Work has been really busy lately - there's the pressure to get the numbers, which means the pressure to implement new strategies and keep up student contacts like before. I'm not complaining; in fact, this makes my days feel productive and go by quickly, but I haven't had much time to update! I have, however, been composing blog ideas in the car, so here are some things I've been thinking lately:
1. I really like country music now. Don't laugh, I know I was never a fan before moving here, but I've come to appreciate the generally wholesome messages. Last week, I made a point to keep track of the songs I heard on my way to work one morning, and all five mentioned God or church or prayer. Three of those songs held faith as a central point, and the other two were no less genuine in their references. I'm not saying the messages are always like that, but I've found most ounty songs tend focus on things like family and lifetime commitments rather than one-nighters and promiscuity.
2. Certain things are very satisfying, like the crashing sound the grocery cart makes when you roll it into the parking lot's cart corral. Or spraying the dirt off a filthy white car. Or sipping a cup of hot chocolate.
3. We're looking for a house! We actually found one we like, but our first visit was with a really crappy realtor, so we're going back with a different one tomorrow. Things we like best: it's about five miles out of town with an acre and a half, plus the option to buy more; it has cathedral ceilings in the living room and an open floor plan, so the living room, kitchen and dining area are all together; it has a half-finished walk-out basement; it has real wood floors in the kitchen and beautiful cabinets; and it has a wraparound porch on three sides of the house. I'll write more after our second trip out there.
I think that's all I have time to write today. I have to run over to the Alumni House now and grab some more kilts so I have enough for the OCs to wear in their welcome video; then I have to continue writing content for the new accepted student Internet portal, plus write the letters/emails we'll use to communicate their new access; then I have to take time to talk to a family, send out an email blast about the upcoming theatre performance, put together another email blast about the upcoming music performances, and pack my materials up for tonight's college fair in Birmingham. And I have until 3 pm to take care of all of that, plus whatever pops up in the meantime. Have I mentioned I really like my job, because I do!
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Friday, January 19, 2007
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Winter is HERE!
I just thought I'd share that, in case anyone missed it. Here are my personal top five reasons I know it's winter:
5. It's not just nice anymore - but essential - that Mitch starts my car in the morning.
4. It takes me as long to pick out a hat, scarf and mitten ensemble as it does to choose my clothes. (And I wear my hair down more often because it looks good under a hat that way!)
3. No one at works likes me anymore, because I've been not-so-secretly hoping for this weather and they all hate it.
2. I start planning out the logistics of waxing my skis in our kitchen.
1. We have to tack fleece blankets up over the bedroom windows so I don't spend every night glued to Mitch in an effort to keep warm.
Happy Winter everyone!
5. It's not just nice anymore - but essential - that Mitch starts my car in the morning.
4. It takes me as long to pick out a hat, scarf and mitten ensemble as it does to choose my clothes. (And I wear my hair down more often because it looks good under a hat that way!)
3. No one at works likes me anymore, because I've been not-so-secretly hoping for this weather and they all hate it.
2. I start planning out the logistics of waxing my skis in our kitchen.
1. We have to tack fleece blankets up over the bedroom windows so I don't spend every night glued to Mitch in an effort to keep warm.
Happy Winter everyone!
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
The Cruise Post
Title: My New Years Cruise
Cast of Characters:
Me, patient keeper of three boys
Mitch, the loving husband/part-time wingman
Bobby, my brother/paradoxically shy party-guy
Brian, the high school friend/fully committed wingman
Mom, my female relief from our testosterone-filled stateroom
Dad, the instigator
Grandpa, the independent octiginarian
Mark, Cheryl, Matt and Scott, the hometown family playing supporting roles
Yadi, our amazing steward
Barlaam and Jesus, our entertaining, attentive waiters
Ali, Bobby's weeklong kissy-face partner
Jess, Brian's island love
Setting the Stage: The Ship, Carnival Triumph
In total, we spent four whole days on a floating city, traveling from Miami to the Virgin Islands and back again. We spent a good amount of time up on the sunny, windy deck, but as I'm not particularly fond of laying out and burning, I hung out in the shade with a book most of the time. We ate a lot of ice cream and pizza (available 24 hours a day) as well as delicious dinners and fantastic desserts. I had my first escargot experience: chewy garlicky goodness! Mitch ordered two dinners on most nights; he'd try something new and order steak as a backup. Generally, he polished off both! After our late dinners, we attended variety shows in the Rome Lounge featuring dancers, a juggler, a comedian, a magician, and way too much of our talkative cruise director. We barely touched the lavish casino, but when we did, I won $2 in nickels. And the bars, oh the bars: nightly rituals for the boys, but a one-time thing for lightweight Laurie, whose New Years Eve was a bit more than she could handle...
