So, yet another fun week in the land of APU
· I got to hang with Owl, Eagles, and Ravens…on campus for Earth Day. Never been 2 feet from a bald eagle, but wow, they are impressive.
· I have learned to multi task. I can now crap my pants and mace a bear at the same time. I was trained on how to mace a bear, in case you know, it attacks…so I am proud of my new ability to stand my ground as my bowels spill at the onslaught of a bear coming to maul me…help me…
· I had Easter dinner at a college friend’s house. Awesome time, good to reunite, good to bond with some new folks.
· Met my first old lady who was packing heat. I was in line at the grocery store and she was looking for her ID while she was in line. She emptied her bag at the register and beamed with pride as her little .22 revolver fell out and the cashier handed it back to her… I was less than thrilled…
· Found me some Marionberry ice cream, pie, and licorice this week…HEAVEN
· My good friend from college put their wedding website up and their save the dates went out…excited about being in their wedding in November.
· You know Parking on campus is fun..It is everyone’s favorite office on campus…I get to be that guy…in charge of parking..so this shall be fun…I get to turn parking into something manageable and hopefully not get yelled at by too many people…
· I bought an Alaskan Atlas…I am such a nerd, but it excites me to see the entire state and how vast it is and how I am gonna get to most places, unlike my monoisland nature of being in Hawaii.
· Started dating this fabulous woman who is a faculty member at UAA. More to come on this later J
· Biking to work is fun, can be a little cold, but for at least 3 more week, it will be me, then hopefully when it rains I can drive, but biking is working so far
Sunday, May 8, 2011
1st Update
So, at the end of my first week, I thought I would send you all a few notes from my very new and fun experiences in Alaska.
· Tuesday it snowed all day/Wednesday it was 35 degrees, bright and warm and sunny/Thursday it was 75 MPH winds and COLD/Friday it was gorgeous and clear, the Chugach Mountains around the campus showed their true faces and it was breathtaking
· Not being responsible for a building, students, or a duty phone….epic….until next week, when I start my rotation of being on call for the University as a whole…every 3 weeks…but we scheduled out duty through January and I have 10 weeks of being the last line of defense and having to be within 15 minutes of campus. But..I do not have to carry an additional phone, just forward it to my personal phone
· I met all the students at the last all hall meeting for the year. They introduced me and the students asked me much I support Obama and if I was a surfer…LOL…Palin does not rule up here…but some people do support her more than they do Mr. Barack.
· I was approached by the student who is bringing her sled dogs to campus this weekend. We went and saw the kennels, the fence, and the dog area…right by the residence halls in the woods, and right next to my office…Only in Alaska! 7 dogs now live on campus for the next 3 weeks, to see if this will work and turn into a class for the Fall. Sled Mushing 101….Steph Welin..let me know when you will be up to do quality control
· I get to go two hours south this weekend to Seward, on the south coast as the staff/faculty person responsible for the students going to the Sea Center to go on a field trip to see whales, seals, and other Alaskan aquatic wildlife…even a polar bear!
· I am driving a friend’s jeep Cherokee (yes Liz, part of my dream is being realized) and I love it..
· No apartment yet, but on the heels of a nice house in which I get to chop wood and clear the snow in the winter for a discount on my rent J
· I have to get my Alaska Driver’s license next week, then I can attempt to start driving the Campus Safety vehicle…the stickshift…ughh
· I will be in a weeklong FEMA training course with UAA, so I get to hang with their campus police and res life next week. Should be entertaining as hell..FEMA…I had to take online courses this week to be certified as a team leader….go team…let’s defend against mother nature.
· I will get to advise their version of RHA starting in the Fall…J
· Tuesday it snowed all day/Wednesday it was 35 degrees, bright and warm and sunny/Thursday it was 75 MPH winds and COLD/Friday it was gorgeous and clear, the Chugach Mountains around the campus showed their true faces and it was breathtaking
· Not being responsible for a building, students, or a duty phone….epic….until next week, when I start my rotation of being on call for the University as a whole…every 3 weeks…but we scheduled out duty through January and I have 10 weeks of being the last line of defense and having to be within 15 minutes of campus. But..I do not have to carry an additional phone, just forward it to my personal phone
· I met all the students at the last all hall meeting for the year. They introduced me and the students asked me much I support Obama and if I was a surfer…LOL…Palin does not rule up here…but some people do support her more than they do Mr. Barack.
