BFFAEAEAE!

I beasted that thing today!

Since I have been extremely productive at work today (see to-do list) I decided I could take a few minutes to blog...

This is us at our very last semi-formal.

 Kai, who I refuse to call Kaitlin, is coming for a visit. Everyone, meet Kai --->
. I'm pretty excited because unlike the last time she visited we can actually hang out somewhere besides my room. We will also be going to IKEA which will be the first time Kim and I have ever been. I am anxious because I if I am not impressed by the awesomeness of IKEA I am going to be letting a lot of people down. And I tend to do that, not let people down, but dislike things that everyone else seems to really like.  Like The Hangover. I'm pretty sure I never laughed once during the entire movie. I don't know what that says about me but I like to think that it means that I am not afraid to go against the crowd but to more pretentious I think what it means is that America likes really dumb things. 

I know you love it but I just don't.

 Speaking of dumb things I got the weirdest e-mail today. I checked the e-mail for one of my programs today and I found this gem in the inbox.

In case you can't read it, it is a form that instructors are supposed to fill out and send back to us to let us know how the student they referred is doing in the class it reads as follows...
Instructor's Name: uu uu
Class:                      uu
Section:                   uu
Student's Name:     uu uu
Have you noticed a difference in the student's performance since the intervention? uu8uu

I don't understand. I feel like this is Sesame Street. Today's form is brought to you by the letter "U" and the number "8".  Is there a secret message here I am supposed to figure out or just a computer error? I just panicked and deleted it. Don't judge.

And now because after taking a field trip to Starbucks I kinda forgot what else I was going to write about here are some pictures I had loaded to talk about...

This is me and Kai our sophomore year.  Young and innocent, actually, more like old and cynical at this point.

This was a few months ago at our dorm retreat. c/o 2010. We are winners.

You should get to know these people as well. I'll probably blog about them at some point. Left to right... Wyatt: studying to go to law school, Kayla: just graduated with her MSW a few weeks ago, Me: obviously, Kai: at VA Tech for a masters in English, and Laura: going to Penn State in the fall for her PhD in English and also skydiving today. (Laura bequeathed me her cat if her parachute didn't open which I really hope doesn't happen.)

This is Orange, Laura's cat, possibly the best cat ever.

And finally...

You better not be disappointing.

Lessons Learned from Yarn: third edition

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday I spent my time in the yarn store organizing the yarn. You might not think this sounds particularly difficult and maybe it's not but it is time consuming. It's hard to see what a mess the store can be until you see it nice and neat. When Lara originally asked me to straighten up the shelves I didn't think that it really needed it but after I started I realized how much of a mess everything is. I wish I had thought to snap a picture before hand but here is one wall after being organized. 

It really made me think about trying to categorize things, specifically students. We want them to fit into these little boxes that we have constructed for them but in reality it never works that way. Sometimes there are too many skeins for just one box so we have to split them up into smaller groups. Sometimes there is not enough yarn to fill a box and we might need to combine the contents of two boxes. Notice that one little shelf on the top that is only half-full? I ran out dividers about half-way through the project meaning that I had to live with sad looking boxes until we can get some more. Another big problem is that in an effort to display all the colors of one yarn that we might have there in always one or two colors that we only have one skein of making it very difficult to display properly. I just didn't feel like they fit into the scheme.  I also found a lot of skeins that didn't have homes. Maybe all of their kindred skeins had been sold or maybe they were hidden but I have now been left with a huge basket full of orphan skeins. I was really tempted to dump them all in the sale bin (even though that's not really my choice). But then I had to ask myself if the skeins really lost any of their value just because they didn't fit nicely into my organization scheme. 

