Interesting Article

I hate "teaching to a test" with a passion, so this made me happy:

KNOX MAKES SAT/ACT OPTIONAL

Knox College has become the first national liberal arts college in Illinois—and one of just three in the Midwest—to eliminate standardized test scores as a requirement for admission. Beginning with the class applying for the fall of 2006, the submission of SAT or ACT scores will become optional.

"Standardized tests don't measure the qualities we value most in our applicants—intellectual curiosity, creativity, and an eagerness for learning," explains Paul Steenis, Vice President for Enrollment and Dean of Admission. "We want future students who have excelled in a challenging high school curriculum and who show initiative, leadership and personal maturity."

The college decided to drop the test score requirement this month after faculty, student and trustee committees examined the issue during the past year. Knox also reviewed research that included a 20-year-long study by Bates College, where test scores have been optional for the duration of the study. Bates' vice president William Hiss told a conference last fall that Bates students "earned exactly the same grades, and graduated at exactly the same rates," whether or not they submitted a standardized admission test result.

According to Knox College President Roger Taylor, "We live in a world increasingly obsessed by testing at all levels of education. And 'teaching to a test' has often become more important than actually learning something—more important than developing a genuine love of learning. We decided Knox needed to take a leadership role in reducing the fixation on college admission testing."

Research shows that student performance on tests varies significantly by gender, race and family income. The Bates College study also showed that students from rural areas scored lower on standardized tests but were as successful in college as students from other areas. Despite the efforts by test creators to minimize the discriminatory effects of standardized testing, certain groups of capable students continue to be overlooked by an educational system that places such undue emphasis on test scores.

According to a recent study by educational experts, including former Princeton president William G. Bowen, “poor families have great difficulty investing sufficient personal and financial resources to prepare their children to attend college, do well, and graduate.” A large part of this disparity is the result of the growing need for expensive test preparation.

"High school students can artificially boost their scores on standardized tests by taking expensive cram courses that can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars," Taylor said. “Knox is a highly selective college that is also committed to providing access to a top-notch liberal arts education for all qualified students. The current industry of costly test preparation courses is, in effect, a barrier to college for the students who can't afford them."

"The recent addition of essay components to the SAT and ACT haven't made them more useful, just more expensive for students,” Steenis said. "Knox’s application already included an essay and personal interview for most applicants," according to Steenis. "Knox admission counselors personally review each application and are able to make well-informed decisions based on each applicant's achievements, interests, and personal qualities."

Over the past two years, Knox has received record numbers of applications for admission and enrolled some of the largest classes in the college’s 168-year history. More than 350 new students are expected to enroll this fall.

Other nationally-ranked colleges that have dropped the test requirement include Bowdoin, College of the Holy Cross, Hampshire, Franklin and Marshall, Lawrence University, Lewis & Clark, Mount Holyoke, Sarah Lawrence and St. John's College. In addition to the Bates’ study which found little connection between test scores and academic success, Sarah Lawrence has received a grant to do additional research on the question.

Colleges that have reduced or eliminated use of standardized tests for admission are listed at www.fairtest.org.

Liquid Force Diva

http://www.liquidforce.com/boards_diva.htm

My new wakeboard...ordered from Bart's yesterday, along with Liquid Force Element bindings...should be on my doorstep by Friday, just in time for a lovely weekend at Jon's where I can break it in!

I decided last weekend I wanted a new board, but rather than order it right away, my bro suggested I check out Dick's (formerly Galyan's) and see if they had what I wanted. So, in conjunction with rendez-vous-ing with Roberta to return her stuff and having dinner in Lansing with my parents, I popped up to their watersports section and found...nothing. Cock's - I mean Dick's - has such cheap crap compared to the quality merchandise Galyan's used to sell. Do you know they have the climbing wall still but don't sell climbing gear?

Kid: (After climbing wall at Dick's) Wow, that was great! Mom, I want to get into climbing!
Mom: OK! (Turns to salesman) Where can I get my child a harness and some of those fancy shoes?
Salesman: (Pimply-faced boy who knows nothing about climbing except how to belay, which he learned only five minutes before when we was transferred from the shoe department to the climbing wall) Well, (reluctantly) we don't really sell any climbing stuff. I guess you can go online or something...maybe you can just make a harness from the clothesline we sell in the camping department. It should hold him, he's pretty light...

OK, so I've never heard any conversations like that, but seriously, is it not accurate?!?!

Back to the acquisition of the wakeboard...thanks to Bobby and Nextel, I found my way to a Modern Skate and Surf, where the female wakeboarding staff was very knowledgable but unfortunately was all out of chick boards. Bummer. They tried their best to find something at another warehouse and make arrangements for me to rent, but basically they said because it was peak season, they weren't going to be able to get anything. As soon as I walked out the door, I called good old Bart's, a watersports catalogue, and checked on the availibility of the board I wanted. Yes, in stock, yes, can order, yes, will ship the next day, yes, will be there in 1-3 business days. "Contented sigh."

The Stipend Proposal

So this weekend, we were at Minda and Derek's helping to load the trailer, and Mitch's mom told Christa that either he or I needed to give her a grandbaby since the other kiddos will all be out in Colorado. Christa had the greatest answer ever: "Well Mom, I think you'll need to give me a monthly stipend to support a baby if you want me to have one!" As one of Minda's kids was in the middle of one of her "terrible twos" tantrums, I added that it would need to be a rather large stipend at this point. Looks like mom-in-law better start working on her other daughter-in-law, because I don't think Christa and I are going to cooperate!

Anyway, the moving went fine. The trailer is still completely full and parked at Mitch's parents' house, but Dave and Mariah (Mitch's brother and his wife) are meeting us out there this evening to unload. We could not have picked a hotter day, but no one felt like working on it after mud volleyball last night. And speaking of mud volleyball, there's a good chance that this was the last year we'll play. The novelty of rolling around in the mud finally wore off, after four years, and yesterday we were just frustrated by the fact that were not playing "real" volleyball. Carries were commonplace on the other side of the net and people magically transformed into my least favorite animal: net monkeys. It was just, well, not fun to be playing jungle ball and this year the muddy goodness could not make up for that. We're just too serious, I guess, and after the great twos games we've had lately, this was a monstrous let-down. Redeeming factor: the food was great, as always, and we got to hang out with Roberta for a bit.

I really hope this week goes by fast, because I'm excited for the Fourth. Mitch and I are playing in a beach volleyball tournament with Jon and will probably stay up there the whole weekend unless plans change. And next week is only and four-day work week...woo-hoo! And speaking of work, I suppose I better do some, or something. Later!

In Response

If you haven't, check out Robin's comment on my last post. It really got me thinking so I figured I'd better respond!

To my wonderful Robin:
You're right, it can be so rewarding to discover a new area and have new experiences. All of us took that step when we left our homes and came up here, because by the time we walked out with our degrees, Alma had become a home to many of us. I'm glad I took that step away from all that was comfortable and familiar, but at no time during my "settling in" process at Alma did I feel as discontent as I did in Cadillac. I have no doubt that someday Mitch and I will take the plunge and seek out new ventures...maybe when we decided to go to grad school, since it's unlikely we'll choose CMU as the place to earn our MBAs. But as much as I would have liked to be able to embrace all that Cadillac had to offer, I just couldn't. Maybe it wasn't the right time, or maybe it's not the right place, but even though I sometimes feel I've "given up" on living in a new place (especially in light of the challenges you and Grant have overcome in your new home), I know there was a reason I went there and a reason Mitch and I left. New locales are for some people more than others and I haven't felt, so far, like I'm missing out on anything by returning to a place of comfort. I hope, though, that Mitch and I can come visit you while you are out there so you can show us some of the wonderful things you've come to love about the Bay.

