Deep Breaths

I wasn't sure when this point of the semester would be occurring. There is usually a time when the craziness of the end of the semester catches up to me and I freak out a little bit. Yeah, I've gotten to that point :).

I've had the of the year task list for a few weeks, and unlike before, I've been able to take that in stride. The preparations for Express Checkout have been going pretty good. It's when you combine one job with the transition into the new one that things get a little overwhelming.

It feels somewhat liberating to acknowledge the stress level. Exercise will help and working on the task list day by day will make things easier. This happens every year; it just took a longer for the stress to hit me.

This is the last time I'll have to deal with closing as an RHD. :)

CA Interviews

Tomorrow and Thursday the Department of Residence Life will be conducting interviews for prospective Community Advisor candidates:

1. Good luck to all folks who are interviewing!
2. Thank you to all the current CAs and PAs who have taken time to help interview.
3. Thank you to all RHDs, ARHDs and Central Staff folk who have also taken time out of their workday to help with interviews.
   
4. This means you won't be hearing from me too much over the next few days. I will be helping out quite a bit between the hours of 2-10 PM.

Camp Onaway

The first week of my final Residence Life Staff Training is over. In all honesty, it is a mixed bag of emotions. I can safely say there are certain sessions that I will be happy that I don't have to attend. But, there are also some yearly rituals that I will miss as well. It will be tough around this time next year when I will anticipate them and they will not be there.

A week from today the residence halls will be opening up for the early move-ins that help with our two larger move in days on Sunday and Monday. One more time...

Tomorrow, my staff and I leave for Camp Onaway. It is an overnight retreat where staffs really get to bond. Camp Onaway is also a beautiful and scenic environment where one can truly relax and by at peace. I have enjoyed the many opportunities to be at camp and will not realize until I leave the island how rejuvenating it can be for me.

My dad had talked a little bit about this photograph, and after sending it to me, I am truly amazed.

This is a still photo of the play in the NFC Championship where Favre threw his final pass as a Packer...an interception.

Favre threw the pass to receiver farthest to the left...where the coverage was quite tight.

If you look at the other receivers, they have the defense beat and could easily catch a Favre pass. For a QB with so much poise and experience, it really seems like he forced this one. Just interesting...

Other News:

1. I had my first day of RHD training. It was a little overwhelming when you've been gone for the first week. But, it's all gonna get done one way or another.
2. Tonight is my first softball game in about three weeks. It will be interesting to see how that goes.
   

Live Remote from GCC

I write this morning's post from the confines of Room 123 of the Gruenhagen Conference Center. We are deep into the Oshkosh Placement Exchange; we are also deep under snow :)! It appears the worst of the winter weather is over. After a lovely winter mix on Thursday, we transitioned to full out snow on Friday. The shuttle services faithfully kept its routes going despite the adverse weather.

I closed the Transportation Center yesterday at midnight and opened it at 7:00 AM this morning. Woot! I think I'll be fine for today, but when I have to open again on Sunday...that's going to sting a little bit.

My pet project during my eight hours of supervision yesterday involved drawing a dungeon for an upcoming Dungeons & Dragons adventure. Sure, I go some funny looks but it was worth it. I found the drawing to very therapeutic in what was at times a very stressful day. Hopefully the players appreciate it as well.

Unlike years before, I am actually able to get some "work" done. In addition to some gaming work, I was also able to work on some wedding planning as well.

Brain.....About to Explode

I have officially reached the most hellish part of the spring semester for me. Over the next couple weeks, many responsibilities come at once. This happens every spring and I'm ready for it, but that doesn't necessarily make it any easier.

Over the next two weeks, I have the following:

• The Oshkosh Placement Exchange (OPE) - This takes place March 1-4. For this, I have to supervise the Transportation Center 19 hours, help with 6 hours or so of interviews and just generally be available.
• NBC Village Staff Interviews - Jocelyn, Michelle & I need to conduct seven hours of interviews for folks that want to transfer to the NBC Village. We will be doing these the same weekend as OPE.
• CA/PA Selection - We will be doing this the week before spring break, but I will need to review all of the files before selection. There are a lot of files to review.
• RHD Selection - Ia m on the RHD selection team. More files and more interviews.
• The Wedding - And to top it all off, Christa and I want to have invitations out when spring break starts. So, we are compiling addresses and ordering stuff so that we are ready.

