EP. 166 — Lotto with Mark Proksch

Jenna [00:00:03] I’m Jenna Fischer. 

Angela [00:00:04] And I’m Angela Kinsey. 

Jenna [00:00:06] We were on The Office together. 

Angela [00:00:07] And we’re best friends. 

Jenna [00:00:08] And now we’re doing the ultimate Office rewatch podcast just for you. 

Angela [00:00:12] Each week, we will break down an episode of The Office and give exclusive behind the scenes stories that only two people who were there can tell you. 

Jenna [00:00:19] We’re the Office Ladies. Hello!

Angela [00:00:26] Hi!

Jenna [00:00:27] Welcome, everyone, to a breakdown of Lotto. 

Angela [00:00:33] Yes. Are you guys ready to get lucky? 

Jenna [00:00:38] It’s season eight, episode three. It was written by Charlie Grandy, directed by John Krasinski, and was an episode that received a solid B rating from reviewer Myles McNutt. 

Angela [00:00:50] Way to go. 

Jenna [00:00:52] Would you like a summary? 

Angela [00:00:54] You know I would. 

Jenna [00:00:55] When the warehouse crew win the lottery and quit their jobs, the upstairs employees are left to pick up the slack until a new crew can be hired. Erin, Jim, Dwight and Kevin can’t seem to figure out how to load boxes of paper into a delivery truck. It takes them all day and then they don’t even finish. 

Angela [00:01:15] All day. And not just all day, but they become like Wiley E. Coyote trying to build some kind of device to load them. It’s just it’s bonkers. 

Jenna [00:01:26] In the meantime, a very depressed Darryl issues an ultimatum to Andy. He says, Fire me or make me manager. 

Angela [00:01:33] Yeah. 

Jenna [00:01:34] And then the rest of the gang fantasize about what they would do if they had win the lottery, which causes a little friction between Pam and Jim. They have dueling fantasies. 

Angela [00:01:44] Yeah. They don’t get along in their fantasy lives. 

Jenna [00:01:47] They don’t. Which normally you would think that your marriage is even better and stronger in your fantasy life. But not so. 

Angela [00:01:56] Or in your fantasy life is it more clear because you have options? 

Jenna [00:02:02] Ohh. 

Angela [00:02:03] Ohh. 

Jenna [00:02:04] That’s a very, like, therapisty thing to say, Angela. I like that. I love that thought. Journal on that, everybody. 

Angela [00:02:13] Mm hmm. 

Jenna [00:02:14] Well, listen, we don’t have any fast facts today, because instead, we have an amazing interview with Mark Proksch, who plays Nate, who is featured in this episode, but who also appears in 19 episodes of The Office spanning three seasons. We can’t be more excited for you to hear this interview. He’s an absolute delight of a person. 

Angela [00:02:36] Yes, we have wanted to talk to him for a while, and this is not the last time we’re talking to him because we have more more to ask Mark about as the seasons progress. 

Jenna [00:02:45] And I know that we always say that everybody is so nice and amazing, but I think you’re going to hear in this interview that Mark is like at the top. He’s the best. 

Angela [00:02:54] He’s 100% real deal. And here you go. Here’s our conversation with Mark. 

Jenna [00:03:02] Mark! Hello! Welcome to Office Ladies! 

Mark [00:03:06] Thank you guys for having me. I really appreciate it. 

Angela [00:03:10] Well, we are so excited to talk to you. We are really enjoying Nate. And Nate has some real fun stuff coming up. And we just know the fans can’t wait to hear from you. 

Mark [00:03:19] Well, that’s exciting. I’ve been waiting a long time to get my chance to talk on Office Ladies, so here we go. 

Jenna [00:03:28] Well, Mark, when your character was introduced, we told a little bit of your origin story, but I just want you to tell it again in your own words from the beginning. This is our favorite question to ask our guests. How did you get your job on The Office? 

Mark [00:03:43] I quite honestly backed into it. I was unemployed, living in Wisconsin, in Milwaukee, and I had this idea to make my friends laugh, which was go on morning news shows as a character. And a character that would be inept and clumsy. But the main thing was that the anchors and the news station had no idea I was in character. Now, I had never taken acting classes or anything like that. I just thought it would be funny. And so I would go on these morning shows as this yo yo master, which is funny-. 

Jenna [00:04:33] K-Strass, 

Mark [00:04:33] Yeah, K-Strass. 

Jenna [00:04:33] K-Strass, the yo yo master. 

Angela [00:04:36] Who was not a master of the yo yo. 

Mark [00:04:38] No, because I can’t yo yo. I’m not even a big fan of yo yo-ing. And so I would get on and start rambling about my chaotic personal life. And finally they would ask me to do a demonstration and that would go horribly wrong. The idea was to do ten or 11 or 12 of these, and if you watched them all in a row, you would get this kind of strange story arc about this guy’s life, all told through two minute, one minute segments on morning shows. 

Jenna [00:05:12] Now, I have to stop you because you’re saying you never took any acting classes. Did you take like improv or sketch comedy? 

Mark [00:05:20] No. 

Jenna [00:05:21] No?! 

Mark [00:05:22] No, I never did any of that. 

Angela [00:05:22] What about like a writing class? Because there is a real story arc there. 

Mark [00:05:26] Yeah, it’s no, you know, all that was just myself wanting to do this. 

Jenna [00:05:34] I’m so fascinated by this. I always have been. I’ve made you tell me this story so many times because every time it just blows my mind. Okay, so I’ll let you go on. 

Mark [00:05:47] Okay. So I did these appearances, and like I said, the idea was to do ten, 11, 12 and to get a story arc. And what I didn’t expect was for people to start posting them on YouTube. And this was back in 2010. And so there were still videos that could really catch fire and become viral. And the K-Strass morning show appearances became viral. And at first I was really annoyed because it’s like, well, they’ve ruined my opportunity here to tell like, this story arc I want to tell, because I had no idea of, you know, coming to L.A., coming to Hollywood. And oddly enough, a friend of mine got a text message from one of the writers on the show, and she figured out who who I was… Through computer sleuthing and what have you. And she asked if I, you know, would I want to talk to Paul Lieberstein and- who was running the show- and I was like, Yeah, of course I would. A few minutes later, Paul calls me. 

Angela [00:07:05] Oh, my gosh. That’s so fast. 

Mark [00:07:06] And all of a sudden I’m talking to Toby from The Office. And a month later they flew me out. I met with the writers. And a month after that, I was on the show. 

Jenna [00:07:19] I mean. 

Angela [00:07:20] Wow. 

Jenna [00:07:20] That’s crazy. 

Mark [00:07:22] The real crazy thing here. 

Angela [00:07:24] Yeah. 

Mark [00:07:24] The writer that reached out was my now wife, Amelie Gillette, who had just started writing on the show a couple weeks before all this blew up. 

Jenna [00:07:36] So you got an arc on The Office and a wife out of this- 

Angela [00:07:43] The yo yo- 

Jenna [00:07:44] Yo yo idea that was just meant to entertain your friends. It’s it’s an incredible story. 

Mark [00:07:50] Yeah. You know, it’s- you don’t hear too many stories like this anymore. You know, it’s, it’s usually, Oh, I was working for 12, 15 years. You know, I started in commercials and what have you, and I feel kind of guilty because it was kind of overnight, almost. But I am so grateful that it all happened. I got so much out of just making a jackass of myself on morning news. So. 

Jenna [00:08:17] So you had seen The Office before you got cast, obviously? 

Mark [00:08:21] Oh, yeah. 

Jenna [00:08:22] What was it like to walk on to the set? 

Mark [00:08:25] You know, the first person I met from the cast was Rainn. And…

Angela [00:08:30] I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. 

Jenna [00:08:35] I can’t imagine what that was like. 

Mark [00:08:37] Now, you guys can say that because he is the sweetest, nicest, most genuine person. 

Angela [00:08:43] I know. He’s just a good, good soul. 

Mark [00:08:44] Exactly. And so, you know, it could have gone two- one of two ways. And after now, I’ve been acting for, you know, quite a few years now, and I’ve as a guest star, have gone on many shows, the cast is either welcoming or they can be a little cold and a little distanced, because here comes a new face and that’s time away from you as an actor and your character. Or you can just, you know, a high tide lifts all boats type scenario where they’re happy that there’s fresh people coming in. And you guys were so nice and welcoming to me. I really got spoiled coming into the show because of that, because you guys were so nice and welcoming. And what a first show to cut your teeth on as an actor. I mean, everyone was so generous and encouraging from the top down. It was I look back on it and I was so lucky, so very, very fortunate. 

Angela [00:09:48] Well, you know, this episode we’re breaking down is the Lotto, but we all felt like we won the lottery ticket, you know, the minute we were cast. 

Mark [00:09:55] Yeah. 

Angela [00:09:56] So I love hearing that because that’s how we felt on set. We were just really happy to be there and counted ourselves lucky every day. But Mark, we wanted to ask you if you have any favorite memories or behind the scene moment or anything you would want to share from your time on the show? 

