This morning I traveled from Pittsburgh to Columbus, Ohio for my next chapter visit to Denison University. My flight was at 10:30 AM, and a chapter adviser was scheduled to pick me up from the chapter house at 8:30 AM....seemed simple enough.
All week, I had been trying to plan a meeting with Leanne, a Leadership Consultant from last year who now lives in Pittsburgh. The problem with recruitment visits is that my work day is 3 PM until 3 AM, and normal people work 9 AM-5 PM. We finally decided to meet up this morning at 7 AM for breakfast before I had to leave.
After a wonderful breakfast with Leanne, we started to head back to the chapter house, and roads were blocked EVERYWHERE. The Great Race was going on, so every major downtown road had been closed down for the runners. Leanne tried to go down just about every street, but we had no luck. She felt terrible, but she ended up dropping me off a few blocks away. While I was running back to the Kappa house, I called the adviser to figure out where she was at. She also, was confused with the road closures.
I grabbed my stuff from the Kappa house, and headed towards the adviser, who was on the other side of campus, at least a mile away. It was now 8:45 AM, and I wanted to get to the airport on time. With my two suitcases, briefcase, and business casual attire, I was running through campus and downtown Pittsburgh, looking like a complete fool.
By the time I finally found the adviser, it was 9:15 AM and the airport is half an hour away. Getting to the interstate to get to the airport was also confusing, adding at least another 10 minutes onto the trip. I arrived at the airport at 9:50, and as luck would have it, security lines were ridiculous, stretching at least 200 feet past the normal queue. I had come to terms with the fact that I was not going to make my 10:30 flight, and had already started to think about other options (the 2 PM flight, renting a car, etc.)
BUT I did make it with 5 minutes to spare before the plane door closed. It was a miracle if there ever was one.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
As I drove into Pittsburgh on Tuesday afternoon, we passed the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and the Carnegie Museum of Art, and I was immediately interested. I love museums, but my parents might disagree. As a child, I feel like we went to a lot of museums, and I did not appreciate many of them. I loved the science museums and anything hands-on, but art? Ick. I still find myself being drawn to sciencey-type museums, but my tastes have matured to also be accepting of art.
Since my Carnegie-Mellon visit was for recruitment, I knew I wouldn't have a lot of free time, but I was determined to find a few hours I could walk to the museum. And I did.
On Friday morning I got up early (9 AM) so I could get to the museums when they opened at 10. 9 AM might not sound early, but it is when you stay up until 3:30 AM voting and preparing for the next day of recruitment parties. I was free until 2:45 that afternoon, and if I was going to go to these museums, I wanted to have as much time as possible!
Here is a picture of the outside of the museum!
Admission was for both museums, but admittedly I spent more time in the Natural History Museum. Since I had gotten to the museum so early, I was one of very few people there. Almost immediately, I came to the grand staircase (pictured below). After snapping a few pictures, I had to figure out where I was going. I decided to start at the top and work my way down.
On the third floor was the Egyptian exhibit, Arctic exhibit, Native American exhibit, and a view over the Dinosaur exhibit. Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed in the Egyptian exhibit, but it was SO neat. They had all different aspects of Egyptian culture: boats, pottery, jewelry, tools, creation myths, royalty and army information, and of course pyramids and mummies (people and animals)! I was amazed by what this culture was able to do so many years ago. The pottery was beautifully glazed, jewelry was hand-crafted, and the thing that surprised me more than anything was that they had tweezers back then! I don't know why I find that so shocking, but I do. Also, I am completely grossed out by the mummies. Most of the mummies had x-rays, showing the bones of the mummified person/animal. Ick.
The next exhibit I came across was the Arctic exhibit. This is a real, stuffed polar bear, and some fishing scenery below!
Connected to the Arctic exhibit was the Native American exhibit. One literally transitioned into the next, using the Inuit people as a segue. How clever.
Below is a picture of an example Native American home in Southwestern America.