I think this tends to happen a lot with students. If they don't fit perfectly into a certain population they can be over looked or devalued because no one knows what to do with them. I learned that the easiest way to tackle this project was to literally dump everything out and start from scratch (trying to rearrange things Jenga-style doesn't work so well with yarn, especially if it is partially unraveled.) We should always be evaluating what we are doing and how we can be doing it better, sometimes this means dumping out everything and just starting from scratch. Strangely enough, just as I had finished a customer came in who remarked on the fact that we had rearranged. Her first words upon entering were "Ohh... you guys have totally rearranged since I was last in here." When asked if she was looking for anything in particular so that perhaps I could help locate it she said she wasen't and proceeded to browse. My impression from her first statement was that she was dismayed that she might not be able to find what she was looking for, but no, she was just distraught that it was not something she was used to. I guess the moral of the story here is that not everyone is open and willing to accept change but just like all this new shelf space I was able to make, sometimes you have to change in order to create room to grow.

Moving is no fun

This weekend my parents came down to help me move into the new apartment. Even after making trips all week long by myself it still took several trips for us to get it all with five of us. Saturday we spent some time getting furniture. One of our family friends was nice enough to send a chair along with my family. We were able to get a nice couch (made in Hickory as my mom keeps pointing out) and a chair for $125. After a little cleaning and rearranging we were good to go.

I know the picture is a little blurry but it's nice and comfy and looks great. Trying to work full-time and move is stressful. It also has put a huge dent in my bank account.  Kim and I had to go out and buy a lot of random things like pots, a vacuum cleaner, a book shelf, curtains, chairs for the patio, and food. There has also been a lot of cleaning. Kim and I are both thrilled though. Now we just need Ashley to come back from Boston to complete the apartment!

Also, Kai is coming to visit this weekend so that will be nice. Clearly, I am a terrible bff because this will be her second trip to Columbia and I have yet to visit Blacksburg. In my defense though, there is nothing to do there. We are planning a trip to Ikea, it will be the first time ever going for me and Kim. So that is exciting. And maybe a day trip to Charleston. We might just decide to lay out though.

Summer Reading List

I have a rather hefty library to move this week. I literally only brought 5 books with me to grad school and somehow I have managed to hike that number to closer to 50. This along with a rather large pile back home just waiting to be read is rather daunting but I can't help it, I just love books.  I have been thinking about getting a Kindle to cut down on the amount of space all my books are taking up and while I do like them there is something to be said for being able to physically hold a book in your hands, turn the pages, and lay it down satisfied when you are done. Maybe I should use the library more.

My summer reading list is getting pretty long. I just finished The Help just in time for the movie to come out. I recommend it to anyone who is looking for a quick read. It is funny, thought provoking, scandalous, and even sad at times.

Currently I am reading Banana: The Fate of the Fruit that Changed the World. Not exactly something that I would have picked up off the shelf but I got it for free at the FYE conference as a promotion for First Year Reading Experience books. I am really enjoying it. The author, Dan Koeppel, makes bananas accessible beyond just the grocery store. It kinda makes me wish I liked bananas more although it sounds like maybe I just haven't tried the right one yet.

p.s. Who knew bananas come in different colors? Also, carrots do too.

Next up on the list... Lady Chatterly's Lover. I have had this book forever and have just never gotten around to reading it.

Also, at some point I have to read No Impact Man. It is the Freshman read this year and as I will be co-teaching U101 it is a must.

On the recommendation of several people The Happiness Project. I think this will just be fun and a good read going into my second year of grad school.

I also stumbled across this wonderful find while looking for a picture of the banana book and after reading the first chapter online I am adding it to the list.  Spice: The History of Temptation. If you know me you know this clearly appeals to me because of the historical information and my love of anything naughty.

And a few Higher Ed. books including...

As well as some inspirations pieces....

Looks like I will be pretty busy.

I should be working but...