Mark [00:10:14] Gosh, there’s so many. You know, any time I could get one of you guys to break was a feather in my cap, especially as a, you know, a person just starting out in acting. I felt like, you know, there was a scene I remember with Jenna where I’m she’s grilling me and. 

Jenna [00:10:37] I think it was in season nine. Vandalism. We’re down in the warehouse. Yeah, it’s one of my strongest memories of breaking. 

Mark [00:10:46] And we just had so much fun. And it’s such a fond memory for me, that that moment. You know, the first day on the show, my first time ever in front of a set in front of a crew filming, I had to knock down a beehive that was in front of the office. And that was the first time I had ever acted in my life professionally or in front of a crew. And all of a sudden you’re in front of 35 people, 40 people all looking at you. And I just remember thinking to myself, Well, either you can do this or you can’t, but there’s no real going back, so you might as well give it your all. And I had- it’s one of those moments where you’re both terrified but having so much fun. And it just felt right. And I had never had a moment like that in my in my life. 

Angela [00:11:48] Wow. 

Jenna [00:11:49] Well, I just remember all of us being very enamored with you in scenes. You were this character and you had this way about you that was so unique and so deeply funny. It was so deeply funny to me, Mark, the way you did Nate. 

Angela [00:12:07] It was so earnest. It was so earnest. And you had this- 

Jenna [00:12:11] And real. 

Angela [00:12:13] And yes, you you would do this thing that Steve did that was really hard for me. You have a look that comes across your face. I can’t really explain it, but Steve has it as well. And if I catch your eye when you kind of do this, it’s this expression of like, Heh? I’m a goner. I am a goner. So there were a few actors on set that I couldn’t make eye contact with really directly. And you and Steve are like, top two. 

Mark [00:12:41] Well, good Lord, that’s high praise. Yeah. You know, it may just may be my dumb face, but I’ll, I’ll take the compliment. Thank you. 

Angela [00:12:52] No, no! It just I believed everything you were saying. That’s what it is. 

Jenna [00:12:55] In rewatching the show, another scene that I remember that was just insane that I got to be in with you as well was the the toilet paper machine scenes where you had to unply and re-ply the toilet paper? Do you remember that thing? 

Mark [00:13:14] Oh, absolutely. That was that’s one of the most referenced scenes I get when people come up to me. But yeah, that… I just remember being shown the contraption and how to work it, and I just thought, wow, this is this is a lot of work for a quick joke. And that’s why I loved The Office, is that a lot of times there there would be a lot of of groundwork ahead of the joke, especially for these physical jokes, like the re-plying and unplying of the toilet paper machine. Yeah, that honestly, it’s the most referenced scene that I get. 

Jenna [00:13:54] I believe it. 

Angela [00:13:55] We have people like wrote in that asked us how it was built. Like they’re just fascinated by all of it. And Phil Shea in the props department. 

Mark [00:14:03] Yeah, you know, it it’s one of those things that I look back on and I, again, I think, gosh, what a show to just come in and that everyone’s loving what they’re doing. Every department was in love with the show. And you don’t realize how rare that is until you start working on other stuff. And they didn’t look at it as just a 9 to 5. They really loved everyone involved and loved what they were doing. And it’s it shows on the screen I think today. 

Jenna [00:14:35] When people ask you about your time on The Office, what are some of the most frequently asked questions? Like what do people want to know? 

Mark [00:14:43] People would often ask, Did you guys break all the time? Was it always really fun to be on set? And I also get a lot of, you know, are the characters like that in real life? Are the actors like their characters? Which is still fascinating today that we get these types of questions because, you know, you hear of stories of people writing in to I Love Lucy, being mad at Ricky, and for treating his wife that way. And you’re like, gosh, that was such a quaint, naive time. But it still happens. People are like, you know, is Angela really uptight? And it’s like, No, not really at all. You know? And, you know, is Mindy really like that? No, Mindy’s not really like that. 

Jenna [00:15:32] Maybe a little. 

Mark [00:15:33] Maybe a little. Is is Bryan dumb? It’s like, No, Bryan’s a very smart guy. That’s usually what I get asked. 

Angela [00:15:43] Do you still get recognized as Nate? 

Mark [00:15:46] I do, which is crazy to me because I’m, you know, ten years heavier and doughier than I was back then. The really surprising thing is the age. And I’m sure you guys are getting this as well, probably far more than I am. Younger people that come up to me, teenagers and people in their early twenties who love the show. We were in Italy just last week and I went into a wine shop there and it was a young guy behind the counter and he knew me as Nate from The Office. 

Jenna [00:16:27] Wow. 

Mark [00:16:28] And that blew my mind because, you know, I’ve I’ve done stuff since then, but The Office still is so relevant to this day. Well, what luck and what a blessing that we got to be on that show. It’s just amazing. 

Angela [00:16:46] Well, you have some fun episodes coming up, so we are going to keep pestering you because there’s one or two- I don’t want to give it away, but Dwight Angela wedding moments that I want to ask you about. I guess I did just give it away. If you’re watching it for the first time. 

Mark [00:17:04] Yeah, some of those episodes. Ugh.

Jenna [00:17:08] Nate, I thank you so much for coming on Office Ladies and sharing your story with us. You know, in my book that I wrote, which is The Actor’s Life a Survival Guide, it’s like advice for aspiring actors. You were kind enough to let me share your story in that book as well, because I think, like there’s a lot of people who are anywhere in the world and they have these artistic things inside of them that they want to express. And I think you’re such a great example of just doing it, just expressing it for no even known goal, just because the world needs laughter and artists and creativity. And then it completely transformed your life. But I just love your story so much. I think it’s so inspiring. 

Mark [00:17:57] Well, thank you. I really appreciate that. It’s- I truly, truly believe that if you do good work, if you have a point of view and you’re truly interested and passionate about your take on comedy or drama or anything or in acting, I wholeheartedly believe that the cream rises to the top and that people will take notice. Especially nowadays, there’s so many different ways to to show your talent out there and show your creativity. Don’t get disheartened by all the flotsam and jetsam that that is out there. Just keep doing what you find to be interesting and unique, and hopefully others will find that to be the case. 

Angela [00:18:56] Y,eah, I so agree. I so agree. It’s it’s not just the idea, but it’s a call to action, if you have it, to try it. You know? And put it out there. 

Mark [00:19:05] Absolutely. 

Jenna [00:19:06] Mark, is there anything that you’re working on now that we could share with our listeners where they could see you doing more stuff? 

Mark [00:19:13] Yeah, I’m currently on a show called What We Do in the Shadows. We’re going into our fifth well, the fifth season is about to drop on FX, and we’re going to be filming the sixth season in the fall. So that’s what I’ve been working on. 

Angela [00:19:32] Well, Mark, we just absolutely adore you. We definitely want you back on Office Ladies. And if there’s anything we can give a shout out to or uplift, we’re here for you. 

Mark [00:19:42] Well, I really appreciate you guys having me on. This has been fun to reminisce, but also just has been so great to get to see you two. 

Angela [00:19:50] Yes!

Jenna [00:19:51] Will you tell Amelie we said hello as well? 

Mark [00:19:53] Sbsolutely. She was excited I was doing this, so. 

Jenna [00:19:57] Yay! 

Angela [00:20:03] Yay! We are back. Let’s jump right in. It looks like everybody has gone to get coffee. Not at Dwight’s Caffeine Corner? Where did they go? Where are they coming back from? I have questions. Why isn’t Dwight annoyed that people shop somewhere other than the Caffeine Corner? Huh? 

Jenna [00:20:21] Angela, I love how they’re walking up with these drinks as if there is some business around the corner where they purchase these items, when we know that the only thing around that hedge is a junkyard. 

Angela [00:20:32] Yeah. And a train track. 

Jenna [00:20:33] Yes, but you’re right. They have come back with these, I guess, blended drinks. And they’re going to come upon Oscar, who has noticed that there is a dog inside of a car. And he is outraged. 

Angela [00:20:47] He is ready to just go off. I mean, what classic snowboarder move. Leave your dog in the car with the windows up. 

Jenna [00:20:56] Yeah. Probably didn’t leave his weed in the car. 

Angela [00:20:59] Nope. 

Jenna [00:21:00] Well, Oscar ends up smashing the window, but then not letting the dog out and then taping up the window. Oh, he’s also smashed the tail light of the car. 

Angela [00:21:10] For good measure. Let’s just pump the brakes for one second. Dwight pours his milkshake through the sunroof. This means the sunroof is open. This means, you know, not great that the dog’s in the car, but there’s an open sunroof. The dog is not, in fact, enclosed with no air. Oscar did not need to bash out a window. There’s an open sunroof. 

Jenna [00:21:36] We got a fan mail flurry about that, Angela. 

Angela [00:21:38] Well, good. 

Jenna [00:21:39] Also, the sunroof is clearly letting in more air than Oscar’s cardboard window with holes in it. 

Angela [00:21:48] You know, Jenna, I had an alternate pitch for the title of this episode. 

