Work Starts Next Week...

It is hard to believe that a week from today, I will begin my official duties for Residence Hall Director training. Next week I will simply serve as a buddy for Jocelyn, one of the new RHDs for this year. However, after that we go into full-time training for four weeks until the building opens and the duties begin. So, how do I feel about it:

Good News:

• Having something to do every day may stave off boredom and add more structure to life
• Hanging out with new staff and finding out more about them
• Having something that gets my mind off of the chaos in my church
  

Bad News:

• Going through training for the fourth time!

Regardless, I look forward to my trip to Texas starting on Sunday and I look forward to seeing Dario while I'm out there!

Softball Game #7 Statistics and Commentary

Well, I didn't get to last night's game until the 5th inning. I worked at the front desk for EAA until 9:00 pm; the game started on time at 8:30. When I got there we were down by seven runs. I took over for Tex whose knee was acting up. I didn't get a chance to bat because the mercy rule was invoked. It was nice to at least get there and be a part of the game. Sorry, no updated stats!

I won't be at next week's game because I will be in Texas.

Routine

Still waiting to hear about my car. Hopefully it gets fixed in the next few days...not like I'm in any hurry. Not sure when I'll ne in Indiana again, but it will likely be the first weekend in August.

I figured that when the summer started I would lose the routines that I usually get pretty good at during the year. This summer has had a few bumps but I have managed to keep up many of the positive routines that I got into. As you have read earlier, my weight has gone down and I am "feeling" healthier.

With the new cell phone I am able to keep in better contact with folks. I feel more connected to friends. Overall, things are really good. Unfortunately there is a lot of upheaval in our church and this is making things difficult.

South Bend Update #2

Well, I will be leaving South Bend in less than an hour. Chris will be driving me back to Milwaukee. During my stay, I had the opportunity to check out the College Football Hall of Fame. That was really cool. Chris also took me on multiple tours of the Notre Dame campus, both at night and during the day. I got to eat at Notre Dame's food service and it is incredible. The pretty much had anything you'd want available to eat. As I said before, Chris and I had many opportunities to chat and catch up, it was great.

I am thankful now for having both a cell phone and AAA. Without those I might have been sitting at the roadside of Highway 90 in Indiana for a long time. I think that is all for now. This is the first weekend in awhile I am actually blogging on the weekend.

South Bend Update #1

Well, usually I would start a post like this by saying, "I got to [insert location] safely". Unfortunately, I can not say that this time. About twenty miles outside of South Bend, my car started to decelerate to 60 miles an hour no matter what I did. After pulling over and restarting my car, if I ever tried to accelerate it made an eery sound in the rear left tire. I called AAA and after holding for 30 or so minutes, they said someone would come to tow my car. After waiting 30 minutes for the tow truck to come, Jason (the very nice tow truck driver) dropped me off at the nearest toll way oasis where Chris picked me up.

They are going to need to replace my catalytic convertor which should be around $200. Including labor, I can only imagine how much that will be. The key is that it won't be fixed until at least Monday and I have to be back in Oshkosh for work at 6pm. So...I am having Chris drive me to Milwaukee tomorrow so that Christa can take be back to Oshkosh. It will probably be 1-2 weeks before I will have the time to go back to Indiana to pick up my car.

It has been great to see Chris and catch up, but this whole situation has made the weekend difficult.

To Notre Dame I Go...

In a few hours I will be making my way to South Bend to visit Chris Sewalish at the University of Notre Dame. I feel like I am leaving Oshkosh with things in good hands. I have attempted to move FUMC Oshkosh forward in what have been some difficult times...although I know there are folks that say we are not moving fast enough. My apartment is cleaned up and I am almost completely caught up on personal and business paperwork. I am not sure what kind of internet access I will have, so I will try to post this weekend while I am at Notre Dame. Peace.

Weight

Well, as of this morning I was 197 pounds. I have this interesting program that tracks your weight each day and also tracks your "trend weight" averaging over time to show trends. Since May, I my trend weight was gone from 202 to 197. It has been slow progress, but it has been progress. The change in diet and exercise has made a big difference. My goals was to get my "trend weight" down to 190 and I think if I keep things up it should be possible.

Softball Game #6 Statistics and Commentary

Well, it's been a few weeks since I've played in our team's softball game. Last week I had the youth trip, week before that was July 4th and the week before that I had the Church Council meeting. It was nice to be back playing softball. I will also be able to play next week as well. Last night's game ended up being 24-12 and we were able to play six innings of softaball and we got to play the entire 60 minutes we were alloted.

The good news is that we managed to score more runs than we ever have in a game. The offense was there. Unfortunately, we had no ability to field the ball. It was really bad...we could not catch grounders at all. It got so bad that we took out an infielder and had five people in the infield. I myself missed an easy pop fly, but still manged to field oa lot of balls that got by our infielders. Hopefully, things go better next week. New stats taking into account the latest game:

_______AB___R___H___RBI___BB___SO___LOB___OBP____AVG
Droste___12___4___6____5_____4____0____5_____.625____.500

Traveling Man

This weekend I will be visiting Chris Sewalish at Notre Dame. I told him in the spring that I would visit him and I was not very good at ironing out an exact date. Now it is done. It will be nice to ctach up with him; it will also be cool to see the Notre Dame campus. I hear it is beautiful. I am not sure about the church layout or availability, but it would be really cool to attend a Sunday mass at a cathedral on campus.

At the end of July and into early August I will be flying out to Austin, Texas to visit my friend Dario Landazuri. The last time I saw Dario was when he came to visit me while I was in graduate school. It has been about 4 years. It's about time I visit him. He said that I should be ready for some BBQ...most exciting!

In between these trips, I will be working the Breese Hall Front Desk for the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Fly-In. Again, the commute shouldn't be too rough. ;) I enjoy working for EAA because it gives me the opoportunity to catch up on filing and other paperwork stuff.

New Cell Phone...

..woot! I actually have a phone that carries a signal in my entire apartment. I don't have to go outside to make a phone call. Yay! Expect some phone calls from me in the near future...or call me!

40 Miles

Last night when I got back from seeing Pirates of the Caribbean 2 (more in a later entry), I got a message from Christa saying that she came back from a long bike ride....40 miles. Forty miles! That's incredible.

I was a little unsettled because she rode back at night, without a light on the Wiouwash Trail. I was worried for her, but honestly biking 40 miles is quite impressive. She almost biked to Appleton and back. For someone who only recently bought her bike and only recently started to exercise on a consistent basis, I am very proud of her.

Mission Trip Thoughts

I recently got back from a trip to Bethany United Methodist Church in Chicago, IL. This was a joint trip between youth from First United Methodist Church in Oshkosh and Waukau United Methodist Church. Five youth and three adults drove down to do some painting and cleaning in the church. It was a very good experience for all. I will share some thoughts and highlights from the trip (for a more religious perspective, see the other blog):

• Our sleeping conditions were interesting. We slept on the floor of the church, as the pews that were down there did not provide much comfort. The first night we discovered some extra visitors, cockroaches. Luckily, if they came by me while I was sleeping, I did not see them...I will consider myself lucky. It made me realize how truly blessed I am for where I live and what I have.
• I got to see a great deal of Chicago that I did not see before. The pastor from the Waukau church did his seminary work in Chicago and he took us all over the city. It made for a lot of driving, but I did appreciate the tour.
• Cara and I had the opportunity to talk a lot about some of the problems that our church is facing. I think we have been able to develop some strategies for how to deal with them. I am actually looking forward to making some progress in this area.
• It felt good to do some volunteer work, especially out of the Oshkosh community. I felt like the painting and cleaning that we did really made a difference for the members of the church. We also donated a new vacuum to them because they did not have one that worked.

If you have any questions or thoughts, let me know. Thanks!