During my sophomore year of college, I went on a Spring Break Service Trip to Wind River, Wyoming to an Indian Reservation. Ever since then, I have had a fascination with the Native American Culture and BUFFALO. I think buffalo are the most gorgeous creatures, and the relationship Native Americans have with them is so interesting. The Native American people are very appreciative of nature and animals, and take time to thank them or perform ceremonies to show their graciousness. For example, whenever a buffalo is killed, a special ritual is performed before doing so. The buffalo pictured below was actually killed specifically to be used for this museum's exhibit. Before killing the buffalo, a traditional ceremony was performed, thanking the buffalo for giving its life for education of others.
On the third floor, you could look over the dinosaur exhibit. Here is part of the exhibit from above!
As I worked my way down to the second floor, I came across the Life exhibit. Officially the exhibit was called Life: A Journey Through Time by Frans Lanting. (Definitely check out this link!) Frans Lanting is a photographer. He was inspired to begin this Life project because of a photograph he had taken of horseshoe crabs mating. Such an old ritual brought him back in time, and he was interested to see what other things in nature could help to reveal the past. His photography is absolutely phenomenal, and I spent an hour in this exhibit alone. I literally read every single description of every single photograph he had on exhibit.
It was still early enough in the day that I was the only person in the exhibit for awhile. About halfway through the exhibit, I was caught off-guard when a large family entered the room. I had been so absorbed in the exhibit, I almost forgot that I was in public.
I visited his website, www.lanting.com/fineprints, to look at the prices of prints, and the cheapest ones start at $400. Some are like $3,000. Daaaang. I really want one, eventually. First I need to go incredibly in debt for medical school, then pay that debt off, and then I'll think about it.
Downstairs, I went to the dinosaur exhibit. This first picture is of a triceratops. Triceratops have always been my favorite, because my name "Sarah" is in it...kind of. Also, the Land Before Time movie series didn't help with my favoritism.
Here is an incredibly awkward picture of me with a stegosaurus.
On the way out of the dinosaur exhibit, I came across a gems, minerals, and rocks exhibit. As a child, I absolutely loved rocks. Just ask my grandmother, who (unbeknownst to my father) agreed to carry back at least 5 lbs of rocks I had collected on a trip to New Zealand when I was very young. I had been begging to bring all of my rocks back, and my parents did not approve. My dad didn't realize his mother's secret until he went to lift her suitcase into the car. Thanks again Grandma :)
I wish I had a super fancy camera, because my little Nikon could not capture the intricate detail of anything. I took two pictures (below), neither of which turned out very well. The second shows how many different displays they had. I have to admit, I got a little impatient at the end, because it was at least 1 PM and I hadn't eaten lunch yet!
On my way out of the museum, I stopped at the gift store (of course). I didn't actually buy anything, but I did come across a pressed penny machine. I looooove pressed pennies. I've collected at least 30 from all over the country. I also came across this science kit called, "The Dangerous Book for Boys: Classic Chemistry." I was offended. Can't girls do chemistry too? Yes they can. Unless we're talking about liquid nitrogen, and sometimes they struggle with that. (If you don't know that back story, please ask!)
My visit to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History was a SUCCESS! I am so glad I got to go!!
Since my Carnegie-Mellon visit was for recruitment, I knew I wouldn't have a lot of free time, but I was determined to find a few hours I could walk to the museum. And I did.
On Friday morning I got up early (9 AM) so I could get to the museums when they opened at 10. 9 AM might not sound early, but it is when you stay up until 3:30 AM voting and preparing for the next day of recruitment parties. I was free until 2:45 that afternoon, and if I was going to go to these museums, I wanted to have as much time as possible!
Here is a picture of the outside of the museum!
Admission was for both museums, but admittedly I spent more time in the Natural History Museum. Since I had gotten to the museum so early, I was one of very few people there. Almost immediately, I came to the grand staircase (pictured below). After snapping a few pictures, I had to figure out where I was going. I decided to start at the top and work my way down.