Jenna [00:21:53] Oh, what is it? 

Angela [00:21:54] So Much Sass. 

Jenna [00:21:56] So much sass? 

Angela [00:21:58] Yeah, It starts with Oscar. It’s going to continue. And I’m going to point out the sass the whole way through. 

Jenna [00:22:04] I will look forward to that. So in addition to the fan mail flurry about the sunroof being open, we got a lot of fan questions about this cold open. And I’m happy to say that Steve Burgess gave us all the answers. Are you ready? 

Angela [00:22:18] Yes. Go, Steve. 

Jenna [00:22:21] Our first question comes from Matty in College Station, Texas, who wanted to know, How hot was it on the day that the dog was in the car? And how was the stunt done to ensure that the dog did not get overheated in real life? Steve told me that the weather that day was a sunny 88 degrees. However, we shot first thing in the morning, so it was a bit cooler. 

Angela [00:22:44] Oh yeah. It probably would have been like in the sixties. 

Jenna [00:22:47] Yes. That’s how the days go here in L.A. They start out cool jacket weather, then it’s shorts and t shirt, and then by evening, you’re putting that jacket back on again. 

Angela [00:22:57] Mm hmm. 

Jenna [00:22:58] Steve said that the dog was only in the car for the shots that we see him, that he actually did not spend very much time in the car at all. Same thing goes for Brian, who gets in his own car. 

Angela [00:23:10] Yeah. As Kevin. 

Jenna [00:23:12] He wasn’t sure if we had pointed this out on a previous podcast, but Kevin’s car was Veda’s car in real life. 

Angela [00:23:20] Oh, really? 

Jenna [00:23:21] Our script supervisor. Yes. Steve also said that we used, of course, Bob Dunn’s animal trainers for this stunt. The trainers were Rick and Benita and the dogs real name was Tango. 

Angela [00:23:34] Tango. 

Jenna [00:23:37] Now, next fan question. Cameron C from California wanted to know, How messy did the car get from Dwight pouring his slushie in? And also wanted to know whose car was it? Well, this car was not a crew member’s car. This was a rented car.

Angela [00:23:51] Thank goodness.  

Jenna [00:23:52] Right? I know. Could you imagine? 

Angela [00:23:55] No. 

Jenna [00:23:56] This was a rented car from Cinema Vehicles. Steve said the car did get pretty messy. They had to clean it up. They also had a glass guy who was standing by to put new glass windows in. But they were the fakey glass windows. He said we were able to do the glass breaking in only two takes. And if you look really closely, you will see that when Oscar breaks the window, there is no dog in the car. Like he’s not in the car anywhere. I think they were hoping you’d think maybe he’d jumped in the front seat or maybe into the back. 

Angela [00:24:33] Over to the other side. 

Jenna [00:24:34] Yeah, yeah. But at one minute, 2 seconds, it’s very clear that there is no dog in there. And then, you know, even though it was tempered glass that didn’t have any sharp edges, they cleaned all that out and then put the dog back into the car for the rest of the scene. And that’s how we did it. 

Angela [00:24:50] There you go. Ultimately, you know, no one wants to adopt the dog, so they do leave the dog in the car with an open sunroof and the cardboard hole punch things. And I just want to know whose car was that and who walked back to that car? 

Jenna [00:25:10] Wouldn’t you come in the building and complain or file a police report? I mean, it’s not going to be that difficult to figure out who vandalized this car. 

Angela [00:25:18] No! The first thing I would do is be like, well, first of all, I would go into the, you know, the building and say, Hank, whose car is that? There’s a dog in it. That’s what I would do. First of all. No, not our office crew. 

Jenna [00:25:31] You wouldn’t smash the window open with a tire iron, Angela?

Angela [00:25:34] No, no. I’d find who it was and then shame them. 

Jenna [00:25:38] That would. That would have worked well for your episode So Much Sass. 

Angela [00:25:42] I know. 

Jenna [00:25:43] So much shame could be another episode. 

Angela [00:25:45] So much shame. Back in the bullpen, we’re going to find out that the warehouse has won the lottery. I mean, they won $950,000. It’s about $100,000 a person, and they all quit. 

Jenna [00:25:59] Well, $100,000 before taxes. 

Angela [00:26:02] Well, that’s true. That’s true. But they quit. They’re like, we’re out of here. I mean, they come up and celebrate. There’s dancing. Someone moons everybody. 

Jenna [00:26:11] Yeah, We got a fan question from Eli and Avery W from Lake County, B.C.. At the very beginning, when the warehouse people win the lottery, they pick up Meredith. Was that scripted? 

Angela [00:26:23] You know what? It was scripted. Here is what it said in the shooting draft: B-roll. The warehouse guys burst into the office cheering and hugging. One of them moons Andy. Meredith jumps on Glenn. 

Jenna [00:26:38] Oh. 

Angela [00:26:38] Yeah. He didn’t pick her up. Meredith just wanted to join in the party. 

Jenna [00:26:44] Well, Darrl’s ex, Justine, is going to call him and congratulate him on his lotto win. 

Angela [00:26:51] Mm hmm. 

Jenna [00:26:51] But Darryl has to explain he wasn’t part of the lottery pool anymore. Because of his promotion, he doesn’t participate. So now she would like Glenn’s number. 

Angela [00:27:02] He’s like, Oh, I have it right here. Click. 

Jenna [00:27:05] Mhmm. 

Angela [00:27:06] This starts Darryl down a dark road. 

Jenna [00:27:09] This is where he explains that they won playing his birthday. Could you even imagine? 

Angela [00:27:16] No. That would sting. That would sting a little bit. You know, this cracked me up, Jenna, because there’s been time to time that, you know, we’ll go and get a lottery ticket. You know, like, it hits a big number and the kids are like, This is kind of fun. And we just get one. And we always play our birthdays or our anniversary. 

Jenna [00:27:36] It’s so common. 

Angela [00:27:37] It’s very common. We never win. And I was really curious, do most people play birthdays and anniversaries and special numbers? And I started Googling and oh, my goodness. 

Jenna [00:27:48] What? 

Angela [00:27:49] Lady, just the world of lottery and the numbers. It is fascinating. It is fascinating. You could do a whole podcast called Lottery. Really. It’s just so cool. I found out that there are websites that track the lottery numbers that are pulled the most. And you got to hear this. According to an article written by Emily Dinuzo for Reader’s Digest magazine in February of this year, this article talked about lotteries that you can play anywhere in the U.S., you know, because there’s also state lotteries. That’s a whole other thing. But according to USA Mega, here are the numbers most commonly drawn in the mega million. Ready? 

Jenna [00:28:31] Wait. These are the most common winning numbers? 

Angela [00:28:33] That are drawn. Yeah. Not necessarily all together, but these are the numbers that hit the most. Ready? 

Jenna [00:28:39] I’m going to get a pen and some paper. I’m going to write these down. 

Angela [00:28:42] Look, I wrote them down for us. And after this podcast today, I’m going to go get us a lottery ticket. 

Jenna [00:28:47] This is awesome. 

Angela [00:28:49] Okay. Ready? 

Jenna [00:28:50] Yes. 

Angela [00:28:51] 22, 11, nine, ten, four and 19. 22 was drawn 26 times and 11 was drawn 24 times. Now, this is a survey over over an extended period of time, over a few years. Right?

Jenna [00:29:09] Okay. 

Angela [00:29:10] Several other of the most common mega million numbers were drawn 18 times. These numbers are 13, 14, 17, 18, 24 and 25. 

Jenna [00:29:21] 13, 17 and 24 are numbers I always play. Those are like my favorite numbers.

Angela [00:29:28] Remember them for the mega. Meanwhile, stay clear of 21, 45, 55 and 51 when choosing your first five numbers. 

Jenna [00:29:39] Why? Because they never get picked? 

Angela [00:29:40] They’re not as popular. 

Jenna [00:29:42] This is so weird because it’s obviously totally random. Every number has an equal opportunity to pop up. So it is fascinating to me that there are certain numbers that pop up so much more than others. 

Angela [00:29:54] Yes. And listen, most people that win 70% of people that win the lottery did where the computer picks for you. Do you know what I mean? 

Jenna [00:30:04] Really? 

Angela [00:30:05] Yes. 70% winners didn’t even pick their own numbers. So it is incredibly random. But this is what some data is showing and I’m sharing it. 

Jenna [00:30:15] This is fascinating to me. It’s making me think that there’s something in the balls. You know, there’s like a like maybe a little the way the balls were made, you know? The 69 ball. 

Angela [00:30:26] I don’t know that that there’s a conspiracy, but. 

Jenna [00:30:29] I’m not saying anybody planned it. I’m just saying maybe it happened. 

Angela [00:30:32] Maybe. 

Jenna [00:30:33] Maybe they’re slightly, slightly just ever so like a millimeter smaller or something. I don’t know. Or bigger? I don’t know. 

Angela [00:30:40] I don’t know. 

Jenna [00:30:42] Has anyone measured? I don’t know. 