Weekend to Catch-Up

I have a lot of work to do...this summarizes it all :).

July 4th Thoughts

I had a great time at Christa's aunts house. They live a few blocks away from a large lake and I had the opportunity to ride in their boat, swim in their pool, play over two hours of "spoons", and enjoy a brat and an Italian sausage. It was a good day. I had plenty of oppportunities for random thoughts and reflections. A few highlights:

• We do not allow people to drink and drive. However, we do allow people to drink and boat. Is not this still a hazard? I can't be the only that feels this way.
• It is interesting to reflect back on high school and realize how much emphasis is placed on status, especially based on your grade level (sophomore, junior, etc.). As a sophomore, when I had the chance to date a junior I felt like I had been lifted completely out of my social standing in high schoo. It is just not the came in a college environment.

Holiday!

Well, the dust has settled on what has been a slightly crazy last two week. Although it is the summer, I feel as though I am still working as hard as I do during the regular school year.

Today, Christa and I will be traveling to Oconomowoc to spend July 4th with the Macintosh clan. The house we are going to is right on a lake, so there is plenty opportunity for swimming, tubing and eating :). This will be the first time I have seen the family post-engagement.

Christa and I saw the Oshkosh fireworks last night (45 minutes late!). We were curious as to how many people actually know why we celebrate July 4th...

Tales Told by An Idiot...Signifying Nothing

I was trying to find a goof name for blog entries that are simply just filled with random thoughts and ideas:

I have received a lot of positive comments on how I handled our church controversy at our council meeting. It makes you wonder what the problem is, or at least it makes you wonder how many people have a problem.

I couldn't make it to the softball game on Tuesday, hence no stats. I wonder if we one...I obviously want us to win, but there is that part of me that says, "You need me." ;)

Ryan Bronkema leaves tomorrow, we are having a lunch to wish him luck on further ventures. It is good to know he will only be a few hours away but he will be sorely missed. I can't believe Jacque hired Ryan, Peter and I in the same year. What was she thinking?

Moving Times & Council Meeting

I have a couple friends who are in the process of moving. I didn't post yesterday because I was up in La Crosse helping Ryan move his stuff into a storage room in his new Residence Hall where he will be working. Some highlights of the trip:

• Getting a $10 parking ticket (Welcome to UW LaCrosse)
• Waiting 30 minutes to return the keys to the U Haul (You're a good man, Gus!)
• Waiting 10 minutes to get our food in the Hardees drive through (Customer service in LaCrosse in currently 0-2)
• Good conversation on the trip home

We managed to get back from LaCrosse with time to spare, so I was able to get to my Church Council meeting on time. When all was said and done, the meeting lasted 90 minutes and I stayed after to talk to folks for an additional 60 minutes. It was a very intriguing meeting and speaks greatly to the status of our church. This is what I know:

• Our church has continued to lose members over the last 30 years, to the point that our church has currently 340 members when it used to have 800 members.
• Our church is old...meaning, there are not a lot of young people to keep the church going as our church continues to age.
• Our church has a habit of not following procedure when disagreements come up and as a result, things are made much more difficult. I realize this more now as Staff/Parish Relations Commitee Chair.
• Our church has a habit of always looking at things negatively: money, membership, ministry. It can be challenging as a member to be positive when people jump on the negative.

You may wonder why I am a member is I am struggling with my church so much. I think we can turn the bend and I hope to play my part to make this happen. Check my other blog for more about this coming soon.

June 16, 2007

Well, Christa and I have secured a reception hall for our wedding. It will be at the Vineyard in Appleton. Now that we have a church, a reception hall and are close to securing a hotel I suppose you can say we are holding firm to this date. I am sure I will be posting more details on the wedding as we go.

Exodus International

In a Facebook cycle of links, I found myself at the Exodus International Website. I checked the everytitan.com website, which eventually took me to the Exodus website. Essentially this website is supposed to serve as a way for those identifying as homosexual to follow a path out through God. On the outset, I struggled with the background of this website...it essentially says that homosexuality is a sin in the eyes of God. I do not believe this. However, I do appreciate the fact that there my be people who are again questioning their identity and they may appreciate the opportunity to talk to someone. Unfortunately, the counseling services offered by this group would be one-sided. I am curious to know what is out that their that allows for open religious counseling about thosw who may simply be questioning their sexual identity. I am certain it is not Homosexuals Anonymous.

Ugh...to be a Methodist and see stuff like this is very disheartening as a Christian.

Are You Kidding?

Send Your Global Warming Stories

Oh boy...this one is hard to comment on. First of all, you have to be convinced that if global warming is happening, it is happening at a significant rate. Second, you have to be convinced that mankind is the major contributor top this global warming. I am not convinced in either case. As a result, I find this story completely laughable.

Thanks to the Drudge Report for these two interesting links.

Just Cause?

WMDs found in Iraq

Surprise! There is now a fledgling democratic government in Iraq and WMDs have been found in Iraq. I am not at all surprised. I have been supportive of the Bush Administration's decision to invade Iraq, take out a known dictator and establish a democratic government. I would not deny mistakes have been made on the way in its execution, but I would never question why it all began. I realize this story will be overlooked and the Bush bashing will continue.

Softball Game #5 Statistics and Commentary

Tonight's game found me in the "rover" position, otherwise known at the fourth outfielder who plays shallow left field. I have three good catches and assume that this will be my permanent position for the season. For the game I went 1-3 and had to RBIs. The batting statistics continue to look good for the season:

_______AB___R___H___RBI___BB___SO___LOB___OBP____AVG
Droste___11___2___5____5_____2____0____5_____.538____.454

Yesterday's game was disheartening because we were actually winning for the first three innings of the game. We were hitting well and our defense was superb. Ultimately, our pitching was not as consistent as before and that meant walks. We also got sloppy in catching fly balls which then led to lots of runs scored. We gave up 15 runs in one inning and that pretty much sealed out fate. We have one player on our team that has a really crappy attitude and it sucks because I think the rest of the team has a pretty high morale despite our fate in many games.

Randomness...

For my small but loyal following, I apoligize for not posting for a few days. Things have been a little crazy for me. I won't get into details, but I might as some of the craziness gets settled. I assure you that I am back into my usual routine and the posts should be more regular.

This past Thursday and Friday I was in Milwaukee to stand in my friend Nick Sayner's wedding. It was really nice to see him again and to connect with friends who I have not seen in a really long time. It was nice to see Nick and Shawnta so happy...I hope they are enjoying their cruise (they left Sunday).

Tonight is our softball game. Hopefully Christa will be able to make it on time. She will be towing the line for our Vacation Bible School group while I leave to be on time for a game that probably won't start until 8:00 pm. She has been there for all my games...it would cost our team 25% of our cheering section ;).

Apartment Cleaning

Why is Jim posting at 7:45 am this morning? Well, I stayed over at Christa's last night (*gasp*) because the floater custodians were coming over to my building at 6:00 am to begin cleaning my apartment. Yes, you read that right. Each year, he have the opportunity to have custodians come into our apartments and do the following:

• steam clean all of our furniture
• shampoo all carpeting
• wax all tile floors
• clean all windows
• powerwash the bathtub

This is now the third year that I have had the opportunity to do this and it is wonderful. What a benefit that I will not have in the future. Knowing that the cleaning folks would come right at 6:00 am and I would need to pick up things in the apartment before they arrived, I decided it would be best if I prepped the apartment the night before and simply found another place to stay. I will also be out of town for the weekend giving anything that needs to dry plenty of time to do so.

It's not the most exciting thing to post about, but I am really impressed by the fact that we receive this service.

Softball Game #4 Statistics and Commentary

We managed to play an entire game last night and we were remarkably competitive. Thus, the batting stats are much more inflated, seeing as though I had five at bats in this game.

