Here are all the photos!
My last work day in Minneapolis was pretty uneventful. the news the night before had said it might snow a bit in the morning and then be rainy in the afternoon, so I woke up an extra half hour early to make sure the roads wouldn't be covered in snow.
I drove down to Rochester, and it was significantly smaller than Minneapolis, I mean, I couldn't even find a Caribou Coffee! I had to get Dunn Bros. and it was awful.
in Faribault I ended up talking to one girl for over an hour, but she is very excited about coming to the university now.
On Saturday I was determined to spend the day in the Mall of America. I had gotten through the first floor on Thursday, but I had all day to get through the other two. then I had lunch with my middle school friend Allison! we just both happened to be in Minneapolis for various events and got to meet up! I hadn't seen her in a couple of years and we have both graduated and gotten jobs since then. totally random, and really nice! I didn't realize how much time I had spent alone not talking to anyone, it was great to have a friendly face.
I am really glad to be home and back into my normal routine, but it was fun to be on a business trip for the first time!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Fair Day
Today I had two fairs to get to on the other side of town - by 6:45am. The funny thing was that all the college reps had to meet at a mall and there were buses waiting to take us to the first fair - seeing about 60 adults professionally dressed on buses is pretty funny, but the funniest part was when we arrived and we all piled out of the buses got our rolling suitcases out and swarmed towards the gym.
The fair was pretty successful but way too long. all the reps were starting to drag and then we all remembered we had another fair to get to! we piled back on the busses and got to the second school and it felt like an eternity! 5 hours of hundreds of students asking you the same questions can get very tiring. "what is your school known for?" "do you have sports at your school?" "you're the number one party school right?" "I don't know what I want to study - I want to play baseball"
but I did see several students in maroon and gold! turns out they have a really good baseball program and we actually have been recruiting them, so they proudly wore sun devil gear.
after the fairs I pretty much just wanted to sleep, but I decided hanging out in my hotel room was a waste of a week in a new city, so I went to the Mall of America! I was very tired, so I only walked around the first floor (there are 4) and had dinner and went to see "He's Just Not That into You". The food was good - I had a cheese burger, but the best part was the salt and vinegar french fries, they were definitely puckering. Also, the best iced tea I have ever had was there. it was black current, and it was a really subtle berry flavor, so it just took away the bitter taste without really adding too much fruity flavor. The movie was really cute too. I am going back to the mall tomorrow and saturday for the other floors, no need to tire myself out too much just for shopping.
The fair was pretty successful but way too long. all the reps were starting to drag and then we all remembered we had another fair to get to! we piled back on the busses and got to the second school and it felt like an eternity! 5 hours of hundreds of students asking you the same questions can get very tiring. "what is your school known for?" "do you have sports at your school?" "you're the number one party school right?" "I don't know what I want to study - I want to play baseball"
but I did see several students in maroon and gold! turns out they have a really good baseball program and we actually have been recruiting them, so they proudly wore sun devil gear.
after the fairs I pretty much just wanted to sleep, but I decided hanging out in my hotel room was a waste of a week in a new city, so I went to the Mall of America! I was very tired, so I only walked around the first floor (there are 4) and had dinner and went to see "He's Just Not That into You". The food was good - I had a cheese burger, but the best part was the salt and vinegar french fries, they were definitely puckering. Also, the best iced tea I have ever had was there. it was black current, and it was a really subtle berry flavor, so it just took away the bitter taste without really adding too much fruity flavor. The movie was really cute too. I am going back to the mall tomorrow and saturday for the other floors, no need to tire myself out too much just for shopping.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Workday/Vacationday
Today I had 5 schools again but no fairs so I got the afternoon to myself!
I decided not to eat at the hotel breakfast buffet today because it costs so much, and I tried to find a Caribou Coffee (the local starbucks-like chain, but starbucks is everywhere too) to start my day, but somehow the directions I looks up didn't work, and I wasted all my breakfast time driving around and I still had 20 miles on the highway to get through, so I ditched the idea and headed to the school.
My first school didn't have any students waiting for me, so I got to leave early and the front desk lady gave me great directions to the local hot spot cafe for breakfast. it is called Keys Cafe and Bakery and boy was it worth it! best french toast of my life and the hashbrowns were so crispy! I got a cinnamon bun for the road (aka for breakfast tomorrow when I have to be on the other side of town at 6:45 in the morning and dont want to think about breakfast) and went to the rest of my schools. I had several really good visits with about 8 kids each.
Then for the afternoon I headed to downtown Minneapolis to check out the worlds biggest target and the nicollet mall area (a nice pedestrian street downtown). Parking was a nightmare to find, but once I did find a place to park I got to use the skywalks! they really do connect every building like a maze so, although it was still almost 50 degrees and windy, I didn't have to walk outside.
Turns out the target isn't the world's largest. bummer. but it does have a 3 story front entrance and it is a two story store - it has an escalator called a vermaport which is a dual escalator for you...and your shopping cart!
The rest of the street was pretty fun too, many of the tall office buildings had retail stores in the bottom couple of floors and the skywalks went right through some stores! You have to walk through the men's department at Macy's just to get through the building! talk about prime real estate, hahaha
I ate at a place called the Newsroom. it was kind of a sports bar kind of place, but it did have good food.
I left downtown around 6pm and for the first time have been able to lounge in the hotel room without having to hurry up and answer email so I could go to bed to wake up early the next day. yay!