It's not everything, but it's quite a list. I list these items not to look for sympathy, but more to understand that I have quite a bit going on for the next few weeks, so you may not hear from me too much or see me as much as you usually do.

Many of us in the field of student affairs are in the same boat, so they can tell a similar story. It';s the fun of being in Residence Life. Peace.

Saturday Potpourri

• Christa finished her work at Webster/Stanley. Even though she was only there three weeks, the kids there definitely responded to her teaching; they were very sad to see her go. They made many cards for her and she baked cookies for them. I could tell that Christa really enjoyed her experience; I am happy that she has found a calling and sees a clear path ahead.
• The colleges students are on break until January 28. So, I get a little R&R before the spring semester begins. My staff comes back this Thursday and I start training with them that Sunday.
• I will be taking my computer home on Tuesday and will be working with my Dad to get my computer to work again. Hopefully when I get back to Oshkosh on Wednesday evening, I can check my E-mail and write blog entries from my apartment. :)
• I finished by second straight week of running. So far, so good. I look forward to a day off tomorrow. But, even more, I am looking forward to some continuing progress. I ran 24 miles this week.
  

Jim, Media Darling

Having already been on Titan TV five times for various episodes of Kube-itz, I am amazed at how many people will come up to me and say something to the effect of, "Hey, I saw you on Titan TV last night." As I have said if previous blogs, Peter, Dave and I are a pretty good team when it comes to 80's trivia.

Already having some media exposure this year, I am proud to announce that I will be on 90.3 WRST at 5:00 PM today. Drew Van Wyk does a radio show called WildEyed Radio. The topic of the program will highlight the Community Advisor position so that students might find out more about it. I will joining Jason Dufek, who was also a guest.

If you get a chance, you may want to listen. I will try to be profound.

Job vs. Career

When I was at the WCPA Conference earlier in the fall semester, I attended a program that Peter Brooks put on called "Orbiting the Giant Hairball". The program focused mostly on inefficiencies found in many of our administrative processes. Near the end of the program, he talked about something that really stuck with me. It was the idea that career and job can be different things.

When thinking about being a music teacher, it would have been my job and career. When I got out of graduate school, I viewed being a residence hall director as being my job and career. Much of what I did during my day had to do with my Residence Hall Director position. Being in my 4th year as a Residence Hall Director, I see things differently. I feel established in a community. I am getting married in less than six months. I feel a call to a different profession. I have passions in areas outside of housing.

I am starting to realize that being a Residence Hall Director is a job. It is a job that I enjoy very much, but it is a job. It is not my career. My career lies on another path, one I continue to explore and refine. It doesn't mean I view my RHD job any less, it just means it is one part of me, it is not all of me. I have appreciated feeling more well-rounded and well-balanced when I can put my energy into many areas.

Passion

As I write this entry, I have complete the second part of my two-day Senior Staff Retreat. While yesterday was a field trip, today we stayed on campus and did two different things.

IDI Explanation
The IDI is the Intercultural Development Inventory. All CAs and PAs on campus as well as A/RHDs took the assessment and we had a session that discussed the overall results of our department. I will not get into great detail about the assessment, but I did come away somewhat frustrated. I felt like some questions that I had did not get answered so I will have to do some follow-up assessment. Feel free to give me a call and I'll let you know my questions. There is also a website to check out.

Afternoon Activities
In the afternoon, we played Boxers or Briefs with members of Senior Staff. This was fun. I did not win, but I managed to connect with a few folks on answers. We also played the "Tap Game". If you are unfamiliar, a group gets is a circle, sits down and closes their eyes. A few members of the group are pulled out of the circle to participate. A facilitator reads a statement such as, "Tap someone who you feel is a good leader." Those outside the circle would tap the folks that, for them, fit that statement. I enjoy this activity (it sometimes even makes me cry).

I highly recommend this activity as a closure activity. Some thoughts as I reflect on today's "tap game" and those I've done before:

1. I have been surprised to be "tapped" for areas where I assume that I wouldn't.
2. Similarly, I have gone "tapless" for statements where I thought I would be tapped multiple times.
3. I always fear how people who receive few taps feel about this game. That is one drawback to the activity.
4. When your colleagues are highly skilled, you often find yourself tapping many people for many statements.
   
5. It really hurts to keep your eyes closed for that long :).

Other News

• I was invited to WURHA 2007 as a Conference Guest. Score!
  