_______AB___R___H___RBI___BB___SO___LOB___OBP____AVG
Droste___8____2___4____3_____2____0____4_____.600____.500

So, let's move to the commentary. We only lost 9-8 and we played an entire game. Ironically, we actually were down a person and were only playing with 9 guys even though you are allowed to have ten. I assumed we would have done worse, but we did better. I can think of a few additional reasons why we faired better than usual:

• We had a really good pitcher this game who almost always put the ball where it was needed and got a lot of guys to fly out.
• Our old pitcher was able to play left field where we truly excelled and caught at least five balls.
• All of our other players were playing in positions where they were good. No one looked like a liability.
• We did not have any opposing batters that were left handed.
• Their pitcher was awful and threw a lot of balls. I would say he walked at least 10-12 batters during the course of the game.
  

So, cheers to use for playing well, but I felt like we also had some help. I feel like our practices are finally strating to pay off. Hopefully we can keep this up. It is much more fun to play a game when it's competitive. :)

I also have to say that our opponents were some of the worst sports I have ever played against. I have never seen a team talk so much trash in a game. When I blew a throw they all laughed at me...what are we in, grade school? They got mad at us when we weren't swining at their pitches...however, if I did not move out of the way the ball was going to hit me. Sorry folks, not swinging at that. They would shout things when the ball was in the air and we were trying to catch it. The jawed at runners when they were on the base. It finalyl came to a head when one of our players got into an elevated discussion at second base. Yeah, they were bad. At the end of the game one of their players said, "If we lost to these guys, I would have cut all of your nuts off!" *sigh*

This being my fourth game, I am starting to relax out there. I think the first few games I was getting over the nerves of playing a game I had never really played competitively. Now, I feel more relaxed, especially playing first base. The fice at bats last night also had me more comfortable batting. I need to be careful not to swing at anything that comes over the plate. I could probably get a few more walks that way.

Kudos

Today is a day of Kudos out to various folks who have done some cool things.

Kudos to Christa for playing softball for the last few practices or our ever-improving team. Tex, our captain, has called several practices over the last few weeks so that we can improve our skills and attempt to be more competitive in the games that we play. Sadly, our practices have not been too well attended, but Christa has helped out by throwing with us and also hitting for two hours somtimes so that we might practice fielding and catching. It has been wonderful. There is talk of sneaking her into one of our games...we could use the help :).

Kudos to Peter and Ryan for advising an amazing group of students to get NACURH 2007. That bid team was focused, prepared and motivated and those two played a key role in making sure that happened. I was simply happy to be along for the ride and see a lot of excited students and advisors when we got the bid.

Kudos to Chris CA-walish for his internship at Notre Dame. How cool is that? He's come a long way and I am excited that he has the opportunity to grow as a professional.

Happy Summer Work Day!

Today is my first day doing summer work for the Department of Residence life here at UW Oshkosh. My primary assignment will be working at the NBC Village and makign sure this first-year student initiative is ready for the 2007-2008 school year. I will also be doing work on NACURH 2007 as well.

A Profession of People

Today begins a two camp stint in Breese Hall over the next two weeks. It is easy for me to look on the bad side of the summer conferences. After all, I found a sign on my car saying that if I didn't move my car from my own parking space that it would be towed at my expense. *sigh* Couple that with issuing 3 parking tickets and having my office dry erase board ruined last year and you can say that I am not always a fan of the summer conference season here at UW Oshkosh.

However, there is something to be said for having people in the building. The last week has been rather strange with it empty. I have appreciated the silence for sleep purposes, but often my motivation was low and I think it was because there was no one in the buliding. When you live in a building with 220 residents 9 months of the year you get used to it. Even as an introvert, I know that I gain motivation and inspiration for my job from the people in the building. So, it is nice to have things back to "normal".

X Men: The Last Stand

Christa went home for the weekend and I really had the desire to see a movie. I have seen plenty of movies by myself, despite the social connotations that might be associated with it. It still seems funny to be engaged to someone and still see a movie alone. Oh well...I went and saw X Men: The Last Stand. Let's look at the movie this way.

What I Liked: I really enjoyed the new characters that were added. I especially liked Kelsey Grammar playing the role of "Beast". I also thought they did an "Ocean's 11"-like job of giving all of the major characters a decent amount of screen time. I thought the action sequences were incredible and overall there was a pretty decent story line.

What I Didn't Like: For a 1 hour and 45 minute film, it seemed very busy. With all the characters and subplots, I felt like the movie could have been longer and more developed. It seemed like many doors were open and they needed to be closed quickly.

Overall: It was an entertaining movie, what I would expect from a summer blockbuster. Grade: B.

Finality to the Year

Well, my keys are currently being checked in for the end of the year. I have completele cleaned my office of paperwork from the year so I feel like I can focus on summer projects. I originally anticipated the opportunity to work on the "Freshmen Village" project which will begin for the 2007-2008 school year. With winning the NACURH 2007 bid, it seems like I will have a split focus with NACURH and the village. I should have no lack of things to do :).

Salem State College

At the NACURH 2006 conference, it was announced that Salem State College won the School of the Year award. As was said during the speech before the unveiling of the award, it is the highest award that a school can earn. I was very, very excited for Mathew Chetnik, Kathy Neville and the staff of Salem State College. They do some great work and I appreciate the fact that they were rewarded for it. I was honored to have an opportunity to work with Mathew and Kathy as part of an ACUHO-I summer internship. Both of them were excellent supervisors and I gained some great skills that I was able to apply to both my graduate school work as well as my work as a Residence Hall Director at UW Oshkosh. It is also exciting because Jayme Gaffke, who was once an Assistant Residence Hall Director at UW-OShkosh is now a hall director there.

Softball Game #3 Statistics and Commentary

I moved around a little bit in Tuesday's game. I started at first base and was then moved to right field because it was discovered that I could actually throw the ball. I also was struggling with a left hander hitting some real zingers at me. Here's the batting breakdown...

Batting:

_______AB___R___H___RBI___BB___SO___LOB___OBP____AVG
Droste___4____2___2____1_____1____0____2_____.600____.500

Sadly, this game ended in three innings. A 20 run mercy rule was invoked as we were down 22-2. The one week we were actually competitive I was not there. I come back and we get slaughtered. Argh.

NACURH 2007 in Oshkosh!

I realize that not everyone may know what NACURH is, but regardless, it will be in Oshkosh for 2007!!!

The National Association of College and University Residence Halls (NACURH) is a student run and operated leadership organization. They host a yearly conference of anywhere between 2000-3000 delegates at a school that wins the bid to host. The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh had a very motivated and excited group of students that bid for and won the opportunity to host this NACURH conference in 2007.

I will one of two advisors working with this group of students to make NACURH 2007 happen. Afte the initial excitement of getting the bid, it is beginning to set in that we have a lot of work to do. Woot!

NACURH Update 2

June 1, 2006 – I am sitting at the computer at 12:43 p.m. Pacific Time and we got back from lunch. The NACURH 2007 bid team just presented this morning and they were phenomenal. It is hard to encapsulate my thoughts at this moment. I am proud on many levels, but what is most satisfying is that they presented a strong bid, gave a flawless presentation and answered the Q&A session very, very well. From a sports perspective, they left it all out on the court and there is nothing more that they can do. It is out of our hands now and we will need to wait until Saturday.

On a different level, I was very impressed with the excitement and emotion that this group of students (and advisors) has shown for this process. Regardless of the outcome, they really accomplished something here, and even for the brief amount of time that I helped out, I am proud to be a part of this process.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

On an interesting side note, during one of the rehearsals, Peter thought it would be good for the bid team to know about our advising experience in case they were asked a question about it. It is pretty crazy if you broke down the conferences we have attended, the awards we have won and the organizations that we have advised. I am pretty excited for the opportunity to possibly co-advise the NACURH 2007 conference with Peter.