Today is not a day for me to be prolific. Nor is it really a day for me to get a lot of work done I think. Mostly I have just been printing things and highlighting which is not as exciting as it might seem.  So because I need to deviate from that for a bit I present several topics for you:

Why have you not graduated?
 As you may remember my brother just graduated this weekend.  I also had a good friend I was in high school with who graduated with my brother.  I realize that this may come off in a judgemental sort of way but I am just confused more than anything. So this young man was literally the brightest one in our class.  He was accepted to the School of Science and Math and could have gotten a full ride to any state school. Instead, he decided that he didn't want to do Physics. You heard me, "didn't want to do Physics." Not couldn't do physics, just didn't want to. So he came back to public school. Went to college on scholarship and just didn't go to class, didn't show up for the exams. Flunked out and came back home and I suppose eventually went on to community college. Not to say there is anything wrong with community college but this guy could have gone to any Ivy League he wanted and been brilliant but is just "too smart" in his own opinion to be tied down by normal educational routes. To give you a frame of reference we graduated in 2006. So five years later he has a two year degree and no job or ambitions to speak of. I don't get it. As someone who is working in student affairs, it is students like this that I have no clue how to work with. I have worked with several similar students this year who are very smart but just don't really seem to care about their education or have any desire to make an effort.

So here's to you for finally finishing!

Moving

This week I will be moving into a new apartment with two friends. I am rather excited as it means I will no longer live with a crazy person and Joel, who I am fish sitting, will no longer have to be afraid of the cats (or me either for that matter).

 Everone say hi to Joel!

 Last week when it was in the 90s this is what our thermostat was set to. Yes, 84 degrees.

This is just one of the many reason why I am so excited to me moving out this week. Another fun part of the moving process though is finding furniture. This weekend I spent most of Saturday searching for a livingroom furniture so that we don't have to sit on the floor all year. It has been an interesting adventure to say the least. 2 Targets, Walmart, and 1 real salvation army and 2 fake ones later I don't think we are really any closer to having an answer to the furniture issue. I'm going over to try and figure it out tonight.

So now after having wasted a little over an hour writing this and looking at craig's list I really should get back to work.

Lessons learned from yarn: Second Edition

In the past week I have made two sales on etsy! I sold 4 items to one customer and another set of wine glass covers to someone else. I was so excited.  I have been taking on a few other new projects besides wine glass covers and dish cloths. 

These picture were both made from yarn and I can't lie, I am pretty proud of them. I am currently working on a jellyfish as well that is turning out spectacularly well.  An old friend even wants to buy the elephant! Surprisingly, this doesn't take as long as you might think (except for some of the more tiny intricate parts) and is super cheap.  Unlike a regular yarn project you don't have to worry about the quality of the yarn, just the color.  For the jellyfish project I am going to be trying out different yarn textures and how they work together for the water. 

I have learned that patience is key to this project. While I don't have to count or worry about dropping any stitches I do wind up covered in glue and yarn babies (an adorable term I have adapted from my friend's use of the term  "thread babies" to describe the little bits of cut thread you will be covered in any time you sew). Much like anything else in life if you take your time you will end up with a beautiful product. The balloons, while they were my first attempt, are precisely done with careful care to cover every bit of canvas.  With the elephant, I got cocky and rushed through it, so now I have to go back and do some touch up work to cover holes.  

Lessons learned from yarn: slow down, take your time, do your best, and enjoy the journey.

Recognition

Sorry I fell behind there for while. That's why you get three posts today!


Last week was kind of crazy because I started my May job, we had Dr. Welsh's Last Lecture (so sad, love him!) and we also had out hooding ceremony for the graduating second years as well as my brother's portfolio show.

Dr. Mike Welsh and our fabulous second years! Congratulations guys, you made it!


Yesterday was really interesting. I just happened to catch SA chat on twitter. I can't lie, most of the time I find it annoying because for an hour my twitter is blowing up with tweets and retweets. Yesterday though, they were talking about one of my favorite subjects, Recognition. I just really enjoy encouraging people and telling them when they have done a great job.  I think a lot of that came from my dad. He is very open about telling me and my brother how proud he is of us when we have done a good job.  In fact, I love recognition so much that I wrote an article for publication on it called "Creating a Culture of Recognition".  Fingers crossed it gets picked up!  The exciting news though is that people wanted me to share it during sachat so I did and a lot of people responded really well to it. I also got a lot of follow request yesterday.