On the third floor was the Egyptian exhibit, Arctic exhibit, Native American exhibit, and a view over the Dinosaur exhibit. Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed in the Egyptian exhibit, but it was SO neat. They had all different aspects of Egyptian culture: boats, pottery, jewelry, tools, creation myths, royalty and army information, and of course pyramids and mummies (people and animals)! I was amazed by what this culture was able to do so many years ago. The pottery was beautifully glazed, jewelry was hand-crafted, and the thing that surprised me more than anything was that they had tweezers back then! I don't know why I find that so shocking, but I do. Also, I am completely grossed out by the mummies. Most of the mummies had x-rays, showing the bones of the mummified person/animal. Ick.
The next exhibit I came across was the Arctic exhibit. This is a real, stuffed polar bear, and some fishing scenery below!
Connected to the Arctic exhibit was the Native American exhibit. One literally transitioned into the next, using the Inuit people as a segue. How clever.
Below is a picture of an example Native American home in Southwestern America.
During my sophomore year of college, I went on a Spring Break Service Trip to Wind River, Wyoming to an Indian Reservation. Ever since then, I have had a fascination with the Native American Culture and BUFFALO. I think buffalo are the most gorgeous creatures, and the relationship Native Americans have with them is so interesting. The Native American people are very appreciative of nature and animals, and take time to thank them or perform ceremonies to show their graciousness. For example, whenever a buffalo is killed, a special ritual is performed before doing so. The buffalo pictured below was actually killed specifically to be used for this museum's exhibit. Before killing the buffalo, a traditional ceremony was performed, thanking the buffalo for giving its life for education of others.
On the third floor, you could look over the dinosaur exhibit. Here is part of the exhibit from above!
As I worked my way down to the second floor, I came across the Life exhibit. Officially the exhibit was called Life: A Journey Through Time by Frans Lanting. (Definitely check out this link!) Frans Lanting is a photographer. He was inspired to begin this Life project because of a photograph he had taken of horseshoe crabs mating. Such an old ritual brought him back in time, and he was interested to see what other things in nature could help to reveal the past. His photography is absolutely phenomenal, and I spent an hour in this exhibit alone. I literally read every single description of every single photograph he had on exhibit.
It was still early enough in the day that I was the only person in the exhibit for awhile. About halfway through the exhibit, I was caught off-guard when a large family entered the room. I had been so absorbed in the exhibit, I almost forgot that I was in public.
I visited his website, www.lanting.com/fineprints, to look at the prices of prints, and the cheapest ones start at $400. Some are like $3,000. Daaaang. I really want one, eventually. First I need to go incredibly in debt for medical school, then pay that debt off, and then I'll think about it.
Downstairs, I went to the dinosaur exhibit. This first picture is of a triceratops. Triceratops have always been my favorite, because my name "Sarah" is in it...kind of. Also, the Land Before Time movie series didn't help with my favoritism.
Here is an incredibly awkward picture of me with a stegosaurus.
On the way out of the dinosaur exhibit, I came across a gems, minerals, and rocks exhibit. As a child, I absolutely loved rocks. Just ask my grandmother, who (unbeknownst to my father) agreed to carry back at least 5 lbs of rocks I had collected on a trip to New Zealand when I was very young. I had been begging to bring all of my rocks back, and my parents did not approve. My dad didn't realize his mother's secret until he went to lift her suitcase into the car. Thanks again Grandma :)
I wish I had a super fancy camera, because my little Nikon could not capture the intricate detail of anything. I took two pictures (below), neither of which turned out very well. The second shows how many different displays they had. I have to admit, I got a little impatient at the end, because it was at least 1 PM and I hadn't eaten lunch yet!
On my way out of the museum, I stopped at the gift store (of course). I didn't actually buy anything, but I did come across a pressed penny machine. I looooove pressed pennies. I've collected at least 30 from all over the country. I also came across this science kit called, "The Dangerous Book for Boys: Classic Chemistry." I was offended. Can't girls do chemistry too? Yes they can. Unless we're talking about liquid nitrogen, and sometimes they struggle with that. (If you don't know that back story, please ask!)
My visit to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History was a SUCCESS! I am so glad I got to go!!