I decided not to eat at the hotel breakfast buffet today because it costs so much, and I tried to find a Caribou Coffee (the local starbucks-like chain, but starbucks is everywhere too) to start my day, but somehow the directions I looks up didn't work, and I wasted all my breakfast time driving around and I still had 20 miles on the highway to get through, so I ditched the idea and headed to the school.
My first school didn't have any students waiting for me, so I got to leave early and the front desk lady gave me great directions to the local hot spot cafe for breakfast. it is called Keys Cafe and Bakery and boy was it worth it! best french toast of my life and the hashbrowns were so crispy! I got a cinnamon bun for the road (aka for breakfast tomorrow when I have to be on the other side of town at 6:45 in the morning and dont want to think about breakfast) and went to the rest of my schools. I had several really good visits with about 8 kids each.
Then for the afternoon I headed to downtown Minneapolis to check out the worlds biggest target and the nicollet mall area (a nice pedestrian street downtown). Parking was a nightmare to find, but once I did find a place to park I got to use the skywalks! they really do connect every building like a maze so, although it was still almost 50 degrees and windy, I didn't have to walk outside.
Turns out the target isn't the world's largest. bummer. but it does have a 3 story front entrance and it is a two story store - it has an escalator called a vermaport which is a dual escalator for you...and your shopping cart!
The rest of the street was pretty fun too, many of the tall office buildings had retail stores in the bottom couple of floors and the skywalks went right through some stores! You have to walk through the men's department at Macy's just to get through the building! talk about prime real estate, hahaha
I ate at a place called the Newsroom. it was kind of a sports bar kind of place, but it did have good food.
I left downtown around 6pm and for the first time have been able to lounge in the hotel room without having to hurry up and answer email so I could go to bed to wake up early the next day. yay!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Days 2 and 3
I passed out last night before updating on my first work day in MN.
I visited 5 schools and attended a college fair. of the school visits, the first couple didnt have any students show up, and then the 3rd one had 8 students! then one or two for the others. My GPS was not quite as friendly as i wanted it to be and it caused me a lot of u-turns. luckily I wasn't late to any visits.
I found a place called Cristos for dinner before my fair. It is a greek restaurant with excellent hummus, but the pita sandwiches are stuffed inside the pita (like a pocket) instead of the pita wrapped around it (like a taco) so all the meat was on top and all the lettuce was in the bottom, good food, but that was weird. I got baklava to go and it was delicious!
I got to the fair and don't see my name listed. the organizer comes over and says he got an email that was sent to all the fair organizers that said we had cancelled all our fair visits for the week!! I thought he was joking, but he wasnt. So I called work (it was still before 5pm at home) and told them we had been cancelled for the week, and they got on it right away to get me back on.
The organizer was so nice, he had given me a table in the back (fairs always put the schools in alphabetical order) so I was near West Point, but then he moved my table all the way to the front of the A's so I would at least be in my part of the alphabet. it was perfect! I was the first table every student saw! I even made contact with an alumni that would love to help. Over all it was a great day!
Today, I had four schools and a fair. the school visits in general had better turn out but the most embarrassing/funniest thing that could happen did. I walked into my second school and the career counselor had the exact.same.outfit.on. I am not joking. we had the exact same sweater vest on (from NY & Co) over a white button down shirt and black pants. the students all had to comment on it, and it was kind of hard to laugh it off, but what else are you going to do?! it was so crazy.
Then I get to the fair tonight and the woman at the table next to me had a sweater on that was exactly like my sweater vest again but it was a full sweater. Still it was noteworthy for the other reps - how did that happen to me twice in one day! this fair wasn't nearly as busy either.
I ended up eating at a chain restaurant here called Leeann Chin - it is like Panda Express, but not as good. Tomorrow after my schools I am either going to the Mall of America or downtown Minneapolis. I haven't decided yet.
I visited 5 schools and attended a college fair. of the school visits, the first couple didnt have any students show up, and then the 3rd one had 8 students! then one or two for the others. My GPS was not quite as friendly as i wanted it to be and it caused me a lot of u-turns. luckily I wasn't late to any visits.
I found a place called Cristos for dinner before my fair. It is a greek restaurant with excellent hummus, but the pita sandwiches are stuffed inside the pita (like a pocket) instead of the pita wrapped around it (like a taco) so all the meat was on top and all the lettuce was in the bottom, good food, but that was weird. I got baklava to go and it was delicious!
I got to the fair and don't see my name listed. the organizer comes over and says he got an email that was sent to all the fair organizers that said we had cancelled all our fair visits for the week!! I thought he was joking, but he wasnt. So I called work (it was still before 5pm at home) and told them we had been cancelled for the week, and they got on it right away to get me back on.
The organizer was so nice, he had given me a table in the back (fairs always put the schools in alphabetical order) so I was near West Point, but then he moved my table all the way to the front of the A's so I would at least be in my part of the alphabet. it was perfect! I was the first table every student saw! I even made contact with an alumni that would love to help. Over all it was a great day!
Today, I had four schools and a fair. the school visits in general had better turn out but the most embarrassing/funniest thing that could happen did. I walked into my second school and the career counselor had the exact.same.outfit.on. I am not joking. we had the exact same sweater vest on (from NY & Co) over a white button down shirt and black pants. the students all had to comment on it, and it was kind of hard to laugh it off, but what else are you going to do?! it was so crazy.
Then I get to the fair tonight and the woman at the table next to me had a sweater on that was exactly like my sweater vest again but it was a full sweater. Still it was noteworthy for the other reps - how did that happen to me twice in one day! this fair wasn't nearly as busy either.