Angela [00:30:44] Jenna, have you ever known anyone that’s won the lottery? Like, really won? Not, like, just, like, $2 or something. 

Jenna [00:30:51] No. 

Angela [00:30:53] Okay. Are you ready for this? 

Jenna [00:30:55] Do you? 

Angela [00:30:56] I know that I bring up 1- 800- DENTIST a lot. I know. But guess what? A lot happened there. And after I left being an operator, one of the operators that was still there, that I knew, won the lottery! 

Jenna [00:31:05] How much?! 

Angela [00:31:05] $120 million.  

Jenna [00:31:19] What? What? What?! 120 million? 

Angela [00:31:20] Yes! Yes, Jenna. She was an aspiring actress working at 1-800- DENTIST, like so many of us, because they had good hours if you wanted to audition. She played the lottery, and her and another person who she didn’t know won. So they split it. They each got $60 million, which I guess after taxes is 30 million. But oh, my gosh. And I saw her a few years ago. We have mutual friends from our time working as operators, and they had a Halloween party. I was at their Halloween party and there she was. And I was like, oh, my gosh, how are you doing? She’s doing great. She bought a farm. 

Jenna [00:31:57] She’s doing great. 

Angela [00:31:57] She grows avocados or avocado oil. Yeah. Can you imagine? 

Jenna [00:32:04] No! I wouldn’t want to win that amount of money. I don’t want that responsibility. 

Angela [00:32:10] Yeah. Well, you know, we have an Office crossover to the lottery, kind of, which is Jeff Blitz, our director, who we love, did a documentary about lotto winners. It’s so good. It’s called Lucky. It came out in 2010. I started rewatching it. You can find it on Amazon Prime. It is so fascinating. It follows different people. Winners of the lottery, losers of the lottery, people that play numbers all the time. It’s very good. 

Jenna [00:32:42] It is an amazing, amazing documentary. 

Angela [00:32:45] Yeah, but kind of like what you were saying. There are some people that are like the pressure of winning that, you know, it completely can derail their life. Some people, no, but it’s just very fascinating, all of it. 

Jenna [00:32:59] Well, here’s the thing. I did a whole deep dive on the lottery as well. I hate to bog everybody down with more lottery facts, but in this next scene, everybody starts discussing kind of what they would do if they won the lottery. Everybody’s fantasizing about it. Everybody wishes it was them. 

Angela [00:33:17] Yeah, I call this the scene of sass and belly itching. 

Jenna [00:33:21] Please explain. 

Angela [00:33:23] Well, at 3 minutes and 21 seconds, I’m standing behind Dwight, and I just am scratching that fake pregger belly because it was so itchy and I am futzing with it through the whole scene. 

Jenna [00:33:35] Well, we had a fan catch from Kayla E in Indianapolis who had a wardrobe catch for this scene. Everyone is in purple. Phyllis, Angela, Kelly, Oscar, Erin and Meredith are all wearing purple in this scene, so you can add purple to your sass belly scratch observation. 

Angela [00:33:51] Okay, well, the sass starts with Pam. She says to Jim, you know, he is explaining what he would do. He would, you know, live in Maine and bike or kayak to work or work at a bike shop and kayak. Anyway, lots of biking and kayaking. And Pam says, And then on the weekends, would you hacky sack back to reality and spend time with your wife and kids? 

Jenna [00:34:14] Mm hmm. 

Angela [00:34:15] Ding second sass. Next sass, Jim sass, he says, Whoa, Saucy. And then we have some good old Ryan sass because Pam says she wants to live in a townhouse in Soho. And Ryan says, Soho’s mostly lofts, but okay. 

Jenna [00:34:34] I loved that line. I also noticed how it’s Pam’s dream to one day live in New York. And it’s my dream, too. 

Angela [00:34:41] I wrote that down! I wrote that down. I said, Jenna, this is you and Pam are aligned in this moment. Although Pam brings back her dream of having a terrace. 

Jenna [00:34:51] She does. She needs to have, like, a balcony off of her townhouse slash loft apartment in New York. 

Angela [00:34:57] Yeah. That’s remember, in Boys and Girls, She wanted the terrace. 

Jenna [00:35:01] Yes. Well, what’s really funny about this is that I did not have the dream of retiring in New York when we shot this episode. So I have only later in life had this in common with Pam. 

Angela [00:35:12] Yeah. Well, there’s still more sass to come, because now Meredith is going to say, Get a divorce. Get a divorce. 

Jenna [00:35:19] Yes. Well, here’s the thing I got curious about and it was a little bit because I remembered that documentary that you mentioned that Jeff Blitz did. Is winning the lottery really a good thing for your life? 

Angela [00:35:31] Hmm. Yeah.

Jenna [00:35:32] And according to an article on Money Marshmallow dot com titled Why Do Lottery Winners Go Broke? Winning the lottery does not sound great. It’s been reported that 70% of lottery winners lose all of their money. All of their money, their winnings, plus all the money they already had within five years of winning. 

Angela [00:35:53] Wow. 

Jenna [00:35:54] So many of them go bankrupt and they believe it’s for the following reasons. One, lack of money management skills. Two, treating your lottery winnings as, quote, free money. And so rather than spend it on things like paying off your debt or other bills, you do sort of like lavish, spontaneous spending, like on vacations, car. 

Angela [00:36:21] Buy a sports car. 

Jenna [00:36:22] Yeah, exactly. Also, and the warehouse workers should listen to this one, the most common reason people go broke in five years after winning the lottery is because they quit their job without a new plan. Also making bad investments and not properly accounting for taxes. 

Angela [00:36:40] Taxes. That’s a big one. 

Jenna [00:36:42] Yeah. All right. That’s it. That’s what I learned about the lottery. And also, can I give a shout out to my son who helped me deep dive the lottery and he typed it all into my document for me because of my broken shoulder and because I can’t type. He was so supportive. It was so sweet. He sat at my computer. 

Angela [00:37:00] How adorable. How adorable is that? 

Jenna [00:37:01] I know. 

Angela [00:37:02] Andy is really getting frustrated because no one is working. They can’t focus because of this warehouse crew winning the lottery. And Darryl is totally checked out. He hasn’t hired any new warehouse workers. And Phyllis, get ready for some Phyllis sass and a little bit of St Louis. It’s about to hit you. Go to 5 minutes, 13 seconds to 5 minutes, 16 seconds. Because Phyllis is going to say, “arder”. 

Jenna [00:37:31] Angela, we had a bad catch from Miranda B in Florida, who said the same thing. 

Angela [00:37:36] Yes, Miranda. 

Jenna [00:37:38] The says, “Andy, this is a seriously big ardor”. 

Angela [00:37:40] Yes. It’s so strong. 

Jenna [00:37:43] Well, Phyllis says, Darryl, I sent you an email about it. And he says, I haven’t read it. Four hour work week. 

Angela [00:37:49] Mhmm. 

Jenna [00:37:50] Do you know what that is? That is a reference to a real book by Tim Ferriss called The Four Hour Workweek. 

Angela [00:37:57] Where you only work 4 hours for a whole entire week?

Jenna [00:38:01] Yes. 

Angela [00:38:02] How? 

Jenna [00:38:03] All right, I’ll tell you, I read it. I read this book, Angela, when we were daydreaming about reinventing our lives and creating new careers for ourselves, where we worked the hours we wanted, when we wanted. 

Angela [00:38:18] Yeah. 

Jenna [00:38:19] So here is a one sentence summary of the book. This is from an online review. Quote, The four hour workweek is the step by step blueprint to free yourself from the shackles of a corporate job, create a business to fund the lifestyle of your dreams and live like a millionaire without actually having to be one. 

Angela [00:38:37] Mhmm. Okay. 

Jenna [00:38:39] So in the book, he encourages you to first think about the life you want, not the job you want. What life do you want? Do you want to be a person who can travel all the time? Do you want to be a person who lives in, you know, a little town in Italy? And then once you figure out what you want your life to look like, then he says, Here’s how you fund your life, by doing as little work as possible so that life is first and then job is second. 

Angela [00:39:08] Interesting. 

Jenna [00:39:08] And that’s sort of his come from. 

Angela [00:39:11] Okay. 

Jenna [00:39:12] I really enjoyed the book, but one of the things that he has in the book is that you only answer your emails for like a scheduled period of time. You don’t check your email all day. It’s like a little minutia thing. And that is why Darryl has not read his email from Phyllis is because he’s following the advice in this book. However, Darryl would have quit his job first. Like, you can’t do his concepts in a corporate job because obviously they’re going to need you to work more than 4 hours a week. I recommend the book. I really liked it. You know, he also has a podcast and he did an interview with Jerry Seinfeld that is one of my favorite Jerry Seinfeld interviews I’ve ever listened to. So, yeah, if you’re looking to kind of reinvent your life or even just muse on the idea of reinventing your life, it’s a good place to start. 

Angela [00:40:05] Okay. 

Jenna [00:40:06] Number one New York Times bestseller. 