· I was approached by the student who is bringing her sled dogs to campus this weekend. We went and saw the kennels, the fence, and the dog area…right by the residence halls in the woods, and right next to my office…Only in Alaska! 7 dogs now live on campus for the next 3 weeks, to see if this will work and turn into a class for the Fall. Sled Mushing 101….Steph Welin..let me know when you will be up to do quality control
· I get to go two hours south this weekend to Seward, on the south coast as the staff/faculty person responsible for the students going to the Sea Center to go on a field trip to see whales, seals, and other Alaskan aquatic wildlife…even a polar bear!
· I am driving a friend’s jeep Cherokee (yes Liz, part of my dream is being realized) and I love it..
· No apartment yet, but on the heels of a nice house in which I get to chop wood and clear the snow in the winter for a discount on my rent J
· I have to get my Alaska Driver’s license next week, then I can attempt to start driving the Campus Safety vehicle…the stickshift…ughh
· I will be in a weeklong FEMA training course with UAA, so I get to hang with their campus police and res life next week. Should be entertaining as hell..FEMA…I had to take online courses this week to be certified as a team leader….go team…let’s defend against mother nature.
· I will get to advise their version of RHA starting in the Fall…J
2nd Update
So, there was a positive response to my last update, and a request to send regular ones, so here goes…
· FEMA training all week..I am now certified to help run an incident command center regulated by the federal government…Ali and Steph, I do not know which was more interesting…Department of Justice Training or FEMA training…either way…shoot me now..
· I saw my first Moose face to face last night…I was walking back from the APU/UAA joint drag show and there it was…sitting on the trail back to campus..I was 20 yards from it, staring at it..and yeah…Moose..
· The sled dogs…driving me crazy! I get woken up about every 90 minutes as they are howling at the moon and restless at night. I fear that the trial is about to get pulled as the complaints are piling up..Sorry Miss Welin…you’ll have to deal with mere pictures of them.
· I found an apartment for the summer. I am living in a 3 bedroom duplex, subletting from a former UH and Laulima resident! I went to check it out and liked it and had a feeling I had seen her before and we found out that she lived in Laulima last year (Rachel Carey, she’s from Anchorage) and her boyfriend lived in Frear…so random! She was so excited that someone responsible was renting her place, that she let me have it on the spot. So, being an RD does pay off with housing, after you leave it!
· I officially miss the trade winds…the nice gentle breezes…now I get frigid cold swaths of arctic air, burning my nose with freshness.
· Reindeer and Moose are tasty…a little gamey…but that is expected.
· I was volunteered to be on several committees after they hired me. I just found out today all of them…lol..I will be a busy beaver this summer planning Orientation Leader Training, Convocation, Risk Management for the everyday Alaskan Student, etc… Lesson of the day, don’t miss meetings or else they will volunteer you…or more likely, ask to be CC’ed on emails before you arrive, so you know what you’ve been volunteered for!
· I am now a name brand shopper…Columbia, Marmot, Mountain Hard Wear, North Face…all the spring sales are awesome and I can now walk to work without freezing my butt off..Weird having to wear layers to work now.
· My boxes arrived today, so now I am all set
Frozen Aloha to all
· FEMA training all week..I am now certified to help run an incident command center regulated by the federal government…Ali and Steph, I do not know which was more interesting…Department of Justice Training or FEMA training…either way…shoot me now..
· I saw my first Moose face to face last night…I was walking back from the APU/UAA joint drag show and there it was…sitting on the trail back to campus..I was 20 yards from it, staring at it..and yeah…Moose..
· The sled dogs…driving me crazy! I get woken up about every 90 minutes as they are howling at the moon and restless at night. I fear that the trial is about to get pulled as the complaints are piling up..Sorry Miss Welin…you’ll have to deal with mere pictures of them.
· I found an apartment for the summer. I am living in a 3 bedroom duplex, subletting from a former UH and Laulima resident! I went to check it out and liked it and had a feeling I had seen her before and we found out that she lived in Laulima last year (Rachel Carey, she’s from Anchorage) and her boyfriend lived in Frear…so random! She was so excited that someone responsible was renting her place, that she let me have it on the spot. So, being an RD does pay off with housing, after you leave it!