At least Bobby met Ali, a nice girl with whom he could spend his evenings once the old married couple went off to bed:
And Brian probably would have had similar luck, except that he got sick halfway through the trip, effectively shutting down his mission.
Act One: San Juan
After two days on the ship, we made landfall in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was imperative that we find a bar in which to watch the University of Michigan lose to USC, so we ended up in a hole in the wall place called Douglas' Bar. Here's a picture of pretty much the whole place:
When it was apparent that the second half of the game would go no better for U of M fans, Mitch, Bobby, Brian and I explored a fort in San Juan while the others went back to the ship. Here's the type of awesome picture my camera is capable of taking:
Act Two: St. Thomas
Cruising through the night, we arrived at St. Thomas immediately following our evening in San Juan, and it was as beautiful as I remember from previous trips. Mom, Dad and Grandpa rode the loud, powerful "Sea Blaster" out on a snorkeling excursion, but the boys and I chose the more graceful Castaway Girl, a large catamaran, for our ride to Buck Island for some underwater adventures. You wouldn't expect to see much in sixty feet of water, but we saw a shipwreck, a sea turtle named Steve, and all sorts of other creatures, a couple of which our tour guide, Jess, brought to the surface for us to hold. A wholesome, educational experience, until the rum punch surfaced on the hour-long trip back to port. By this time, Brian was hopelessly in love with Jess...
She offered him and Bobby a place on her couch if they would like to stay on the island, and though it meant leaving a little piece of himself in St. Thomas, Brian returned to the ship with us. Having done its damage, the rum punch stayed with all three boys as they attempted (semi-successfully) to dress for dinner. Three strikes for Bobby: he forgot to put on underwear, we knocked an empty wine glass off the table and shattered it, and he couldn't articulate his order to Barlaam, relying instead on the old menu-point trick. Oh, and I almost forgot: good push!
Act Three: St. Maarten
Oh, Can-a-da! Here we raced the Canadian America's Cup sailboat, True North IV, and whooped on the American boat, Stars and Stripes. The crew truly puts everyone to work on this excursion: I worked a winch in the back with Dad, Mom trimmed the mainsheet, Bobby and Mitch were grinders, and Grandpa timed the start of the race. It was exhilarating: we sailed so fast! I got soaked when I was on the low side and we dipped the rails, and when I was on the high side, I was so high I was virtually standing up! Hands down the best experience of the whole trip.
Brian, unfortunately, was back in our stateroom, alternating between hugging and straddling the toilet due to (we think) a nasty case of food poisoning.
Afterward: Our Return to Reality
Now we're back in Michigan, with our noses to grindstone. We've returned to work, are getting back in shape after all that cruise food, and planning for a wonderful winter that will include volleyball league, a renewed small group with church, ski trips to Crystal Mountain and maybe Searchmont (if it ever snows), possibly church membership, possibly house hunting, the GMAT for both of us when the tax return comes in, and many more fun experiences with family and friends!
(To see all the photos from our trip, go to http://photos.yahoo.com/skibunny11282 and look for the album titled "Cruise.")