Angela [00:40:08] I’m going to check it out. I’m not done with my sass tracker. 

Jenna [00:40:12] Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to get us off on that tangent. 

Angela [00:40:15] Yeah, please, please don’t interrupt my important sass tracker. You know, Andy says we’re going to need a crew in the warehouse because Phyllis has got to fill her ardor. And Erin volunteers. No one else is volunteering, but Andy volunteers Kevin and we’re going to have some Kevin sass. Kevin says, Good old Kevin. He’ll do anything. Guess what? I will not do a good job. So that’s who’s headed down to the warehouse, along with Dwight and Jim. And then we’ve got some classic Angela sass and maybe, maybe top ten biggest smiles Angela’s had in the whole series. 

Jenna [00:40:53] You mean when she goes up to Pam at reception with the old clipboard? 

Angela [00:40:58] Uh huh. 

Jenna [00:40:58] Mm hmm. 

Angela [00:40:59] She’s pranking Pam. You know, her big pregs little pregs prank. Pam’s like, Oh, come on, This is a lottery pool. This isn’t about guessing my baby’s weight. And Angela just walks away and goes, Again, I’m sorry. It’s my mistake. So much Angela sass. 

Jenna [00:41:16] Yes. Angela had written down on the lottery pool that she thought Pam was going to have a 14 pound baby. 

Angela [00:41:24] Mm hmm. 

Jenna [00:41:25] You know what? In real life, my son, who was inside my belly for this scene, when he was born he was almost 10 pounds. He was two ounces shy of 10 pounds. 

Angela [00:41:38] Mm hmm. 

Jenna [00:41:40] He did not fit into newborn clothing. 

Angela [00:41:43] I know. 

Jenna [00:41:44] The nurses brought him in and they were like, is this a three month old or a newborn? I was like, I don’t know why he’s so large. He was so cute.

Angela [00:41:53] One of my favorite characters is a picture of your son as a baby next to my daughter as a toddler and he’s he’s her size. 

Jenna [00:42:01] I know. 

Angela [00:42:02] It’s so cute. 

Jenna [00:42:03] We put that in our book. 

Angela [00:42:05] I know, I love it. 

Jenna [00:42:06] Well, next up, Andy is going to go into Darryl’s office. And Darryl is very despondent. He has a monologue about tacos, how his basement still smells like tacos. And you can’t get taco smell out of the air in a basement. 

Angela [00:42:22] It’s a very heavy smell. I probably should not have wanted a taco during this speech. It makes them not sound very, I don’t know. 

Jenna [00:42:32] Appetizing?

Angela [00:42:33] Appetizing. But yeah, after the speech, I just wanted a taco. 

Jenna [00:42:38] Did you get one? 

Angela [00:42:40] No. No. And I’ve been thinking about it, and I’m, I’m pretty sure I’m going to have a taco today. 

Jenna [00:42:45] Well.  

Angela [00:42:48] I know. It’s such a random thing. All I could think about was tacos. 

Jenna [00:42:52] Well, don’t eat it in an enclosed space. 

Angela [00:42:54] Okay. Noted. 

Jenna [00:42:56] I don’t want you to have a taco smell that lingers. 

Angela [00:42:59] Okay. 

Jenna [00:43:00] But Andy is going to say, Why don’t we look at some applicants? I mean, we need a warehouse crew. 

Angela [00:43:06] Yeah. Yeah. 

Jenna [00:43:08] But I don’t know. Darryl is just despondent. 

Angela [00:43:12] Yeah. He’s not being Darryl. 

Jenna [00:43:15] Well, speaking of warehouse crew, our new warehouse crew of Jim and Dwight and Erin and Kevin is going to get off to a real start. I guess. A jolt? 

Angela [00:43:28] A jolt? I have to call bull(BLEEP) on this scene. I’m calling bull (BLEEP). I’m playing the card. 

Jenna [00:43:34] Oh, my goodness. What is- why such strong feelings?

Angela [00:43:39] Because I think Dwight, who owns a farm and probably has multiple tractors and other kind of big farm machinery, would know how to drive a forklift and wouldn’t drive it straight into a wall. So there you go. I don’t play it very often, but I’m playing my bull (BLEEP) card. 

Jenna [00:43:58] We got a lot of fan mail about this scene. 

Angela [00:44:02] Did anyone else call bull (BLEEP)? 

Jenna [00:44:04] No one else called bull (BLEEP). And I have to say, Angela, I accept your bull (BLEEP) card. 

Angela [00:44:10] Thank you. 

Jenna [00:44:10] I have no retort. 

Angela [00:44:13] I playsed it fairly. 

Jenna [00:44:14] You did? You played it well. 

Angela [00:44:16] What was the fan mail flurry about? 

Jenna [00:44:18] Well, first of all, Steven M from Ann Arbor, Michigan, noticed that Dwight fastened his seatbelt on the forklift. 

Angela [00:44:28] Hmm. 

Jenna [00:44:29] And said, Why would a forklift need a seatbelt? How fast do forklifts go? Well, guess what, Steven? Forklifts always come equipped with seat belts because they are considered a vehicle. Now, while forklifts tend to only go ten miles an hour or less, and many businesses actually set their forklifts at five miles an hour, many injuries and fatalities occur when forklift operators get crushed between the vehicle and the ground if it falls over because they try to jump out. Like, the forklift is falling over and they try to jump out and then they get crushed. So if you’re wearing a seatbelt, the idea is that it makes it harder for you to jump out of the forklift and therefore it keeps you safer in the event that it should tip over. 

Angela [00:45:21] So if it tips over, you’re strapped in, you might be awkwardly on your side, but then you can unstrap and crawl out once it’s done crashing.  

Jenna [00:45:31] Moral of the story, if you’re ever in a forklift that’s tipping over, don’t try to jump out. Like your chance of injury is much higher. But that is why they have seatbelts. And then we had a couple of questions. These are some folks that write in almost every week. Harmjan V from the Netherlands. 

Angela [00:45:50] Harmjan. Yes. 

Jenna [00:45:50] Yes. Wanted to know in order to drive the forklift, did Rainn Wilson have to get certified first or was it a stunt driver? Well, Steve Burgess said Rainn and all of the warehouse worker actors who drove the forklift had to be certified to drive it. Universal was very safety conscious and they would not allow anyone to drive the forklift who had not taken and passed a certification class. And also that is not a stunt driver. Rainn actually drove the forklift into the door. 

Angela [00:46:21] Fakey door. It’s a fakey door. 

Jenna [00:46:23] Well, now you’re leading me perfectly into a fan question from Cameron C in California, who we hear from a lot. Hi, Cameron. 

Angela [00:46:30] Hi. 

Jenna [00:46:31] Cameron would like to know, How did the forklift go through the door so easily? 

Angela [00:46:36] Can I guess what it was made of? 

Jenna [00:46:38] Yes. 

Angela [00:46:39] Like a type of Styrofoam. 

Jenna [00:46:41] It was balsa wood. Steve Burgess said that Rainn really drove the forklift into the door, and just the bottom part had been replaced with balsa wood. That way, the top part would still like clang, like a heavy door. We were prepared to do two takes, but we only needed to do one. 

Angela [00:47:00] There you go. Dwight gets off the machine after he crashes it into the door and just calmly walks over and starts carrying the boxes by hand. 

Jenna [00:47:10] Yes. 

Angela [00:47:10] I was very curious about what a box of ten reams of paper weighs, which is about the size boxes that look like to me, the standard box you see, you know? 

Jenna [00:47:19] I’m so glad you looked this up. Did you go to Weight of Stuff dot com? The Web site we discovered during our Speed breakdown, Weight of Stuff dot com?

Angela [00:47:28] No, I should have. I should have. I just went to Office Depot and I looked up a box of ten reams of paper, and it says it weighs 20 pounds. 

Jenna [00:47:39] So picking up a 20 pound box is the thing that they have been avoiding. 

Angela [00:47:44] Yes. 

Jenna [00:47:44] This whole episode. 

Angela [00:47:46] They’re sliding across the floor 20 pound boxes. 

Jenna [00:47:50] Hmm. I mean, I could see how after carrying several of those, it gets trying. And none of them are wearing those belts that the warehouse crew usually wears. 

Angela [00:48:01] Yeah. Yeah, the lift. The belt lifty thing. 

Jenna [00:48:02] Yeah. The thing that helps your back. 

Angela [00:48:05] Protects your back? Yeah. 

Jenna [00:48:06] Mm hmm. Well, lady Andy and Darryl are going to meet with a group of potential new warehouse workers. But maybe we should take a break, because I have some really fun finds about all these people we’re about to meet. 

Angela [00:48:22] Oh, good. Let’s take a break. And when we come back, let’s meet the applicants. Well, you guys, before we meet everyone interviewing for this new warehouse, I needed to share with you a text exchange I had with Oscar Nunez. 

Jenna [00:48:42] Okay. 

Angela [00:48:43] So you guys know, to sort of commemorate the release of John Wick four, Jenna, you and I both posted the Zoom video of you and I podcasting from our closets where I told you I had watched the John Wick movies and you said, What are you talking about? Even though you had told me to watch them, we’re not going to rehash it. 