NACURH Update 1

May 31, 2006 – I have yet to hear about the results of our Breese softball team. I did not play so my stats will remain stable for another week. I talked to Christa earlier this morning and she said that the senior/central staff members won the game against the CAs and PAs in the first annual Residence Life Softball game. I honestly thought we were going to lose and lose badly. So that was a pleasant surprise. I wish I could have played in the game.

I am really happy with the progress that the NACURH 2007 bid team has been making. They sounded really good yesterday and I was excited to see them finally get to practice on the stage. I think this group has some real potential. What will be difficult is that we present on Thursday morning and then we play the waiting game. We will find out the results on Saturday night at the banquet.

Done With Da Vinci Code

May 30, 2006 – I am writing this first entry from Towle Hall in Berkeley, California. We officially got into our rooms at 5:00 pm Pacific time or around 7:00 pm in Wisconsin. It was quite a day. We left from Oshkosh to leave for a flight to Minneapolis. From there we flew to San Francisco. From there we took an hour long subway trip to a stop on the subway where vans took us the remaining few miles to the Berkeley campus. It made for a lot of sitting, but also a lot of walking. I was able to get in a good two hours of solid music listening (including some recent I-Tunes downloads) as well as the opportunity to finish The Da Vinci Code.

I read the first 150 pages of the book in one sitting…I was completely into the book. I was really impressed with the clues and how the book unfolded. Unfortunately, I let the hype of the book/movie ruin it for me because I watched a History Channel special which revealed the secret of the Da Vinci code. So, what was probably meant to be the climax of the book was actually a little disappointing.

The "Third Wheel Date" and Mission Impossible III

Last night Christa and I went on a "third wheel" date last night...allow me to explain. Each semester for our hall government in Breese Hall we have an auction, an opportunity for residents of the building to utilize fake incentive money to bid for various prizes. They earn this money by going to meetings, attending programs or helping out within the hall. We are always trying to think of new prizes or new ways to make the auction fun. In consultation with Christa, we thought it would be fun to offer a "third wheel" date as a prize. Some lucky person could join Christa and I for a date. Well, Kristi Meneau was the winner and she (and her boyfriend Gabe...a 4th wheel if you will) went with us for the date.

Dinner was at McDonalds in the Fox River Mall and then we played a few games at Funset Boulevard. Then it was off to the Hollywood Cinema for a 9:30 showing of Mission Impossible III. It was a good action film but I wasn't overwhelmed. It was good to go in with relatively low expectations.

Christa

In about a year, I am getting married to Christa Trushinsky (seen to the right here). The prospect of marriage in some ways is a scary thought for me because I did not actually think I would ever get married. I had been in so many relationships (a few pretty serious) and when they ended my hopes of ever getting married got less and less. As I got older, I often felt like I would force my hand when I would start dating someone, as if I would already size up the person I was dating to wonder if I would marry the person. I lost my ability to simply let time tell and see what might happen over time. Luckily, I did not do this for my relationship with Christa. When we started dating, the thought of marriage didn't really enter my mind. I was just glad to hang out with someone who had common interests, was cute :), had a good sense of humor and was really smart (really, really smart)...and she has read hair which is always cool.

Needless to say, one afternoon we were hanging out in my apartment and I looked at here and said, "have you thought about getting engaged?" Well, the ring shopping began and I actually though about marriage but it wasn't forced and it was totally natural. And here we are...Jim is actually getting married; and I am getting married to my best friend.

The Da Vinci Code

Hehehe...Christa finished with her copy of the Da Vinci Code. Tonight, I will begin reading the controversial book. We'll see what happens...I will keep you posted.

Wow! It is really raining outside today. I have another meeting with a financial planner from Northwestern Mutual Life; hopefully he'll have some good news for me. That is all.

Softball Game #2 Statistics and Commentary

Our second of the season had the same result, but at least we were not defeated as badly. The final score was 24-2. I moved from roving outfielder to first base...a good move. I felt much more comfortable there. Here is the season statistical breakdown:

Batting
AB R H RBI BB SO LOB OBP AVG
Droste 3 2 1 0 1 0 2 .500 .333

In last night's game, I drew a walk my first time up to bat. In my second time at bat, I made good connection with the ball but they got the runner out at second base.

It was obvious that we had some improvement between last week and this week. Our fielding still leaves a little to be desires, but what is a little more frustrating is our lack of effective hitting. If we are going to go anywhere, we need to generate some hits in a row.

Unfortunately, I will not be able to play in next week's game. I will be in California for the NACURH 2006 conference. The more I play, the more I am beginning to enjoy softball. I have really appreciated Christa's willingness (and great patience :) ) in helping me with my throwing and catching. I have noticed steady improvement in my abilities and I am looking forward to continuing to get better. Stay tuned for further game statistics.

Scrabble

I feel as though much of this semester had been putting back together a lot of stuff that I managed to let go over the last few months. I finally got back into playing on-line Scrabble. Peter Brooks was the man that introduced this to me two summers ago while we were doing some summer work for the Department of Residence Life. We don't really play anymore, but I did my mom addicted to the game and now she and I are starting to play again. We used to go through a game a week through E-mail. Utilizing a message board on the website, I have managed to start games with people around the world.

Go Pride of the Valley Chorus!

On Saturday, May 20, 2006 Christa and I went to the UW Manitowoc campus to see the Packerland Regional Barbershop chorus and quartet competition. The Pride of the Valley Chorus, who I have only sang with a few times but really want to join, ended up performing wonderfully and won multiple awards: Most Improved Chorus, Plateau A Champs...and Packerland Division Champs. They will be moving on to the District Competition, which could qaulify them for the Intermational Competition.

I am hoping to audition quickly so that I might be able to help in their district performance.

Grrr...

I had a meeting with a financial planner yesterday who said that a life insurance policy that I took out through a local financial planner earlier this year was a poor investment; he also could not understand why anyone would take out a policy like this. He suggested stopping the policy, but I may be out of the money that I invested...it would be a significant amount of money. I am a little peeved about all this, but there is not much I can do. Hopefully this new financial planner can see what can be salvaged. Grr...

AD&D Once More

I think I may have rustled up enough people to get a 1st Edition Advanced Dungeons and Dragons group together...it has been a long time. Lest I get any dorkier, I will just leave it at that. I am pretty excited.

I was chatting with one of my staff members yesterday and I mentioned that I put my softball stats on my blog. He asked, "Does anyone actually read your blog?" I responded, "A few, but I don't care if anyone read it." The blog is mostly for me and if people have something to say, I encourage them to say something.

Softball Game Statistics and Commentary

Last night, I participated in my first game as a member of the Kelly's IV (see schedule) softball team. My line from last night:

Batting
AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG
Droste 2 1 1 0 0 0 1 .500

Fielding
E: Droste (2, fielding)

You wouldn't see in the stat column that I also had a nice grab in the first inning. I managed to catch a ball on the run. I also caught a nice pop fly in the third inning as well. I will do my best to keep running stats for the entire season.

Commentary
Overall, I felt really good about the game. I was most excited about the solid connection that I made both times at the plate. I had a solid single to start with (I even got some batting advice from the opponent's second basemen would told to me to take a base on an error :)...) and the sceond time at bast I hit a ball that was caught by someone who needed to slide to get to it.

Fielding went OK...I had a few errors, but in my defense it was a little slippery. The biggest concern was throwing. Christa was nice enough to help me with throwing and catching the afternoon before the game. For some reason, right before the game I lost all ability to throw the ball. I felt sorry for John Cavey...the ball was all over the place. Then my teammates tried to help me and that only made it worse. So, Christa will continue working with me to get that better.

We did lose 32-3 which was brutal. We need some help with fielding. Hopefullly some practice will help in this area.