Quick Update

Today we traveled down to Madison for an A/RHD mid-year retreat. It was an interesting opportunity to tour two of UW Madison's new residence halls; they also provided a variety of presentations about first-year initiatives as well. This will be helpful information as we think about the NBC Village as well as thinking about a new residence hall here at UWO. It made a for a good day; I had the opportunity to chat with Peter about a variety of key issues including discussions about Star Wars.

I have been running again instead of walking over the last few days. It has been wonderful. Hopefully it keeps up. One way or another, I am exercising. :)

Meetings! / LBGTQ Rally

In a previous post, I have commented that you can boil down my job to two main functions: meetings and & paperwork. Boy, if this is ever the week for meetings.

The previous weekend was a rowdy one for my building and there were quite a few documentations for a building this size. That results in student meetings throughout the week. I have two meetings related to NACURH. I have a few hall government and staff one on ones. I have a meeting with a council co-chair, a meeting with my counseling center liaison, two NBC Village meetings, a staff development.

I was really surprised about how quickly the week was gobbled up by meetings this week. That's the last time I ever make a comment about how I haven't had many meeting lately.

* * * * * * * * * * *

I also wanted to give a huge shout-out to the Rainbow Alliance for HOPE and the LGBTQ Council for co-sponsoring a rally from noon to 1:00 PM today in front of the Polk Library. There were speeches, cheers and a good crowd. For the 30 minutes that I could be there, I carried a "Straight, but not narrow" sign.

Their message was clear. It has always been a struggle fro LBGTQ students, faculty and staff to find equality. The climate is worse than ever with the passing of this amendment. I am hopeful the message will get out there and people will act.

Being Behind the Scenes

Only a few hours ago, I posted about how much I love my job. I actually talk about it a lot. It's unique, it's varied, it's fun and it keeps me young. But, for an introvert, it can be a little draining.

I have talked in a previous post that much of my job gets boiled down to two categories of work: meetings and paperwork. Well, I love paperwork, and that never gets old. However, the meetings can get to be a little overwhelming sometimes. That much interaction can leave me quite draining, especially the days where I may have 7-8 individual student meetings in a day.

Along with the meetings, there is a lot of leadership inherent to the RHD position. I supervise 5 staff, I advise 7 hall leaders, I have a secretary, and a custodian works in the building as well. I have different responsibilities to each group/individual and that can take a lot of time and resources. Often, I am looked to for support, guidance and ideas. I love it...but, it also can tire me out.

For these reasons, I really love opportunities for behind the scenes work. In other words, there are times when I really appreciate being told what to do. Volunteer opportunities are great! I come in and they tell me how I can help...and I do it. I enjoy being on a committee where I am simply delegated work...I don't have the responsibility to delegate.

I was watching American Beauty on TNT last night and there was a great line when Kevin Spacey's character says, "I want a job with the least amount of responsibility possible". Sometimes I have those moments. Do you have those moments?

Staff and hall leaders take note: this does not give you permission to tell me what to do! :)

WCPA

Well, it has been a few days since I have posted. I returned last night from the WCPA 2006 Conference in Wisconsin Dells. My opinion of the Chula Vista is that it is not the Kalahari. It doesn't look like we'll be going back to the Kalahari any time soon...sad.

This might sounds strange, but this conference was helpful in that it helped me to realize why I do not plan on being in the profession of student affairs for the long term. Fear not, I love my job as a Residence Hall Director; in fact, despite some of the frustrations, I feel blessed to have a job that I hardly consider to be work. It is so much fun!

I do realize that my value system and the value system of the student affairs profession do not mix. We have similarities, but I can sense that to find satisfaction and acceptance in the field, there are certain values that would be quite helpful to have. In future blogs, I will discuss some of these dissonances in worldview.

Overall, I really have struggled with student affairs conferences as professional development opportunities. I usually don't learn anything that new and exciting and many of the ideas that people generate either won't work in our environment or I already knew about but was not quick enough to write a program presentation about it. I will give a shout out to Peter Brooks and Ryan Bronkema who both put on programs that I did find meaningful to my work, be it student affairs or otherwise.

Sadly, the two colleagues I have been closest to in my time as Residence Hall Director will probably not be in the profession of student affairs after their tenure on the hall director level. Part of me would like them (and me) to stay in the field so that we might challenge the system and make a difference (and make a little noise). But, part of me realizes that we are drawn to different passions that will lead us in a different direction than student affairs.

