It's May...and we all know what that means...Blog A Day in May Challenge time! For anyone who has followed me, you already know what this means. For anyone who hasn't, this is pretty much how this whole blog began.
The plus side of the challenge is it gets my lazy butt back blogging again. The down side this year is how crazy this month is going to be. However, no worries. I will prevail! (Okay...that may have been a little much, but you know what I mean.)
My first year, I went without a theme for the month. Last year, I went with a "Quote of the Day" theme...and dinosaurs. I think this year, I may go for a "Word of the Day," unless better inspiration hits me soon.
Nonetheless, I'm excited to do the challenge again, and I'm even more excited to get back into the habit. As I've said before, I need some blogging in my life. We also have some changes in the challengers this year. When I have a little more time, I will make the updates to the sidebar so you can all follow the others.
And with that, let the challenge begin!
3/27/11
Traversing the Skies
I am an introvert. Shocking to some, but not at all surprising to those who know me. And I realized today that this is one of the reasons I love flying alone. Now, of course I absolutely love taking trips with friends. (This is something I’m trying to work in more often.) I also love flying for the obvious reason of judging people in airports. Again, anyone who knows me would not be surprised by that fact either.
However, as I was sitting in the Tallahassee and Atlanta airports today making my way to Baltimore for a conference, I realized how relaxing it is for me to travel alone. Even though airports and flights are full of hundreds of people, I have absolutely no pressure to interact with any of them if I so choose. And for the most part, I don’t. I can sit, watch, read, listen to music, play around on the internet (if I can find free wi-fi…please explain to me why Atlanta still does not have this…), and really just retreat into my own world while I go from Point A to Point B.
Part of this realization may stem from having recently traveled to a different conference with a good number of friends and colleagues. I easily get overwhelmed and subsequently aggravated when trying to coordinate a group of people traveling. Overall, and when reflecting on the trip, these experiences are more often than not positive and good ways to bond with others. Yet, admittedly, by the time we were heading back home, I did not want to see or talk to most of the people with me.
It’s not you, Its me. Truly. In all senses of the term, I am an introvert. I love people, in small doses. I love meeting new people, in small doses. At the end of the day, I want to unwind either alone, or with just those closest to me. (Currently, this typically involves my boyfriend and my cat. A good cuddle from one or the other or both tends to be helpful.) I am energized by alone time. I recharge when I have time to breathe, reflect, or just get away. This is why I love movies and reading.
I am always amused when students do not believe I am an introvert. I often explain how extroverted qualities are learned, and are a necessity of my job. At work, I enjoy the constant interaction I have with students. If I didn’t, goodness knows I would not work in Student Affairs. But I relish the times like today where I can have a mini-getaway for myself. Even if I get nothing more out of it than a blog post, starting a new book, listening to favorite songs, or laughing at ridiculous people in public, I enjoy the little rewards.
(Sidenote: Traveling in itself is not always relaxing of course, but when I actually have time to sit before or in between flights, it can be enjoyable.)
3/23/11
SMH
July of last year was my last post. And I see that as a problem. I am currently thinking of ways to return to the blogging world. Especially since my twitter looks like it may become another Higher Ed venue...which is fine, but takes away a personal outlet. So this is my attempt to hold myself to reviving my blog-self. While I am thinking of creating a higher ed themed blog...I need to bring the personal reflection back. Anyone want to help hold be to it?
PS...I also realized my last post was about my Jeep being vandalized. Since then, it was actually totaled, and now I have a Chevy Aveo. Crazy how much can happen in a few months...
PS...I also realized my last post was about my Jeep being vandalized. Since then, it was actually totaled, and now I have a Chevy Aveo. Crazy how much can happen in a few months...