OK, switching tracks now, things at work are coming along. We have another "Becoming a Scot Day" tomorrow, which means students who have deposited/committed to Alma come and hang out for the day while we make them sit through sessions on academic advising and college transitions. It's kind of like being a grown-up OC. We had another one last Friday and I pretty much just hung out in Dow and tried to be useful, but this time I'm taking a group of kids around to their sessions. I also have to kill half an hour in a "get to know your classmates" activity. Now no offense to anyone, but I'm definitely opposed to those cheesy games. They are great for people who are already semi-comfortable around each other (aka, OCs or RAs during training) but I don't think they serve any purpose with these poor incoming freshman who basically (most of them) just want to blend in and not do anything stupid. So, I think I'm going to randomly pair them up, give them some ideas of stuff to talk about for 5-10 minutes, and then have each person tell the group about their partner. We had to do that for OC interviews and it was by far the easiest way to get to know someone quickly and painlessly. None of this "say your name and an adjective starting with the same letter that describes your personality" crap. Boo.

Well, one hour of work left and then I'm a golf widow again. I never thought Mitch would actually take up golf, but he says "business gets conducted on the golf course," so he needs to learn how to play a respectable game. I'm not quite sure if the key to being "respectable" is hanging out with Jon, Gabe and Matt, but he's having fun. Last night was a laundry day for me, which was actually an excuse to sit around and relax because I didn't want to start anything else when I knew another load would be coming out of dryer "any minute." Tonight, though, I swear I'm going to clean up the rest of the apartment and pack for the weekend. Mitch and I are going down to Minda and Derek's tomorrow after work, staying the night, loading a trailer of furniture and such the next day and driving because to Carson City with the truck and trailer. M & D plus all four (as of June 28!) kids are moving to Colorado because that's where Derek got a job offer, but they are not planning to stay long so they're storing everything but what fits in their two cars at Jeff and Carla's house. They're also going to live with Jeff and Carla for about a month before they make the trek out West. So anyway, we're bring the trailer home and unloading it, Jeff and Carla are staying for baby Mia's birth then bringing the three older kids back with them, and Minda, Derek and Mia will follow once Minda can travel (she's having a C-section and getting her tubes tied, so this is the last Smith child). Anyway, when we're also playing mud volleyball at Mitch's church on Sunday, but we're currently one player short, so if you're reading this and want to play, please call me!

Well, I guess I should be productive, so back to work! And you, I know you are just procrastinating from SOMETHING, so get to it! Hehehe! :)

Workity Work

Well, it's the last half hour of another busy day, so rather than find something to do, I think I'll just give you all an update. I'm really liking my new job (and not just because I haven't uncovered any "personal use of the Internet" restrictions, either)...it keeps me busy and I actually feel like I am accomplishing things when I come into the office. Mainly, the last week and a half has been filled with learning the ins and outs of the office, figuring out the admissions process from an internal standpoint, learning about the schools I'll be visiting, putting together a preliminary fall travel schedule and trying to decorate the sterile box called my office. I've also taken over files from one of the reps, Deedee, who is on vacation in Greece for three weeks. I have kids to call about getting essential information in and a whole stack of students who have not told us whether or not they want to come to Alma. Those ones are the hardest, because at this point most of them are going somewhere else. But if I can get just three more deposits, I think I'll have fulfilled Deedee's quota for the year. I've also started contacting kids who are interested in coming here next year.

So enough about work! We're loving life in Mt. Pleasant...just in the past two weeks, we've gone climbing twice, mountain biking, played volleyball, had company for dinner and basically just had fun! Over the weekend, we went to my parents' house for Father's Day, and that was awesome. I think we spent a lot of money, between having our wedding portait framed and buying Mitch some golf clubs (he wants to learn to play better with Jon this summer), but that's OK. We've been saving for "fun things," and I'm thinking of taking some of my funds and investing in a wakeboard. I've always just used Bobby's, but I think it's time to get my own so I can use it at Jon's this summer. Anyway, at home we also got the chance to hang out at the lake, which resulted in sore muscles from skiing and wakeboarding and a nice bit of sun on my face and tummy. Hey, Bobby was complaining that I was so white, it hurt his eyes to look at me, so I'm on my way to tan-ness!

Tangent: My dad is awesome. I was so proud of him this weekend. He's been restoring an old Chris Craft (gorgeous wooden boats) for the last seven or so years and though he launched it last fall, this weekend was kind of like its first entrance into the boating world. When he got it, it was a piece of crap...I'll see if I can post some pics on Yahoo. Now it's a work of art...beautiful, smooth, shiny wood, awesome details...still having some trouble with the carberator, but it's the original engine for pete's sake. Anyway, on Sunday, all that he had done just kind of hit me. We took him skiing behind it, and skiing is probably something he loves as much as working with wood. He was grinning the whole time, which is so cute because he's usually all serious and focused. See, he's not your typical recreational skier...he skies the course and is basically better at it than anyone I know personally. So there's my dad, rippin' it up behind his very own creation. Awesome.

So back to the update...yesterday I woke up exhausted and sore from the weekend of activity, but we were determined to get some climbing and volleyball in after work. Despite being sore, I made giant improvements in one top-roping route that is one of my goals. Caleb says it's a 5.10 but I think it's more of a 5.9+. The start is hard because it's overhung and requires a lot of hand strength, and then the move right before the finish is tricky. That's where I got, and I just spent too much time thinking about the move instead of doing it, which made me too wimpy to actually make the move. Next time, for sure. I didn't do too much bouldering, but there don't seem to really be many routes I can handle. Give it time, tbough. So after about an hour, I went to play vball with Mitch, Gabe and Jon. The first weekend we were in Mt. P, we took Gabe up to Cadillac and then to Lake City to hang out with Jon. The four of us played a few awesome games of twos, and though I don't think we played quite as well last night, we're not as rusty as we thought. My serves, especially, are improving. I made more than I missed last night, which is NOT the norm. I hope I can keep it up, because we are playing in a Fourth of July tourney with Jon. Unfortunately, I rocked my neck trying to bump a ball over backwards from the back line. Result: headache all day long today! I think I'm more sore today, but I have tonight and tomorrow to rest those muscles.

Speaking of tonight, we are having a wine and cheese party at Jon and Caleb's behest. I think there are eight people coming over, which means I'm (1) buying some bar stools so people can sit at our counter/bar thing and (2) making an enormous pot of spaghetti. Oh yeah, and I have to clean, too. All in about an hour from the time I get home. Or maybe it's more like a half an hour. I dunno. It'll be fun, though, and kind of a send-off for Ben Tidman, who is going to New Zealand next Monday for the whole semester. It can also be a congratulatory evening for Jillian and Chelsey, who are getting married this summer.

Well lookee there, I killed a half an hour! Time to pack up and roll outta here!

Forgiveness

Sometimes it feels soooo good to be angry, to let others know they are being big jerks and make them apologize before you let the situation improve. It's not what God wants us to do, and it's a battle to do the right thing in his eyes. Often, I fail and pull that satisfying anger close to me. But that feeling of grim, self-righteous anger is nothing - nothing - compared to the feeling you get when you let something go that you've been holding onto. That moment when you let that anger flow out of your heart is so uplifting, but even that pales in comparison to the high you get when you have to prove that you've really forgiven someone...and you can do it!

I've experienced the "proving my forgiveness" part twice in the past week and I'm on a real high. It's so amazing when you can talk to someone who has wronged you, hurt you, and truly feel nothing but satisfaction that he or she is happy and healthy. When I think of all the pettiness I've been a part of in the past, I'm just so grateful that God has worked his way into my life and shown me the power of forgiveness.

My First Day

Well, today was my first day working at Alma's admissions office. Lots of training, lots of new information, and Mancino's for lunch, on the college! I loved that part, by the way. My office is really tiny though, and it needs some major decorating. I took a mini-trip to JoAnn's on the way home and picked up some minor things, so we'll see how this progresses. I hope I can make the space "mine" in a way my offices at Mercy never were. I also hope they get my computer hooked up soon.

