Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Flipped over Flipping Out: Or OCD in the OC

Jeff Lewis has to be one of the most unique bosses in America, yet his absolutely nutty relationship with his staff makes for great television. No detail goes unnoticed with this confessed OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) fanatic while few details are attended to by his largely lazy staff. Here's a photo of Jeff and staff praying for feng shui. I kid you not.

Jeff is a talented and successful house flipper with a knack for turning properties around. Aside from thinking the universe revolves around him, he loves to make lists. He should love mine.

List One:
  1. Watch show
  2. Take notes
  3. Observe carefully the interplay between Jeff and his henchmen - Jeff right, henchmen wrong
  4. Observe Jeff doing all the work
  5. Observe Jeff obsessing about minutia that don't mean a hill of beans
  6. Observe Jeff imposing perfect geometric and spacial order in his physical universe
  7. Observe Jeff unsuccessfully imposing order in the minds of his assistants
  8. Watch assistants generally do what they want to do any way
  9. Watch assistants perform the easier tasks to keep their jobs
  10. Watch yet another reality t.v. personality enjoy a close relationship with paid staff, with no significant other or family in sight
  11. Remind oneself not to recoil when one sees a throwaway property sell for $800,000
  12. Keep laughing as Jeff seeks out psychics and relieves his stress by shouting into a pillow
  13. Watch some amazing renovations
  14. Ask Bravo why Zoila the maid doesn't have her own show
  15. Make note of when the next show airs

Here's Jeff with Jen, the executive assistant who minces no words with him. She calls him a genius behind his back and speaks her mind to his face, such as calling the Commonwealth property a TD (total dump.)

Click here for videos of Brant getting fired for parking his car and talking on his cell phone while on the job. This spat is as petty as two 13 year olds disagreeing over a song choice.

Stephen, first house assistant, scoops dog poop, runs errands, and makes sure all Jeff's water bottles face outward in the frig. I'm sure the labels must be arranged exactly as well. As Jeff says, he's found the perfect vocation for his OCD. "I found a business that validates and celebrates my disorder." Right on, bro. Keep on movin' on.

Posted by Ms. Place

6 comments:

kittens not kids said...

a friend of mine, who has milder OCD than jeff, but still OCD, helped me wallpaper. he was the PERFECT person for the job.

all renovators, contractors, etc should be forced to be OCD.

my friend obsessed over lining up the patterns, measuring and cutting flawlessly, not getting any of my (drop-cloth-covered) belongings wet or dirty.

it was awesome.

and yeah: what's with these people whose only close relationships seem to be with their employees? it makes me sad.

Linda Merrill said...

I just couldn't get over how much Jen looks like Julia Louis-Dreyfus. It was almost distracting. But, she's good. I want a first and second house assistant. And a cleaner!

kittens not kids said...

oh, and i thought Brant was in the wrong on the parking-to-make-personal-calls thing. the whole thing was a little petty, but I do think he was wrong.

i kinda think the other house assistant is cute.

blogsurfer said...

"Flipping Out" indeed was a very impressive show. The main thing is that I was really amazed with "Tori" the psychic. She’s the most interesting character on the show. I really like to know more about her.

Anonymous said...

Can't take it! Toooooo much OCD.
I felt overwhelmed just watching the first episode.

Anonymous said...

I think I'm most bothered by the constant passive aggressive treatment of everyone in his life... everyone is belittled all the time and they just sit there and take it... these people are either media whores, psychological abuse fetishist, or they must get PAID. Watching the episodes where he was the employee and treated in a similar fashion (and he quit) was gratifying... yet I still pause from changing the channel ... hmmm