Friday, September 24, 2010
Hey there, Pittsburgh!
Last week I got a call from Mary, my boss, and found out I'd be headed to Pittsburgh this week to visit Carnegie Mellon University instead of Syracuse, as I had been planning. Even Syracuse was last-minute, I originally thought I'd be at Rollins College this week. BUT I can be flexible. Being a Leadership Consultant is all about being flexible, which I believe is the most important life lesson this job is teaching me.
Although I was a bit thrown off by the last-minute change, I was excited about the opportunity to see Pittsburgh. One of my best friends from home, Kayleigh, did a nursing externship here the summer between her junior and senior years of college. Kayleigh loved Pittsburgh and was always telling us about it. I, on the other hand, had never been, and here was my opportunity.
On Tuesday morning, I flew out of Peoria, IL and had a three-hour layover in Chicago O'Hare. Quite honestly, I actually like layovers. I would much rather have a three-hour layover than a half an hour layover--those are stressful. I do not like looong layovers, like the seven-hour layover my family had this summer on our way back from Australia. Ick.
Anyway, I was excited about my three-hour layover. I used the time to exercise (and by exercise I mean walk to every concourse in terminals 1 and 2 out of boredom. Said walking took an hour, therefore I'm calling it exercise.), eat lunch, catch up on paperwork from my DePauw visit, and people-watch.
This flight was the craziest I've been on yet--even crazier than the "air bus" in Washington! After boarding the flight, the pilot came over the loudspeaker and announced they were having trouble closing the cargo door and mechanics had been called to fix the door. "Should take about 15 minutes," he said, "but it my experience, it is never that easy." Half an hour later, the pilot came over the loudspeaker again, "Sorry for the delay, folks. I just went down to have a first-hand look at the door, and they think it may take another 45 minutes. We'll start beverage service and on-flight entertainment (a movie), and we'd be happy to give you tours of the cockpit too. You're welcome to use any electronic devices at this time." Quite honestly, a cockpit tour sounded interesting, but after watching young children scramble up to the front of the plane, I was too embarrassed to admit I was interested too.
The cargo door finally got fixed, and we took off just over an hour late for Pittsburgh. I fell asleep, like usual, and apparently missed some commotion at the front of the plane. There was some sort of "medical emergency" with an older gentleman, and as soon as we landed in Pittsburgh, everyone had to remain seated so that he could be carted off.
Needless to say, I was very happy to arrive at Carnegie Mellon University. Most of the Greek community lives on the Greek Quad, which is located right on campus. Last year, when a fraternity was removed from campus, Kappa moved into their house. Although it is not the cleanest house in the world (they are working on renovations), the Kappas are grateful to be on the Quad. Here is a picture of their house!
Although I was a bit thrown off by the last-minute change, I was excited about the opportunity to see Pittsburgh. One of my best friends from home, Kayleigh, did a nursing externship here the summer between her junior and senior years of college. Kayleigh loved Pittsburgh and was always telling us about it. I, on the other hand, had never been, and here was my opportunity.
On Tuesday morning, I flew out of Peoria, IL and had a three-hour layover in Chicago O'Hare. Quite honestly, I actually like layovers. I would much rather have a three-hour layover than a half an hour layover--those are stressful. I do not like looong layovers, like the seven-hour layover my family had this summer on our way back from Australia. Ick.
Anyway, I was excited about my three-hour layover. I used the time to exercise (and by exercise I mean walk to every concourse in terminals 1 and 2 out of boredom. Said walking took an hour, therefore I'm calling it exercise.), eat lunch, catch up on paperwork from my DePauw visit, and people-watch.
This flight was the craziest I've been on yet--even crazier than the "air bus" in Washington! After boarding the flight, the pilot came over the loudspeaker and announced they were having trouble closing the cargo door and mechanics had been called to fix the door. "Should take about 15 minutes," he said, "but it my experience, it is never that easy." Half an hour later, the pilot came over the loudspeaker again, "Sorry for the delay, folks. I just went down to have a first-hand look at the door, and they think it may take another 45 minutes. We'll start beverage service and on-flight entertainment (a movie), and we'd be happy to give you tours of the cockpit too. You're welcome to use any electronic devices at this time." Quite honestly, a cockpit tour sounded interesting, but after watching young children scramble up to the front of the plane, I was too embarrassed to admit I was interested too.