This is what it looks like when this many people are all looking at one google doc. It was a weird sensation to have that many people looking at my work.  There were also a lot of comments about the language "culture of recognition".  Everyone really seemed to respond to this well.  I think that in student affairs we do a lot to make sure we are continuously pouring into our students but we don't often take the time to recognize other professionals. You may argue that "of course we do, we have banquets and luncheons and all sorts of awards."  True, we might, but I really do believe that recognition is something that needs to happen more than just once a year.  It needs to happen constantly.  

One of the more interesting things that I read while researching the article is that recognition really works best when you reward others for working towards a common mission or goal.  I think that perhaps this is something that we can capitalize on.  We need to be specific about what we are calling recognition.  One of the questions yesterday was basically asking how we keep recognition from causing competition and the answer is simple. "Recognition is different from incentive. Incentives inspire competition. Recognition inspires personal challenge. " This got retweeted a lot!  Recognition I think is also different from appreciation.  I think that appreciation tend to be a little more private.  It is between you and the person that you are thanking (I know this may not be true in all cases but on the whole) while recognition is something that can be more public.

Speaking of public recognition is is also imperative that you have different ways to recognize people because not everyone likes public recognition.  One of the things we discussed was a form that my supervisor had me fill out before I started that asked how I liked to receive feedback and recognition.  While we were only together for 3 weeks I thought this was a highly novel idea because she was able to tailor her supervisory style to my needs from the get go.

I trust that you will hear more from me in the future about recognition. Until then check out the transcript of the sachat when it come out in the next few days here.

Shuttle People: What were they thinking?

I have created a new game specifically for the summer shuttle on the way to work in the mornings.  Welcome to Shuttle People: What were they thinking?.


I don't know why people that are here over the summer tend to be a little off but they are and I find it entertaining.  


So this week's edition of Shuttle People started out wonderfully.
The first day I saw this gentleman get on the shuttle with nothing but a gallon sized bag of candy. Seriously, nothing else. I know it is a little hard to see but the bag was huge. I was trying to imagine what he might be doing with such a large bag of candy and nothing else but since there tends to be a lack of small children on a college campus and practically all students are gone for the summer I was at a loss.  Also worthy of note, what you can't really see is that beside him the lovely young lady with the blue top on had a clearly visible hot pink bra on. Not kosher.

And yesterday we had this amazingness. Originally the guy in the middle was holding this branch but the woman asked to see it and when they bus came they got on with the small tree.  Of course it did not fit holding it upright so they took up three seats laying it across their laps with one at the base and one at the top.  Classy. Also worthy of noting here, the two gentlemen spent the whole time arguing about the plausibility of dissolving metal salts in alcohol.

So stay tuned for more episodes of Shuttle People: What were they thinking?

Graduation

Tomorrow my brother will be graduating and in honor of that I decided to show you guys what he has been doing for the past two years.  He is going to be graduating with a degree in graphic design.  He designed my banner for etsy (begrudgingly, after I spent two weeks asking him) so check that out.


Last weekend his class had their portfolio show and I snapped a couple of shots.

I think this is amazing. Clearly an ad for the NC Zoo and an ad they had to do for the World Health Organization.

His concept for a workout brand that they had to carry out over three pieces and an  ad for a magic shop, in case you can't read the writing.

This last one is probably my favorite. I just think it is so clever. Also I took a pic outside the museum. It was the city's night of art so you could hop on a trolly (A jolly trolly in fact, driven by out family friend Patrick.) and visit all the art museums. 

So I show you all of this so that you can see how cool he is and how talented he is. I am so proud of him and I know that he is going to go far with this skill.  If you see something you like just leave a comment and I can put you in contact with him.