New rule.

Every time you go to a Mexican restaurant, get carnitas. It's the best.

By request.

More details and pictures from the Office Premiere Party. This will conclude coverage of the party. Keep in mind that every detail is an Office reference – I'm not going to explain them all here, so it's up to you to correctly identify their origins.









Decorations:
Whoreish orange streamers
Paper doves
"Office" sign on the door
Mustache on the bathroom mirror





















Food:
Hot dogs (polish dogs, actually)
Awesome Blossom from Chili's
Potato salad
Bagel Bites
A bowl of jelly beans
Baby Ruth bars
Count Chocula cereal bars (for dessert)
Mexican Lemonade
Grape soda



























































Activities:
People started showing up more than an hour before the episode was to begin, to start eating and to watch a rescreening of The Job, the finale episode from last season. After The Job, and right before the premiere started was the musical number – a performance of "Pam Pong," by Sweet Diss and the Comebacks, performed by myself on the guitar. Following the watching of the episode, we put it back on again (thank you Tivo), and screened t-shirts until people had to leave. It was great fun.

It's Creed! And he's in a band!

Creed is my favorite character on The Office. No one else really comes close. He mentions in a deleted scene in the Booze Cruise episode that he was in a band called the Grass Roots – and I heard that the actor (Creed Bratton) actually was. But I had no idea that the band played songs I actually know.

First of all, the deleted scene is here. So you know what you're watching, it's an actual clip of Creed playing the guitar on the Booze Cruise, plus a clip of him talking about going on tour with Janis Joplin and Cream. Turns out that's true.


But now to the good stuff. The Grass Roots did a song called "Let's Live For Today," which you probably know. To get your socks blown off, watch the video of it on YouTube. Creed is playing lead guitar, he's in the striped sweater – check out the close-up at 1:31 and his solo starting at 1:48. That's Creed, all right. And I know that song! La la la la la la, live for today.

The Grass Roots also did a song called "Midnight Confessions," which is also somewhat well-known. Video here. If you're looking for close-ups of Creed, though, watch "Let's Live For Today."

Turns out Creed did pretty well for himself before The Office. Coming up: more dirt on other Office characters, as I can dig it up.

Times the Post Office is not open.

• Before work
• After work
• Holidays
• Real hours on weekends
• When I need to go
  

My grandma's reaction to Andy, on The Office last night.

"Wish he didn't look so much like Elder Holland."

How to suspend a stapler in Jell-o.

Or, The Office Season 4 Premiere Party Stapler Jell-o Mold.
You've seen when Jim puts Dwight's stapler in Jell-o in The Office pilot. Then he does it to Michael's mug. Then later to Andy's calculator. It's a classic. And if you do it wrong, it's going to fall apart. There are a few tricks—some that we learned from cast member blogs, and some we figured out on our own. Here's how we did it successfully.

1. Find a bowl large enough for the stapler. Our was Pyrex, and that worked great. I can't speak for any other kind of bowl.
   
2. Use thread to suspend the stapler away from the edges of the bowl. As you can see in our previous attempt, we made a little hammock for the stapler to lay in, by taping thread to the sides. It worked perfect. I wish I'd taken pictures this time.
3. Mix up the gelatin. We used standard Knox gelatin. Our first try was with Jell-o and it was unsuccessful—this worked much better. For standard gelatin goo you're supposed to use one pouch for one cup of water. For this we used 16 packets, for about 4-6 cups of water. I'd recommend a really heavy concentration like that.
4. Add food coloring. That way it looks like Jell-o. Yellow is recommended because it's easy to see through (and it's authentic to the show).
5. Pour the liquid mixture into the bowl, that already has the stapler suspended in it. The stapler might float a little because it will be full of air. You can pry off the rubber bottom a tiny bit with a knife if you want... it will let a bunch of bubbles out.
6. Refrigerate. Overnight.
7. If you've used a Pyrex bowl, there's a pretty surefire way to get the mold out. Fill the sink with hot water, and then lower the bowl into it (make sure the water doesn't spill into the bowl, onto the gelatin).
8. Flip the bowl over onto a plate, or whatever you're putting the mold out. If it doesn't slide right out, put it in the water for a little longer.
9. Ta-da! Stapler Jell-o mold.

When you're done with it, it's easy to get rid of: Put the mold under hot running water, and the gelatin will melt away. The stapler will be totally salvageable, so you can use it in another mold later. If you want to hang on to it, it will last for a couple of days unrefrigerated—then it will start to sprout other life forms. Then you'll have real Jell-o... mold (chuckle).