Holi-daze

Works is hard over the holiday season.

Not only is it the biggest and busiest time of year for society at large, it doubles when you're in charge of a residence hall. SO many things to do, not to mention trying to be on top of my normal human holiday activities. So harsh. SO exciting :)

Thanksgiving Time

We're approximately two days out from the Thanksgiving/Fall break. I'm uber-excited. Even though I'm on call, and can't go anywhere, it'll be SO nice to have some more relaxing time. Don't get me wrong, I love my job. The students are great, the staff are fantastic, the general work environment is conducive to my success... all the important things I could want. But, everyone has his or her breaking points. I'm not breaking, but I know it's a good time for a recharge.

Who knows? I might eve step up to the plate and test my cooking skills with some traditional Thanksgiving foodstuffs. No promises, but I know it'll be an adventure either way.

I'm Back Baby!

That's some bad hat, Harry.

The Saints are 8-0. Seriously. Tell the Rob who started this blog back in July that his Saints would be 8-0, and he'd dismiss you as a weirdo. A cool weirdo from the future, but a weirdo nonetheless. Other unseen happenings since then:

1. Where The Wild Things Are was just weird, man. I didn't get it.

2. Best movie so far this fall: Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs.

3. Hardest transition so far: getting my workout schedule figured out.

4. Best part of my apartment: kitchen. Definitely the kitchen. I'm a culinary boy wonder.

5. I've bought every season of House and Psych. Not weird, but a significant happening nonetheless.

6. Being on-call as a professional is easy.

7. Large departments can be frustrating.

8. People are still afraid of technology. Even in-house IT guys.

9. I make an awesome Snoopy.

10. I love, and hate, and love football.

Day 1

Training began today! Woo!

Okay, so the general administrivia that begins any job would hardy be cause for celebration, I know. I'm just glad to have something concrete and constructive to work on. There's little glamor in filling out yet another W-2, but I gladly signed my address multiple times and forfeited my services for the next fiscal year :)

I also relished the beauty of my real, legitimate parking pass. Not that there's much glory in having MY OWN PARKING SPACE or anything... I'd better not let this power recklessly go to my head. We were also SUPPOSED to get our ID cards (and thus, the power to purchase food), but alas, it was not to be. The resulting "you can get it tomorrow" was hardly consolation, having put so much time into my appearance today. I didn't look like an unshaved scrub, for once. Oh well. Guess I'll have to put that much attention in tomorrow morning as well. Then I can go back to being a slob.

Training itself was fun. The presenters today did an excellent job of 1. keeping us awake, entertained, involved, etc., and 2. forcing us to actively engage in the materials: asking questions, encouraging follow-up thoughts, etc. All in all, a well-organized day. I hope there are many more like it in the month and year to come.

A large portion was spent playing games: ice breakers, team builders, etc. Since I might find them useful in the immediate and far future, I'm going to collect the summaries here and tag the entry, helping with future game reference ideas.

BOOM Game

Circle up. Leader says someone's name. That person ducks. Individuals on either side of person must shout "boom" at each other. Slower one is eliminated. Ducking individual is also eliminated if he or she fails to duck. Moves fast.

King Toad

Circle up, seated. King Toad has hand motion, everyone else picks accordingly (eel, ocean, chicken, etc.). Last person is always "Riblor coming at a bad time." Volley the hand signals ("King toad, Snake. Snake, Giraffe. Giraffe, Ocean") until someone messes up. They are the new Riblor, and all others cycle upward.

30 Second Ad Campaign

Assign teams. Give one random object to each team (teddy bear). Team must come up with alternative use for product. New name, slogan, jingle, etc. Judges involved as teams present to group. All done within 3 minutes max time.

Coffee Pot

Individual leaves the room after hearing directions. Group comes up with action (eg, "changing a flat tire"). Individual comes back in and must ask questions to decipher question, based on questions asked of group. Must use the phrase "coffee pott-ing" instead of actual action when asking questions. ("Mike, have you coffee-potted today?")

The Brain

Similar to The Sphinx from my A&M days. Maybe prepping the individuals ahead of time would yield more desirable results.

Tic-Toc

Seated in circle, group passes around small ball/object. Dialogue is a train that always cycles back to and from the original player.

A: This is a Tic

B: A What?

A: A Tic

B: Oh, a Tic! (then, to C): This is a Tic

C: A what?

B (to A): A what?

A: A Tic

B (to C): A Tic

C: Oh, a Tic! etc. etc. etc.

Once group has "Tic" down, send the "Toc" the other way and watch the paths cross.

The games were fun, and helped us transition into more discussions. At the end of the day, we met Frankie at the Columns, where he read his sentimental pieces about who we are and why we do the things we do. Popsicles really hit the spot. I'm going to have to start bringing my camera around to more things. Seriously. I'm slacking. :)

Higher Education... Hired!

I got the job.

After months of searching, posting, emailing, conference-ing, phone chatting, airport-hopping, and waiting... it came. I received an offer to work as a Residence Hall Coordinator at the University of Missouri's Mark Twain Hall. It's the one they showed me during my visit there. It's a tad old (very 1970's entryway... fabulous) and up for maintenance in a year and a half or so, but it's perfect for me. The apartment inside is easily 2 or 3 times the size of my old rooms in Willkie.

I'm also excited about the working environment waiting for me in Columbia. The other RC's that I've met the past few weeks are young, energetic, dynamic, social, and upbeat. They seem like a group that is a wonderful blend of close friends and people with lives outside their work: exactly what I need in this first job. I know I can handle the work (it's essentially the same thing I've done for two years now), but handling myself in a new place depends entirely upon my initiative and personal ventures. I'm looking forward to new opportunities, new friends, new football games (I hear that we can be ON THE FIELD), and new challenges.

It's hard to believe that 8 years ago I was prepping for my Italy trip, before a single day of college. I suppose I've come full-circle now, getting back to the Big XII, and I hope that I'm able to improve on my skills and performance levels. I know that with this job comes more interactions with parents, coordinating with other administrators, and the bad moments of hiring and firing; but I feel prepared and eager to get going.

So until Friday afternoon comes around, it's pack pack pack around my parents' house in Alabama. At least the food is free here :)