I ended up eating at a chain restaurant here called Leeann Chin - it is like Panda Express, but not as good. Tomorrow after my schools I am either going to the Mall of America or downtown Minneapolis. I haven't decided yet.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Minnesota!
I have officially landed in Minneapolis! and luckily for me, it looks like a warm spell has come with me so it will be a balmy 40 to 50 degrees for my whole week here. Just to put it in perspective, I just watched the news and they said the low tonight is going to be 38 degrees - which is the average daytime high this time of year, apparently for MN this is May weather. For me it is the nighttime low in January. hahaha, crazy.
my flight got in late so I didn't get to Minnesota until 4pm. I had planned to drive around town and aclimate myself for my schools tomorrow. Instead, I decided to pick one school to try to find today using the GPS i brought. it works pretty well, but sometimes didn't give me enough time between telling me I would need to turn and the turn coming. So part of me is a little nervous about using it tomorrow when I have to go to five schools and a fair, but overall I think i just need to get used to it.
my hotel has a display of brochures on restaurants, so I perused and picked up a couple. After I felt comfortable with my GPS I made it take me to Rudolph's. it is a bbq place near downtown minneapolis (I couldn't tell you exactly because I missed a couple turns from my GPS and had to loop around the freeways a little bit). The food was great! they brought my cole slaw out before the meal, like a salad, which was weird but it was so gooood! it was like KFC cole slaw but much tangier, almost burning. and the ribs were excellent too. This place even serves Carnegie Deli cheesecake! My goal is to eat at as many places I don't see at home as possible, so I am looking forward to it.
I have taken some pictures, but will have to wait to upload. I will update again tomorrow!
my flight got in late so I didn't get to Minnesota until 4pm. I had planned to drive around town and aclimate myself for my schools tomorrow. Instead, I decided to pick one school to try to find today using the GPS i brought. it works pretty well, but sometimes didn't give me enough time between telling me I would need to turn and the turn coming. So part of me is a little nervous about using it tomorrow when I have to go to five schools and a fair, but overall I think i just need to get used to it.
my hotel has a display of brochures on restaurants, so I perused and picked up a couple. After I felt comfortable with my GPS I made it take me to Rudolph's. it is a bbq place near downtown minneapolis (I couldn't tell you exactly because I missed a couple turns from my GPS and had to loop around the freeways a little bit). The food was great! they brought my cole slaw out before the meal, like a salad, which was weird but it was so gooood! it was like KFC cole slaw but much tangier, almost burning. and the ribs were excellent too. This place even serves Carnegie Deli cheesecake! My goal is to eat at as many places I don't see at home as possible, so I am looking forward to it.
I have taken some pictures, but will have to wait to upload. I will update again tomorrow!
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Furloughed
So, with all the budget cuts facing the state and the university system, all university employees are being affected by a mandatory furlough. Depending on your position within the university you have to take 10, 12, or 15 days of unpaid leave between now and June 30th
At first I was told that I would need to look at my calendar, pick my 10 days and submit them for approval. this was very hard to do considering I am extremely busy and travel quite often during the spring and in order to not lose too much money in any one paycheck I really needed to sign up for one furlough day per pay period. I plan my calendar so far in advance that I certainly have a couple weeks together where I am out of the office completely and cannot take time off which means I would have to take more than one furlough day during a couple pay periods and be a little poorer during certain times.
Now, they have come up with a new plan. they are calling it "voluntary reduction in pay" but basically is says, you can choose to have your pay reduced by 10% every pay period and then work out with your supervisor when you take your furlough days. So now my pay reduction isnt directly connected to when I take my days off, but i still get the days off! So now I can take a week long vacation in April with 5 furlough days instead of using a combination of furlough and vacation days.
so being the optimist that I am I consider this a lot of extra vacation days. yes I will lose money but since it will come out of my paycheck routinely it won't feel like a loss (and it means I only lose one day's worth of pay during the week I use 5 furlough days at once!!!!)
yay for time off!
PS: I am not terribly worried about getting laid off for a couple of reasons 1) I work in the revenue generating department at the university 2) there are only two recruiters for all of southern arizona and the other one left - so I got a lot of added responsibility and seem to still have my head above water. 3) there is a hiring freeze and they can't replace the people who have left. If I was laid off there would be no one to replace me and my region is too big to go unrecruited.
I love my job :)
At first I was told that I would need to look at my calendar, pick my 10 days and submit them for approval. this was very hard to do considering I am extremely busy and travel quite often during the spring and in order to not lose too much money in any one paycheck I really needed to sign up for one furlough day per pay period. I plan my calendar so far in advance that I certainly have a couple weeks together where I am out of the office completely and cannot take time off which means I would have to take more than one furlough day during a couple pay periods and be a little poorer during certain times.
Now, they have come up with a new plan. they are calling it "voluntary reduction in pay" but basically is says, you can choose to have your pay reduced by 10% every pay period and then work out with your supervisor when you take your furlough days. So now my pay reduction isnt directly connected to when I take my days off, but i still get the days off! So now I can take a week long vacation in April with 5 furlough days instead of using a combination of furlough and vacation days.
so being the optimist that I am I consider this a lot of extra vacation days. yes I will lose money but since it will come out of my paycheck routinely it won't feel like a loss (and it means I only lose one day's worth of pay during the week I use 5 furlough days at once!!!!)
yay for time off!