Jenna [00:49:03] We won’t. We won’t. But yes. 

Angela [00:49:05] But when I called on Sam to be my backup. Anyway, Oscar saw our Instagram post. You know, he’s rarely on social media. He saw our Instagram post. He got so tickled by it that it led to this text exchange. Are you ready? 

Jenna [00:49:21] Yes. 

Angela [00:49:22] Good morning, Angela. On Instagram you and Jenna did a funny bit about watching John Wick. I want to comment on it, but I can’t find it now. How do I find it? So I texted him back and I said, You just go to Instagram and type in Angela Kinsey and you’ll find it. And then he wrote back, Okay. So then I gave it a few minutes and I went to see what he posted. 

Jenna [00:49:49] Okay. 

Angela [00:49:49] This is what he commented on our John Wick video. Ready? Angela Kinsey Hashtag Flashback Friday to Miss Jenna Fischer. It is his pitch for John Wick five. John Wick five; healing and Forgiveness, written and directed by Jenna Fischer. The movie takes place on Nantucket, where John Wick is a proprietor of a small shop that sells porcelain coffee mugs and towels. It’s called Drink and Dry. John Wick changes the dressing on his many wounds, visiting the doctor to make sure his stitches are removed properly and scarring is at a minimal. He learns to write in beautiful cursive old English. He mails poems and coffee related items to the Russian mafia. They open his quiet, thoughtful gifts in their loud, garish raves and toss them in the garbage. Pearls to swine. One time John Wick stumbles on a stair, but quickly catches himself. 

Jenna [00:50:53] Oh, thank goodness. 

Angela [00:50:55] He walks along the beach and meets a woman wrapped in a cardigan with long white hair. She doesn’t diet because she doesn’t play games. They kiss ever so gingerly. He pulls back because his lip is still a little busted up. They laugh quietly as they cradle piping mugs of coffee. The End. Keanu Reeves’ stunt double is Angela Kinsey. 

Jenna [00:51:20] Oh!

Angela [00:51:21] I got so tickled. So then I texted him and I said, Oh my gosh, Oscar, your comments are hilarious. And he said, Well, you ladies made me laugh so much, I just ran with it. 

Jenna [00:51:32] I need that movie. After seeing John Wick four, I need a whole 2 hours where he just heals and sips warm coffee. I love it. 

Angela [00:51:41] And falls in love. 

Jenna [00:51:42] Yes. I love this idea. Thank you, Oscar. All right. Should we get back to this episode? 

Angela [00:51:49] Yes. Let’s meet the warehouse interviewees. 

Jenna [00:51:52] Well, they’re in the conference room, and immediately Darryl tells everybody in the room that the last warehouse workers won the lottery and quit. 

Angela [00:52:01] Yeah, He’s not pitching working at Dunder Mifflin, like, at all. Like he’s like, You know what? Think long and hard about it because, you know, you’re going to get here. Then you’re going to get stuck. Then you’re going to, you know, your life is over. And what? What do you have to show for it? 

Jenna [00:52:14] Well, we got some fan questions. Ali from Topeka, Kansas, wrote in to say, During the conference room interview at 8 minutes and 30 seconds, Mike E. Winfield is in the scene. He is now a standup comedian and my fiancee and I saw a couple of his shows on a cruise last January. He is so funny, and I am curious if The Office was one of his first gigs. I would really love a Mom Detectives deep dive on him. Well, yes, Ali, that is Mike E. Winfield. He has been a standup comedian for over 20 years or so. And he became really famous because he was a finalist on America’s Got Talent in 2022. But he did not win. And he was super crushed. But then he got to go on to be an all star finalist in 2023. I went to his website. He’s so funny, so charming. And according to his IMDB page, he had done one project before The Office. It was the Bobby Lee project, which I believe was a pilot, and that was a few years before he got his role in The Office. And guess what? He’s going to be back. He does another episode coming up. 

Angela [00:53:20] That’s a good deep dive. 

Jenna [00:53:22] I thought it was pretty good. Thanks. 

Angela [00:53:24] Mm hmm. 

Jenna [00:53:24] Well, you know who else is in that room? Ameenah! 

Angela [00:53:27] Yes! 

Jenna [00:53:27] Ameenah Kaplan. She’s the one woman in the conference room. And you do not realize it from this episode, but Ameenah is going to have quite the arc coming up in season eight. She’s going to appear in 14 episodes. 

Angela [00:53:40] Yup. 

Jenna [00:53:41] As Val. Spoiler alert. 

Angela [00:53:43] We have to have Ameena on. 

Jenna [00:53:44] We do. Because their romance is brewing. 

Angela [00:53:48] I know. 

Jenna [00:53:49] She was the loveliest. 

Angela [00:53:51] So sweet. 

Jenna [00:53:52] Yeah. Well, as her storyline develops, we’ll get her on the pod. 

Angela [00:53:55] I have such fond memories of being on set with her. Well, Darryl doesn’t know that romance is in his future. He’s still very much down in the dumps. And he has a talking head where he says he’s never been lucky. And he doesn’t just mean the lottery. He developed a soy allergy at 35. 

Jenna [00:54:12] Yes. Why is soy in everything? 

Angela [00:54:14] Yeah. 

Jenna [00:54:15] I looked it up. 

Angela [00:54:16] You looked up why soy is in everything? 

Jenna [00:54:18] Yeah. It’s in everything because it helps keep food moist. It’s like a moistening agent. 

Angela [00:54:27] Moist catalyst. 

Jenna [00:54:29] We had a fan question from Theresa M in London, Ontario, Canada, who said, I am curious, is there a story behind this soy allergy at the age of 35? As someone who developed a soy allergy at 25, it has always made me laugh. 

Angela [00:54:45] I was curious, too. I was really curious. I was like, Did one of the writers develop a soy allergy? Did you find this out, Jenna? 

Jenna [00:54:51] Well, I reached out to Charlie Grandy, who wrote this episode, and he said it’s not based on his personal experience. In fact, he’s pretty sure that it was Paul who pitched that joke. Does Paul have a soy allergy? I didn’t get a chance to reach out to him. 

Angela [00:55:07] I don’t know. Well, I have some more sass for you. 

Jenna [00:55:10] Oh, yeah? 

Angela [00:55:11] Yeah, we’re at reception. Pam is behind the desk, and Ryan says, Nice. Right back where I like you. Oh, Ryan, So much sass. He might win the sassiest of the episode. 

Jenna [00:55:24] Well, Pam’s going to give him some sass back. She’s not going to take that. 

Angela [00:55:28] Mm hmm. 

Jenna [00:55:29] No. Ryan notices that Pam is trying to maybe buy a lottery ticket online, and he’s like, Oh, yeah, Everyone wants to be rich without working for it. And that’s when Pam sasses and reminds him that he got to work at 10:30 this morning. 

Angela [00:55:42] Mm hmm. And he drops it. It’s like retreat. Retreat. 

Jenna [00:55:47] I personally loved getting to sit behind the reception desk again. 

Angela [00:55:51] Aww. 

Jenna [00:55:52] It was so fun. 

Angela [00:55:54] Oh, I didn’t even think about that. 

Jenna [00:55:55] Be back at my old haunt. 

Angela [00:55:58] Did you feel like you were back home a little bit? 

Jenna [00:56:00] A little bit. Yeah. The desk still hit my knees in an awkward way. 

Angela [00:56:05] Yeah. Just how you liked it. 

Jenna [00:56:07] It was an awkward height, that desk. 

Angela [00:56:09] Well, back in the conference room, Andy is now in charge, doing the interview process with the warehouse people. Because Darryl bailed, and it’s a hot mess. He wants to know if they have a degree or in warehouse sciences, possibly. And Val is like, Are you serious? 

Jenna [00:56:27] Listen. Speaking of a hot mess, down in the warehouse, these guys cannot move paper. I mean, it’s really ridiculous. But Kevin’s going to come up with this idea. He remembered how his sisters used to butter him up and slide him across the floor. 

Angela [00:56:45] Yeah, the linoleum. 

Jenna [00:56:46] Yes, but Jim and Dwight kind of shoot this idea down. And then Erin. Oh, my gosh. So funny.

Angela [00:56:52] Oh, my gosh. I laughed so hard when she grabs him by the arm and says, Drop it! 

Jenna [00:57:00] Drop it! They don’t like it! I like it, but they don’t like it! 

Angela [00:57:05] So drop it! 

Jenna [00:57:06] So funny. 

Angela [00:57:07] Where did that come from? 

Jenna [00:57:09] I don’t know. She’s so funny in this episode, though. 

Angela [00:57:11] I know. 

Jenna [00:57:12] Well, you know, all of those potential warehouse workers upstairs, they have left. So now Andy has to find a whole new crew of applicants. He’s going to start by asking Oscar, who is the strongest person in Scranton? And Oscar immediately says, Bruce Kenward. Works out at Planet Fitness. 

