Hey all -

I never wrote my epic Office Convention blog, so here goes. This past October 26-28, in the lovely town of Scranton, PA, Dunderheads from across the land gathered for the first annual convention for the best show on TV - The Office. The town actually came up with the idea and got most of the cast, writers, and producers to attend!

I won't go into too much detail, because it was action-packed, but if you have specific questions, feel free to send me a message. If you don't, thank you for reading this and enabling my obsession.

My friend and co-worker Rebecca is from a town just north of Scranton and her parents graciously hosted us. Thanks to Marion and Bruce-ski for a warm bed and yummy breakfasts!

Some of you may recall my crazy-long blog about going to the Steamtown Mall last May to meet two of the cast members. Well multiply that insanity by about 10 and you get the Office Convention. All of the cast and writers/producers, except Steve Carell (Michael), Jenna Fischer (Pam), John Krasinski (Jim, sigh), Paul Leiberstein (Toby, also one of the writer-producers) and Rainn Wilson (Dwight) were there.

There were different levels of tickets, and I got the second to highest level, which got me into all of the non-VIP events. This year I'm splurging for the VIP package because there were a lot of special receptions with the cast and writers.

The University of Scranton hosted most of the events. It's a lovely campus. The opening ceremony was a ribbon cutting which was really fun because a lot of the cast was there and it was the first time we got to see them. I got to meet Senator Bob Casey, who is from Scranton and who came to kick off the convention. He has supported Jubilee (the org I volunteer for), so I said hello and thanked him for the work he's done.

On Saturday, there was a cast Q&A, which was packed but a great time. On Sunday, there was a writers Q&A, which wasn't as packed but I actually found more interesting because we got to see where they come up with ideas. A special surprise was that BJ Novak, who plays Ryan, and who was not scheduled to be there, showed up in place of Paul Leiberstein who couldn't make it. I'm not kidding it was like U2 walked into the room when he came on stage. AND, the they showed a long teaser of the episode that was coming up that week! I cannot tell you what a treat that was. Well, I can try - it was awesome.

One of the funnest events was the Office Olympics, based on the episode where the staff makes up silly games while Michael and Dwight are gone. There was Flonkerton and a few other games of skill. I didn't enter but it was entertaining to watch other people participate. We met two great folks who drove from Toronto to be there - Jackie and Chris. They are really delightful people who work in the Canadian film industry.

There was a blogger's breakfast on Sunday morning and some of the cast were there, along with fans who blog about the show. I got to meet Tanster, who runs the best fan website, Officetally.com. She was so humble and flattered by the attention. She has been on the set, hung out with cast members, and really become famous as a result of this little blog she started two years ago. It's fantastic what genuinely caring about something can do for your life. Even if it's "just" a TV show. Seriously, check it out.

We hit all the major landmarks featured in the show - Poor Richards (the hardest place to find b/c it's in a bowling alley), Coopers (I got my lobster hat!) and Farley's - home of the Michael Scott burger. Steve Carell said that if Farley's named a burger after Michael, he'd go there. But he hasn't shown up yet - c'mon Steve! I'm a souvenir junkie so I cleaned up.

Unfortunately we didn't "accidentally" run into any cast members, but it was ridiculously fun. It rained all day Saturday, and we were soaked and cold, but it didn't matter. It's the official Pennsylvania greeting to get drenched on your first day here.

So that's the story. Thanks again for reading and watch The Office whenever it comes back on! It also airs Tuesdays at 10 and 10:30pm on TBS. :)