CK

I just needed to dedicate a posting to my former Director of Undergraduate Admission here at Texas State University, Mrs. Christie Kangas (a.k.a. CK).



Today was CK's last day working for Texas State after 8 years. She has accepted a position as the Director of the Office of Admissions at the University of Northern Iowa. It's a pretty sweet gig. Aside from the prospect of new challenges and responsibilities, she and her husband will now be just 20 minutes from their grandchildren. What's not outstanding about that?

Our office is sad to lose her, but happy for her family. However, we couldn't just let UNI get away with taking our Director, and not poke fun. (Don't forget, this is higher education! We have fun with each other!) The following is a letter sent to the generic email address for their admission office from one of our processors.

• To: admissions@uni.edu
  From: admissions@txstate.edu
  Re: Your New Admissions Director

• Today, our office mourns the leaving of the greatest Undergraduate Admissions Director, Christie Kangas, to your admissions office at University of Northern Iowa. We want you to know that you all (ya’ll in Texas) are receiving one of the most dedicated, hardworking, enthusiastic individual that we love and will miss dearly.
  
  We don’t wish you success because success follows wherever Christie goes. Please take good care of her on her new adventure…because we will be watching!
  
  Instead of sending flowers to us for our loss (your grandest gain)…send us chocolates!
  
  On behalf of Texas State University-Undergraduate Admissions Office, Mary

Although I hadn't established a strong relationship with CK, she was still an outstanding leader in our office and within my profession. I am proud to have served under her and I wish her the best in Iowa. This was the largest project I had today, but it was fun putting it together.

Conference Video of Socials

Here they are, as promised.


Beverly and C.C. in an impressive sumo-competition.



I titled this video Proud Mary. Mind you, these are some prominent folks in our professional organization and within our profession. Again, I'm lucky to have the job that I do, with the people I work with and for.

Professional Organization Conferences

Who doesn't love the opportunity to attend a conference? Interacting with colleagues, learning more about one's profession, opportunities to network with big-wigs. What's even better is when your employer pays for you to go. Sweeeeeeeeet!

This weekend I attended the Texas Association for College Admission Counseling (TACAC) annual conference. I am lucky to be part of a great professional organization that supports my endeavors to aid students in the policies and processes of the college admission process. This weekend was full of sessions, social activities, and schmoozing. I won an awards in college for Schmoozing. Check out a few photos I posted.

Some of the sessions were packed. I had to sit in the back.
Reminiscent of elementary school.

When Texas State Admission Counselors attend conferences,
we have the opportunity to take out our aggressions on each other.

Conference meals pack on the pounds. I was feeling a little bloated.

Perks of attending conferences are hanging out with colleagues and friends, and flirting with counselors from other schools. These hot ladies were my wing-women.

Those who know me best, know I dig piano bars and Howl at the Moon wan no exception.

When I get the chance, I will post a video or two. They'll be of some fun highlights to the weekend. There was plenty to highlight, but there is just so much I can blog about without losing your interest. I will share with you that since I've woken up today I've had lower-back and abdominal pain. I'm pretty sure it was from the Sumo Wrestling. I could be wrong, but I really didn't do anything else that physical this weekend.

I have to give a shout out to my food this weekend. Conference meals were good, but when we went out for other meals we really outdid ourselves. Dinner last night was at Le Madeleine's. Tomato Basil Pasta and a side Caesar Salad. I had a few bites of coworker C.C.'s cheesecake. She and other coworker Pat are awesome dinner dates. And for lunch today coworker Joe, C.C., and I had a delicious food in Gruene, TX, where they say that they're slowly resisting change. That's kinda bologna. They're totally conforming to middle-American tourism. Not my cup of tea. Last note on food: tea was being served up the wazoo at this conference. I haven't really decided how I feel about that.

Like I said, Video to come soon.

New Digs come June

I have a real sweet living arrangement starting in June. A buddy of mine from Austin owns a house on the south side of town. In an adventurous quest he decided that he wanted to move to Taiwan. However, he doesn't have a job secured there, and he has a limited amount of funds to last until he can hopefully earn a paycheck there. His house was occupied by his brother, a friend, and himself. Since he's leaving he offered me to move in. Gary and I came to an agreement and come June, I will be living in the house.