Angela [00:57:31] Well, I like his first thing is bulk or definition? What do you want? I looked up to see if there was a Planet Fitness in Scranton. And there is. 

Jenna [00:57:41] Hmm. 

Angela [00:57:43] Yes. But there is not a Gold’s Gym. There was, but it’s closed. 

Jenna [00:57:47] Oh, okay. 

Angela [00:57:49] There you go. Well, Andy is going to find three new fellows to interview. And one of them is Nate. One of them is Gideon. And one is Bruce Kenward. The buff guy. 

Jenna [00:58:03] Yes. We start with Gideon. Gideon was played by Barak Hardley. He’s a comedic actor. He’s been in a ton of stuff, studied at UCB. He has a website called Barak Hardley dot com. I spent so much time on this website, Angela. 

Angela [00:58:18] Really? 

Jenna [00:58:20] In addition to being a performer, he is also an artist and he makes and sells these handmade vintage light boxes. So like a little wooden box. And then it has a little button and a light turns on it and it’ll say like “on air” or it’ll say like “meeting in progress”. You can get them custom made. They’ll say anything you want. 

Angela [00:58:44] We need one. 

Both [00:58:45] We need one that says, Office Ladies! 

Jenna [00:58:47] I know! I want to order one! His work is beautiful. He also has, like, amazing sculpted art. He’s so talented. He also wrote a movie that he stars in called Spell. I watched a trailer for it. The lead character that he plays goes to Iceland and lady. Lady. He goes to the Icelandic Penis Museum in the movie. 

Angela [00:59:12] No. 

Jenna [00:59:12] You see it! Yes. 

Angela [00:59:15] No. 

Jenna [00:59:15] He must’ve shot at the penis museum. 

Angela [00:59:18] I mean, you know, I imagine them being accommodating. They sound very friendly on their website. 

Jenna [00:59:25] Well, Barak, we are going to be placing an order for an Office Ladies handmade light box. But seriously, guys, check out this website. He- I was so, like, inspired, impressed and charmed by it. Barak It’s B.A.R. A. K. Last name Hardley H. A. R. D. L. E. Y. dot com. 

Angela [00:59:46] I’ll put it in our stories too. 

Jenna [00:59:47] Perfect. 

Angela [00:59:49] Barak also, hear me out here, maybe you could come on and tell us all about the penis museum. 

Jenna [00:59:57] Right? Yes. First hand account. We want to hear about it. All right, so the other person in the room who isn’t Nate is Bruce Kenward. He is the guy in the tank top. We got a fan question from Dottie D in San Francisco, California who wants to know, What does the guy’s shirt say in the group interview? It’s been driving me crazy for years. Yes, he’s wearing a shirt and it’s like pixilated. 

Angela [01:00:29] Yeah. He made it, you guys. He made it himself. 

Jenna [01:00:33] Yeah. Steve Burgess said it was scripted. 

Angela [01:00:36] Mm hmm. 

Jenna [01:00:36] And we made that shirt for him to wear. And it was always from the very beginning intended to be blurred. Angela, I believe you pulled the character description from the script, which includes the notation for the t shirt. 

Angela [01:00:50] Yes. This is exactly how it was written in the script. Andy interviews his new candidates: Nate, a bearded hipster, Gideon and Bruce Kenward, a buff built, beautiful man wearing a tank top and flip flops. His tank top is pixilated. On the front it reads, My balls have biceps and my biceps have balls. 

Jenna [01:01:12] There you go, Dottie. 

Angela [01:01:13] This isn’t the only time we’re going to talk about balls in this episode. I thought about naming it sass and balls. But I went with so much sass. 

Jenna [01:01:21] We talk about balls again in this episode?

Angela [01:01:24] Yes, we do. 

Jenna [01:01:25] I will wait for it. 

Angela [01:01:27] Mm hmm. That’s my ball tracker. I have a sass tracker and a ball tracker. It was a busy episode for me. 

Jenna [01:01:33] What is your life? What is your life? 

Angela [01:01:35] What is my life? 

Jenna [01:01:38] Well, Bruce Kenward was played by Jason Walsh, and according to his IMDB, he was born in Missouri. And this is his only on camera credit. He is a trainer and he has trained some very big name actors for very big name movie roles. He has worked with Matt Damon several times, for example, on the Jason Bourne movie as well as The Great Wall. But he was also a trainer for Brie Larson on Captain Marvel and was one of Bradley Cooper’s trainers for American Sniper. Bradley Cooper had more than one trainer. 

Angela [01:02:14] Okay, this is a total tangent, but since you brought up the Great Wall that Matt Damon was in. I just saw him interviewed and he was saying his teenage daughter likes to kind of mess with him. She doesn’t want to watch any of his movies that are considered really, really great fine movies. She only wants to watch the stinkers. 

Jenna [01:02:33] I saw this interview. 

Angela [01:02:35] And she was talking about the wall and saying that she had seen the wall. And he says, It’s it’s The Great Wall. And she’s like, No, Dad. Dad, there’s nothing great about that movie. I just. As someone who is teenagers now, the teen sass. I really appreciated it. That story cracked me up. 

Jenna [01:02:55] Well, listen, the final person in the room is Nate, and he is going to explain to us that while he does not technically have a hearing problem, he does have trouble understanding certain sounds in certain situations. And we got a lot of mail about this. 

Angela [01:03:12] Is this a real thing? 

Jenna [01:03:13] Yes, it is. Well, as you know, my sister is hearing impaired. She wears hearing aids in both ears. And one of the issues that she has is in deciphering and understanding individual words in large group situations or like at restaurants. So if she’s sitting at a big table in a restaurant and there’s a lot of background noise, it’s really hard for her to focus on the speaker. Now, if she’s in your house and she’s sitting at a table for dinner, it’s a lot easier because the problem with hearing aids is that they amplify all sound at once. They don’t just amplify a speaker. They amplify everything. And so it just becomes a big bunch of noise. Now that is not what we think Nate has a problem with. But we did get some mail from Dr. Jack Hitchens in Dalton, Georgia, who says, I’m an audiologist. And every time I see this episode, I try to diagnose Nate’s hearing problem. He said, I believe Nate might have an auditory processing disorder. It is a condition where someone can detect sounds normally on a basic hearing test, but have difficulty combining and making sense out of certain sounds at the level of the brain. He said Nate might also have hearing loss without knowing it, and that would sort of kind of lump into what I was saying about my sister. But we got another letter from Carol P in Denver, Colorado, who said, I believe what Nate is describing is a disorder called auditory processing disorder, which I have. It’s not commonly known, which made me so surprised to see it represented in a TV show. And I actually have a friend whose daughter has the same disorder. Yeah. So listen, people out there, if you are ever in these situations where you’re having this problem that Nate is describing, go get checked out. And it’s not just your hearing because you can take a hearing test and pass the hearing test. But you might still have this auditory processing disorder, which makes it hard for your brain to process what it is hearing. And there’s exercises you can do to improve this and make life a lot easier for yourself. Throwing it out there. 

Angela [01:05:20] I find this all very interesting and something I wouldn’t have thought about until you started sharing it. 

Jenna [01:05:27] Well, I really appreciate all the mail we got for people, and I always like it when people see themselves represented. This is a real disorder. And so I thought it would be cool to bring it up. 

Angela [01:05:37] Yeah. I’m so glad you did. Back in the warehouse, they finally decided to go with Kevin’s plan. I guess they’re going to grease the floor and slide boxes to the truck. There was a deleted scene where Jim says, I can’t believe in all the years the warehouse was here, they didn’t just simply back the truck up into the warehouse, and then you could just easily load it. So he’s like, Let’s do this. And he has Dwight back it up. But what you realize really quickly is the truck is too big, the driveway is too narrow to turn in. You can’t make the turn. Dwight clips the side of the warehouse building and gets the truck stuck. And then that’s what leads Jim and Dwight to be like, okay, let’s try the slide method. And that’s why in the shots you can see now the truck is closer. It’s kind of wedged into the warehouse. 

Jenna [01:06:26] I did notice that. 

Angela [01:06:28] Yeah. 

Jenna [01:06:29] Well, Steve Burgess had mentioned in his breakdown that deleted scene you just mentioned, Rainn really did drive the truck into the wall. Rainn did all his own stunts for this episode. 

Angela [01:06:40] That’s a big truck. 

Jenna [01:06:40] He was very Keanu in this episode. 

Angela [01:06:43] Yes, he was. 

Jenna [01:06:44] Well, Angela, in this scene at around 16 minutes, a bunch of boxes look like they careen into the camera operator. 

Angela [01:06:55] Yeah, I clocked at at 16 minutes. 43 seconds. Looks like it takes out the camera guy. 

Jenna [01:07:00] Well, Ali G from Topeka, Kansas, would like to know if this was scripted or just an actual accident?