The cargo door finally got fixed, and we took off just over an hour late for Pittsburgh. I fell asleep, like usual, and apparently missed some commotion at the front of the plane. There was some sort of "medical emergency" with an older gentleman, and as soon as we landed in Pittsburgh, everyone had to remain seated so that he could be carted off.
Needless to say, I was very happy to arrive at Carnegie Mellon University. Most of the Greek community lives on the Greek Quad, which is located right on campus. Last year, when a fraternity was removed from campus, Kappa moved into their house. Although it is not the cleanest house in the world (they are working on renovations), the Kappas are grateful to be on the Quad. Here is a picture of their house!
A Long Weekend at Home
Last Thursday night after finishing a wrap-up meeting with the Chapter Council, I packed up my bags to head to Indianapolis, Indiana for the night because one of my best friends from home, Bree, goes to Butler University. The drive to Indy from Greencastle is only 45 minutes, so I couldn't resist going to see her before heading home. I wish I could say we did something cool, but we didn't. Bree had been biking with her boyfriend, and I was tired from my "cruddy week," so we changed into comfy clothes and caught up over a few drinks.
The next morning I left for home. On the way home is Champaign-Urbana, home of the University of Illinois, and another one of my best friends, Tara, who is attending law school there. I planned my departure for Indy so that I would arrive at U of I in time for lunch. Once I got there, Tara gave me a tour of the law school, and we had lunch with all of her law school buddies. I was surprised by how adorable her friends were! (Aren't law students supposed to be dorky?) The few girls blessed enough to have both looks and intelligence obviously sought each other out.
I finally got home mid-afternoon, and immediately got sent to run errands. "Deposit this, notorize that!" "Okay okay okay, I just got home!" After errands, my parents and I went to "the Mexican" for dinner. It drives me absolutely crazy that my parents refer to Sol Azteca, the local Mexican restaurant, as "the Mexican." It doesn't even make sense, Mom and Dad! You could at least call it "the Mexican Restaurant." The worst part of the whole thing is that I'm pretty sure everyone's parents in Washington, IL also call Sol Azteca "the Mexican." This is a phenomenon I will never understand.
After dinner, I got to see the remaining two members of the Brat Pack, Kayleigh and Sarah. (I think it is pretty impressive that I got to see four best friends in three cities in one day!) Kayleigh's younger brother, Cam, is a senior football player at WCHS, so of course we have to go cheer the Panthers on! The game was a lot more fun than I would have guessed but cold too! Afterward, the three of us went to Gracies, a local sports bar/restaurant, but then awkwardly realized we had walked into some sort of private party and got out as quickly as possible.
The rest of my weekend was great! Because of my last minute schedule change, I ended up getting a four day weekend last weekend and no weekend now. I spent a lot of time relaxing, hanging out with my parents, and seeing some more friends. On Saturday night I got to go out for my friend Jessica's 24th birthday. On Monday I got to see one of my best friends, Emily, and her three month old baby, Alex. He's just adorable!
My only regret about the whole weekend is that I didn't take any pictures! Whatever was I thinking?
The next morning I left for home. On the way home is Champaign-Urbana, home of the University of Illinois, and another one of my best friends, Tara, who is attending law school there. I planned my departure for Indy so that I would arrive at U of I in time for lunch. Once I got there, Tara gave me a tour of the law school, and we had lunch with all of her law school buddies. I was surprised by how adorable her friends were! (Aren't law students supposed to be dorky?) The few girls blessed enough to have both looks and intelligence obviously sought each other out.