This past weekend was wonderful. Mitch and I went up to Cadillac to close the place down, and we took Gabe along with us. He helped clean in exchange for beef jerky from Powell's in Tustin, some greasy Lake City pizza and a few awesome volleyball games at Jon's. I thought I was going to be terrible at volleyball after being out of practice for so long, but a lot of stuff just came back and some things - like serving - were going better then ever, almost. Mitch and I are scheduled to play in a tourney with Jon at "The Greatest Fourth in the North" in Lake City, but before that, it's mud volleyball! Look's like this year's team will be me, Mitch, Matt, Roberta and Gabe, with possibly Andrea and Jon. (Gabe, have you asked your lovely wife if she would like to play in the mud with us on June 26th?)

Sunday Mitch and I went mountain biking at Ithaca's Jailhouse Trail, which is in severe need of maintenance. We are planning to go clean up parts of it this week and next so our arms and legs don't get torn up by thorns. Then we hung out with the in-laws, went for a swim at Matt's pool and had a yummy dinner back at the apartment with Matt. By the way, I love having friends close by. I am much happier here, even if Gary calls us townies now.

Well, time to get out of my cute new work clothes and into something more comfortable. Mitch is making hamburgers for dinner, so I better go make some contribution to this meal.

The Move

Well, the move this weekend went very well. After work on Friday, Mitch, my mom and I hauled boxes down to the trailer Mom brought until probably 9 pm or so. It was tiring work but it felt good to get it all done. Bobby and Dad came up that night and in the morning, we tackled the furniture. It probably took three hours or so until the trailers were ready to roll out, but Mom and I stayed behind to clean the carpet. It’s required in our lease, though Mitch says it’s a state law that the landlords have to clean the carpet and they can’t make their tenants do it. Oh well, I wasn’t in the mood for a battle. It took about an hour, so we were on the road by noon, I think. We stopped twice on the way: once to clean up Chip’s cage because he had a little, stinky accident and once to pick up subs from Subway. That side trip took longer than expected, though, because I locked the keys in the car and had to call Cingular Roadside Assistance for the second time in less than a year. Oops. I’m trying to get in the habit of using the clicker to lock my car once I get out of it, to prevent this from happening again.

So, here’s what our apartment is like. It’s on the second story, all the way to the back of the complex and in the far back corner of our unit. The kitchen has more cupboard space than our old one, and is just to the right as you walk in the door. It also has a dishwasher…yay! The living room is just to the left as you walk in, and it’s significantly smaller than our old one, so with the big sectional, we’ll call it “cozy.” We have a big window on the far left side of the living room that looks out onto our balcony, and there’s just a regular door around the corner to go outside onto the balcony. We have a nice view of the pet run area, which is a huge, grassy, football field-sized lawn. Best part: you have to pick up after your pets, so I’m thinking football and Frisbee games. OK, back inside, there is a dining area on the right side just past the kitchen, and then you just walk straight into a hallway that leads to the bedrooms and bathroom. The guest room is on the left, and across the hall is a bathroom. The master bedroom is straight back and it’s huge! We easily have enough room for our dressers, the bed, and even the bowl chair that would no longer fit in the living room. There’s also a walk-in closet that’s about as big as our old bathroom. Weird part: we have a sink and mirror in our bedroom. Odd. I think I can deal, seeing as you barely notice it when the bedroom door is open. We have some very nice trees by the windows, to Chip hops up onto the window sills, watches the birds and even talks to them! Seriously, they chirp and he meows right back. It’s very cute.

For most of Saturday evening, we unpacked, then hit the hay at about 10 pm because we were so beat. Yesterday we did even more unpacking and some repacking, especially in the kitchen where I rearranged almost all the upper cupboards. I think I’m picky. Anyway, it started to feel comfortable and I was really happy. I hope we can make this place feel like home. Cadillac never really felt like home. We were so excited when we moved here, but the novelty wore off quickly when we discovered that we didn’t really fit in up here. I hope Mt. Pleasant can be different. I think it will be, mainly because of the fact that we already know some people in the general area, like Gabe, Andrea, Baleja, Jon D. and all the kids still at Alma.

One more thing before I sign off for the day: I sold the Probe! A family with a sixteen year-old girl bought it so they could fix it up for her. I hope she has *almost* as much fun as Bobby and I had in that thing. I hope she doesn’t hit any curbs doing donuts in the snow, though, and I hope she doesn’t attempt any monkey business in the back seat, because it’s much too small and uncomfortable for that. I’m happy that it will be some other girl’s first car…I get sentimental about things like this, and I definitely tend to assign feelings to inanimate objects, so I think the Probe will like this arrangement, too.

A Cute Little Taurus Family

Just a quick, brief update:

1. Memorial Day Weekend was lots of fun, even though it consisted of unsuccessful car shopping and painting the cottage. The high points, which outweigh everything else, were my cousin Julie’s wedding on Sunday, mountain biking with Bobby and Island Lake and hanging out at the cottage with the family on Monday. (Note: If/when I show you my wedding album, please don’t poke all the pictures, like my aunts constantly did this weekend.)

2. Since we couldn’t find a car in Southeastern Michigan, Mitch and I took half a day off on Tuesday and went to Traverse City. After almost five hours, we came home with a dark grey 2002 Ford Taurus with power everything and only 41,000 miles. I love it so much that I put my AC alumni sticker in the rear window. Lessons from car buying: don’t go to Williams Chevrolet in TC, because the salespeople are super-pushy. They tried overly hard to get us to lease and attempted to sell us an Aveo (a.k.a. pregnant roller skate). Also, Suzuki Forenzas are nice cars but the acceleration sucks and Chevy Cobalts drive like Sunfires, which is bad. Oh, and wear comfortable shoes.

3. I am a packing Nazi. With a whip in one hand and bubble wrap in the other, I’ve been emptying every drawer, cupboard and closet. There’s still a ton to do, so Mom’s coming up tonight to help. We have a box monster in the living room. Sometimes Mitch uses that term to represent the huge stacks of boxes taking over. Other times, he’s talking about the cat, who loves to play in the boxes as we try to fill them.

4. Today is my kitty cat’s first birthday! If I have time, I’ll be putting pictures on my Yahoo site so you can see just how cute he is: http://photos.yahoo.com/skibunny11282. I never thought I’d be a cat person, but it’s hard not to love the little fella’ when you wake up with him stretched out, snuggled right up next to you, almost nose-to-nose, in the middle of the night.

5. Work at the hospital is awesome this week. I only have time to blog right now because I’m waiting for a nice ICU nurse to come and talk to me for a newsletter article. I have quite a few projects to complete before I leave and little things keep popping up, so I’m staying busy. Hope that nice nurse comes soon.

6. Last week was our six-month anniversary. Mitch says I should enjoy it because this is the only year we get to celebrate two anniversaries (six months and one year), but he took me out to dinner at the nicest restaurant in Cadillac (Hermann’s European Café) anyway. It was wonderful.

Super Packer

Super Packer

I wish there was a hero called the Super Packer. I can think of many ways that name could be perverted, but he would be the guy who came to the rescue when you had to pack up and move. He could come and bubble wrap the fragile stuff, and because of his vast experience, he would be confident that nothing would break. He would instinctively know when a box was “too heavy” and would have a good way to pack books without creating a backbreaking load. He wouldn’t stop to read old journals or look through old college PIG Books because he’s too efficient for that. And he would know what to leave out so that you weren’t searching for it later when you needed it but had unfortunately already packed it.