7/3/10
Unsettling
This morning I went outside to find someone had broken into my Jeep. The person very simply had smashed my front passenger side window, reached in, and took my work bag. Nothing else. When I realized what had happened, I went through a number of emotions pretty quickly. I was pissed off, upset, sad, aggravated, confused, and well...pissed off. So I call Mike, then my mom, to fuss and mostly curse. I call the police, and they send an officer to come take a report. I call my insurance to find out I am not covered because I have the most basic insurance I can have. I call what felt like every auto glass repair place in Tallahassee to find out the best place could not fit me in until Monday. So I tape up a trash bag to my window because we all know it will rain at least three times before then, and I resign myself to having a bunch of glass in my passenger seat.
Mike came and picked me up to go to lunch with one of his friends who was driving through town. I looked forward to taking a more pleasant break to the day since the rest of my plans were pretty much derailed. On the plus side, the glass repair people called me during lunch to say they had a cancellation and could fit me in today. They were extremely helpful and nice. They replaced the glass very quickly and even gave me a discount. If you are in Tallahassee, I highly recommend Safelite Auto Glass. Rock star service.
The first thing I thought when I saw the window was, "Really? Out of all the cars around, this person picked my Jeep?" If you have ever seen my lovely vehicle, you see the irony in this. Then when I realized they had only taken my work bag, I was even more annoyed. Granted, it was a nice leather bag with some pricey higher education books, a pair of Rainbow flip flops, and an umbrella in it, I cannot imagine any of it had much street value. Left inside was my satellite radio, car stereo, and CDs, the only things really worth anything. Perhaps the person was almost caught and ran off before (s)he could grab any of that. Perhaps the person is just an idiot. The door was still locked despite the busted window.
Now with my Jeep repaired, I will have to use a different bag for work on Tuesday. Luckily, I still have the brown version of the one that was stolen. I bought these from a leather store back home at a ridiculously good sale price a couple of Thanksgivings ago with my sister and Suze. Good times. I will have to replace my black Rainbow flip flops, which honestly were on their last leg anyway. I was simply waiting for them to completely fall apart before I spent money on new ones. This just expedited that process. I will have to look for a replacement of my favorite leadership book, and figure out what to do about the other books on student organizations that technically FSU paid for me to purchase at a conference. Sigh.
All in all, things are not that bad. I just find it unsettling when these things happen. A stranger violating your personal space/property is not a pleasant feeling. I just hope the person gets a good deal on the Black Market from those student organization management books. Ha.
Mike came and picked me up to go to lunch with one of his friends who was driving through town. I looked forward to taking a more pleasant break to the day since the rest of my plans were pretty much derailed. On the plus side, the glass repair people called me during lunch to say they had a cancellation and could fit me in today. They were extremely helpful and nice. They replaced the glass very quickly and even gave me a discount. If you are in Tallahassee, I highly recommend Safelite Auto Glass. Rock star service.
The first thing I thought when I saw the window was, "Really? Out of all the cars around, this person picked my Jeep?" If you have ever seen my lovely vehicle, you see the irony in this. Then when I realized they had only taken my work bag, I was even more annoyed. Granted, it was a nice leather bag with some pricey higher education books, a pair of Rainbow flip flops, and an umbrella in it, I cannot imagine any of it had much street value. Left inside was my satellite radio, car stereo, and CDs, the only things really worth anything. Perhaps the person was almost caught and ran off before (s)he could grab any of that. Perhaps the person is just an idiot. The door was still locked despite the busted window.
Now with my Jeep repaired, I will have to use a different bag for work on Tuesday. Luckily, I still have the brown version of the one that was stolen. I bought these from a leather store back home at a ridiculously good sale price a couple of Thanksgivings ago with my sister and Suze. Good times. I will have to replace my black Rainbow flip flops, which honestly were on their last leg anyway. I was simply waiting for them to completely fall apart before I spent money on new ones. This just expedited that process. I will have to look for a replacement of my favorite leadership book, and figure out what to do about the other books on student organizations that technically FSU paid for me to purchase at a conference. Sigh.
All in all, things are not that bad. I just find it unsettling when these things happen. A stranger violating your personal space/property is not a pleasant feeling. I just hope the person gets a good deal on the Black Market from those student organization management books. Ha.
Of course one of the first things I did was take a picture with my phone.
