Fall 2010 and Prospects for 2011

(Hmm... a lot of my older entries have started with me saying something like "wow, it's been a while since I've been on here"... I think my only way to be original with this subject is to comically talk about how many times I talk about not blogging...)

OH! You're here! Sorry, I was in my own world for a moment there. I might as well start with the bad news to get it over with... cheese. (It may be odd, but hey, at least it kept me from ending a sentence with a preposition.) Sadly, the grid project is no longer active because things just got way too busy for me. Plus, it felt like some days were a stretch on being something "new" since a day for me could involve driving to and from Kansas City for a math competition, which is getting to be old hat for me.

The good news is that I'm still alive! Yay, yipee!... Since I have been offline for roughly four months, I might as well give you some highlights on fall semester.

-The Math team did fairly well over the fall semester and I've already been able to get schools interested in attending our competition in February.
-I created a video scavenger hunt event called Acadacathalonomania similar to Tricadecathalonomania, but more catered for the Academy students. Trica is a 24-hour long hunt with a list of 288 items to find, do, make, and answer. Acadacathalonomania (still working on a nickname) was an 8-hour hunt with a 100-item list. The students had a blast and the videos they came up with were awesome! One of the guys on my wing wants to help with getting a spring Acadacathalonomania together, so this definitely won't be the last time you're hearing about the madness.
-I helped a student create an Envirothon team on campus (think Quiz Bowl + DNR) and the team kicked butt at regionals.
-The FIRST Robotics team got grants from JCPenney and IBM AND started to compete in a second competition (over the course of a school year). The fall semester competition (FIRST Tech Challenge, FTC for short) is definitely simpler than our other competition (FIRST Robotics Challenge, FRC for short) and we ended up doing fairly well at the St Louis competition.
-I took the GRE during the students' finals week. The vocab kicked my butt, but I made a killing on the math section. I still have to go and actually apply for grad school, but I feel much better having that out of the way.
-Over winter break, I was able to be in Fargo, Bemidji, St Cloud, and St Paul. I was able to see lots of people (lots of high school friends were in the Bemidji area around Christmas and lots of college friends were in the MSP area around New Years, so it worked out really well) and it was just an awesome time.

I'm not sure if I had said this in my September entries, but I am really glad to be back for a second year at the Academy. It's good to actually know what I'm doing this time around. Of course, working with students and planning events are things you can constantly work on, but I don't have to balance that with figuring out how to complete a Visa statement or where to fuel the vans. It feels like I'm starting to come into my own, in regards to being an RC.

So, now that I've looked back on the past four months, it feels right to look ahead to the year at our feet. We may be three weeks in, but 2011 still has so much to offer. Of course, I know I'm going to be busy with Math Team, Science Olympiad, Robotics, Envirothon, Acadacathalonomania, wing activities, and other stuff, but this is definitely a good fit and I think each crazy situation gives me (1) experience for next time (2) perspective when other crazy situations come up (3) a good war story (4) some combination of (1), (2), and (3).

To get the year going on a good foot, I went ahead and wrote up some New Year's Resolutions. Would you like to read about them? You would!? Awesome!

-Be More Deliberate about Staying in Touch
--I will be the first one to admit that I lose touch with people when I'm not living in the same town as them. Fortunately, people are very understanding and when I say "hey, we should keep in touch more", several people have responded, "yeah! that sounds awesome!". The resolution also includes writing letters to various family members and friends. It feels nice to get a piece of mail from someone and I hope the people I write to can say the same thing, even though I type my letters up.

-Be More Health Conscious
--Now, this feels like a better goal to have than something like "lost 15 pounds", especially when you look at my, uh... goal pieces. (I broke down all my goals into measurable pieces so I really know if I'm achieving the goal or not.) I'm currently in a weight loss/healthy lifestyle competition at the community center as part of a team with 3 co-workers. It's only the second week, but I know this will be a good experience for me. My biggest challenge is balancing the time so I can get over to the fitness center on a regular basis.

-Be More Food Savvy
--If you asked me about my winter break, a usual synopsis would include making filled cupcakes with college friends for the New Years party we hosted. I think that helping with that gave me the "cooking bug", because now I want to learn how to cook. Part of it was the fun factor, but I also want to cook so I can have that control on my diet (especially when it comes to things like variety, healthiness, and availability). I know I'm not very experienced, but even things like boxed dinners and "plop and bake" items feel like a good thing to start to do. (For example, dinner tonight was tuna noodle hotdish with breadsticks and peas and carrots.) One of my goal bits is to try out a new recipe every three weeks, so you will definitely be hearing more about that in the future. (I may even do a blog entry soon as a base level on my cooking skills.)

-Be More Involved in the Community
--Simply put, I want to get out of the building and get involved. Yes, it's a small town, but there are still places I want to explore and groups of people I want to get to know more. Plus, spending time out of the building is a good move for my sanity.

-Be Less Stressed
--I think the earlier resolutions will help with this category, but at the same time, I need to make sure that I am taking time for myself. I mean, if I'm not having fun at my job, then is it for me? Another part of this is keeping organized and finally figuring out a really good organizational layout for my apartment. (Even though it's not spring cleaning, I feel the need.)

-Be Striving for the Future
--Whether it's grad school, money stuff, or a car, there are some big steps in my future and this is a great space for me to figure that stuff out. Those three things will probably get figured out in that order and while getting a car may take more than a year, I want to get that ball rolling.

(Oh, and I'm pretty sure keeping up-to-date with the blog is included in resolutions 1 and 5, so I'm hoping to stay on top of this too.)

I was contemplating doing a decade in review or something of that sort, but I think this is a good place to stop for tonight. I'm off today (Wed) and... today (Th) so I have some time to relax while knocking things off my to do list. Plus, I think I'm going to have to try out a recipe for cinnamon sugar pretzels tomorrow.

Here's to 2011!