Obviously, we’ve started the packing process. I brought home about 10 big cardboard boxes from work and now they are all full. I have 11 more in my office and I’m sure they’ll be full within a few days as well. All the decorations from the living room and bedrooms are wrapped up and boxed up, which makes everything look pretty empty…or it would look empty if it weren’t taken over by the chaos of moving. I keep trying to picture myself sleeping on the floor in a sleeping bag for the last few days of work, eating off dishes from my college years and cooking with a $20 set of pans instead of the nice Calphalon set we got for our wedding. The prospect does not excite me. I should have given the hospital two and a half weeks instead of three, and then I could have started my job at the same time as Mitch started his. Then I wouldn’t have to come back here and camp indoors. Oh well, it will be an adventure, right? I can go on lots of walks. Maybe I’ll get a card table and just be a crazy scrapbook lady for a few days. We’ll see.

The Demise of the Probe

I meant the litany of previous “car issues” as a joke. But obviously, my car read them, thought I was insulting it, and decided to get back at me. First there was the stuttering around 40 mph after a good acceleration. (Who doesn’t love a good acceleration, I ask you?) Then it was the refusing to shift out of first gear without a break in park for a moment. Then it was the false hope that, after some fuel injector cleaner, a new something-or-other valve and a new O-ring on the dipstick, everything would be fine for the time being. Then it was the cruel realization that first gear was apparently as far as it would go without extensive prompting, followed by a series of stalls and an unwillingness to idle. *Sigh* All this happened between Sunday afternoon and lunch time today, after which I turned over the keys to Mitch and said, “I’m afraid to drive it to work, please let me have your car!” We’ve worked out the budget and think we can afford to buy a new car…not that we have any choice in the matter…so we’re going out looking after work today. The poor, poor Probe.

Other than watching the Probe’s death throes, my weekend was wonderful. Adrienne came up and we took her biking at Big M, an old alpine ski resort halfway between Cadillac and Manistee. Mitch and I had never been there, either, and I’ll probably never go back! It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done…even the 400 m dash I ran in middle school can’t compare to this beast. Five and a half miles of hills! Now, I know I say the trails in Cadillac are hilly, but those hills are not nearly as long as these ones! And it seems like the uphills most certainly outnumber the downhills. Good think we’re planning to bike with Dad and Bobby at Island Lake this weekend…I need to get my self-confidence back on something relatively easy!

We followed up our mountain bike adventure with a trip to the beach in Manistee, which I must say is gorgeous. The price for the beautiful beach, the warm sun, the calm water, the soft sand and the refreshing breeze was a rather painful sunburn, but the discomfort is worth it when I look back on how good it felt to just lay there.

On another note, I finally made some progress on my scrapbook and am feeling motivated to move even farther along once I get some more pages. I’m up to the Fourth of July canoeing trip we took last year, woo-hoo! And speaking of pictures, if you have not looked at our West Virginia climbing pictures, you should do so. You will be amazed at some of this stuff if you’ve never seen anyone climb outdoors. There are also some rather entertaining shots on there…go to http://photos.yahoo.com/skibunny11282 to satisfy your curiosity. By the way, why does “curious” have a “u” but “curiosity” does not? Ah, the wonderful mysteries of the English language!

Changes

If you’re on my email list, you’ve probably already gotten an email from me with the following news…and most of you who read this probably fall into that category, so this will be a bit redundant. But on with it, on with it! I accepted the job at Alma (no more money, though) and Mitch got transferred, with a promotion, to Fifth Third in Mt. Pleasant! We went down yesterday afternoon so he could meet with the folks down there, and within an hour he had a job offer and a raise. Within two hours after that, we had checked out four places to live and chosen one that we both like. It is in a complex called Country Place Apartments and we think it’s right down the road from Andrea and Gabe. It has two bedrooms and one is actually large enough for our bedroom furniture. (Surprisingly, many of the places we checked out would not accommodate a queen-sized bed and two dressers.) The living room is not as big as our current one, but it should be fine for our monstrous sectional and various other furniture pieces. The dining area is about the same as our current one, but we are planning to replace whatever light is in there with the cool one we currently have (think UFO hanging from a silver rod). And the kitchen has more cupboard space, more counter space (I think) and a dishwasher! Yesssss! That will free up a good 20-30 minutes each evening because we won’t be washing everything by hand. Our unit is on the second floor, which means we have a balcony, and it’s bigger than our current one. We’ll have a place for our grill, some patio chairs and maybe even a little table. Oh, and they allow pets, for a small monthly fee. Now when things don’t work, we can get them fixed without worrying about getting caught with an animal.

So here’s what our lives will look like for the next few weeks:
This weekend: Adrienne’s visiting! Play time!
Next week: Start packing (ugh)
Memorial Day weekend: Go to my parents’ for my cousin’s gorgeous wedding and a rollicking Memorial Day party at the cottage (By the way, apparently everyone I sent an email to about the new jobs was accidentally invited by my grandparents to come to the festivities. I’m sure if you want to show up, they won’t mind…hehehe!)
The following week: Finish packing
Friday, June 3: Mom, Dad and Bobby bring massive trailers and trucks
Saturday, June 4: Load ‘em up, drive to Mt. P, move in to new apartment…party with the ‘rents!
Sunday, June 5: Unpack, settle Mitch in, and then I have to come back to Cadillac to finish my stint at Mercy
Monday, June 6: Mitch starts as the sole office manager at Fifth Third in Mt. P
Wednesday, June 8: My last day at Mercy, and a reunion with my hubby in our new place
Thursday, June 9-Sunday, June 12: More settling in to our new apartment
Monday, June 13: My first day as an Alma College admissions rep!
ASAP: Recruit Gabe, Baleja, Davenport (hopefully) and others to sign up for a summer volleyball league, if possible!
Also ASAP: Have fun get-together(s)!

Whew, it’s a good think I just live for whirlwinds of activity!

On a more serious note, I cannot stop thanking God for all these blessings. Despite all the times I was frustrated, scared, worried and didn’t trust him the way I should have, he’s still made everything work out better than I ever anticipated. He forgives my impatience, my desire to have everything happen the way I think it should, and my need to feel like I’m in control, and slowly, he’s helping me realize that the more I trust him, the more patience I’ll have; the more I let him work things out in his time, the more content I’ll be; and the less control I try to keep, the more I’ll see his work in my life. I’ll close with a verse that always gets me thinking:

“Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world – wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important – has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. This world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out – but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.”
1 John 2:15-17 (The Message)

Anxious

I’m fidgety. Really fidgety. Even the Jars of Clay songs coming from my computer are not calming me down. Today I called Alma and made them a counteroffer. I know you’re “not supposed” to be really open about your salary, so I guess I’ll say that they did not originally offer me enough to be able to afford the new car we’re going to need so I don’t get stranded on some back road in the middle of the UP this fall. The Probe has done a good job all these years…it’s been though more than it wanted to with Bobby and me in our high school years, I’m sure, and it reliably transported me back and forth between South Lyon and Alma during college. Well, except for that one time the transmission went out around Brighton and I had to have my dad come and pick me up…or the time the exhaust system started to jiggle itself loose and made all those clunking sounds, until Bobby and Pat jury rigged it for me (they did a good job, even though it only held for about six months until it needed to be professionally fixed). And there was that year in high school when the overdrive light would not stop blinking. Huh. Bobby’s had his fair share of Probe memories, too. The time he slid it into the curb at the high school after doing donuts in the parking lot during ski practice. He didn’t have his license yet, so we never told Dad that the rear end was out of alignment…he noticed it on his own the next spring but we definitely played dumb. Oh, and the time the power steering went out. But really, since we replaced the ball joint and the half shaft this past fall, it’s run like a charm. It doesn’t matter that it locks and unlocks itself when the weather is damp, or that the key doesn’t work in the trunk anymore, or that I have to prop the trunk open with a ski pole, or that the seatbelt sometimes comes unlatched of its own accord. But I digress.