PS: I am not terribly worried about getting laid off for a couple of reasons 1) I work in the revenue generating department at the university 2) there are only two recruiters for all of southern arizona and the other one left - so I got a lot of added responsibility and seem to still have my head above water. 3) there is a hiring freeze and they can't replace the people who have left. If I was laid off there would be no one to replace me and my region is too big to go unrecruited.
I love my job :)
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
The Light Rail is Here!!
So, the Metro Light Rail has arrived! (here are some pictures of my adventures on the light rail so far - mostly of my friends)The Metro Light Rail has taken 12 years to complete from thought to finish and for this first week it is free of charge so everyone can check it out. It very conveniently stops at Mill Ave and Sun Devil Stadium as well as the ASU Downtown campus!
My friends and I rode it last night to see how fun it was! This is Brandon showing you how nice it looks at the Mill station
This is Aida, Brandon, Brett, and I at the Sun Devil Stadium station - the light rail is still nice! (and yes, for our first ride we only rode it a block and back, hahaha) Partly, because we didn't have anywhere to go and mostly because it was PACKED!
Then today, my coworkers and I decided a trip to the Downtown Campus was in order to get some materials and have lunch! This was apparently the idea of every other person in Phoenix as well
We were having so much fun! (Nicole and Jennifer are my coworkers)
But on our return (PACKED) trip we were in the front train car when a car hit our light rail! yes, I made history by being on the first car/lightrail collision on a populated train (the first accident ever had already happened three weeks ago when an old lady crashed into a light rail on a test run)
But no one was even slightly injured - we didn't even know we had been clipped by a car, because it hit and ran - we did see the car drive away, apparently unscathed. We however were stopped in the middle of an intersection for about 20 minutes while light rail personnel and police showed up and our driver was replaced. I think he was more shaken than injured, or maybe it is just policy.
As you can see my coworker Marc and I still enjoyed the ride, even at a halt, and even while being in each other's personal space the whole time. did, I Mention it was PACKED!?
Friday, December 12, 2008
Why am I attracted to potentially devastating music?!
The new Tyrone Wells CD came out this week, and I cannot listen to anything else! In case you forgot, Tyrone is the singer who personally serenaded me
The CD is called Remain and 'Sink or Swim' is my favorite song! how can you not love lyrics like "Kamikaze airplanes in the sky/are we going down or will we fly/this could be a shipwreck on the shore/we could sail away for ever more/this time its sink or swim"
Sink Or Swim - Tyrone Wells
Remain - Tyrone Wells
If you decide you love him too - he is coming to Scottsdale January 31st!! (Martini Ranch, all ages, $12)
The CD is called Remain and 'Sink or Swim' is my favorite song! how can you not love lyrics like "Kamikaze airplanes in the sky/are we going down or will we fly/this could be a shipwreck on the shore/we could sail away for ever more/this time its sink or swim"
Sink Or Swim - Tyrone Wells
Remain - Tyrone Wells
If you decide you love him too - he is coming to Scottsdale January 31st!! (Martini Ranch, all ages, $12)
Friday, October 31, 2008
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Out of State Travel
I went to Salt Lake City yesterday for work. It was a one day thing. flew in in the morning, flew out in the evening. All in all I spent 11 hours in Salt Lake.
I was there for a college fair so my only luggage was my literature to hand out to students. I had checked the weather the day before and found out Salt Lake was having a cold spell and would be 25 degrees below normal (read: 40 degrees with chance of snow and rain) this same spell was hitting Arizona and Phoenix was also going to be about 25 degrees below normal (read: 75 degrees with plenty of sunshine). I dug through my closet to find a suitable jacket and a scarf and went off to Salt Lake.
I landed and my friend Justin (who goes to BYU) picked me up from the airport. we went to breakfast and then he dropped me off at my fair...as it was snowing. It was a wet snow that wasn't sticking, but still, it was snow. The fair went really well and it was very large, probably 50 or more colleges were represented.
Justin was late picking me up so I took a picture outside of the school
When he did come he and I went and picked up a friend of his, which was a mini adventure in and of itself since we had a hard time finding her house, but on the plus side we both saw a lot of the suburbs. He said he had planned stuff for us to do before my flight home so we picked up his friend and went off to...
The Mormon Temple! (I mean really, was that a shock to anyone?)It really is beautiful and I hadn't been there since around 2000 so it was fun. we took a "tour" of the visitor center and I was educated about Joseph Smith and how he came to find the true church of Jesus and...
anyway, we had to leave soon after so I could catch my flight home. It was great to see Justin and meet his friend. As I got on my plane snow trickled in where the gate attached to the plane. the plane had to be de-iced before we could take off which is something I had never seen before so I am glad I had a window seat. Still all my hopes were that we would take off since I did not want to spend the night in Salt Lake.
All ended well and I am back home, done with my out of state travel for the semester.
Although I did just find out I am the official Minnesota rep now, so a trip to Minneapolis in February might come up...good thing I had some practice in Salt Lake.
I was there for a college fair so my only luggage was my literature to hand out to students. I had checked the weather the day before and found out Salt Lake was having a cold spell and would be 25 degrees below normal (read: 40 degrees with chance of snow and rain) this same spell was hitting Arizona and Phoenix was also going to be about 25 degrees below normal (read: 75 degrees with plenty of sunshine). I dug through my closet to find a suitable jacket and a scarf and went off to Salt Lake.