Cast of Characters:
Me, patient keeper of three boys
Mitch, the loving husband/part-time wingman
Bobby, my brother/paradoxically shy party-guy
Brian, the high school friend/fully committed wingman
Mom, my female relief from our testosterone-filled stateroom
Dad, the instigator
Grandpa, the independent octiginarian
Mark, Cheryl, Matt and Scott, the hometown family playing supporting roles
Yadi, our amazing steward
Barlaam and Jesus, our entertaining, attentive waiters
Ali, Bobby's weeklong kissy-face partner
Jess, Brian's island love
Setting the Stage: The Ship, Carnival Triumph
In total, we spent four whole days on a floating city, traveling from Miami to the Virgin Islands and back again. We spent a good amount of time up on the sunny, windy deck, but as I'm not particularly fond of laying out and burning, I hung out in the shade with a book most of the time. We ate a lot of ice cream and pizza (available 24 hours a day) as well as delicious dinners and fantastic desserts. I had my first escargot experience: chewy garlicky goodness! Mitch ordered two dinners on most nights; he'd try something new and order steak as a backup. Generally, he polished off both! After our late dinners, we attended variety shows in the Rome Lounge featuring dancers, a juggler, a comedian, a magician, and way too much of our talkative cruise director. We barely touched the lavish casino, but when we did, I won $2 in nickels. And the bars, oh the bars: nightly rituals for the boys, but a one-time thing for lightweight Laurie, whose New Years Eve was a bit more than she could handle...
At least Bobby met Ali, a nice girl with whom he could spend his evenings once the old married couple went off to bed:
And Brian probably would have had similar luck, except that he got sick halfway through the trip, effectively shutting down his mission.
Act One: San Juan
After two days on the ship, we made landfall in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was imperative that we find a bar in which to watch the University of Michigan lose to USC, so we ended up in a hole in the wall place called Douglas' Bar. Here's a picture of pretty much the whole place:
When it was apparent that the second half of the game would go no better for U of M fans, Mitch, Bobby, Brian and I explored a fort in San Juan while the others went back to the ship. Here's the type of awesome picture my camera is capable of taking:
Act Two: St. Thomas
Cruising through the night, we arrived at St. Thomas immediately following our evening in San Juan, and it was as beautiful as I remember from previous trips. Mom, Dad and Grandpa rode the loud, powerful "Sea Blaster" out on a snorkeling excursion, but the boys and I chose the more graceful Castaway Girl, a large catamaran, for our ride to Buck Island for some underwater adventures. You wouldn't expect to see much in sixty feet of water, but we saw a shipwreck, a sea turtle named Steve, and all sorts of other creatures, a couple of which our tour guide, Jess, brought to the surface for us to hold. A wholesome, educational experience, until the rum punch surfaced on the hour-long trip back to port. By this time, Brian was hopelessly in love with Jess...
She offered him and Bobby a place on her couch if they would like to stay on the island, and though it meant leaving a little piece of himself in St. Thomas, Brian returned to the ship with us. Having done its damage, the rum punch stayed with all three boys as they attempted (semi-successfully) to dress for dinner. Three strikes for Bobby: he forgot to put on underwear, we knocked an empty wine glass off the table and shattered it, and he couldn't articulate his order to Barlaam, relying instead on the old menu-point trick. Oh, and I almost forgot: good push!
Act Three: St. Maarten
Oh, Can-a-da! Here we raced the Canadian America's Cup sailboat, True North IV, and whooped on the American boat, Stars and Stripes. The crew truly puts everyone to work on this excursion: I worked a winch in the back with Dad, Mom trimmed the mainsheet, Bobby and Mitch were grinders, and Grandpa timed the start of the race. It was exhilarating: we sailed so fast! I got soaked when I was on the low side and we dipped the rails, and when I was on the high side, I was so high I was virtually standing up! Hands down the best experience of the whole trip.
Brian, unfortunately, was back in our stateroom, alternating between hugging and straddling the toilet due to (we think) a nasty case of food poisoning.
Afterward: Our Return to Reality
Now we're back in Michigan, with our noses to grindstone. We've returned to work, are getting back in shape after all that cruise food, and planning for a wonderful winter that will include volleyball league, a renewed small group with church, ski trips to Crystal Mountain and maybe Searchmont (if it ever snows), possibly church membership, possibly house hunting, the GMAT for both of us when the tax return comes in, and many more fun experiences with family and friends!
(To see all the photos from our trip, go to http://photos.yahoo.com/skibunny11282 and look for the album titled "Cruise.")
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