So I called Alma and explained that I would like to accept the position, but my only concern was that the salary would not be enough to cover a new car and moving expenses. I also pointed out that I would not be needing health insurance, which is an expensive part of every employee’s benefits package. Then I named a “more feasible” salary and held my breath. Sure enough, the director had to check with some other people but promised to get back with me as soon as possible. I gave her my work number and have been jumping every time the phone rings. I think I’ve calmed down some, though. I said a little prayer and relaxed. If God has taken care of us this far, he’ll make sure everything works out fine. On the whole faith thing, this is part of an email I sent my friend, Charlotte, this morning:

“Thanks for the congrats...you're so right, God takes care of all of us. Sometimes - most times - it's hard to accept that things will happen in his time, not in the timeframe we might want. I just look back on all those days I was discouraged because I wasn't getting anywhere with my job search and I remember trying hard to have faith but really falling flat on my face with doubts. It's completely crazy not to trust a power so everlasting, but we all fail to do so anyway at certain times in our lives, but he doesn't let that stop him from doing his work in our lives. Gosh, we're all so blessed. But it's like being 12 years old and not understanding why your parents won't let you go out with boys. They tell you that you have to wait, but you don't understand why, and they can't explain it to you because you won't understand the explanation. That's how I feel with Gob: he knows I won't understand if he tries to explain some of the things he does in my life, so he just does them and lets me understand them on my own, when I'm ready. I don't know if that makes any sense or not, but it's where my train of thought is taking me this morning.”

Switching tracks, let me tell you the most exciting part of Alma’s benefits package, at least for Mitch and I: guesses, guesses anyone? That’s right, free rec center memberships! No more sneaking in with a college ID, crossing our fingers every time we see Jake and hoping he won’t be a jerk and kick us out! Yay! Oh, and tied for first place, we have four, count ‘em FOUR, weeks of paid vacation time. Plus holidays. Oh yeah. Climbers, my husband may not be there, but I think this means more excursions with the coolest people on earth to the crags!

Change on the horizon

Alma came through with a job offer...now we're just waiting to see if Mitch can transfer to Mt. Pleasant, or if Lansing wants to hire me. The final decision will be made by Wednesday, but it looks like we're heading back downstate! If anyone knows of some nice, non-student apartments in Mt. P, or a house to rent anywhere in the general vicinity, let me know, because that's the next project. Oh, and the job would probably start June 6th or so. Whew!

Family Fun

Well, the weekend was a smashing success. I didn’t burn any of the food for Saturday’s dinner or Sunday’s breakfast. Mom DeYoung liked her new robe and when I talked to Mom Eccles, she was excited with the dry fit shirt we got her for rollerblading and biking. Grandma Heyd was not super crazy at dinner and Grandpa called our neighbor, the retired “Reverend Harold,” a rabble-rouser for his liberal views. We watched good movies and took the in-laws on a nice drive to the spot where Mitch got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. And I had some wonderful quality reading time on our balcony, in my new bathing suit, basking in the nice warm sun. Ah, that’s the life.

This week, like many others, will only last four workdays. I have to go to the doctor’s back at home on Friday, so I’m heading out on Thursday night, opening wide and saying “Ahhh” on Friday morning, and heading back to my old high school to work the Sunset Relays track meet with my parents on Friday evening. On Saturday, I’ll drive over to the in-laws’ because Mitch’s sister, Christa, and her husband, Brian, are coming up for a visit. It will be fun to hang out with them, take the quads over to Grandpa DeYoung’s, maybe catch a movie or something. Hopefully we can get some climbing in at the college as well, maybe on Sunday on our way back. We shall see.

And yes, I’m waiting on pins and needles to hear back from Alma and Lansing. More Alma, only because they definitely said they’d call at the end of this week. Lansing didn’t give me a timeline when I interviewed over two weeks ago, only that it would be “a few weeks” before they finished the first round of interviews and notified those they would like to bring back for a second interview. Hmmm.

I’ve been doing a fair amount of praying about this lately, just asking God for his will in all of this. And asking him to open my ears so I can hear what he says about any decisions I might have to make. I’d like those prayers from any of you who’d like to, too. Not for one job over another, but just for me to see his will in whatever situation comes about. Thanks guys and gals!

Alma interview and more

The Alma interview yesterday went very well. I don’t have Ryan’s confidence, so I can’t say I nailed it like he nailed his Midland interview, but I did get a few exclamations of, “Good answer!” while I was there. I met with most of the support staff, four of the reps and two of the higher-ups. I find it funny that most of them pigged me before I came in…what an “Alma” thing to do! Anyway, I answered their questions well, I was laid back and chatty, I had a lot of positive Alma experiences to share and I think I got the point across that I really thought Alma was a great school and that I could use my experiences to get others interested. I was the second-to-last candidate to interview and they will be making their decision at the end of next week, so I should get a call either way. I think I would like the job…my only reservations are about the traveling. Turns out the open territory is Northern Michigan, including the UP, and I would be on the road about four days a week from September through the middle of November. I talked to Mitch about it and he is positive we can work through it just fine. He says we did it every summer while we were dating and engaged, and just because we’re married now won’t make it too different. I think it is a bit different now, but it’s not for all that long and some days, if I were visiting schools close to wherever we settle down, I could come home at night. And of course, I’d be home every weekend. I would really like to get in touch with one of my parents’ friends who travels a lot and see what she says about its effect on relationships. I found it funny that, when I told Mitch’s mom, she seemed incredulous that I would even consider it. And she was so excited when I told her I was interviewing in Alma. But it could really be a great move for us, especially because there seems to be an office manager position opening up at the Fifth Third in Mt. Pleasant. Anyway, who knows if I’ll even get the job, but it is good to talk about all these things and consider them.

Now since EVERYONE seems preoccupied with “what ifs,” I’ll tell you what I would do “if” I were offered the job. I would find out when they needed me to accept by and try to hold out until I heard from Lansing, because that job would probably be better for my professional development. “If” I were offered both, the decision would be based on Mitch. “If” he ended up being able to take that position in Mt. P, it would have to be Alma. “If” he had nothing lined up and Mt. P was not really an option, it would be Lansing. “If” he had good chances in both locations, it would be Lansing. And “if” I got no job offers, I would do one of two things: (a) keep looking or (b) go back to West Virginia and live by the river in our tent. Let’s see, what other hypotheticals could you crazies come up with? I call you crazies because every time I tell someone about this, they always have a “what if” for me. Not that that’s bad, because it gets me thinking, but even this anal retentive, plan-obsessed chica cannot figure out what would happen in every situation. I think this is more directed at parents and other family members than friends, though. Sorry to go off there.

Tomorrow the in-laws are coming up for the weekend to celebrate Mother’s Day. I’m really looking forward to having them, because they haven’t been to stay with us yet and I was beginning to think we would move before they got to enjoy a weekend in Cadillac with us. But they are coming up tomorrow afternoon and bringing their bikes, so I figure we can take a trip around the lake and go for a walk around town or something. I think Carla will like all the cute little shops and things. Then Grandma and Grandpa Heyd are coming over for dinner. I think they are the weirdest family we have now. Grandma is neurotic, obsessed with death and thinks she can’t eat anything, though she’s certainly not missing any meals, as her weight shows. Grandpa is really nice but hardcore anti-alcohol, as a result of being a retired Wesleyan minister. Mitch thinks we should put all our alcohol (three bottles, what boozers we are!) in the closet, but I said no, that’s sneaky and while I respect his grandparents enough to put the bottles in a kitchen cabinet we are unlikely to use, I won’t secret them away like there’s something wrong with a drink every now and again. But as Mitch and I discussed, we’d rather have a few slightly crazy family members than any mean, evil ones. Yes, we are lucky.