The perks are that I get the Master Bedroom, private Master Bathroom, HUGE walk-in closet, balcony access, and one of the garage spots, and he's providing the place to me mostly furnished. Downsides are that two other guys moved into the house making it a total of 5 dudes, one of the roommates threatens to kill me all the time (but I do the same to him), and Gary did a crappy job of cleaning the place before he left. So, I've spent the passed two days hanging out over there, and cleaning up my soon to be new living space.

Check out a few of the pictures I took today of the place.

You guessed it! That is a king sized bed. Mine!

This shot doesn't do the TV justice, but it is huge.

My little office nook.

The enormous bathroom comes with a garden tub, and separate shower...

... and two sinks. To the right is the enormous walk-in closet.

It's pretty exciting. The apartment I'm in is nice and all, but I'll be two exits closer to work, closer to Southpark Meadows and all that it offers, and roommates. Roommates aren't always the best to have (unless it's Troy), but it'll be good to have people to come home and hang out with. Currently if I want to hang out with people I have to go back to San Marcos or drive to downtown Austin. Sometimes, I'd rather not use gas.

Lastly, because I can, I've included a video of the new place that I spent the past two days cleaning.

Tomorrow I leave for a conference in San Antonio. I'll try to post something while I'm there. I slacked off this week, so I owe it to you. Holler.

My First Love

"What am I blogging about today?" I asked over my shoulder thinking my voice would be heard by ears up the stairs.

No answer.

I look over to the coffee table and see the orange-striped Whataburger container with my chalky fast-melting chocolate shake.

Elisa and I had just returned from Whataburger, where I ordered said mediocre shake and fries. This combination on chocolate shake and fries was introduced to me in college. I don't remember the generous soul who clued me into the tasty treat. I do, however, remember that the establishment was the Wendy's on W. Michigan Avenue. And so, I now reminisce on the times spent in that niche of Kalamazoo, MI. I can only assume the majority of this blog's readers are from either Michigan, Texas, or California. So much needs to be explained about what I have spoken about thus far. So I pause...

• Whataburger is a native Texas fast food chain that started in 1950 in Corpus Christi, TX. Restaurants are found throughout Texas and a few neighboring states. Much like In-N-Out is in California.
• Kalamazoo, MI is home to Western Michigan University. My Alma Mater.

Zilla (Fraternity Brother) and I, Kristian and I, or pledging members and I would frequent that Wendy's. I recall at one time the Double Bacon Cheese Burger, or as Zilla would call out when he ordered it, "a double bakie" was discontinued. We were enraged! Surely, there are other things to write a company's headquarters about, but this was an important part of our lives. Luckily, someone came to their senses and brought it back. We look back on those times as a low point for us. Why? Because the drive through and dine-in staff knew us. We were there too often. I think Kris was the first to realize it, but we all followed suit and slowly distanced ourselves from it.

Across the street was my favorite Saturday or Sunday morning (a.k.a. afternoon) spot. Maggie's Campus Cafe, home of the internationally renowned Breakfast Stew. It can't be explained, only experienced. I can honestly say that with the multiple options in there menu, I hadn't ordered anything besides the Breakfast Stew.

The last memento I will highlight, at least in the post, is a staple in WMU's student life. Any former Kalamazoo resident knows already what this item is. It is none-other than the Den Pop. Now, they will also recall the 5 cent increase to 55 cents, which everyone found absurd. How dare we be inconvenienced with having to search for an additional nickel in the crevices of our vehicles or couches. But we got over it. This years incoming freshmen class doesn't even know that the beverage they now enjoy used to be a nickel cheaper. I had a Den Pop daily. During my internship in the Student Activities & Leadership Programs Office, part of my internship hours included gathering Den Pop orders from students and staff, nd strolling down W. Michigan Ave to the Den and back. Carrying them in an empty liquor box in the Faunce Student Services Building a.k.a the Birdcage.

Sure, I could reminisce about friends, events, or locations, but then I would be neglecting my first love. Food. Enjoy!

Getting Rest, & Bringing Home a W

Tuesday after I got home, I barely got undressed before I passed out for the night. I didn't get home in the wee-hours of the morning, nor was it just before midnight. I was passed out on my bed before 8:30pm. Now, there've been evenings like this already, where I've come home exhausted and lied down to rest and ended up sleeping, but this is ridiculous. Luckily, I don't do this on a regular basis. I haven't been to bed before 8:30pm on a regular basis since I was in kindergarten back in 1989. Needless to say, I was well rested. I woke up once around 2:30am thinking it was time to go to work. I rolled over, glanced at the clock that took a few seconds to come into focus, then rolled back over and went back to sleep. My only regret was that I left a few lights on. Not very eco-friendly of me. My bad.