I landed and my friend Justin (who goes to BYU) picked me up from the airport. we went to breakfast and then he dropped me off at my fair...as it was snowing. It was a wet snow that wasn't sticking, but still, it was snow. The fair went really well and it was very large, probably 50 or more colleges were represented.
Justin was late picking me up so I took a picture outside of the school
When he did come he and I went and picked up a friend of his, which was a mini adventure in and of itself since we had a hard time finding her house, but on the plus side we both saw a lot of the suburbs. He said he had planned stuff for us to do before my flight home so we picked up his friend and went off to...
The Mormon Temple! (I mean really, was that a shock to anyone?)It really is beautiful and I hadn't been there since around 2000 so it was fun. we took a "tour" of the visitor center and I was educated about Joseph Smith and how he came to find the true church of Jesus and...
anyway, we had to leave soon after so I could catch my flight home. It was great to see Justin and meet his friend. As I got on my plane snow trickled in where the gate attached to the plane. the plane had to be de-iced before we could take off which is something I had never seen before so I am glad I had a window seat. Still all my hopes were that we would take off since I did not want to spend the night in Salt Lake.
All ended well and I am back home, done with my out of state travel for the semester.
Although I did just find out I am the official Minnesota rep now, so a trip to Minneapolis in February might come up...good thing I had some practice in Salt Lake.
Friday, September 26, 2008
The Serenade
Amethyst and I went to a concert at Club Congress tonight. The headliner was a guy named Tyrone Wells. He is one of my favorite singers and my friend Julie turned us both on to him.
So when I found out he was going to be playing live in Tucson while I was going to be there I knew we had to go. Tickets were only $10 and it was a great opportunity to hang out with Am and listen to some awesome entertainment.
He sang a lot of his best songs but by the end of his set he had not sung "Happy as the Sun" which is hands down my FAVORITE song of his. so when he came out for an encore I immediately yelled out the title. he said the band was surprised they were getting an encore and they would play a new song "but I did hear a request for Happy as the Sun so find me after the show and I will play it for you."
Am and I are thinking: is there going to be a jam session after the concert? is he hanging around at Club Congress and just going to play some more in a few minutes?
He does the one new song and then the concert is over. Am buys one of his CDs and a T-shirt and we wait around while Tyrone meets with fans and finally we go up to him and get him to sign her CD and then I tell him I am the one that requested Happy as the Sun. He says, "ok, let's wait until it dies down a little bit and I have said hi to everyone and then we can find a quiet place and I will play it for you."
well, we didn't have to wait. he didn't really have anyone else to greet so he ran and got his guitar and then came back to us and asked us to follow him to the lobby of Hotel Congress. It wasn't quiet enough so we went outside onto the street (which was deserted) and he leaned against the building and sang Happy as the Sun to us - JUST THE TWO OF US!!!!!!!!!!!
for real, it was awesome, as in I am in awe that he did that. we got a private serenade from him!
After he sang we totally talked to him for about ten minutes about where we all were from and how he gets inspiration for his songs, and why he doesn't play that song in concert and on and on. It was unbelievable! my only regret is that we didn't bring a camera, so I don't have photographic evidence, but it is a memory I will always have.
Watch the video, so you can get an idea of why I LOVE this song and you can understand how amazing it is to have it song TO you!! (it was played just like this - just him and a guitar)
So when I found out he was going to be playing live in Tucson while I was going to be there I knew we had to go. Tickets were only $10 and it was a great opportunity to hang out with Am and listen to some awesome entertainment.
He sang a lot of his best songs but by the end of his set he had not sung "Happy as the Sun" which is hands down my FAVORITE song of his. so when he came out for an encore I immediately yelled out the title. he said the band was surprised they were getting an encore and they would play a new song "but I did hear a request for Happy as the Sun so find me after the show and I will play it for you."
Am and I are thinking: is there going to be a jam session after the concert? is he hanging around at Club Congress and just going to play some more in a few minutes?
He does the one new song and then the concert is over. Am buys one of his CDs and a T-shirt and we wait around while Tyrone meets with fans and finally we go up to him and get him to sign her CD and then I tell him I am the one that requested Happy as the Sun. He says, "ok, let's wait until it dies down a little bit and I have said hi to everyone and then we can find a quiet place and I will play it for you."
well, we didn't have to wait. he didn't really have anyone else to greet so he ran and got his guitar and then came back to us and asked us to follow him to the lobby of Hotel Congress. It wasn't quiet enough so we went outside onto the street (which was deserted) and he leaned against the building and sang Happy as the Sun to us - JUST THE TWO OF US!!!!!!!!!!!
for real, it was awesome, as in I am in awe that he did that. we got a private serenade from him!
After he sang we totally talked to him for about ten minutes about where we all were from and how he gets inspiration for his songs, and why he doesn't play that song in concert and on and on. It was unbelievable! my only regret is that we didn't bring a camera, so I don't have photographic evidence, but it is a memory I will always have.
Watch the video, so you can get an idea of why I LOVE this song and you can understand how amazing it is to have it song TO you!! (it was played just like this - just him and a guitar)
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
I can hear you
So, one of the things I get to do as a recruiter is call all of my prospective students...yes, all of them - even the ones that aren't considering ASU at all. Its awesome really.
I do have bright spots. I occasionally get a kid who is totally excited to hear from me and can't wait to come to ASU. but even better is the conversations I overhear between parents and prospective students when they are trying to pass off the phone!