I finally got home mid-afternoon, and immediately got sent to run errands. "Deposit this, notorize that!" "Okay okay okay, I just got home!" After errands, my parents and I went to "the Mexican" for dinner. It drives me absolutely crazy that my parents refer to Sol Azteca, the local Mexican restaurant, as "the Mexican." It doesn't even make sense, Mom and Dad! You could at least call it "the Mexican Restaurant." The worst part of the whole thing is that I'm pretty sure everyone's parents in Washington, IL also call Sol Azteca "the Mexican." This is a phenomenon I will never understand.
After dinner, I got to see the remaining two members of the Brat Pack, Kayleigh and Sarah. (I think it is pretty impressive that I got to see four best friends in three cities in one day!) Kayleigh's younger brother, Cam, is a senior football player at WCHS, so of course we have to go cheer the Panthers on! The game was a lot more fun than I would have guessed but cold too! Afterward, the three of us went to Gracies, a local sports bar/restaurant, but then awkwardly realized we had walked into some sort of private party and got out as quickly as possible.
The rest of my weekend was great! Because of my last minute schedule change, I ended up getting a four day weekend last weekend and no weekend now. I spent a lot of time relaxing, hanging out with my parents, and seeing some more friends. On Saturday night I got to go out for my friend Jessica's 24th birthday. On Monday I got to see one of my best friends, Emily, and her three month old baby, Alex. He's just adorable!
My only regret about the whole weekend is that I didn't take any pictures! Whatever was I thinking?
I'm a Terrible Blogger!
Admittedly, I have been a terrible blogger these last two weeks. My actual visit to DePauw was great, but a lot of outside factors lead to one of the worst weeks I've had on the road so far.
Here's a picture of the Kappa Kappa Gamma house at DePauw University. It is hard to see with the huge trees out front!
As soon I arrived, I heard chapter women complaining about the strep throat that was going around the house, or a cough they hadn't been able to lose. Not only am I paranoid about getting sick on the road, anyone who knows me knows that I get sick too often, and I'm particularly good at catching strep throat.
The next morning I woke up with swollen lymph nodes, and I knew I didn't have much time to fight the sickness-battle. For the next few days, I was sleeping 12 hours a day, drinking as much water as I could, and taking Vitamin C like it was my full time job. In the midst of fighting off some illness, I found out my travel schedule would be changing. Its not unusual for our schedules to change, but this change was less than a week away! The very next day I found out that a very good friend was being deployed to Afghanistan in a month.
Any one event might not have been so bad, but all three together made for a cruddy week. I have always been good about putting on a facade, but it is not so easy when you're surrounded by your job 24/7.
As luck would have it, another LC, Kristen, was visiting Indiana University, which is about 50 minutes away from DePauw. Since we fly everywhere, 50 minutes is usually enough of a difference that we would feel unfair asking chapter members to drive us. However, I had driven to my visit that week, and there was no way I was going to let a 50 minute drive stand between us. Both Kristen and I were on regular (non-recruitment) visits, meaning that we have some free time in the evenings. Wednesday of last week, we both had the evening free, and I drove down to Bloomington, Indiana to visit her.
I cannot describe how GREAT it was to see Kristen! Both she and I were having stressful weeks, and nothing beats seeing a familiar face. After getting a tour of the IU house (I forgot to take a picture!!), we drove downtown to get ice cream and walk around.
Here's a picture of the two of us!
She definitely brightened my week!
Here's a picture of the Kappa Kappa Gamma house at DePauw University. It is hard to see with the huge trees out front!
As soon I arrived, I heard chapter women complaining about the strep throat that was going around the house, or a cough they hadn't been able to lose. Not only am I paranoid about getting sick on the road, anyone who knows me knows that I get sick too often, and I'm particularly good at catching strep throat.
The next morning I woke up with swollen lymph nodes, and I knew I didn't have much time to fight the sickness-battle. For the next few days, I was sleeping 12 hours a day, drinking as much water as I could, and taking Vitamin C like it was my full time job. In the midst of fighting off some illness, I found out my travel schedule would be changing. Its not unusual for our schedules to change, but this change was less than a week away! The very next day I found out that a very good friend was being deployed to Afghanistan in a month.