In better news, for those that recall that I am on a softball team, we play on Wednesday nights. We've had a fun season. Not filled with to many wins, but a fun season non the less. That's the great thing about our team. It's not full of cut-throat competitors. Mostly, everybody plays because they like the game and enjoy the company of the team players (many of which are or previously were employees in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions). I am happy to announce that the Under Dawgs got the final win for the regular season.

As planned by the team's captain, we shared in the celebration in the parking lot after the game was complete. We've got play-offs beginning next week, and hopefully we'll be able to redeem ourselves from a few of the tough losses we've had throughout the season. Either way it was a good time!

I'll insert a good picture soon!

Taxes in Texas, and Other News

I'm sure plenty of people, whether they are bloggers, newspaper columnists, TV or radio personalities, etc. are commenting on the holiday season. So, I will not dwell on it for very long. It would be unfavorable of me to not recognize THE person who has helped... no, done everything for me in regards to my taxes. I did think she was a whiz, or certified even. Come to find out, she just plugs my information into TurboTax. I almost feel gypt, but then I realize that she, not I, did all the work. For that I owe a debt of gratitude to Christy.

I don't care what our mutual friends say about you behind your back.
I think you rock, Christy!

As for the rest of my day...
I was on campus all day. I counseled a handful of folks. Two who were friends and possibly categorized as an odd couple, one I counseled over the phone because clearly he didn't need to drive to San Marcos for me to tell him I don't advise students on courses to take at my university. That is the job of an Academic Adviser. And finally, one lady who needed extra support in the college admission process as she wasn't what one would call a "traditional" student. The extra help I provided included a drive in one of our office golf carts to the other side of campus to meet with someone from another department. This brings me to an important component of my life, and the next topic I'll be discussing: I love driving golf carts.


Anyone from WMU knows that I LOVE my golf carts. The Orientation Office would have one (later two) golf cart every summer. As a Student Orientation Coordinator I had privileges with using the golf cart. If something or someone needed to be transported across campus by means of the golf cart I was FIRST to volunteer. Some people say I have a condition, others even say it's an infatuation. To heck with them! I call it destiny. Even in my current "grown-up" stage of life, the golf cart still serves as a weakness of mine. In the future I will upload video of my golf cart experiences. Please note, I am very responsible with this and other university vehicles. I just really enjoy driving it!

Oh, Sweet Baby Jesus! How is it that I forgot my outstanding news?
Today I finally purchased my ticket for my August trip to Morocco! It was a little nerve-wracking to transfer enough money over from my savings to checking to purchase the airfare. However, a small but growing to an almost overwhelming anticipation filled me. It filled me to the brim. It was even so exciting to cause myself to perform a little happy dance in my office. Some have witnessed this happy dance, but I am thankful it has yet to be captured on film (I think). For those that don't know, I am traveling to Morocco to visit a best friend of mine: Diane Woods. Hahaha! Actually, Diane is mother to Kristian, my fraternity brother, my ambassador to qwan, my brother from another mother, my travel companion, my voice of reason, my voice of unreason, my ex-long term relationship person on Facebook (now fulfilled by his redheaded brother), my duet partner for serenading ladies with tunes originally performed by the Reverend. Anywho, that fool joined the Peace Corps and is now serving his fellow man in culturally rich nation of Morocco. You can read more on his blog if you'd like, but it's pure amateur posting with pictures of camels, severed goat heads, and Arabic for Dummies. None-the-less, I am stoked about the opportunity to travel to Africa and spend time with one of my dearest friends. Here's to you Kristian.

A San Marcos Weekend

I went two days. Two days! I was really hoping to start off by posting on a daily basis. I guess if it's not in my job description for work or otherwise built into my daily schedule, I can't expect myself to be so consistent with my posts.

This post is a dedication to my weekend.

Relay For Life was held Friday through Saturday. I was there to support the American Cancer Society and my AMAZING University Ambassadors. I left the Relay for a couple hours to grab dinner with coworkers, but came back around midnight and stayed until 3am. I may be 24, but I feel old at times and can't pull all nighters like I used to.

Saturday, shortly after noon coworker/friend/motivational speaker Elisa and I went to the 1st Annual Wine Cellar & J's Bistro Crawfish Boil in San Marcos. Now, I've only had crawfish (or crayfish) once before this weekend. At the time I was probably still in elementary school. I was, on this more recent occasion, disappointed at the selection and presentation. For the size of these crustaceans, one would expect that the boil would be all-you-can-eat. The event planners apparently thought otherwise.