OK, I’m blogging at work and now I really need to track down my boss. He’s been very busy lately, which means he’s been very stressed lately, which also means he has to be reminded often when I need something from him, like approval on a press release. I sent one out without checking with him first and I think he was a little annoyed but it was a pretty minor event and the release was really standard. As I told the Alma crew at my interview, I like a boss who is confident in me and lets me make my own decisions within my job responsibilities. Oh, look at that, he’s on the ball with this press release approval…he just dropped by with the latest and greatest, so now I can send it out. Way to go, boss-man!

And now it’s time for some of Laurie’s music must-haves. Gabe kindly gave Mitch and I a monstrous CD of awesome MP3s, and all you contemporary Christian fans, or just fans of great music and amazing vocals in general, need to check out Jennifer Knapp (who I already knew was awesome) and Nichole Nordeman (who was a new one for me and completely rocks). I also can now solidly recommend Burlap to Cashmere because, thanks again to Gabe, I now have heard more than just one of their songs.

West Virginia 2005

We had a bit of everything on this year's AC3 West Virginia climbing trip. We had some sun, some snow, a lot of rain. We had a ton of laughs and a mutiny or two, we had Raman noodles and hobo pies, we had smooth climbs and tricky beasts. We had good navigation and wrong turns, flush toilets and pissing trees, frigid baths and greasy hair. But above all, we had fun!

Mitch and I picked up Gabe from CMU on Friday after work and after repacking the car to accomodate three sets of gear, three people and a cat, we headed down to my parents' house for the night. The weather on Saturday morning was grey, windy and rainy, so we were in no huge hurry and got out of the house by about 9:00 am. The drive took 7 hours and 45 minutes and was completely uneventful. Highlights included being reassured that "Jesus Loves You" by huge letters on a hillside and making animal noises whenever we saw cows or horses on the side of the road. When we got to our awesome camping area, no one was there and it was raining, so we wandered around for a bit before setting up some tarps and our tents.

A word about our campsite: it's awesome. There's this area along the New River called Cotton Hill and there are 3-4 pulloffs where you can park, clamber down the hill, and find free camping areas right next to the river. The West Virginia Authority regulates the place and says, "No alcohol," but the guy who came down to empty our trash every few days just gave us some extra trash bags and told us to hide our bottles because his boss is a real hardass. He also complimented us on the neat condition of the campsite. Let this be a lesson to any of you who may laugh at my anal-ness about picking up all trash before going to bed: it really pays off.

It rained all night on Saturday and into Sunday morning. After a yummy breakfast of oatmeal, we all hopped in our cars and headed for the New River Gorge visitors center, where we always stop for flush potties and fresh water. We decided to wait there for Jon D. and Miriam, who were on their way, and then we headed back towards camp to play around at Hawk's Nest Dam. The rocks, wet from sleet, were a bit precarious but no one fell in the water or anything. When we had enough of the rain/snow mix, we headed into town to catch a movie. No one was super-particular about the film choice, because we were all happy to be indoors, so we saw Fever Pitch, which actually was not as much of a chick flick as I thought it would be. It was very nice to be able to drape my wet Carhart over the seat in front of me and take my feet out of my hiking boots for a little while! When the movie was over, we looked outside and discovered it was snowing VERY hard. And sticking. Not cool. We took a quick trip to Wal-Mart (cringe...I don't like to shop there but when you don't have a choice, well...) for some hand warmers so I wouldn't turn into the ice-woman overnight and drove back to camp, where luckily, the river kept the area warm enough to prevent sticking snow. I think we had Raman for dinner that night. Mmm.

When we woke up Monday morning, there was no snow. No rain. A little sun peeking up over the mountains. Yes! Pancakes maybe, or oatmeal. Probably pancakes, cooked by Mitch and I and definitely amazing, for camping pancakes.

Tangent time. We need to talk about the cast of characters here. Alumni climbers Gabe, Mitch, myself and Jon D., the new grad, were present and accounted for, but Leighton couldn't make it at the last minute. Bummer, because she's awesome and last year she brought a hammock and set it up in camp. We had some of the core club members, including El Presidente Caleb, Jon Naile, Ben Tidman (Tiddy-Man or Ben-Jammin'), Melissa the Amazing (or Studly Mel) and the ever-wonderful Jen Conkey, who incidently did not write "How to BLANK in the Woods." That was Caleb, trying to make it look like Jen wrote it, for whatever reason. We also had Katelyn, who climbed a bit last year but is now seriously improving, her boyfriend Brian, who won the biggest fall award by taking a 12-foot whipper while leading a 5.9 at Beauty Mountain, Miriam, who wasn't climbing due to an elbow injury, and three new freshies: Kali, Joe and Jessica. Later in the week, we were joined by Miriam's brother Jesse and three of his climbing co-workers, Steven and DJ. And let's not forget Ben's dad, Dr. T, who comes on many AC3 trips and is a wealth of climbing knowledge. I seriously hope I didn't leave anyone out.

OK, back to the trip narrative. Monday's destination was Endless Wall, the Freaky-Stylee area or something like that. Dr. T chose it, but his decision left a bit to be desired. See, the only relatively climbable route was a 5.10b but there are at least five of us who are nowhere near 10b climbers, so we were a little peeved to have hiked into an area with nothing to climb. "Oh, everything else will be wet, I'll take you down to a different area this afternoon," says Dr. T, but we don't want to wait, so a small caravan sets out for Kaymoor Slab, which has 5.8 and 5.9 routes. Well, our ability to read the guidebook was not exactly top-notch, so when we got to a point where the trail seemed to end, we thought we were at the spot where the guidebook shows a trail end. Turns out we weren't, but when we went back and asked, Dr. T didn't give us any help at all, so we spent the rest of the afternoon chillin' until I sought the map-reading expertise of Jon D. and found out that the end point on the map was the current crag and that where we thought the trail ended was really just a spot where you had to scramble over some rocks and voila, you were at Kaymoor Slab. Somewhere over the course of these frustrating events, Jen and I decided it might be time for a mutiny. We did not like Dr. T making decisions without consulting the group, or without taking the entire group into account, so we secretly planned a girls climbing day for Tuesday, when Dr. T had planned to take us all to a new area at Bubba City called Tattoo Wall. More on that later, and the subsequent bitterness of our male companions.

We got some good climbs in once we found Kaymoor: a super-long 80-foot 5.9 and a shorter 5.8, both on slab with few handholds and a lot of foot-trusting (slab means there aren’t big holds anywhere…it’s kind of straight up, like a slab, and you use friction to climb it, mostly). I don't mind that as much as, say, chimney climbing, but it can get a bit hairy at times. I suppose I should talk a bit about route ratings for a moment. A rating of 5.0 is a vertical ladder, so say you propped up a ladder against your house and climbed up to clean the gutters. Ta-da! You climbed a 5.0. The ratings go up from there, but you won't really see any routes lower than a 5.4, which is pretty much just a scramble up the rocks. Once you hit 5.10, however, the ratings go 5.10a, b, c and d, and the difference between the difficulty of a 5.10a and a 5.10b is the same as the difference between the difficulty of a 5.8 and a 5.9. The reason for the wackiness, I learned from the insightful Gabriel, is that when climbing shoes were invented, everyone got really, really good, so thy made the abcd system for the harder climbs like 5.11s, 12s, 13s and 14s. The hardest route ever climbed is a 5.15. Boulder problems have their own rating system, but since I'll never refer to it in this blog, I won't get into that.

Anyway, once we were climbed out at Kaymoor, we pulled the ropes and started out hike out. Rather than retracing our steps, which would have taken forever, we continued to hike along Endless Wall until we got to the Honeymooner's Ladder, which is actually a two ladders and a scramble that takes you up the 50 or so feet of the wall in that area. Then we hiked along the top of the wall, back the way we came, but we took the wrong fork at a turn and ended up hiking up a huge hill, tramping through some yards, braving barking dogs and walking down the road until we found the parking lot. Talk about an unneccessary workout!

