Office Convention 2007

Okay, all you Office fans out there. . .prepared to be totally jealous. Or completely make fun of me. I'm expecting both reactions. :o) On Saturday Michael and I travelled to Scranton, PA to take part in the Office Convention!

This was posted on the Convention's website http://www.theofficeconvention.com/about/: "The time has come for The Office fans to unite, and what better place to do it than the city that's home to Michael Scott and the rest of the Dunder Mifflin staff – Scranton, Pa. "The Electric City" is celebrating the best comedy on TV by inviting Dunderheads to converge on Northeast Pa. for a full weekend of pretending to hang out with other peoples' co-workers. Think of it like a Star Trek convention but with nerds wearing Dwight Schrute glasses instead of Spock ears."

There were a ton of people there, some dressed as characters of The Office. Much of the cast was there as well, less the five main characters: Michael, Jim, Pam, Dwight, and Ryan. Here we are, waiting to see some of the cast:

In the middle of the University of Scranton campus


Some random sightings of cast members signing autographs (Kevin, Daryl, Andy, Phyllis, Kelly, and Jan):

Creed and Daryl (Craig) sang and played with the band The Scrantones.

With our new buddies Phyllis and Bob:

The doves for the closing ceremonies of the Office Olympics:

Our day was totally fun! Definitely glad we went. :o)

I'm a Pennsylvanian!

Yesterday was a big day for Michael and me. . .we got our Pennsylvania drivers licenses! Weird. So weird. Then we got our new car insurance. (Our old company in IA isn't in PA.) Today or tomorrow we'll get our cars registered. Big steps!

Last night Michael and I, along with Paul and Rachel, went to Siamsa, an Irish pub in Stroudsburg. They have (free) poker tournaments every Tuesday night. There were four tables of Texas Hold Em being played at 9:00. Rachel lasted the longest of the four of us, but she didn't quite make it to the final table. After Paul, Michael, and I were out, we played at the losers' table. :o) I tore up there! I think by the time we quit, I even had more chips than
Michael! There was another round at 11:00, which Michael and Paul stayed for, but it was a little late for Rachel and me so we came back to town.

Autumn Blaze

Last night Michael and I went to the Autumn Blaze at "The Pines" at Tuscarora Inn & Conference Center (where Michael works).

Rachel and I tried a little croquet.

For dinner, they had a potluck of apple recipes. . .so yummy!!!

Just call me Bob Vila

Yesterday afternoon I installed blinds in the four windows in our bedroom. I totally impressed myself! Now we just have to find some cute curtains or something.

Later on I put a slipcover on one of our couches. I have to admit that I did while Michael was gone, because I had a feeling that he wouldn't like it. I figured, if it's already on, he'll be okay with it. Well, Michael got home and, in the midst of ranting and raving about how much he hated it, he said: "What do you think when you walk into a house and see a slipcover? Ah. . .slipcover. . .these people are losers." At least now I know how he feels about slipcovers!

Philadelphia

So, for a few days last week I was back in Sioux City to do some work at the bank. In the meantime, I got to spend time with family and friends. While I was back, I missed our 3rd anniversary. But Michael and I drove down to Philadelphia to spend the day before I flew back.

One place I wanted to hit up while we were down there is Ikea. I'd been to their website and heard that the store is awesome, but had never been to an actual store. Totally love it!

We got a couple of things for our place, and I really want to get some more. I snapped this picture of a bedframe I'd really like:

In the afternoon we headed to Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell for some history lessons:

Then we went to dinner at a cute restaurant called City Tavern. Happy Anniversary Michael!

Oh, our new dryer came this past week. So far I've done 6 loads already since I've been home! I'll get some pictures once I've finished putting together the laundry room - and the rest of the apartment!

A new washer, new friend, and new church

Look at our new washer. . .isn't it beautiful?!



My new friend Rachel and I after our shopping extravanganza on Friday:



On Sunday after church, they had a little cake reception for us. . .how sweet!



I am now finished with 1/2 of the first season of Gilmore Girls. Rachel lent it, along with the first season of Friends and the movie Moulin Rouge, to me so I wouldn't be bored out of my mind with no TV. Did I mention that we have absolutely no reception?! Anyway, Michael and I finished the first disk and a half (1/4 of the first season) last night. He totally likes it. Shhhh, don't tell him I said this!