On a more mundane level, I appreciated the opportunity to relax in the whirlpool and to relax in general. I got to see old friends and trade stories. As I have said in my previous entry, it was like a vacation.

Vacation?

Tonight, I leave for Wisconsin Dells and the Chula Vista Resort so that I can attend Wisconsin College Personnel Association on Thursday and Friday. I have never been to the WCPA Conference itself, although I have been to the Student Affairs 101 portion of the conference. I am intrigued to see what it is like and am curious to see what programming opportunities are available. It will also be nice to see various colleagues from around the state that used to work at UW-Oshkosh or who I went to graduate school with at WIU.

For those of you that have talked to me or for the 4-5 people that actually read this blog, you can probably tell that things have been a little stressful for me lately. Work has had some frustrating moments lately and the dealings with church, while getting better, are still a little frustrating. This trip for WCPA will also serve as somewhat of a vacation. I know that sounds wierd, but it will be nice to simply get away from campus and not have to think about work. I have full confidence in my staff to make sure that the buildig does not burn down.

It also raises a larger concern that I should probably take a weekend off one of these days. Just like my staff, I have the option to take weekends off. Most of the reasonn that I don't take weekends off is because I am so grounded in the community, I truly consider Oshkosh to be my home. Usually, my parents are willing to come a visit me. Many of my friends are already here and I have many activities that I do here. But, for the birthday weekend I will be going home. I am sure my parents and friends in the Milwaukee area will enjoy having me around for a few days.

As an FYI, my ability to blog may become difficult Thursday and Friday because I may not have reliable internet access. It may happen, but don't surprised if you don't hear from me for a few days.

Other News:

• Kudos to Taylor Hall for winning the Homecoming 2006 competition! Breese Hall took 5th place and did an excellent job by participating in all events and putting up their best effort.
• I played two songs last night on the hard level in Guitar Hero and did not miss a single note...is that cool or just really sad?
• Gabe and Kristi stopped by to visit. It's always fun to have ex-Breese folks stop by and check-in.
  

The Housing Status Action Form

Here's to you Housing Status Action Form (HSAF)... you make the Residence Life world go round.

Presentations & Progress

It has been a busy last few days and it will continue to be that way. I have a variety of presentations on the docket:

• I did a presentation yesterday to USRH regarding the NBC Village.
• I led my church's SPRC meeting last night. Thankfully, that meeting was only 90 minutes.
• I am facilitating the LBGTQ Council meeting this afternoon.
  
• I have an adventure to run for OshCon tomorrow.
• I am co-facilitating SAFE Training this Sunday.

I have blogged before about priorities and I have talked about how I couldn't add another commitment onto my plate because I am already pretty busy. As you can see, commitments can sometimes spike and all of a sudden what was once manageable can become temporarily insane. I think I have found myself in that mode right now.

As someone who is involved in student affairs, having a lot of the plate is not uncommon. You could almost call it a prequisite ;). So it's not the spike in involvement right now that's bothering me. It's the lack of progress.

I was talking about this with Christa last night. I am someone who craves efficiency and progress. Ask Christa, she would be first to agree...she knows all too well. Many of my larger involvements have not yielded too much progress. I know you are all aware of the controversy with the NBC Village and that has definitely slowed progress with it. You also know that the church is in a state of flux and continues to work toward moving forward.

Infortunately, the lack of progress has decreased my motivation and has made it more difficult get as motivated in other areas. I am hoping that after Saturday's adventure and after hanging out with my parent's I will have some time to relax and recharge.

Daily Shout-Out: Goes to our new interim pastor Earl Lindsay who offered some wonderful perspective at our SPRC meeting. He is just what this congregation needs right now.

Other News:

• Oh yeah, I do have other games for the PS2. It has been nice getting back into Star Wars Battlefront 2.
• I have some phone calls to make. There are people I really need to follow up with.
  

Days Until the Wedding: 226

NBC Village

Today Christin Coleman and I will be presenting for about 10 minutes regarding the NBC Village. The presentation will look at first-year experience programs and how they can be effective. It will also look at the work that has been done on the NBC Village so far and what has yet to be done. The presentation is at 4:10 in Reeve Union and there will be a 10 minute question and answer session regarding the presentation as well. I encourage those of you that can attend the presentation to check it out. It should prove helpful in providing information about the project.

