looks like Micah is in a relationship, or very good friends, with this Florida realtor Veronica Peters. I’ve seen photos of them together on Micah’s IG, but I always thought she kind of looked too old for him. Maybe not.

      This was on Moriah’s IG:

        Hide contents

      image.thumb.jpeg.e5583f82734714ccb023fc889e4f0f90.jpeg

      And this was on Veronica’s personal IG and professional IG:

        Hide contents

      image.thumb.jpeg.e637a588be2f14fc379935962e743f47.jpeg

        Hide contentsimage.thumb.png.bfaa9a4a2ac77388067acef5c5afb81c.png

       

      Quoting myself from six months ago. I think this really is Micah’s girlfriend. She doesn’t seem quite as public about their relationship as she did back then.

      This photo of Veronica didn’t get copied over from my old post.

      Spoiler

      image.thumb.jpeg.0ae44da117d43f1db49868c42924ea03.jpeg

       

      • Upvote 1
    • JermajestyDuggar

      Posted

      There was a post on social media talking about this recent interview with Ballerina Farm and asking what people think about some of the things in it. So many commenters were like, “it’s her business! It’s not your life so why do you care?” This is the type of thing that bugs me to no end. Ballerina Farm posts their lives willingly! They post their children’s lives! Of course people will speculate and care! If they didn’t put their lives all over social media none of us would know anything about them. 

      • Upvote 1
    • LongTimeLurkerOG

      Posted

      On 7/25/2024 at 6:47 PM, LilMissMetaphor said:

      Just FYI in case someone missed it the first time round, this is what Art wrote on Reddit a year ago addressing some of the concerns that were brought up.  It's very telling if you read between some of the lines.

      "I don’t lie or make fraudulent claims to get money. That’s what a grifter is. I’ve closed all previous fundraisers and not all of them were successfully funded – for instance my legal name change and wedding fund did not get funded, so I still haven’t had a chance to do those things.

      I’m unable to work for a variety of medically supported reasons. It’s not okay to ask disabled people for proof of their disability simply because it’s medical information. To entertain the question is to concede that it’s okay to go ask other disabled people for their private medical history. It’s a common misconception that people pretend to be disabled for benefits or monetary gain, but it’s rare and doesn’t really make sense to do because benefits and fundraising add up to so little.

      I have been going to Seattle to look at possible places to live because it’s literally unavoidable, and I’ve been in severe pain because of it. That doesn’t mean I could do manual labor on a consistent basis. I don’t even drive, so I’ve had to cover gas and ask friends for help with rides.

      Have you ever tried working at a call center? I have. They’re severely strict and demanding, and incredibly demoralizing without paying much. They’re not an accessible alternative for people who can’t do more demanding manual labor. “Get a job like the rest of us” is ableist and is a fundamental misunderstanding of how accessible jobs are. It’s no better than yelling it at someone panhandling on the street. The supposedly “easy” or “low-skill” jobs are still difficult to do.

      I do use what resources I can, but it’s a total myth that there’s a robust social welfare system anywhere in the United States. If there was, we wouldn’t have so many hundreds of thousands of homeless people here, with millions more just a few missed paychecks away from joining them.

      The toxic mold was confirmed. My partner is literally terminally ill from it. If you read the actual updates, the name of the illness and the research surrounding it have been detailed. We have a letter from the pulmonologist that we sent to the landlord explaining that the environment my partner was in was causing the illness. Again, you’re demanding medical proof that you have no reason to ask about. Some things can’t just be washed out.

      I am as clear as I can possibly be about specific needs so that people know what they’re helping to support. I have said again and again that people shouldn’t give unless they can spare it and want to help. I even said that in the post linked to in this comment thread. My patreon is explicitly to support my writing.

      So why am I still fundraising and making money off telling my story? Because I literally have no other real options. I’ve been formally diagnosed with PTSD, it’s not “alleged trauma.” If it was working all that well, I wouldn’t have to keep detailing my needs.

      The real grifters in our society are billionaires, not poor disabled people. You sound like you just hate us for trying to exist."

      I remember reading this before. Well, they can take all their reasons and Stop. Grifting. Plenty of people with disabilities work and /or receive assistance (as I mentioned previously, my exPOS, who has disabilities so I'm familiar with a number of options and money). Some family, have / had disabilities. I've been an advocate for services and staff training (and provided training) for Years with previous positions - because it matters to me. So, yea, Artemis get. a. job. 

      57 minutes ago, Ozlsn said:

      Art lists manual labour and call centres. And that's it. Not any jobs they could look at involving writing, from editing to writing student essays for money (yes it's dodgy but people do it). Not even playing video games for money (get character to a level where they have cool stuff for someone.)  Nothing about remote work, which there is more of now, and not even entry level white collar work.

      On the one hand I agree with them that the social support is inadequate, and that detailing your medical needs shouldn't have to happen - but they just grifted nearly $5000 to move and for a holiday, and with the amount of effort that took they probably could have held down employment of some description and to be honest would probably be better off.

      So many WFH/remote legit jobs now. Hell, you can play games on your phone and earn gift cards; donate blood and get gift cards. I knew a homeless couple that donated plasma for higher amount g.c.

      Absolutely! The amount of money; it's disgusting. And that amount of effort... At some point, even we don't want to or circumstances we don't want to deal with and adult, because... We're adults! Plenty of things I want to ignore or not deal with, just have go away but persevere because the alternative... not an option.

      2 hours ago, Bookworm1564 said:

      My all-time favourite Art post is the one where they say “Just for today, you can double the impact of your support with this opportunity” as if this was the moment we were all waiting for.

      Like a sale for limited-time-only 🤣



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