3-day journey to Bangor

This is our old apartment in Sioux City. . .not much to look at from the outside, but soooo cute inside. And huge! We'll miss this place.






I was bored right off the bat on our first leg of the journey to Des Moines:





Here we are on our second day of travelling on Saturday. My beautiful view:





At a truck stop. Notice how thrilled Michael is to have his picture taken:






Finally, our last day of travelling.





And here we are at our new place in Pennsylvania with all of our boxes stacked behind us!






I noticed a few things along our journey. . .it's way boring to drive 10 hours in a day by yourself. I called all my friends to talk for as long as I could until my cell phone battery was nearly dead. Indiana and Ohio have very cool "service centers". They're like rest stops-kind of, but very modern, with very yummy restaurants like Panera Bread, Starbucks, etc. Indiana is very flat and straight, which made for easy (and insanely boring) driving. About mid-way through Ohio it starts to get hilly, then in Pennsylvania the landscape goes crazy. I wasn't even able to look at much of the beautiful colors and mountains in my new state for fear of driving off a cliff!



Our first couple days out here we did a little wandering, and came across a portion of the Appalachian Trail! Michael's been reading a book about people who've walked the entire thing. They say that for a normal person walking the entire Trail through, it would take about 6 months. Crazy, huh?









I took this shot as we were zooming by the Delaware Water Gap. It was actually completely terrifying to take this picture. We were driving on what seemed to be a small cliff, going way too fast (in my opinion) but below the speed limit.







After being out here for about, hm, 12 hours, I was subconsciously craving some familiarity. I realized it when I drank a diet coke at lunch on Monday. I know, kinda weird, right? After lunch we went to Walmart for random things for the apartment, and I felt pretty good being in familiar surroundings. I know there are Walmart haters out there, but for this Midwestern girl who just moved 1241 miles from home, it was relief.





Oh, I almost forgot to mention, we have no TV reception. I mean absolutely none! Do you know what that means for this Office fanatic?! I have been refreshing NBC's website for the past hour, trying to watch last night's episode online. . .but to no avail. I guess I'll just have to check back in a few hours.


One more thing. . .we bought a new washer and dryer! I don't know if most young adult women feel the same way I do when they purchased their first w/d, but I'm totally pumped. Our washer was delivered yesterday, and our dryer will come next week. This purchase represents a few things to me: independence - this is proof that we're really one our own. Yeah, we had a w/d at our place in sioux city, but we didn't own them; domesticity - I'm totally feeling like a wife; and ease - thank the Lord that I don't have to go to the laundromat!

And now here I am, nearly a week into our new adventure, sitting amidst a few last boxes that need unpacking. I'll tackle that this morning. Michael will be home around 1:00 and maybe we can watch The Office together. Then mid-afternoon a new friend, Rachel, is taking me shopping in New Jersey. I'm definitely looking forward to getting out of this apartment for more than the necessary run to Walmart. Tonight Michael and I are going to the high school football game; it's their homecoming weekend. This is the most excitement I've had all week, and I'm totally ready to get out!

Our last days in Sioux City

Wow! So much to tell!!! Here we go:

Two and a half weeks ago, Theresa and I had a blast making lasagna. Nummy. We enjoyed our delicious dinner with our hubbies and watched Lady in the Water.

It was Theresa's birthday on the 24th. (Happy birthday!!!) We went to Olive Garden for lunch. So fun!

On my last day of work at the bank, Jennifer threw me a party. So sweet! Normally I do anything and everything I can to find out about surprises, but with this one, I honestly didn't know it was going to happen. Jen (and my replacement, Lisa) did a great job of keeping me in the dark. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of this event, but here's one on my last day at my desk.

To top off the last week of us being in Sioux City, we watched the the season premiere of The Office! So fun! Love that show.

Home

We're here! In Pennsylvania!!! After a long 21 hours of driving in 3 days, we finally pulled up to our new home around 6:00 last night. I have much more to tell, but the boxes (and Michael) are beckoning for help. I will post more in the next few days.