I am glad the repair people vacuumed up all this!
Sidenote: This is my 100th blog post! I was hoping it be on something a little more fun, but I am sure better topics are on the way. :-)
7/1/10
IPDS 2010 (a.k.a. Networking in Indiana)
Yesterday I returned home from the Association of College Union International's (ACUI) Indiana Professional Development Seminar (IPDS). This is basically a type of orientation for new professionals in higher education, specifically those of us who work in and with college unions. I have to say the expereince was not only amazing, but far exceeded my expectations.
We were part of a class of about 50 participants from around the country. The seminar was about five days, and we covered a wide range of topics from career development to sustainability to collaborations between operations and programmers. The program was hosted at Indiana University, which is a beautiful campus in Bloomington. Four of us from FSU attended: Mike, Lori, Ian, and myself.
Most participants stayed in the hotel located in the Indiana Memorial Union. However, Mike, Lori, and I were part of 12 people who did not get rooms and had to stay further into town. (Ian got lucky and was upgraded to one at the last minute.) While this may seem like an inconvenience, it turned out to be a really nice walk to and from the hotel. It also made for a great running path in the mornings.
All in all, I have to say I really enjoyed the connections I made with other professionals. While networking is often a goal of most conferences and experiences, this time I really felt connected to the people there. We also seemed to make friends really well with the delegation from the University of Delaware. Who knew? I also connected with a number of people who have jobs similar to mine, and now we can connect, commiserate, and celebrate together. I can only hope that we will truly have a new network of people on which to rely as we navigate our careers in higher education.
I also felt like I really was able to take away much from our sessions and the experience as a whole. I gained a number of good ideas, tips, and tricks from the faculty and my peers. It was a great re-energizer (despite the fact that I am exhausted from travel). We also were able to learn much from the University of Indiana, and we were even able to tour a local brewery, Upland Brewing Co., to learn about their sustainability efforts and do a beer tasting! I was also able to have a geek moment when I had time to visit the Kinsey Institute. Amazing.
The most surprising thing was I now have a desire to learn more about ACUI and possibly get more involved with the association. (ACUI also hosted the Women's Leadership Institute I attended last December.) Luckily, the regional conference is going to be hosted at FSU this fall. So that will make things pretty easy!
We were part of a class of about 50 participants from around the country. The seminar was about five days, and we covered a wide range of topics from career development to sustainability to collaborations between operations and programmers. The program was hosted at Indiana University, which is a beautiful campus in Bloomington. Four of us from FSU attended: Mike, Lori, Ian, and myself.
Most participants stayed in the hotel located in the Indiana Memorial Union. However, Mike, Lori, and I were part of 12 people who did not get rooms and had to stay further into town. (Ian got lucky and was upgraded to one at the last minute.) While this may seem like an inconvenience, it turned out to be a really nice walk to and from the hotel. It also made for a great running path in the mornings.
All in all, I have to say I really enjoyed the connections I made with other professionals. While networking is often a goal of most conferences and experiences, this time I really felt connected to the people there. We also seemed to make friends really well with the delegation from the University of Delaware. Who knew? I also connected with a number of people who have jobs similar to mine, and now we can connect, commiserate, and celebrate together. I can only hope that we will truly have a new network of people on which to rely as we navigate our careers in higher education.
I also felt like I really was able to take away much from our sessions and the experience as a whole. I gained a number of good ideas, tips, and tricks from the faculty and my peers. It was a great re-energizer (despite the fact that I am exhausted from travel). We also were able to learn much from the University of Indiana, and we were even able to tour a local brewery, Upland Brewing Co., to learn about their sustainability efforts and do a beer tasting! I was also able to have a geek moment when I had time to visit the Kinsey Institute. Amazing.
The most surprising thing was I now have a desire to learn more about ACUI and possibly get more involved with the association. (ACUI also hosted the Women's Leadership Institute I attended last December.) Luckily, the regional conference is going to be hosted at FSU this fall. So that will make things pretty easy!
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