Any one event might not have been so bad, but all three together made for a cruddy week. I have always been good about putting on a facade, but it is not so easy when you're surrounded by your job 24/7.
As luck would have it, another LC, Kristen, was visiting Indiana University, which is about 50 minutes away from DePauw. Since we fly everywhere, 50 minutes is usually enough of a difference that we would feel unfair asking chapter members to drive us. However, I had driven to my visit that week, and there was no way I was going to let a 50 minute drive stand between us. Both Kristen and I were on regular (non-recruitment) visits, meaning that we have some free time in the evenings. Wednesday of last week, we both had the evening free, and I drove down to Bloomington, Indiana to visit her.
I cannot describe how GREAT it was to see Kristen! Both she and I were having stressful weeks, and nothing beats seeing a familiar face. After getting a tour of the IU house (I forgot to take a picture!!), we drove downtown to get ice cream and walk around.
Here's a picture of the two of us!
She definitely brightened my week!
Monday, September 13, 2010
Back in the MidWest
After a long week of recruitment at the University of Montana, I am back in the Midwest! Last week was wonderful, but by far my most hectic visit yet. I spent a lot of time during the day helping the chapter to decorate, then after recruitment parties I stayed up late helping with voting. Recruitment visits are unlike any other. They can be very rewarding, but also very tiring! Montana was both.
Friday night I actually ended up pulling an all-nighter. We were up late voting, then waiting to get the Bid List. Once we finally got the Bid List, I was way too excited to go to bed. The Beta Phi chapter women and advisers were so pleased we were literally jumping around the house screaming. It could have been straight out of one of those sorority movies.
By the time everything calmed down, it was 2:30 in the morning and my room was a disaster. After having 8 lbs of clothes sent to me, going shopping in Spokane, WA, and acquiring many t-shirts, some serious arranging was needed to get everything home within the airline weight requirements. After packing, I had to decide whether I should shower or nap for an hour. I chose a shower, doubting my ability to wake up after only an hour of sleep.
Saturday I traveled from Missoula, MT to Peoria, IL. It was a short visit at home before I had to leave for DePauw University in Greencastle, IN. In just 18 hours, I got to see my parents, grandma, aunt and uncle, and two of my best friends. Not too bad!
Now I'm in Greencastle, Indiana. So far, I've decided they are too environmentally-friendly to actually be from the Midwest. They seem like lovely women though, and I'm looking forward to this week and getting to know everyone!
Friday night I actually ended up pulling an all-nighter. We were up late voting, then waiting to get the Bid List. Once we finally got the Bid List, I was way too excited to go to bed. The Beta Phi chapter women and advisers were so pleased we were literally jumping around the house screaming. It could have been straight out of one of those sorority movies.
By the time everything calmed down, it was 2:30 in the morning and my room was a disaster. After having 8 lbs of clothes sent to me, going shopping in Spokane, WA, and acquiring many t-shirts, some serious arranging was needed to get everything home within the airline weight requirements. After packing, I had to decide whether I should shower or nap for an hour. I chose a shower, doubting my ability to wake up after only an hour of sleep.
Saturday I traveled from Missoula, MT to Peoria, IL. It was a short visit at home before I had to leave for DePauw University in Greencastle, IN. In just 18 hours, I got to see my parents, grandma, aunt and uncle, and two of my best friends. Not too bad!
Now I'm in Greencastle, Indiana. So far, I've decided they are too environmentally-friendly to actually be from the Midwest. They seem like lovely women though, and I'm looking forward to this week and getting to know everyone!
Monday, September 6, 2010
My So-Called Job
After posting a link to my blog on my Facebook wall, I had a few people question the legitimacy of my job. Although my first few blog posts described my role as a Leadership Consultant, I don't know that everyone has taken the time to go back and read all of my posts...and I do not expect them to. But instead, I would like to offer an explanation about my job and how my blog correlates with it.
There are eight Leadership Consultants working for Kappa Kappa Gamma, and between the group of us, we travel to every Kappa chapter around the country. We are assigned to visit a different university each week and are matched based on skill set and personality. Every Sunday afternoon I fly into a chapter, and every Friday morning I leave a chapter, and our weekends are free to do as we please...in general. With recruitment visits or other specific things, we may be asked to stay over the weekend.