· I officially miss the trade winds…the nice gentle breezes…now I get frigid cold swaths of arctic air, burning my nose with freshness.
· Reindeer and Moose are tasty…a little gamey…but that is expected.
· I was volunteered to be on several committees after they hired me. I just found out today all of them…lol..I will be a busy beaver this summer planning Orientation Leader Training, Convocation, Risk Management for the everyday Alaskan Student, etc… Lesson of the day, don’t miss meetings or else they will volunteer you…or more likely, ask to be CC’ed on emails before you arrive, so you know what you’ve been volunteered for!
· I am now a name brand shopper…Columbia, Marmot, Mountain Hard Wear, North Face…all the spring sales are awesome and I can now walk to work without freezing my butt off..Weird having to wear layers to work now.
· My boxes arrived today, so now I am all set
Frozen Aloha to all
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Sled dogs on campus?
So today, I was given more direction on my new position...Yay!!
But there are a few nice things to talk about as well.
Everyone has been particularly nice. SO nice in fact, I wonder if it's all real up here.. Students are stopping by, introducing themselves and feeling me out to see how legit I am..impressed with folks's niceties...
Was asked to chaperone an event in Seward soon...been to lots of programs, with more to come this weekend...got my on-calls down until September.. 8 weeks of lockdown...but it will be all worth it..
Got hit with a new one today...a husky/musher kennel project...on campus...housing 7 dogs on campus in a kennel...student fought for a chance to make it a reality...now its in a trial period...should be interesting....
How many college campuses do you know of, with a sled dog kennel on campus? I am pretty sure that this would be a first...
But there are a few nice things to talk about as well.
Everyone has been particularly nice. SO nice in fact, I wonder if it's all real up here.. Students are stopping by, introducing themselves and feeling me out to see how legit I am..impressed with folks's niceties...
Was asked to chaperone an event in Seward soon...been to lots of programs, with more to come this weekend...got my on-calls down until September.. 8 weeks of lockdown...but it will be all worth it..
Got hit with a new one today...a husky/musher kennel project...on campus...housing 7 dogs on campus in a kennel...student fought for a chance to make it a reality...now its in a trial period...should be interesting....
How many college campuses do you know of, with a sled dog kennel on campus? I am pretty sure that this would be a first...
Monday, April 4, 2011
Aloha Hard!
All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go, I'm standin' here outside your door
I hate to wake you up to say goodby, But the dawn is breakin' it's early morn
The taxi's waitin' he's blowein' his horn, Already I'm so lonesome I could die
So kiss me and smile for me, Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go, Cause I'...m leavin' on a jet plane
Don't know when I'll be back again
Aloha Hawaii, you've been good to me...A hui hou kakou, mahalo nui loa! Cheeeeeehooooo my bradahs and sistas!
I hate to wake you up to say goodby, But the dawn is breakin' it's early morn
The taxi's waitin' he's blowein' his horn, Already I'm so lonesome I could die
So kiss me and smile for me, Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go, Cause I'...m leavin' on a jet plane
Don't know when I'll be back again
Aloha Hawaii, you've been good to me...A hui hou kakou, mahalo nui loa! Cheeeeeehooooo my bradahs and sistas!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Shaka on!
Since 2004 I have left Oregon State, Fort Lewis College, University of Southern California, and now the University of Hawaii-Manoa for new opportunities and the hardest goodbye by far has been leaving my RHA students behind....thank you for the celebration tonight...Shaka on RHA, Shaka on!
Saturday, March 26, 2011
New Beginnings
Moving to Anchorage at the end of the month...a few more days left in Honolulu.
I decided with a help of a friend, that I am going to start writing on here more often and with a story a week to regale to the world.
So, in the new future, look out for a new story...mostly funny happenings to me or my friends, but mostly stupid situations I have put myself in or things I have witnessed...
I decided with a help of a friend, that I am going to start writing on here more often and with a story a week to regale to the world.
So, in the new future, look out for a new story...mostly funny happenings to me or my friends, but mostly stupid situations I have put myself in or things I have witnessed...
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