If you don't already know, I have been in on the NBC Village planning process since the decision was made that we were going to move forward with it. This is no doubt one of the largest changes (in recent history) the Department of Residence Life has put forward that alters the structure of residence hall living. And rightfully so, there is a lot of discussion about how this started and what it means for students. I am definitely all for dialogue about this and I think the students should have an opportunity to talk about its implementation. There will also be an open forum about the NBC Village after the USRH meeting. USRH Representatives will also be taking a list of questions back to the hall to gain feedback from the residents.

This is all great! What has been my larger concern in this process is the misinformation and the lack of information that has been presented about this project. Sadly, people are making decisions about whether or not to support this project based on little to no information. It is our responsibility as a Department to provide you this information and we were late in getting it to you. We are going to do our best today to do that.

That it why I cannot emphasize enough the importance of this presentation. I encourage everyone to be informed. If you have information and wish to continue to be against the project, then it is your right. But at least you have the full story. Please, please be informed before you make your decision.

Daily Shout-Out: To my dentist, who allowed me to again listen to my I-Pod throughout the filling process. It helped for what was an hour-long ordeal.

Other News: None...this presentation has somewhat occupied my mind right now.

Days Until the Wedding: 227

My Job

As I have mentioned in a previous blog, I had the opportunity to sit down with one of my residents to talk about the Residence Hall Director position. By the end of the session, I was quite invigorated about what I do. However, during the course of our discussion, one of the questions I was asked was, "What do you do in a typical day?"

The great thing about an RHD job is that no two days are the same. It's fun...it's very hard to get into a rut. However, when you boil everything down, my job comes down to two things: meetings and paperwork. I have tons of meetings every day of many different varieties: staff, conduct, hall government, administrative, special projects, etc. I have sometimes had ten meetings in a day...I probably average five-seven a day. When I'm not in meetings, I am doing paperwork.

Don't get me wrong, I love my job...but, it's funny to realize that in a larger context, it's pretty simple. You might be able to say that about a lot of jobs.

Daily Shout-Out: Goes to Christin Coleman for calling me to remind me that I was late for a pretty important meeting. I totally forgot...here's to always being early to meetings ;).

Other News:

• The Packers lost...bad. It was almost as though in the second half, the Eagles finally realized, "Oh yeah...the Packers have no secondary. Oh, and Ahmed Carroll sucks." So, it was fun for awhile, but the Packers met my expectations in the end.
• This NBC Village stuff is going to get interesting. My there may be a large middle group that is indifferent to project it is the people at the poles that could make the next few weeks interesting.
• I watched The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift last night. It was OK...I will admit that there were some very intense racing scenes, but the acting and the story line were very, very weak. And, I had a hard time getting over the fact that the main character in the movie both looked and talked like Peyton Manning.
• Wow...did we get a crap ton of rain last night. The weather was awful. Christa, my little brother and I went to McDonalds for the family special. It was raining so hard, I could barely see...the hail was no fun either. I had no idea we were getting weather like that.
  

Days Until the Wedding: 229

Leadership Camp 2006

I thought I might utilize to today's entry to highlight some of the excitement that was Leadership Camp 2006 at Camp Onaway in Waupaca, WI. I really enjoyed my experience:

• My Leadership: Geek, Dork or Nerd presentation went well. I have over 30 people there and I assume that everyone learned something. It came after the first evening of people not sleeping, so enthusiasm seemed pretty good.
• The ropes course work that the group did went very well. The hall leaders were amazing and they actually managed to complete the red tarp exercise. Needless to say, a group of A/RHDs couldn't get it done...and they did.
• I got to play poker, spoons, salad bowl and other activities throughout the weekend. I kept myself busy :)
• I had the opportunity to in some way become closer with every member of the Breese Hall team that went to camp. It was a nice feeling as we left the island.
• There were some parts of camp that generated some hard feelings among the group, but it was amazing that the group was able to start having conversations that will help the group to work through it.
• I always appreciate the opportunity to share my love of role-playing games. Peter and I had that opportunity in the advisors skit. Apparently, we can play AD&D with our eyes closed.
  

Daily Shout-Out: Goes to the Breese Hall Camp Onaway crew: Paul, Lauren, Eric, Ryan, Larry, Stefanie, Kristen, Mary and Alexis. They were so much fun to work with. Remember the tarp!

Other News: Let's see...most of my weekend was dominated by Leadership Camp.

• Our new interim pastor started yesterday. I wish I could have seen him in action. I will this week. Christa said he seemed to be really great.
  

Days Until the Wedding: 230