First Softball Game & Express Checkout

Tonight is my first softball game with the 2nd floor Breese team (sponsored by Kelly's Bar). I have already gotten two reminders to go to the game...no fears, I will be there. I haven't played a real competitve game of softball in a long time, probably high school. I do not doubt my skills with a bat; I am more worried about my ability to catch and I am really worried about my ability to throw. I think that could be very ugly.

It was interesting handing in my paperwork for Express Checkout yesterday. No fanfare, no worries...it went in and it got processed. We all move on. Done.

Bowling

Yesterday, I hung out with my little brother because Friday was a little busy with closing stuff. Christa had some coupons for free bowling at Oshkosh Lanes. We decided to play three games. So, I failed to remember that when Adam was in grade school, he was in a bowling league...yeah, he is really good. After a slow start, he beats me 155-139. In the next game I get 145, but gets a 160. In the last game I avoided a sweep and got a 154 to his 125. It was great to have such stiff comepetition because it drove up my level of concentration; I managed to get better with each game that I played.

Sadly, I don't bowl too often any more. I would say it comes out to around 3-4 times a year. When I was in graduate school, I would honestly bowl 3-4 times a week! At Western Illinois University, they have top-notch facilities for bowling. Their bowling team has won the NCAA national championship 3 out of the last 4 years. And, the bowling in the Union is really cheap, like $1.50 a game. I also had a good friend, Jenn Eral who also was really interested in bowling. So, I got to be really good...well, good for not taking lessons and doing anything the pros do. I could usually average around 130-140 by the 2nd year of graduate school.

I guess this entry is my way of saying that I would like to get into bowling again. I really do miss it. Perhaps I can sneak into a league or allocate the money to go bowling at least once a week. I really would like to take lessons, but that may not happen for awhile.

Closing and Other News

The weather continues to be cold and rainy, not the combination you would like to see on the day when students move out of the residence halls. So far, it hasn't seemed to curtail them; I see parents and students gathering their things and making the journey home. This Express Check-Out system that we run is nice for the students, but it makes it more difficult to get the chance to say goodbye to your residents. I get their key packet and then we know that they are gone. Luckily a few residents have taken the chance to give a firm handshake or (thanks Tom) and groundlifting hug :).

Last night, I finally had the chance to return to the "Pride of the Valley" chorus in Appleton. This barbership group is really good. This was the first time where I was finally able to stay for the whole rehearsal. They are competing in a regional competition with other courses in the general northeastern Wisconsin area. They only have a few more rehearsals left and I am sure they will do well. It is my intention to join after the competition so that I can commit for the summer and make it a habit in the fall.

That is all, when next you hear from me, my hall will be at about 30% capacity.

Weather & Such

I would like to start out by saying that today's weather is really cruddy. I can do without the cold temperatues and high winds. I got ready to go for a walk this morning, took one look out the window and gave up. I can even take a little rain, but the wind and cold temperatures make exercise completely undesirable. I'm not sure if it is going to get any better this afternoon or evening.

I am currently listening to my 1,146 songs that are tagged as "soundtracks". For some reason, that seems to fit my mood today. I am trying to wrap up a few last remaining conduct cases and get ready for Express Checkout. One way or another, they are coming.

Tomorrow is our staff cookout in between waves of Express Checkouts. This will really be the last time that we will have to hang out as a staff and wrap-up the year. I am really sad to see this group break up. They have been a lot of fun.

Family

Earlier this semester, I got an E-mail from a James Droste. James is my cousin. My dad had one brother, named Jim. Jim had a son named James. (way too many James/Jim people here) After sending an E-mail once and having it not get through, I tried again and he responded.

As someone who is now an only child and has no living grandparents, the thought of re-uniting with a cousin is an exciting venture for me. We are trading E-mails to catch up; hopefully, in the near future, we will be able to meet.

Can't Complain

Coming from me this is a pretty big deal. Honestly, things are going very well. There's a light drizzle outside and I am enjoying the soothing sounds of George Winston. I am ready for checkout and the EOY task list is being completed slowly but surely.

Christa and I are doing very well. We have begun the rough plans for our wedding which has been set for June 16, 2007. I was touched recently when she referred to me as her best friend on her facebook profile. I obviously feel the same way, but I have also never been in a relationship where I considered that person truly my best friend. I realize how lucky I am to have her in my life and I realize what an important role she plays in my life. June 16, 2007 can't come soon enough.

I have a better sense of what may happen for me after I am done being a hall director (and after Christa graduates). I will be attending the Explorations conference in November of this year to explore the possibility of entering the ministry. I won't go into details, but I will be reflecting about this opportunity in my other blog. It feels good to have some direction.

I also feel healthy in the last few weeks than I have felt in awhile. Sadly, when I jumped on the scale a month ago and saw that I was 204 pounds, I realized that something had to change. I resolved earlier this year that I would never let myself get over 200 pounds again...oops. *sigh*

So, I am now 198 pounds and continue to walk every morning and in the afternoon I either walk, bike or run. I am trying to eat better, or more importantly eat less. It has worked so far and with the weather getting better and with more free time on the way, I am excited to keep this going.

Poker Video Game

I rented a poker video game, and I got really sucked into it last night. They have a career mode, so the poker career of Jim Droste began last night. I played in four tournaments and did reasonably well in two of them. In two tournaments of appoximately 1,200 people, I placed 76th and 24th. These tournaments are not on-line, they are simluated by the computer. The tournament I placed 24th in, Christa gave me some good consulting...at one point I was as low at $1,200 and at one point I was as high as $130,000.

I try to find ways I can play poker, but not gamble with money. This seems to work pretty well :).

Some Recognition

I want to give a shout out to Breese Hall who won some serious hardware at the 2005-2006 USRH/Residence Life Banquet:

Margaret LaBorde - Community Advisor of the Year
Breese Hall - Community Service Hall of the Year (2nd year in a row)
Breese Hall - Hall of the Year (3rd year in a row)

This is a testament to the hard work that the staff, hall leaders and residents do in Breese Hall every day; it truly makes Breese Hall a great community!

Excellent work!!

*whew*

This is just one of those weeks were I am just glad that it will be done soon. Unfortunately, this weekend will be pretty busy as well...then begins the home stretch that is Final's Week.

Da Vinci Code

Interesting article about a boycott of The Da Vinci Code movie.

Seriously, let's think about this.

The Da Vinci Code is a work of fiction! Do you honestly think people will read this book and be turned off to Christianity?

Game Show Reunion & The Bucks

We anticipated a Tournament of Champions invite for Cube-Itz and we received it. We were on Cube-Itz for the fourth time, and yes, we won the game for the fourth time as well. It wasn't really close; we were tied after round one but we had a complete round two domination. With each passing game, I felt like a large contributor. I was a little disappointed by the prize this time...we get a free sundae. Woot...

The Bucks got thumped last night, so my hopes for a close series against the Pistons is now over. And we have a month of NBA playoffs left to go. Yeesh.

Ramblings...

Still no takers on the 8:05 a.m. walks Monday-Friday. I would be really excited if someone showed up to get a brisk walk early in the morning. These will continue until the halls close on June 2.

The halls close next Friday. So, I am telling you now that I am probably going to hard to find over the next two weeks. I am apologizing in advance for phone calls that may go unreturned; I am doing my best :).

Why is that the foolish actions of a few students challenge my thoughts about the other 99.5% percent of students in my hall?

Why do college students love pizza so much? Do we help this problem by constantly offerring pizza parties in the hall?

100 posts

I actually have a blog and I am sticking to it. Here's to 100 posts!

Otherwise, not much new to add. Go me...