"It's someone from ASU"
"I don't want to talk to her"
"then tell her you aren't interested"
"no, dad don't make me talk to her, she can hear you"
"she can't hear anything we are saying, if you aren't interested just tell her"
"nooo"
"be polite to her, get on the phone"
"hello"
"Hi, I am your admissions counselor and I am going to be at your school on this day. Are you interested in ASU?"
"no, I don't think so"
"why not?"
"I don't want to move. I like it here"
I am sure your parents are just thrilled.
And ps, I can hear you on the phone, but I will be polite back to you and pretend I didn't hear it. Enjoy living with your parents for the rest of your life.
I do have bright spots. I occasionally get a kid who is totally excited to hear from me and can't wait to come to ASU. but even better is the conversations I overhear between parents and prospective students when they are trying to pass off the phone!
"It's someone from ASU"
"I don't want to talk to her"
"then tell her you aren't interested"
"no, dad don't make me talk to her, she can hear you"
"she can't hear anything we are saying, if you aren't interested just tell her"
"nooo"
"be polite to her, get on the phone"
"hello"
"Hi, I am your admissions counselor and I am going to be at your school on this day. Are you interested in ASU?"
"no, I don't think so"
"why not?"
"I don't want to move. I like it here"
I am sure your parents are just thrilled.
And ps, I can hear you on the phone, but I will be polite back to you and pretend I didn't hear it. Enjoy living with your parents for the rest of your life.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
settled in...
Well I have been a busy bee!
I visited all the campuses and I had no idea how cool they all are. We have some pretty awesome programs.
for instance, you can get a golf management degree here, and a prerequisite is that you have to be good at golf because you get your PGA card when you are done and are considered a golf pro! we also have a flight management program that gives you a copilot's license by the time you graduate. Our journalism school just got a state of the art facility, and a partnership it ABC news, so watch for Cronkite students on the news. we also have the only institute of sustainability (with a school of sustainability) in the country. all good things to know
I have called all my high schools and set up my semester's worth of visits. for the most part I was pleasantly surprised by how nice the counselors were after I heard stories about how mean they can be. I will be in Tucson pretty much every two weeks visiting schools, so I am really excited.
The next step has been calling all my prospective students (at least the ones ASU already knows about) and introducing myself and what I can do for them. It has been a lot of disconnected phone numbers, answering machines, and parents. I have so far only had one really negative encounter with a mother who knew her kid wasn't going to our school because the she wouldn't pay tuition to ASU. nothing like strong Tucson hatred to keep you coming into work in the morning. I have also had a couple awkward encounters calling students that are not mentally capable of coming to college and it is embarrassing that they are on our call lists. One student was severly disabled and unable to speak - that was a fun conversation with his UA professor father.
Things will be different once I start actually going to schools in about a week. So far the best part has been that I now have my very own business cards!!! I feel like everything is real now that I have a little card with my name connected to a job title and phone number. It's so cool!
I visited all the campuses and I had no idea how cool they all are. We have some pretty awesome programs.
for instance, you can get a golf management degree here, and a prerequisite is that you have to be good at golf because you get your PGA card when you are done and are considered a golf pro! we also have a flight management program that gives you a copilot's license by the time you graduate. Our journalism school just got a state of the art facility, and a partnership it ABC news, so watch for Cronkite students on the news. we also have the only institute of sustainability (with a school of sustainability) in the country. all good things to know
I have called all my high schools and set up my semester's worth of visits. for the most part I was pleasantly surprised by how nice the counselors were after I heard stories about how mean they can be. I will be in Tucson pretty much every two weeks visiting schools, so I am really excited.
The next step has been calling all my prospective students (at least the ones ASU already knows about) and introducing myself and what I can do for them. It has been a lot of disconnected phone numbers, answering machines, and parents. I have so far only had one really negative encounter with a mother who knew her kid wasn't going to our school because the she wouldn't pay tuition to ASU. nothing like strong Tucson hatred to keep you coming into work in the morning. I have also had a couple awkward encounters calling students that are not mentally capable of coming to college and it is embarrassing that they are on our call lists. One student was severly disabled and unable to speak - that was a fun conversation with his UA professor father.
Things will be different once I start actually going to schools in about a week. So far the best part has been that I now have my very own business cards!!! I feel like everything is real now that I have a little card with my name connected to a job title and phone number. It's so cool!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Getting Started
Well, today was day three and I finally got a laptop! woo hoo! Brett and I visited the Downtown Campus and it is sooo cool! Tomorrow we visit the Polytechnic Campus, and then at somepoint I will have to set myself up a West campus visit.
In fact, I need to set up a lot of meetings. I missed the recruiter training week, so I kind of have to make that up and meet with the various colleges on campus. Also I have people coming from me at several angles asking if I can go to this thing, or that thing, and I still have to contact all my high schools and find out when to visit them!
oh yeah, and you know, learn what it is I am supposed to say. minor really. hahaha
It is certainly overwhelming and I can't wait to know what I am talking about!
In fact, I need to set up a lot of meetings. I missed the recruiter training week, so I kind of have to make that up and meet with the various colleges on campus. Also I have people coming from me at several angles asking if I can go to this thing, or that thing, and I still have to contact all my high schools and find out when to visit them!
oh yeah, and you know, learn what it is I am supposed to say. minor really. hahaha
It is certainly overwhelming and I can't wait to know what I am talking about!
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Workin' Girl
Friday was my last day as a student worker...EVER! As of monday I am a fully employed productive member of society.
I don't know if I was just excited to be leaving or what, but it wasn't as sad to be leaving Biodesign as I thought it would be. Maybe it just hasn't hit me yet, but I feel free!