Though the hour was late, I was determined to take a bath in the river. I was gross, my hair was greasy, and the day had been relatively warm. Well, it was dusk by the time we got back, but Miriam, Mitch, Jon, Gabe and I braved the frigid water anyway and got reasonably clean. The only problem was that I could NOT get warm afterwards. Even the mac and cheese we had for dinner didn't warm me, but after a few hours huddled around the fire, I was OK.

Tuedsay was the day of the Great 2005 Mutiny. Us intrepid females decided to strike out on our own and go to Beer Wall, another section of Bubba City, instead of Dr. T's Tattoo Wall. We didn't want to cause more of a stir by bashing Dr. T, so we had Caleb spread the word that we were not comfortable with the threat of falling rock vs. the lack of helmets in this newly developed area and that we wanted to do that crazy female-empowerment thing. The guys, who felt this was unfairly sprung on them at the last minute, were bitter that we wanted to go off on our own, but I think they got over it. We had a fabulous time despite their reservations about our abilities! Katelyn and I lost our outdoor leading virginity together when she led a 5.5 and I led a 5.6 at the same time. (Lead climbing is where the rope is not already hanging from the top for you. You have to take the rope up with you and clip it to bolts in the wall as you go up, which means there is the potential for some wicked falls.) Mel led a 5.10c called St. Pauli Girl, which is Jen's favorite route, and even I got on that one just for kicks. I'm proud to say I made it to the crux (the hardest part of the climb) but didn't have the skill to get past that point. We climbed hard until lunchtime, then took it a bit slower and were out of there by 4:00 pm. We knew hobo pies (beef, potatoes, carrots, cheese, onions or any combination thereof wrapped in tinfoil and thrown in the fire) were on the menu for the evening, so we stopped at The Store on the way back to camp and picked up the beef and cheese so we could cut everything up and be ready when the guys got back. Little did we know that Caleb and Co. got meat as well, so we had hobos two nights in a row...oh darn! Other than awesome meals and Gabe's run-in with my pocket knife, we had an uneventful evening and everyone slept like rocks that night.

Wednesday was kind of an "eh" day. Mim, Jon D., Kali and Jessica went whitewater rafting, but I didn't envy them because it was kind of chilly and rainy. The rest of us went to Beauty Mountain but there really weren't too many good climbs. Brian led a 5.9 and took that whipper I mentioned earlier, and Caleb did a 5.5 trad route, which means there are no bolts in the wall and you have to set your own protection to clip into as you go along. He then belayed Brian up it from the top, Brian cleaned all the gear (meaning he took it out of the wall) and then Caleb and Brian did a sketchy single rope rappel at the same time down off it. Jen climbed this one monstrously overhung route and fell on the crux, so in order to get back to the wall, she had to swing off a tree that was about 6-8 feet away from the wall, clip a quickdraw to the wall (two caribiners connected by a piece of webbing) and pull herself back in. We ate lunch under an overhang so we didn't get soaked by the afternoon shower and made it back to camp by 3:00 pm. Once again, we had hobos for dinner and spent a good deal of time around the fire, waiting for Jesse, Steven and DJ to show up. When they got there, Jon D. took the three of them bouldering at Hawk's Nest Dam but the rest of us were too tired to join in.

Thursday was the BEST day. We went to Summersville, which is this huge lake with awesome climbs all around it. The section of choice was Orange Oswald and everyone seemed to climb to their full potential. I climbed a 5.8 called Hippie Dreams and decided to get over my fears and rappel down. Now, there’s nothing all that tricky about rappelling. You clip yourself to the anchors at the top of the route with a set of quickdraws, lower the rope halfway down, untie it from your harness and attach it to yourself via a belay device called an ATC. Then you just lower yourself down the same way your belayer would lower you down. Well, the hard part, for me, is the point where the ATC is all attached you and you have to unclip yourself from the anchors. That means you are only keeping yourself from falling with one hand, and then you have to start letting yourself down. For whatever reason, I panicked about that point, but I eventually made it down safely, with some encouragement from everyone below. After that, I took a break and prepared to tackle a 5.9+, which kicked my butt hardcore. The beginning was really pumpy (hard on the forearms) and about 2/3 of the way up, there is a big crack you have to climb up. Well, I'm not a good crack climber...you could say I have a crack problem, haha! About there, I was convinced I could not make it. My grip was gone, but Jen and the rest of the people on the ground encouraged me to press on. After resting for a few moments, I got back on the wall but I had to take (rest on the rope) after every two or three moves. Still, it was a very rewarding climb and next time I hope to do it better!

There were still a couple of 5.8s that Mitch and Gabe had led earlier and I wanted to climb, but my arms were dead after the 5.9+ and I wanted to end on a high note rather than struggling up something I should be able to do easily. So I took advantage of the reasonably warm weather and the nice clean lake and washed my nasty hair. Once I got done, I watched Katelyn work through a 5.10b, got packed up and hiked back to the cars. Because the weather forecast said lots of rain for Friday, we all decided to go to the Pinnacle, which is a multi-pitch route some people climbed with the locals last year. It’s over 100 feet tall and you have to climb up this chimney, about 30 feet, and then there’s a big ledge to hang out on. Then you have to climb up about 15 or so feet on another face while someone belays you from the ledge, followed by a scramble up to the very top. It’s very exposed once you get up the first pitch, and I think all my courage got used up on my scary rappel and difficult 5.9+ at Summersville. I was kind of a wreck climbing the chimney, because I HATE feeling like I’m trapped between two walls of rock. Then I attempted the second pitch but my theoretical balls were not “to the wall” as they should have been. I chickened out but sent my camera up with Mitch to get pictures of the amazing view. I’m actually very glad I was a big wimp in the beginning, because getting down involved a 95-foot rappel down the back face of the rock. By the way, the Pinnacle isn’t a cliff/wall like we usually climb. It’s kind of like three enormous rocks stacked on top of each other.

By the time everyone got up the Pinnacle and back down again, it was definitely dinner time. There’s this restaurant we found last year called Dirty Ernie’s Rib Pit, and it was so yummy that we had to go back there again. This time Jon D., Miriam and Gabe came with us, and we all scarfed down mozzerella sticks, salads and ribs like we hadn’t eaten in days. It was wonderful! Back at camp, we hung around the campfire and discussed plans for the next day. At that point, we had pretty much decided that everyone was going to head home on Friday instead of Saturday. The forecast said there was a 100% chance of rain all day long, so no one was too keen on sitting around wet just to avoid returning to real life.

It took a few hours to pack up in the morning, but it was worth waiting for everyone because we all went out to breakfast on the club. Mmm, Biscuit World! To break up the long drive, we all stopped at Ben’s house in Ohio, where his mom proceeded to cook a monstrous dinner for us! No one was expecting that at all…we were just hoping to stretch our legs, check out the climbing wall Dr. T build on the porch and use the bathroom. I remember walking in, looking at a big bowl of bananas, and thinking, “I wonder if I can have one of those.” Instead, we all got BBQ chicken, hamburgers, cheesy potato casserole, fruit salad, corn on the cob and brownies. Aw yeah! It was OK that we stayed for a long time and didn’t get home ‘til around 10 pm.

A hot shower and a good sleep in a real bed marked the end of our trip. We spent all day Saturday cleaning gear and washing clothes, then we had a nice family dinner and drove to Mt. Pleasant to return Gabe to Andrea. Mitch and I stayed the night there, but we had to sneak Chip into Andrea’s building because they don’t allow pets, even for the hall directors. Back at home on Sunday, it was a little surreal to think that we had to go to work the next day. Being on the trip made us both feel like we were back in college so it was a bit of a jolt to realize that we weren’t.