Wisconsin Sports High Point

Not much of note to talk about today. However, I have agood feeling from the Wisconsin sports scene:

1. The Green Packers drafted reasonably well, filled some holes and signed Ron Woodson. At least the team will be somewhat improved for next year.
2. The Milwaukee Bucks has a convincing victory over the Piston in game 3 of their playoff series.
3. The Bucks sweep the Braves and takes 2 of 3 from the Cubs, winning two of those games, 16-2 & 9-0.

It won't last, but it's still a good time to be a Wisconsin sports fan.

Breese Disease

Hehehe...the theme for Breese next year will be:

The Breese Disease: Expect the Infection
"Infecting students with leadership since 1960."

I am very excited for this theme. I realize that is a little bizarre and could be open to misinterpretation, but I also think we could have a lot of fun with it. My hall leaders already have lots of ideas and the thought of a shirt with a big biohazard symbol on it just seems cool.

If the students like it, then I like it.

It is hard to imagine that when the buildings open for next year, I will be beginning my fourth year as a Residence Hall Director.

Committees

Being a Residence Hall Director and a member of a church, I am no stranger to committees. I serve or have served on all sorts of committees:

Job

• Senior Staff Committee (weekly)
• Student Conduct Team (weekly)
• LBGTQ Council (monthly)
• Freshmen Project Committee (irregular)
• Homecoming Committee (monthly)

Church

• Worship Commission (every two months)
• SPRC (monthly) - And I'm the chair of this one
• Church Council (every two months)
  

This is only a start, but I am sure there are some committees that I serve on that I am missing. There are a few things that I have learned by serving on so many committees (And these truths are not specific to any one committee:

1. There is no quicker way to take a good idea and delay its implementation than by sending it to committee.
2. It is very easy to say, "Let's generate some ideas and we'll take of this next week." Does it really happen? Not too often.
3. Decisions that would take 3o minutes end up taking 90 minutes.
4. You find that the decision the committee came up with is exactly what one individual has been saying all along.
   

Is there something you have learned that is not on here? Please add it to the list.

Conversation

I just had a reflective conversation with a good friend. Intermixed between concerns and frustrations, we were able to address some issues that have not been examined for a long time. I feel like I am in a much better place now and hope that things may come to a positive change.

As I walk through the campus today, everyone looks like they are on fast forward...

"Oh man, I am late for class."

"I need to get to work."

"Did I put enough money in the meter? Let me check."

...it seems so strange to me because I leisurely walk through the campus, George Winston in my head. For once, life seems to be moving nice and slow. There are tears in my eyes, but they have nothing to do with sadness. If anything the cold wind, so uncharacteristic as of late, blows straight into my eyes. I wonder what the people behind me are thinking, why he rubs his eyes so much.

No, I'm not crying, but yet somehow I feel like I am losing a friend...

(There ya go...a brief bit of unfinished prose. This was just a scene/moment I had while I was walking this morning.)

Last WURHA Conference

Well, I leave tonight for my last conference as WURHA Advisor. After two years of service, I will be handing the reigns over to my esteemed colleague from UW Eau Claire, Steph Van Pay. I am a little worried because at this point no one has submitted a bid to run for WURHA Advisor-Elect. Hopefully someone decides when we get there. I would really like to keep the string of a full advisorship going.

I will leave behind many great memories and I have made many great friends. I am sure that I will pop into on or more WURHA events next year so I won't be a stranger.

Good Lyrics

I was listening to my I Pod and I heard this song. I like it:

Because all men are brothers, wherever men may be,
The world shall be one union forever proud and free.
No tyrant shall defeat us, no nation strike us down,
All men who toil shall greet us, the whole wide world around.

My brothers are all others, forever hand in hand,
Where chimes the bell of freedom, there is my native land.
My brothers' fears are my fears, yellow, white or brown.
My brothers tears are my tears, the whole wide world around.

Let every voice be thunder, let every heart be strong
Until all tyrants perish our work will not be done.
Let every pain be token, the lost years shall be found.
Let slavery's chains be broken, the whole wide world around.

New Blog

I have created a religious blog to chronicle my journey as a Christian. I figured I would do this so that is folks are not comfortable with religion ro would prefer not to have to read it, they do not have to see it. Those interested could then just read journals in relationship to Jim's Journey.

Walking

The weather has warmed up. Huzzah! I now feel more of a desire to go outside and do stuff. With this, I feel more of a desire to actually start exercising. I have gotten the bike fixed up and have now done some regular riding which is nice.

More importantly, I have gotten into the habit of walking each morning at 8:05 am. The walks are no mroe then 30-35 minutes. They give me the opportunity to clear my head and think about what is coming up for the day. It has helped me to create a mental task list of items I might otherwise forget. It is also good for me.

So, if anyone wants to walk with me...meet in the lobby of Breese Hall at 8:05 am. You are welcome to join me. I promise I won't listen to my IPod if I have visitors.

Donna

She may not have cleaned a thing, but there is definitely a different feeling about the building when Donna comes back from vacation. Huzzah!

A Message

It's about 8:25 am on the morning of Easter and I am on my way to church. As I make my way down the hallway out of Breese, I see the following statement on my door, "Great job! Now when I turn on the water, it scorches my skin". I have my suspicions about who wrote this, but I will let them stay in anonymity.

Backstory: A few days this week, the hot water in Breese Hall was not working. A few residents expressed this concern, so I notified the proper individuals to remedy the problem. It would also be good to know that when there aren't many people in the building and the water sits in the heating tanks, it just gets hotter. Thus, on Easter weekend, with next to no one here, the water got really warm.

So, to be honest, that statement got to me a lot less than it would have in the past, but it is still hard to take, because no matter what you do sometimes, someone will always find something wrong in it.

Friends

To be honest, the last few weeks have been slightly trying in the area of friends. I am sure you have all experienced being in various circles of friends where the circles involved also overlap as well. Lately, there has been a rift that has been occurring with individuals in some circles not wanting to hang out with individuals in the other circles. It has become difficult for me personally; something might be said about someone in the other circle and you have to try to not take it too seriously or find yourself getting involved in what they are saying.

After reading that, you may be thinking to yourself, is Jim seriously talking about people that are in their 20s? Yes, yes I am. I it is truly sad. I find myself in this strange friendship crossroads, a place that I have not found myself in some time.

The Wheel of Bureaucracy

There are times when I really love working for a University. I was informed by a resident that there was a leak in the basement laundry room. The leak wasn't too bad, but it would obviously need to be fixed. So, the phone calls began.

Phone Call 1 (Residence Life Facilities) - In this conversation, the individual I talked to said that she could have someone come to clean up the mess, but she would be unable to have a plumber come over. To accomplish that, I would need to contact the University Police to have someone brought it.

Phone Call 2 (University Police) - I call the University Police. They tell me that I have to call facilities because it is still business hours. I am perplexed because it is past hours...I bring this up, but she insists I need to call University Facilities.

Phone Call 3 (University Facilities) - Nope...I need to call the UP. I explain how that went the first time and the response was, "They are so full of shit". Priceless! She talks to her supervisor to figure out what to do, and indeed I am to call the UP to have someone come in. She calls over there to make sure they know I am calling.

Phone Call 4 (University Police Redux) - They know I am calling and they say they will sned someone over once I tell them where to go. Huzzah!

They didn't take too much work, did it?

Milwaukee Brewers

So the Brewers are 5-2. They started the season 5-0. Turnbow set a record for number of saves in a row to start a season. They have looked competitive in all their game so far except for 1. After an 81-81 season last year, could it be that the Brewers will be worth watching? Let's hope it continues!

Ice Age 2

On Saturday, I had the opportunity to see Ice Age: The Meltdown. I did not see the original movie until after it had come out on DVD. Christa and I went to Appleton to watch it.