I think it helps to be excited about my new job - Tucson here I come! It's like the best of both worlds, I get to live in Tempe, but work in Tucson, and they give me cars to do it too!
We will see how productive I become. especially after classes start. Thank you grad school.
I don't know if I was just excited to be leaving or what, but it wasn't as sad to be leaving Biodesign as I thought it would be. Maybe it just hasn't hit me yet, but I feel free!
I think it helps to be excited about my new job - Tucson here I come! It's like the best of both worlds, I get to live in Tempe, but work in Tucson, and they give me cars to do it too!
We will see how productive I become. especially after classes start. Thank you grad school.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Time for work
I finally, finally got the call! After about 4 months of applying to various campus jobs I got hired as a recruiter.
I will be responsible for the Tucson/Yuma region as well as an out of state region that has yet to be determined. There are other Tucson recruiters too, so I don't know which schools I will have, but how amazing is that that I am basically going to be in my hometown all the time?!
I start in mid-August just because I have to give my two weeks notice, but I am fine with that. Now that I know I have the job it doesn't bother me when I start.
Although I think I will be great in this position, I am a little worried about a couple things. 1) I am trying to get my M.Ed degree and this is a travel heavy job so I have to pick and choose my classes closely so that I don't miss important work functions class time. 2) I still don't have a car, and as I said, this is a travel heavy job. But from what I understand I will get to use a company car for trips to Tucson and my office is actually at the Tempe campus so I still live super close!
As far as I can tell this could be perfect for me. :)
I will be responsible for the Tucson/Yuma region as well as an out of state region that has yet to be determined. There are other Tucson recruiters too, so I don't know which schools I will have, but how amazing is that that I am basically going to be in my hometown all the time?!
I start in mid-August just because I have to give my two weeks notice, but I am fine with that. Now that I know I have the job it doesn't bother me when I start.
Although I think I will be great in this position, I am a little worried about a couple things. 1) I am trying to get my M.Ed degree and this is a travel heavy job so I have to pick and choose my classes closely so that I don't miss important work functions class time. 2) I still don't have a car, and as I said, this is a travel heavy job. But from what I understand I will get to use a company car for trips to Tucson and my office is actually at the Tempe campus so I still live super close!
As far as I can tell this could be perfect for me. :)
Friday, July 04, 2008
Artiste!
So for Christmas my mom got me a whole bunch of beading stuff: Pliers, beads, clasps, tweezers, etc.
I haven't done much with them since then. I made a simple pair of earrings out of some of the beads she gave me, but otherwise nada. Although the pliers have come in handy for fixing some of my other jewelry.
Well behold my first project!!
I ordered this necklace from New York and Company, but didn't like how long it was. I thought it was going to be about 20" long but it was 36"! That is what I get for not reading about it before I bought it. But I loved the color and I knew I could shorten the necklace. Then, I decided to be thrifty and reuse the excess wire and beads to make a complete set!
Mind you I dropped half the beads on the tile floor twice! yeah that was fun. I am sure there is a bead or two under the couch - but luckily I found most of them!
I haven't done much with them since then. I made a simple pair of earrings out of some of the beads she gave me, but otherwise nada. Although the pliers have come in handy for fixing some of my other jewelry.
Well behold my first project!!
I ordered this necklace from New York and Company, but didn't like how long it was. I thought it was going to be about 20" long but it was 36"! That is what I get for not reading about it before I bought it. But I loved the color and I knew I could shorten the necklace. Then, I decided to be thrifty and reuse the excess wire and beads to make a complete set!
Mind you I dropped half the beads on the tile floor twice! yeah that was fun. I am sure there is a bead or two under the couch - but luckily I found most of them!
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Longer Weekend
Not only is my friend Julie coming up to Tempe for the 4th, but my friend Cortney is visiting for the weekend as well. She asked if I had to work today and I said "of course I do, Thursday isn't a holiday."
"Well, can you get off early, like at 2pm?"
"ha! Maybe 4:30, but certainly not 2! It is still a work day"
Well, little did I know... At 10:30 today, the building lost power. Of course some back up generators came on to save the more important experiments, but most of the lights, all of the computers, and definitely the air conditioning all shut off. Luckily I work in a very large building so the lack of AC was inconvenient and noticable but not unbearable at all. It was really funny to see how everyone came out of the offices and labs to the center of the building. we all stood around looking dumbfounded at each other. after all, a majority of us couldn't do anything. I know, shocking, even though I am in facilities I am not really very useful fixing facility problems.
We found out that the entire east side of campus was without power, so we stopped worrying that something was wrong with our building and instead settled in to wait, knowing that it was doubtful anyone had figured out what had happened yet and it would be a good long while to fix.
At about 12:30 a co-worker and I went on a lunch run and got Wendy's for everyone. we came back and about an hour later my boss let me and a couple other students workers leave!
So what do you know?! I got out of work at 1:30!! Not to shabby. I was also at a wine bar with Cortney by 3:30 hahaha, so it is going to be a very good holiday weekend
"Well, can you get off early, like at 2pm?"
"ha! Maybe 4:30, but certainly not 2! It is still a work day"
Well, little did I know... At 10:30 today, the building lost power. Of course some back up generators came on to save the more important experiments, but most of the lights, all of the computers, and definitely the air conditioning all shut off. Luckily I work in a very large building so the lack of AC was inconvenient and noticable but not unbearable at all. It was really funny to see how everyone came out of the offices and labs to the center of the building. we all stood around looking dumbfounded at each other. after all, a majority of us couldn't do anything. I know, shocking, even though I am in facilities I am not really very useful fixing facility problems.
