During the first week of June, I was taking time to hang out with the students who were still around. So, sometimes I'd play video games with them or go to eat with them or just talk. On Friday, I flew back to Minneapolis to attend my co-worker's wedding in Wausau. I stayed in the Cities and then Becky and I drove out bright and early on Saturday. The directions to the church had a pretty vague step so we ended up overshooting Wausau the first time (because none of the exits matched what we were looking for). We grabbed lunch because we were both really hungry and then we decided to just go back to Wausau, pick a random exit, and ask for the directions. Meanwhile, we were talking about the time we were driving to Kansas City to find Dave & Buster's and I took an exit that just felt right even though it wasn't the right name. It turned out to be the right one, and we were talking about how it wouldn't happen a second time in Wisconsin. So, I took a random exit and found a gas station. Becky went to ask directions and came out with a beaming smile on her face about 10 seconds later. "How the heck do you do that?" were the first words out of her mouth, because we were only a few blocks from the church.
We made it in the nick of time and the ceremony was nice. My co-worker looked amazing in her dress and my only "huh" moment was that the ceremony was only 45 minutes and didn't include a full mass (then again, the only weddings I've been to are family weddings with pews of cousins where it's always a full mass). The reception was nice, they arranged a buffet dinner, and it was a nice atmosphere. There was dancing although I didn't dance a whole lot. We had a table-and-a-half of co-workers and guests although the other table up and left shortly after dinner because they all wanted to make the drive back to Missouri that night. We turned in a decent time and Becky and I just hung out in our hotel room for the rest of the night. (We tried to stream Warehouse 13 but the wireless was a little too stressed.)
The next day included a number of bad directions, delayed flights, and I ended up waiting at the airport for a few hours for a new ride to come and pick me up, since my original plan included a co-worker who got stuck in Chicago for the night (which I still feel bad about). Oh, before we left Wausau, Becky and I attended a Spanish mass at the same church we went to the day before. Everyone had a little green book that had the prayers/readings/music in Spanish on the right page and English on the left. Everything was in there except for the homily, which was a free run of course. Going to a Spanish mass really made a thought click regarding the immersion our Korean and Panamanian students have when they get here. Of course, the students have all studied English and passed a level of proficiency, but at the same time, if I had known Spanish in the classroom, I'm not sure how well I would have done because when you're in the real world, people talk a mile a minute (like this blog. ha!).
So that was the first weekend. Fortunately for your eyes' sake, the week wasn't that eventful. It was getting errands done, cleaning up around here, playing racquetball at the rec center, and staying cool.
On Friday and Saturday (2 and 3 days ago), I helped out with Orientation sessions, so I got to meet a number of incoming first-year students. One of the reasons I'm excited for next year is that I'll know people and have those connections but I can also really see how this class grows as they go through the program. A number of people I talked to expressed interest with Robotics specifically so that made me happy. (Some for the Math Team and Science Olympiad but it felt less prominent with the sampling of people I talked to.)
The 365days project has been going well. I have jumped in with a Flickr group that's solely people who started the project in June. I was in a similar group back in 2007 and it was great to have that support of people who were going through the milestones and mind blanks at relatively the same time. My most acclaimed picture by far was Day 11 when I used the TRP (The Rogue Players, who highlight different groups everyday as a way to give people ideas) theme of finger guns along with a clone shot.
It's the first time I've really been able to pull off a clone shot, all done with just MS Paint. I'm currently having a week-long theme of POV shots, where the pictures are a point-of-view from an inanimate object. The objects have been dirty laundry, a tennis ball, an umbrella, a window screen, frozen vegetables, and a fly on the wall. I have an idea for tomorrow to finish the theme but I won't spoil it just yet.
Well, as the title of this post says, this is my last night in Missouri. I'll be heading back to Minnesota tomorrow with a night's stay in West Des Moines. It feels like I've had summer for the past two weeks, but it also feels like my summer starts tomorrow. I'm coming back here on July 24, so I have a month or so to enjoy, and that time period is being broken in many pieces... some for family, some for college friends, some for road tripping, and some to just spend at home. If you do follow Flickr, I guarantee you that you will see pictures of the new puppy (new to only me at this point because my parents have had her for a couple of months now).
I should head out. I'm figuring that my packing will take place tomorrow before my ride comes, so I should get a full night's rest before then. Hope you're all doing well and if you're in the Bemidji/Minneapolis/St Cloud/Pine River/Chicago/South Bend area at some point over the summer, let me know because we could plan something out. Ta ta!
More Internet videos!
Animation - Contra vs Tennis (same people as Russian Pac-Man vs Mario)
Funny - I Could Care Less English PSA
Current Events (funny) - BP Spills Coffee
Music (sorta) - Jellyfish
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