Angela [01:07:07] Well, Ali, I was very curious as well. I went to the shooting draft. Here’s what it said. B-roll Jim and Dwight place a box of paper on a garbage can lid and slide it on a finished track, which stops well short of the mark. They slingshot a box with a rope and it goes flying out the door. They slingshot another box toward a truck tire, which ricochets off and knocks over a cameraman. 

Jenna [01:07:32] Hey hey! Amazing. 

Angela [01:07:35] It was scripted. 

Jenna [01:07:37] Well, Steve Burgess said that he seems to remember that no matter what we did, they could not get the boxes to really slide very well. He said it was really, really hard. They did use like a kind of silicon grease on the ground, but it like there was the friction was too much. The boxes would not slide. They had to cheat this so much. 

Angela [01:08:01] You know, if you really watch carefully, whenever they try to slide them, they don’t go very far. 

Jenna [01:08:06] I know, I know. Clearly in the script they imagined that these boxes could just go like flying all the way out the door. No, they were never going to travel that far. 

Angela [01:08:17] Jim and Dwight are going to have a joint talking head where they say they have to move these boxes. So sadly, this has become the best idea. I mean, clearly they can’t believe they’re following Kevin’s idea. But while they’re talking about this, Kevin slips on grease behind them and falls down really hard. 

Jenna [01:08:34] Yeah. Steve Burgess said that the stunt coordinators put a big old mattress back there and that Brian really did do that fall himself. 

Angela [01:08:43] Good job, Brian. 

Jenna [01:08:43] It looks so painful, but I fell on a soft, cushy mattress. 

Angela [01:08:48] Well, now we’re going to find out some new information about Darryl, which is he has decided he would like to be fired. 

Jenna [01:08:55] Yeah. Andy’s trying to introduce them to the new warehouse crew down there in Hank’s corner. What’s it called? Caffeine Corner. Run by Hank. 

Angela [01:09:04] Owned by Dwight. 

Jenna [01:09:06] Right. Darryl’s like, I don’t want to meet these people. In fact, I just want to be fired. And Andy kind of pushes back, and, I guess, like, re-inspires Darryl to love his job again. 

Angela [01:09:19] Yeah, well, Darryl gives them an ultimatum. He says, Fire me or make me the manager. I earned it. And Andy pushes back and says, No, this is my job. I earned it. You had a chance for it. And there were a few things they noted. I looked in your file, You hired your friend to replace you who wasn’t qualified. They clocked that. He goes on to list a few things and then he says, And what happened to, you know, business school at night? And he says, Well, Deangelo died. He goes, He didn’t die. His brain died. And he said, But I’m manager now. I would approve you to go to night school, but you haven’t asked. So you know, what do you want here? Do you want a job? Do you want to improve at this company? What do you want? And Andy actually inspires someone finally. 

Jenna [01:10:07] Well, listen. Can I get out my bull (BLEEP) card for a second? Can I play my bull (BLEEP) card? 

Angela [01:10:15] Yeah. 

Jenna [01:10:15] I call bull (BLEEP) on this. Andy, I could give you the same speech you’re giving Darryl. You are no more qualified for this job than Darryl is. You are a hot mess. I mean, you are just the epitome of failing upwards, frankly. And so I guess they’re just two people who felt entitled to this job. And one of them got it. And the truth is that neither of them were maybe the best fit for the job. But I call bull (BLEEP) on Andy claiming that he was like the superior candidate. I call bull (BLEEP). 

Angela [01:10:56] I accept your bull (BLEEP) card. I think it is well-played. 

Jenna [01:10:59] Thank you. 

Angela [01:11:00] Next up, we have a ball tracker. 

Jenna [01:11:06] Please. What is it? 

Angela [01:11:07] Darryl has a talking head where he says, You know what? My future won’t be determined by seven little white balls. It will be determined by two big black balls. Because I control my destiny. 

Jenna [01:11:20] You’re right. Ball tracker. 

Angela [01:11:22] Ball tracker. 

Jenna [01:11:23] Darryl and Andy are going to walk to the warehouse and they’re going to see this greased pathway. Erin is going to get loaded on some sort of a what is it, a slippery disc holding a box of paper. And she has a helmet on and they are going to. 

Angela [01:11:40] Slingshot Erin. Why Erin? Why does Erin need to be on it? 

Jenna [01:11:44] Well, you know, when they were doing it just paper, it was flying everywhere. So maybe they felt like they needed a driver, someone to steer the paper down the path. 

Angela [01:11:54] Mm hmm. 

Jenna [01:11:55] Well, I texted Ellie about this. I wanted to know, what was it like to slide on the grease? Was it crazy? Did you fall over? How was it? And she texted back. Jenna, is there something wrong with me? I have no memory of doing that scene. 

Angela [01:12:09] What? 

Jenna [01:12:10] She’s like, I don’t remember a thing about it. It’s like, I don’t even know basically what you’re talking about. 

Angela [01:12:15] Oh, my gosh. She’s completely blocked it out. 

Jenna [01:12:18] Well, I asked Steve Burgess, and he said there’s a good reason for that. It’s because it wasn’t her. It’s a stunt person wearing that helmet. 

Angela [01:12:26] Oh, any wonder she doesn’t! 

Jenna [01:12:27] Yeah, it’s a really good double for her. So she never had to do it. 

Angela [01:12:33] Please tell me you texted her back so she doesn’t think she’s losing it. 

Jenna [01:12:35] I did. I texted her back and I told her that, and she said, Oh, thank goodness. I was really concerned. Yeah. You’d think you’d remember something like that. 

Angela [01:12:43] Yeah. This episode is going to end with a series of talking heads where everyone says what they would do if they won the lottery. My favorite was Toby’s talking head because he said he would spend his free time making his true crime podcast, The Flenderson Files. 

Jenna [01:13:01] Mm hmm. 

Angela [01:13:02] I would listen to that. 

Jenna [01:13:03] You would? 

Angela [01:13:04] Yes. To go to sleep. 

Jenna [01:13:08] So crazy. 

Angela [01:13:11] Because I just imagined Toby’s cadence. 

Jenna [01:13:14] Oh, that would put you to sleep. You’re right. I get it now. Yes. 

Angela [01:13:19] The long… Pauses… Where he… Breaks down… What happened.  

Jenna [01:13:27] Yeah. The episode ends with a Pam and Jim talking head. They have come to an agreement on their fantasy of what their life will be after they win the lottery. And I need to point out my hair in this talking head. I think I remember this. If you look at it, it looks like I have those kind of curls, kind of like Nellie Olsen from Little House on the Prairie. They’re like big barrel curls. 

Angela [01:13:53] Yeah, yeah, yeah. 

Jenna [01:13:54] Around my head. I am pretty sure- what we would do in the mornings for my hair is we would curl it like that, but then we would leave it. 

Angela [01:14:02] To let it set. 

Jenna [01:14:03] Yes. And we would go on and we would rehearse. And then right before we got ready to shoot, then Kim Ferry, she would kind of like lightly kind of brush out the curl with her fingertips or something. It would be like her or Debbie would do it. I think we forgot and we shot this talking head and we had not brushed out the curls. And I have a memory of this happening once on the show, and I think this was it. And afterwards we said something. We said, Oh, my gosh, we forgot to brush out the curls. And they were like, We don’t care. We got it. It looks fine. We don’t care. But now here it is. All these years later, I’m watching this talking head and oh yeah, there it is. That’s the day we forgot. 

Angela [01:14:41] We didn’t brush out the curls. 

Jenna [01:14:42] Yeah, check it out. 

Angela [01:14:44] Well, Jim and Pam, I guess their fantasies are finally meeting up, though. They’re going to have a, like, a New York type of brownstone, but it’s going to be on top of a mountain. 

Jenna [01:14:52] Mm hmm. 

Angela [01:14:53] But yet it’ll also be a short walk to, like, bookstores. 

Jenna [01:14:57] It’s a short subway stop at the top of the mountain from the best museums. Jim can fish from Pam’s pottery studio window, you know? But the schools are terrible. Not good schools. But what are you going to do? 

Angela [01:15:11] What are you going to do? 

Jenna [01:15:12] Yeah. 

Angela [01:15:13] Well, you know, maybe in their fantasy life, they’ve got to really force it to find common ground. 

Jenna [01:15:21] Here you are again. Here you are again. Therapist Angela. Well, guys, that was Lotto. A big thank you to Steve Burgess for all of his awesome behind the scenes info and also to Charlie Grandy and Ellie Kemper. 

Angela [01:15:35] And to Mark for helping us kick off this episode and talking to us about playing Nate. How much fun. We had such a great time today. We hope you enjoyed listening and we will see you next week. 

Jenna [01:15:54] See you then! Thank you for listening to Office Ladies. Office Ladies is produced by Earwolf, Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey. Our show is executive produced by Codi Fischer. Our producer is Cassi Jerkins. Our sound engineer is Sam Kieffer. And our associate producer is Aynsley Bubbico. 

Angela [01:16:10] Our theme song is Rubber Tree by Creed Bratton. For ad free versions of Office Ladies, go to Stitcher Premium dot com. For a free one month trial of Stitcher Premium, use code “office”.