So what has real life brought this week? Keeping busy at work and preparing for my interview at Alma, mostly. My little presentation is too long, I think, but I’m cleaning it up and am thankful to one of Gabe and Andrea’s friends, who is a current Alma admissions rep, for giving me some pointers. The more I think about this job, the more I think it might be a good opportunity for us. Mitch could easily request a transfer to Mt. Pleasant and we wouldn’t be any farther away from my family than when we were in college. We would be close to Mitch’s parents and we would actually have some friends in the area. As far as the job goes, I think it could give me some good sales experience, which would help round out my business skills. After all, marketing and sales go hand in hand and though I don’t like sales as a general rule, learning the skills to promote something I believe is valuable (the Alma education and experience) would be an enjoyable way to learn about sales. That’s tomorrow morning, so wish me luck!

I love to drive...

I just got back from my interview in Lansing, and I think it went very well. I was there for three hours, about about an hour and a half of that was spent working on some sample projects they had me do. The press release and the editing went fine, but when I turned to my old friend, Photoshop, to create an ad for the CVB, the computer said, "Oh no you don't!" I lost my work once when it froze, and then I could never get it to be unfrozen enough to do more than choose the background color, insert the logo and type the contact information. No photo, no copy, not even the right adjustments on things. No worries though, everyone was aware of the problem, including the IT guy who tried to fix it for me. I just sketched out my idea and left them with a copy of the brochure I made for my senior thesis to prove yes, I am capable of using the software! It will be a few weeks before they start calling people for second interviews, so let's hope they pick me! Let's also hope that my interview at Alma in two weeks goes even better...I get to make up a 10-minute schpiel (sp?) about Alma and pretend to give it to a prospective student, yippee!

Well, you won't be seeing any blogs from me for the next week, because I'll be hiding away in the mountains. Thank goodness...I really need to get refreshed and leave a lot of the recent stresses at home.

Now, a treat for you: the wonderful Jen C. came up with this great list of how to survive in the woods, and I'm sure you'll all need it at one time or the other, so read on!

The following are some recommendations, (all in the name of clean fun), about low impact rustic camping you may or may not be familiar with:

"How do I _____________ in the woods?"

1. Pee

There is of course some gender dimorphism to urinating in the woods. A few things to keep in mind: Guys, don’t cross the streams. Try and make sure you don’t cross contaminate your unit with the poison ivy you just accidentally touched. Try and go far enough away from the campsite so that people arn’t traipsing through your urine puddle. Carrying hand sanitizer with you might be a good idea if your gunna touch other people or their food. Gals, you don’t need toilet paper to pee. Just pop and squat. To make things easier on yourselves you might use a wonderful product called the wizzer. It allows you to pee standing up because it slips comfortably(?) right under the urethral opening and bobs your uncle your peeing standing up. I’ve never actually seen this done before, but the women on the view gave it rave reviews. Another thing to keep in mind is that urine might sometimes adhere to pubic hair, shortening the effective lifespan of underwear. Removing unnecessary "fuzz" from that area would b e a good idea. I suggest the male mach three, its feels like it gives a closer shave.

2. Poop

The key here is control over circadian urges. If you can train yourself to poop once a day in the morning, then you’re golden. We stop for water and flush toilets every morning. If you have to poop in the woods there are two things you can do. The good thing to do is first make sure that you don’t have any unnecessary ass hair for poop to stick to. This seems to be a bigger problem for the guys. There will be some toilet paper laying around somewhere. You have to throw away toilet paper, you can just leave it lying around on the ground covered in your poop, and God forbid you think it a good idea to throw it on the fire. Put your toilet paper in a grocery bag and tie it and throw it away. Outside pooping is really just like pooping on a toilet except more uncomfortable. Just poop in the morning. You could also poop in the river. (ref. Jon Naile)

3. Eat

Keep track of your garbage! Take nothing but pictures leave nothing but footprints. There is a trashcan in our campsite. We pack all our trash out of the climbing areas.

4. Do it

For those of you who might be sexing it up; set your tents up next to Ben’s parents; a safe distance away from everyone else. Used condoms do not go in the fire; nor does any other trash that is not made of paper for that matter. Remember condoms decrease the risk of urinary tract infections, and dangerous STD’s like HIV and children.

5. Menstruate

The coup de ta of the climbing experience. If your going to be riding the crimson tide do not let that spoil your climbing trip. The club has ziplock bags so that used tampons during the day can be slipped into one of those, packed out, and then deposited in the trash. Tampons should be changed every 4 to 6 hours just to be safe and avoid TSS (a very rare condition). Use a pad overnight; there’s a garbage can where we stay. Because we wont be showering or bathing as regularly as we usually do (except for Caleb who will probably bathe more often than he usually does), so take care to respect your vagina if you’re on your period.

6. Sleep

Sleeping in the woods is fun, especially if you have an “accommodating” tent partner. You need a sleeping bag rated to around 20 or 30 degrees. It might get really cold at night. If your bag isn’t rated that low bring a fleece blanket. Pillows are nice but unnecessary. Just put dirty or clean cloths in your sleeping bag bag. First one awake gets to raise hell and wake everyone else up (and get first dibs on oatmeal flavours).

Loyal hearts

My alma mater thinks something of me, after all. Admissions wants to interview me, but let's hope they're flexible, because the message I received said something about scheduling them for next week. Well, next week I'll be living next to a river, spending my days on huge rock walls and nights around the campfire. Maybe they'd be way cool and do it Friday after my interview in Lansing...what a morale booster! And to top it off, I'm going wakeboarding. Tonight. In April. Aw yeah!

Locked Out!

So much to look forward to a week from now! A real interview (not a fake sales one) and heading off to the wonderful New River Gorge. Sigh…I’m going to be off in another world all next week, thinking about all the excitement.

Yesterday, however, was not super fun. I went home at noon to put Mitch’s lunch in the fridge, because he forgot it when he left for Traverse in the morning. When I left, I locked myself out of my apartment. Damn. Luckily, I had my cell phone and apartment manager’s number, so I called and got him to drop off a key for me sometime that afternoon. I live a mile, maybe, from work, so I hiked up to the hospital in my heels (not really very comfortable) and finished out the day. A coworker drove me home, but when I got there, the key didn’t work. So I called Mitch, knowing that he had a dinner meeting in town with a salesman and the investment guy at the Cadillac Fifth Third. No answer, no problem…I figured he just didn’t have reception, so I left him a message. To be safe, I called Fifth Third and had them give a message to the investment guy to have Mitch call me because I was still locked out. I waited in the hall, reading my newest library book, for close to an hour before I decided to take matters into my own hands. Again, in my heels and work clothes, I hopped on my bike and rode into town to the manager’s hair studio. His response, when I told him I had the wrong key, went, “Oh, I was going to call you and tell you that that key is really bad. It doesn’t work well but eventually it will work. Just keep at it.” Grrr. Seeing as I had wrestled with it rather extensively, I rode to the restaurant where I thought Mitch had his meeting. No dice. I learned later he was at Hoffman’s, not Hermann’s. So I rode home, determined to either (a) break the damn key off in the keyhole or (b) get into my apartment. Yeah, it worked. It was a pain, but it worked.

By the way, I’m at work and bored. It’s not that I have nothing to do, I just have nothing pressing to do. And I’m not very motivated to do anything at all. I think I’ll go down to the cafeteria and get something to drink. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Wait, speaking of drinks, Mitch and I have been experimenting with a coconut and some rum because we want to take one down to Caleb for the trip. Last year he wanted to drink rum out of a coconut but all the milk spilled out when it broke and he panicked, yelling, “Quick, pour some rum in it!” This time, we’re bringing it down for him, with a pre-drilled, corked hole so nothing will come out until he’s ready to drink it. I hope he likes it better than us, though. We tried drinking the coconut milk mixed with vanilla rum and it was bad, and we tried eating the coconut after it had been soaking in rum, and that was bad, too. It’s the humor of the gesture that counts, right?