Overall, it was an entertaining movie. Scrat the Squirrel played a larger role in the movie; in the first film, he only had a short cartoon to start the movie. Most of the big laughs in the picture came as result of his antics. The main plot line (the escape from the ice age melting) was not quite as entertaining. There was also a move story involved with this one, which like Pearl Harbor, was completely unnecessary. There was a good messagae for kids, and the movie had humor that folks of all ages could appreciate. A solid, above average movie.

Grade: B

Tamagotchi

So, Christa dug out her out Tamagotchi key chain game and we have recently started it up again. I don't really remember when the toys were all the rage, but they are still around and Christa was able to teach me the basics. My pet is currently four days old and I am hoping that he live longer than the one we had before which lived 7 years (or 7 days in Tamagotchi time).

The overall maintenance of a Tamagotchi is not too difficult. Feed it and play with it. If it gets sick, give it medicine. If it gets cranky, yell at it. If it falls asleep turn out the lights. I think I can manage that...who needs kids?

Fridays

So...why do we get lovely weather the entire week, but when Friday rolls around we either get rain and/or cold weather. It really makes it difficult to plan outdoor activities with your little brother when the weather will not cooperate. Bleh.

I am really looking forward to the weekend because I do not have that much to do and I will have lots of time to do personal stuff.

Referendum in November - IMPORTANT!

I encourage you all to become familiar with a referendum that you all have a choice about this November (well, for residents of Wisconsin):

The following is proposed to be added to the Wisconsin Constitution:

"Only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state. A legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized in this state."

If you didn't already know about this referendum, I strongly encourage you to get out there and become informed about it. This is definitely a student issue and it definitely can affect you during and beyond your time at UW Oshkosh.

Above everything, vote on November 6. How you choose to vote on this is up to you!

Three Thoughts

I had dinner with a colleague last night and we were of course reflecting about our jobs as Residence Hall Directors. In our positions, there are three very difficult situations that we deal with. One, fight this constant battle to provide alternatives to alcohol and fight underage drinking. Two, we fight this constant battle to get students "involved". Three, UW Oshkosh sets up many initiatives to make our campus more diverse. I have wrestled with these three things ever since I decided to enter the field of student affairs. Sadly, the more I think about it the more bleak it becomes.

College students are going to drink, and educational classes are not going to cut it for some people. I struggle with what might work. Is it large monetary penalties (read: fines)? In the end, finances are very important and hitting someone in the pocketbook will make a difference. I know it sounds cruel, but if the point is to alter behavior, it is something to think about. Are there other options you can think of?

If you really think about it, we should probably wake up to the fact that some college students simply want to get their diploma and get out of here. Without any involvement in campus or hall activities they will get good jobs and lead good lives. I think we need to be OK with this and realize that involvement is not for everyone.

Lastly, we need to realize that we are a regional institution that does not draw many students out of the greater Fox Valley area. Bringing diversity to the campus will be difficult. We need to be conscious about what Oshkosh has to offer and whether or not it will be a good match for students that come to this campus. Why are we bringing diversity to the campus?

I realize that some of these thoughts are quite blunt, but they are forefront on my mind right now and I am still thinking about them. Any thoughts on this? Please share.

Clothing

Seriously...I saw someone today wearing an "Aeropostale: Track and Field" sweat shirt. Why? I don't get it. The team doesn't exist and it probably get way too much money. I'm confused. What am I missing?

The "Sweet and Sour Chicken" Effect

As I am writing this entry, I am about to head for lunch. The Blackhawk menu today has sloppy joes...mmm, exciting. All I can think about is how hungry I am for Jumbo Seafood. Oh well, I guess I always have a hamburger or a grilled cheese sandwich although it will not be the same.

So, one day I look at the menu for dinner and it says that there will be "Sweet and Sour Chicken Effect." at the International Station. I am very excited because I like sweet and sour chicken and sounded very appetizing. I had my own vision of what it was going to be, mostly influenced by experiences in restaurants. Upon entering Blackhawk and I was given my two ladles full of sweet and sour chicken and it was pretty disgusting. This extreme let down between what I would expect and what I receive is called the "Sweet and Sour Chicken Effect."

I have to learn to lower my standards for foods that I would otherwise think would be really tasty!

A Productive Day of Non-Productivity

For the first time in a long time, I have almost an entire weekend with no significant obligations. Today, I had a wonderful time doing nothing! Two major brekthroughs today.

Star Wars Battlefront II - I managed to gain "legendary" status in another reward category. This was especially cool because I earned many of the rewards in the cooperative mode in Galactic Conquest. I think Christa appreciated getting back into the Battlefront mode. Now my character has four permanent bonuses in all scenarios. Time to work on more. I must have played Battlefront 4 hours today. Sweet!

Texas Hold 'em - As I am writing this blog entry, I am playing poker on partypoker.net. It's not too badm, and you play for free...no money. I couldn't really tell you if I am any good or not, I have only played Texas Hold 'Em a few times. The more games that I play the better I feel about some of the basics of the game. Now, playing on-line is one thing...I am intrigued to see how this all works out playing against people in person. I'll keep you posted.

I HOPE YOU MOVED YOUR CLOCKS AHEAD!

Interesting Quote

I was reading the latest edition of the American Enterprise, and they had an interesting interview with Shelby Steele. For a complete transcript of the interview, click here.

I was really intrigued by a few quotes that I wanted to throw out there for discussion:

TAE: Should Affirmative Action be abolished?
STEELE: Affirmative Action and all of its sundry manifestations should be completely eliminated. It stigmatizes all blacks, and it's not voluntary. One of the real cruelties of affirmative action is that whether we want it or not, it is imposed on us, simply because of the color of our skin. You don't get to opt out.

You shouldn't be able to go onto campus and have a separate black graduation ceremony, a separate black student union, a black studies department. Why do I get all these racial things, but you can't have them? Why?

TAE: How does political correctness affect black Americans?
STEELE: Political correctness is an outgrowth of white guilt. It's a way for guilty-feeling whites to constantly indicate that they're not racist, not colonialists, not imperialists, not warmongers, and so on. It's a kind of ritualization of life by which some whites free themselves of the stigma that history has left them. History has left whites stigmatized as racists, just like blacks were stigmatized as inferior. Both of those are irrational conclusions, but that's how stigma works. And political correctness is the way to address that.

Thoughts?

Key Lady

Hehehe...my fiance Christa will be the new Residence Life Key Coordinator for the Department of Residence Life at UW Oshkosh. That is pretty exciting. Think of all the devilish things I can do with access to keys...kidding...kidding...seriously...well, mostly O:-). Honestly, do you think Christa would ever let me do anything like that. Nope.

Cube-Itz, Part 2

Again, we are victorious in Cube-itz. We topped out total of 17 from the first game, scoring 20 points this time. The other team scored 5. This time we got a free large pizza from Toppers. WE are going for the three-week domination next week. They won't let us stay on after that :).

Spring Shenanigans

After getting out of my 3.5 hours worth of meetings this morning, I now realize that the craziness of the last 7 weeks of the semester begins. In addition to writing scholarship recommendation letter and "Of the Year" awards, I also need to start on my closing task list, start working with my staff for next year, finish up my OPE wrap-up report and somehow also keep up to date on paperwork within the building. Huzzah!

Ticket Season

March 27, 2006 - Jim gives out two parking tickets. NBC RHD Parking Space Ticket Season has begun.

Mazes and Monsters

While at the ACPA Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana I had the opportunity to do some shopping in a Sam Goody store that was going out of business. In my many purchases, I managed to find a $5.00 copy of the movie Mazes and Monsters. I had heard many rumors that this was the movie from the 1980s that started a lot of the scare about Dungeons and Dragons.

I sat down to watch the movie this last Saturday with Peter and and two other folks that I know play Dungeons and Dragons. I don't even know where to begin...this movie was awful. Luckily, the running commentary from the four of us made this movie bearable.