We found out that the entire east side of campus was without power, so we stopped worrying that something was wrong with our building and instead settled in to wait, knowing that it was doubtful anyone had figured out what had happened yet and it would be a good long while to fix.
At about 12:30 a co-worker and I went on a lunch run and got Wendy's for everyone. we came back and about an hour later my boss let me and a couple other students workers leave!
So what do you know?! I got out of work at 1:30!! Not to shabby. I was also at a wine bar with Cortney by 3:30 hahaha, so it is going to be a very good holiday weekend
Monday, June 30, 2008
All-star
I joined the MU club softball team this summer since my roomies are not around to entertain me and I didn't want to lose touch with my MU friends and co-workers. So far it has been a lot of fun but I have realized several things
1) I totally throw like a girl (or as Yetman says "I throw like an academic decathlete")
2)I am not nearly in as good a shape as I should be
3)6pm is really an unacceptable time to be playing outdoors
4)I am great at catching the ball, but as stated before can't throw it to anyone
5)right field is the best position if you don't want much contact with the ball - however it is sucky when you do get the ball because you have to throw it...really far
6)celebrating with teammates after each game even though until tonight we were 0-6 is totally still fun
7)even I can hit and RBI triple!!
8)celebrating with the team after we win our first (and the last) game of the season is way more fun!!
good thing we have a fall league, I am just getting the hang of things!
1) I totally throw like a girl (or as Yetman says "I throw like an academic decathlete")
2)I am not nearly in as good a shape as I should be
3)6pm is really an unacceptable time to be playing outdoors
4)I am great at catching the ball, but as stated before can't throw it to anyone
5)right field is the best position if you don't want much contact with the ball - however it is sucky when you do get the ball because you have to throw it...really far
6)celebrating with teammates after each game even though until tonight we were 0-6 is totally still fun
7)even I can hit and RBI triple!!
8)celebrating with the team after we win our first (and the last) game of the season is way more fun!!
good thing we have a fall league, I am just getting the hang of things!
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Graduation!!!
So I finished the Thesis, I somehow finished all my honors classes and projects for my major sooo...They let me graduate!!
First up was my Barrett Convocation (I look good considering I had a final about 2 hours prior to the ceremony) The Barrett convocation was my favorite. I really felt graduated afterwards. Every person walks to the middle of the stage as their name, degree, thesis director, and thesis title are read aloud and then you face the audience and your thesis director puts the Barrett medal around your neck!
Afterwards I was able to get a picture with the Dean (who told me on stage that he would really miss me)
And my thesis director, Prof. Blasko
Next up was the Big ASU commencement with President Crow and all the other 8,000 graduates. That was fun, and I got to sit next to my roomie Brett (can you find us?)
We got to stand up when we were recognized for our major and other accomplishments like graduating with honors or having a scholarship (I am in the center wearing all the yellow around my neck)
The balloon drop really was very cool :)
Last, but certainly not least was my Cronkite graduation. Walter Cronkite was even there!!...in spirit. He gave a very nice and vague taped congratulations to us. Almost like they can use the video over and over at each ceremony for eternity. weird.
I also got to see my favorite professor ever!! Wilma is so personable. She would tear your work apart but tell you that you knew better and made stupid mistakes so it was no big deal. regardless of the fact that she tore it apart.
And, life really is cyclical. My best friend from first grade, just happened to also be graduating from Cronkite. We have known each other most of our lives. We started school together, and we get to end it together. Awesome!!
So what's next? Grad school!! I have been accepted into the higher and postsecondary education program at ASU. while I am sure I could teach with it, the main focus of this M.Ed program is to learn how to lead in university administration and student affairs. I am pretty excited, now if only I could get a job to pay for it...
First up was my Barrett Convocation (I look good considering I had a final about 2 hours prior to the ceremony) The Barrett convocation was my favorite. I really felt graduated afterwards. Every person walks to the middle of the stage as their name, degree, thesis director, and thesis title are read aloud and then you face the audience and your thesis director puts the Barrett medal around your neck!
Afterwards I was able to get a picture with the Dean (who told me on stage that he would really miss me)
And my thesis director, Prof. Blasko
Next up was the Big ASU commencement with President Crow and all the other 8,000 graduates. That was fun, and I got to sit next to my roomie Brett (can you find us?)
We got to stand up when we were recognized for our major and other accomplishments like graduating with honors or having a scholarship (I am in the center wearing all the yellow around my neck)
The balloon drop really was very cool :)
Last, but certainly not least was my Cronkite graduation. Walter Cronkite was even there!!...in spirit. He gave a very nice and vague taped congratulations to us. Almost like they can use the video over and over at each ceremony for eternity. weird.
I also got to see my favorite professor ever!! Wilma is so personable. She would tear your work apart but tell you that you knew better and made stupid mistakes so it was no big deal. regardless of the fact that she tore it apart.
And, life really is cyclical. My best friend from first grade, just happened to also be graduating from Cronkite. We have known each other most of our lives. We started school together, and we get to end it together. Awesome!!
So what's next? Grad school!! I have been accepted into the higher and postsecondary education program at ASU. while I am sure I could teach with it, the main focus of this M.Ed program is to learn how to lead in university administration and student affairs. I am pretty excited, now if only I could get a job to pay for it...
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