So the meal wasn't fulfilling, and we needed new plans. We called and met up with Victoria and Aaron at San Marcos River Pub and Grill. I realize as I'm writing this that my leftovers (Hickory Bacon Hamburger) are still sitting in Elisa's fridge. I was full, very full. And sleepy. I had a siesta in the car on the way to the bowling alley. Sunset Lanes is starting to be a popular place for me. As tired as I was, my second game I scored higher that I did earlier in the week against my Ambassadors. Don't ask me what the score was. I don't remember.

The night continued back to Victoria's apartment where we watched Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and played Apples-to-Apples. I don't mean to brag, but I definitely won. Meanwhile, Victoria received a Party Foul for falling asleep at her own party.
Not that we were being real cool by watching Harry Potter on a Saturday night. However I stand by the course of action that had taken place in the past 24 hours. Plus, I was exhausted. I didn't drive home, but instead, again, crashed on Elisa's couch. I woke up in the morning and watched some TV. It was Sunday, and I believe I deserved it. However, before I left I thought it'd be a great idea to tend to my wound that I earned earlier in the week. Rather than tell you about it, it was documented in the next video.



So that pretty much wraps up my weekend. All that's left on my plate is cleaning my apartment and doing my taxes. A big shout out to Christy who is helping me do my taxes. Sure I could do it on my own, but if I did I take the chances of screwing up and having later to go to prison. And I am NOT letting that happen again.

Softballs to the walls

The excitement of my day happened after 5pm. Prior to 5pm I drove to one of my high schools in San Antonio with our office intern. (not that kinda intern). Essentially, from 9:30am - 4:00pm I was out of the office. Recruiting is always fun, but to the reader, maybe not so interesting.

















@ 5:30 the Office of Undergraduate Admissions played the University Ambassadors in the annual BOWLing competition. It's a fun meet and greet for our staff and our student volunteer organization. Although, there was little meeting and greeting. Just fierce bowling madness. The scores are yet to be tallied. However Admissions is looking to hold on to current title as the 2007 competition's champions.

Frankly I stunk. Bad. I did break a hundred on both games I played in, but it was clearly not my "A" game. Luckily, this doesn't move me down to the B Squad.

I did a ton of video taping and took plenty of photos, which I will post in some form or another. It is currently after 2am, and I have to be up in less than 4 hours. So, I wont go into to much detail. You'll just have to wait until I post the media later on this week.

After bowling, the softball team I play on, the Under Dawgs, had two games. We played at 9 & 10pm tonight. It was rough. Mostly, because I lack skills in softball. I really don't like baseball at all. Softball barely makes the list of sports I consider playing in the first place. My defense is mediocre at best. My offense could use some improvement, but I was satisfied with my attempts tonight. Having a background in high school football, I'm used to sacrificing my body to make a play. That is a quality that carried over into softball. I'm proud to display this week's battle scar.

On that note.
I am off to bed.

Like, First Base...

I figure when I look back on my very first blog entry, I will say to myself, "Wow! That was awkward." Given some time, I hope my sarcasm, wit, and charm show through as the root of my entries. However, in comparison to others in my entourage (which spans world wide), mine will probably end up being the least exciting.

So, where do I begin? I invite you to pretend with me, that I've been writing this lousy blog for years. Mostly, I don't want to start off with a resume, or generic welcome. Frankly, those reading this will probably know me well enough to not need the basic: "I'm now living in Texas,where I work for..." Lame.

So here goes.

I woke up today to Kidd Kraddick on the radio, as I do every morning. Having been here a year, I've grown accustomed to this morning show's personalities. And as welcoming as their voices were when I became aware it was morning, I also realized that the radio/alarm had been on for an hour or so and that I had roughly 30 minutes to get ready and depart for work. It may present challenges, but I don't regret catching up on season 4 of Lost the night before.

I had plenty to accomplish at work. Read dozens of students files for the first half of the day. Some good, some not so good. I was able to maintain my sanity by making a run to 7-11, and fresh brownies made by CK the night before. The rest of my work day was consumed by an unpleasant appointment and necessary projects that needed my immediate attention. Before my commute home, I decided to treat myself to a haircut that I promised myself days before and failed to remember until the time I reached my apartment.

Rather than end with an insightful remark, I'll just end it. I've got laundry to do, and dinner to make and eat.