Catching Up on the Summer

Hey everyone. I'm back!

So, I find myself in a situation that I feel a little too familiar with - using one blog post to reminisce over a couple of months. Hoo boy. Unfortunately, I don't have the time to really go in-depth with everything, but I wanted to make the most of it being the first of the month.

Before my last post, there were a couple of times where I had place holder entries or alluded to something big happening that day. I'm probably not going to go back and write an entry from the perspective of that day, but I can remember at least two notable things happening. One was volunteering at a Special Olympics softball tournament for the Intro to Special Ed class. I ended up being an umpire for most of the day and it was honestly a good/fun experience. The other was going to the walk-in clinic for the first time in a very long time. Don't worry -- everything is okay. I had a ringing in my ear that ended up being a blockage from ear gunk. Kind of gross to talk about, but I'm glad I finally went in and had someone take a look at it. (I even got a home remedy on how to keep that from happening again.) Outside of that, I feel like everything I would have blogged about got discussed before July 6th.

Now, don't worry, I haven't been stuck in a hotel in Albert Lea for nearly two months. I did take a week-and-a-half to go up to Minnesota to see family and friends. I was at my grandparents' cabin for a few days, which included spending time with my grandparents, aunt, cousins, and even Tess joined us for a little bit. It was certainly nice to really feel distanced from work/campus/summer classes, although it was pretty buggy. After that, I went up to Bemidji to see people for a couple of days. It still feels odd to have big changes take place over a semester while I'm in Missouri. The biggest thing this time around was the new bowling alley. (I'm just glad I could find the new place okay although I did end up making two U-turns because I couldn't find the right side road.) After that, I stayed in the Cities for a little bit to see people there, which included a trip to Canterbury Downs, a horse racing track. It was the penultimate work day for one of my college friends, so a bunch of friends planned to go there as a celebration and I was able to tag along (which made it kind of a surprise for people, since I didn't really advertise my travel plans this time around). Similar to other visits, the few days in the Cities consisted of good food, good time with friends, and the question of "is there where I see myself living in a few years?". No definitive answer on that last part yet. Anyway.

The personal trip certainly flew by because by the 14th, I was back on campus starting the prep work for our new international students. Our students come back early so they can take an introductory college writing course before the school year. We also have various events/trips/programs planned to help them transition into living in Maryville/NW Missouri/the Midwest/the US. It's all wrapped up as the Cultural Transition Program. This is my third year taking point with it, so I feel like I've talked about it before, but eh, no harm mentioning the definitions again. Anyway, July 14th to August 25th feel like a blur because it was a week of prep work followed by three weeks of having the int'l students while doing staff training, and then student leader training proceeded by the two-week Bridge Program for all new MASMC students, and then classes started on the 26th. Working in Student Affairs, I've come to accept that August really doesn't exist like other months do, so that's why I don't feel too terrible about wrapping it up in one blog post.

I have 31 guys on my wing and I have high hopes for the year. Naturally, we're going to deal with expected topics, like learning how to actually study, keeping a room clean, and not separating into social groups based on a country of origin. At the same time, I've seen friendships forming and I think I have some returning students who will make fine role models for the new guys. We have two new staff members this year as well and I want to see how this year goes for them as well. (I will say that the first year can easily be the most challenging/oddest/weirdest year, while being quite rewarding when it's all said and done.) I'm changing up some of my responsibilities - most notably, I won't be in charge of Math Team or Envirothon this year (*holding back the non-sarcastic tears*) and I am the Academy spokesperson for RHA this year.

I was off-duty today and while I really didn't do much, I think I needed to have a day to re-charge because 7/14-8/25 is a very long time to go in one run. I'm chaperoning the Labor Day Shuttle Weekend shuttle, so I should definitely get some rest. If I think of things I missed from the past two months, I'll write about them tomorrow. Yes, since we're starting to get back into the normal school year, I'm going to go back to daily blogging. Part of me hopes to remember something I forgot because otherwise my entry could simply be summed up by "I was on a bus".

Oh man, I'm so behind on the holidays. Similar to the entries, I think it's just best to look forward to the future. September is Self-Improvement Month, which is certainly what I want to do over the next 30 days. Let's do this.

Alright, glad to be back. Here's looking towards tomorrow. Good night! DFTBA