Sadly, the people that wrote the movie do not even understand the basic rules of Dungeons and Dragons...but this does not surprise me. The redeeming part of the movie is hearing a very young Tom Hanks say, "There's blood on the knife!"

Cube-itz

Peter and Dave asked if I would join them to play an 80s Game Show on our campus station called Cube-itz. Granted, I grew up in the 80s, but I wasn't sure how much information I would know in a quiz-style format. Well, we taped the show and needless to say we completed dominated the competition. We actually scored more points than any other team has scored before. We probably should point out the Peter and I grew up in the 80s and we're competing against people that were born near the end of the 80s....oh well.

It was a good time and I was not as much of a liability as I thought I would be.

70th Post!

Who would have thought? This is my 70th post to the blog. I am impressed that I have managed to keep this thing going this long. I am currently blogging from the internet kiosk at the ACPA 2006 Conference in Indianapolis, IN. I am operating on only about 3 hours sleep (at best recollection) so I apologize for any errors that you might find.

So far it's been nice...sadly I am suffering from a little "hall" withdrawal. It feels strange to not be around when the building is opening. I know my staff will do well in my stead. :)

After I finish this entry, I will likely be heading over to the mall to do some shopping; the meat of the conference does not begin until tomorrow. I have a nice array of sessions laid out and I am looking forward to it.

Peace all, and I will talk to you later.

Bleh...

I have been sick all week. I only have myself to blame because I have been working and moving around this week...when I should be in bed resting. I actually think I turned the corner today and things should be getting better.

TurboTax

Needless to say, this is a wonderful tool. It took at 45 minutes to complete my taxes and it only cost me $40.00. This is the first time in my life that I did my taxes completely by myself. For a long time, my father did my taxes and for the last two years, I had my taxes done for free at the Oshkosh Public Library. So...it was a great feeling to do my taxes myself...however, let's hope I didn't screw something up :).

UWO Outstanding Young Alumni

I am very excited to say that one of my fellow RHDs has decided to nominate me for the UWO Outstanding Young Alumni Award. While it would be incredible to receive one of these awards, I am just excited to be nominated for the award. It also serves as a motivation for me to update my resume, which I haven't touched in a long time.

Star Wars Battlefront II

Already my Spring Break has been pretty active. On Saturday night, I was dealer for a poker game that involved 7 different friends of mine. It was a unique mixture of folks and it went until 1:30 in the morning, but it was a lot of fun. Earlier that day, I had the opportunity to hang out with Nick, Jason and Tom..we got fitted for our suits for Nick's wedding.

Sunday was definitely a day of rest. While doing 4 load of laundry and cleaning my apartment, I can say that I played at least 5 hours of Star Wars Battlefront II. Fear not, for I was not playing all at once...I would play for awhile and then move to something a little bit more productive. But during that 5 hour span, I was impressed by the strategies and powers that I gained in the playing; it actually felt like I was learning something new...it's really not that profound, because after all, it is a video game. With the spirit of learning at hand, I even tried learning how to do fancy dunks in NBA Live 2005, with less success, but the spirit was there. I do feel this need to revisit many of the games in my collection.

Christa is working from 6:00 am tomorrow to 6:00 pm. That should give me some time tomorrow to get some work done...I have a lot of work to do over break...

A Time to Catch Up

It is Friday morning and at 8:00 pm this evening, Breese Hall closes for the "Spring" Break holiday. I realize that it is not really spring, although the temperatures are a little warmer. Regardless, I am looking forward to a week off from work. This year's spring break will be more subdued that the 3,000+ mile, 7 state tour that occurred last year. I think I am still recovering from that trip...while fun, I don't see myself ever taking part in something like that ever again.

Honestly, this week's break will consist of catching up on some RHD work, some personal filing and some church activities. A working spring break is not ideal, but I think I will be able to focus better without the day to day responsibilities of the RHD position.

Thus, I encourage you to give me a call next week. I will actually be around and will not have as much going on in my life. I will be calling people and looking to catch up.

Ramblings and Loose Ends

I have a variety of thoughts that I would just assume combine into one post:

The more I talk to folks about the incident in the basement of Breese Hall where I told some folks to change their music, the better I feel about that decision.

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Sorry to disappoint, but I did not do any on-stage singing for last night's Pat McCurdy concert at the Fratello's Lounge. Maybe in April...

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As I become more involved in my church, I suppose I make a false assumption in thinking that I work with mature adults. I serve on a committee that deals with very confidential information, something that I emphasize before each meeting. I recently found out from my pastor that someone not even on my committee relayed intimate details of our meeting...which concerned our pastor. How infuriating is that? I have thought, prayed and relfected about this and I can move on.

Reading the Message

As I reflected upon the purpose of Lent, I realize that there is a lot of emphasis on "giving something up" for Lent. Lent is a time of mental preparation for the celebration of the Easter festival. Last year, I decided to give up soda and that was actually an interesting experience in sacrifice. I learned something from the experience and I appreciate self-denial can help in the preparatory feeling of Lent.

This year, I decided to go a different route. Instead of giving something up, I decided to add something new. I have begun a ritual of reading part of the Bible each day. This is something I plan on keeping up after Lent. I am currently reading from the Pedersen The Message translation of the Bible. I decided to start with the New Testament. This is the longest span I have read the Bible in a row...ever. Sad in a way, but also exciting. :)

Visitors

The last few days have been wonderful because I have had the chance to catch up with many, many folks because of the Oshkosh Placement Exchange and various spring breaks. While nice to see so many faces, it is also frustrating because you only get to see them for a brief amount of time...they either need to head to their next interview or the next stop on their tour. Regardless, it has been energizing to see former residents, co-workers, professors, cohort members and friends throughout the last week.

Having now been at Oshkosh as a RHD for almost three years, I am amazed at the amount of students that I see that have graduated from UW Oshkosh who are pursuing jobs or graduate degrees in student affairs.

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I did not watch the Oscars, nor did I really care. I don't put a lot of stock in the Academy Awards anymore. If Shakespeare in Love & Forrest Gump can win best picture, than I struggled with the choices that they make.

Censorship

With the busyness of OPE at hand this previous weekend, I had to delay the time I spend with my little brother (through Big Brothers/Big Sisters) until yesterday. We had determined the last time we got together that we were going to play pool in the basement of Breese Hall. We the equipment and headed down, only to find out that there were other folks hanging out in the basement.

I sometimes worry about how my residents will act to speak around my little brother. Well, as we began playing pool the hip/hop music playing over the basement stereo was not very youth friendly. It had frequent swearing and some other suggestive material. While I was willing to let it go for awhile, I eventually had enough and asked them if they could switch to something less vulgar. The response to me was, "He's heard it anyway." I insisted, and they said I could turn the music off. Even my little brother said it wasn't a big deal, but I insisted that if he was going to be in my presence, I want to make sure he is not being exposed to that stuff.

It saddens me to know how much stuff our children are exposed to and people don't seem concerned about it.

Lovely Weather

So, for those of you don't know, the Oshkosh Placement Exchange is going on at UWO. I am head of the Transportation Center and upon waking up this morning, I discovered a coat of ice on all of the vans. I would venture to say the ice was between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thick. It obviously got really cold last night, but we also had a combination of sleet, freezing rain and hail. It made for a fun morning.

Things seem to be running smoothly with the center now. Barring some strange occurence, I think we should be OK. I am very happy with Mike and Dave the sit supervisors. Their relaxed approach to the job will be a good counterbalance to me ;). Also, we have hired a wonderful array of workers for the center. They will be a fun and hard-working group.

Be warned that you may not hear from me until Monday...it is going to be a busy next couple of days. :)

New Office

After much construction, frustration and movement of stuff...my new office in Breese Hall is finally complete. It looks really nice and my new desk is truly huge! I will be posting pictures of the new office on my Facebook page, so you will want to check it out.