During my stay at a chapter I am responsible for meeting individually with every officer (there are 18 of them), giving presentations to the chapter and chapter council, meeting with different advisers to the chapter and the Greek Life Director, evaluating and teaching ritual, and overall just getting to know each chapter. Contrary to common belief, my job can get stressful at times too. Each chapter has their strengths and weaknesses, and as a Leadership Consultant, it is my job to not only celebrate their successes, but to help them through their tough times. I work at least 50 hours a week, and much more than that during recruitment visits.
I get to have a lot of fun too. Chapters will usually plan meals and other fun events in the evening for me. Some days I have a few hours of free time, and I love to explore the area I'm in if there's not anything pressing to get done.
Although I love all of my meetings and preparing reports about the chapters I visit, it is not something I ever talk about in my blogs. The content of these meetings is either too boring or too personal to be shared on a social media tool. Instead, I like to blog about the fun things I do in the week and the different travel experience I get to have.
I do think I have the best job in the world. We get free food, free travel, free board, and get to meet wonderful people all over the country. But I do work hard every day, even if my blog doesn't necessarily reflect that.
There are eight Leadership Consultants working for Kappa Kappa Gamma, and between the group of us, we travel to every Kappa chapter around the country. We are assigned to visit a different university each week and are matched based on skill set and personality. Every Sunday afternoon I fly into a chapter, and every Friday morning I leave a chapter, and our weekends are free to do as we please...in general. With recruitment visits or other specific things, we may be asked to stay over the weekend.
During my stay at a chapter I am responsible for meeting individually with every officer (there are 18 of them), giving presentations to the chapter and chapter council, meeting with different advisers to the chapter and the Greek Life Director, evaluating and teaching ritual, and overall just getting to know each chapter. Contrary to common belief, my job can get stressful at times too. Each chapter has their strengths and weaknesses, and as a Leadership Consultant, it is my job to not only celebrate their successes, but to help them through their tough times. I work at least 50 hours a week, and much more than that during recruitment visits.
I get to have a lot of fun too. Chapters will usually plan meals and other fun events in the evening for me. Some days I have a few hours of free time, and I love to explore the area I'm in if there's not anything pressing to get done.
Although I love all of my meetings and preparing reports about the chapters I visit, it is not something I ever talk about in my blogs. The content of these meetings is either too boring or too personal to be shared on a social media tool. Instead, I like to blog about the fun things I do in the week and the different travel experience I get to have.
I do think I have the best job in the world. We get free food, free travel, free board, and get to meet wonderful people all over the country. But I do work hard every day, even if my blog doesn't necessarily reflect that.
The Smallest Airport I've Ever Seen
Today I travelled from Pullman, WA back to Missoula, MT. Tiffany dropped me off at the Pullman/Moscow Airport, which is officially the smallest airport I have ever encountered. I’m actually surprised they even have an airport considering Pullman has less than 30,000 people, and Moscow isn’t too large either.
I walked up to the check-in counter, and the gentleman took my large suitcase from me. He then scoffed at my carry-on, telling me, “he’d let something that large slip this time.” I wanted to roll my eyes. My carry-on is on the larger size of carry-ons, but it is far under the 35 lb. weight limit, and I’ve never had a problem fitting it into the over head compartments of normal-sized planes. The planes flying out of airports like this are so tiny that no one can take a carry-on onto the flight and everyone leaves their bag at a cart on the tarmac anyway. No big deal.
After my check-in was complete I look over at the TSA security, which is apparently closed. I asked the man who has been helping me how security works here. He looks at me like I’m an idiot before explaining that security is only open 30 minutes before a flight is scheduled to depart. I take a seat with the approximately five other people who were presumably waiting for the same flight.
I went through security and the same man who checked me in was running security. He later would be the same person who directed the plane into the gate and removed luggage from the plane. I was actually surprised when he was not also the pilot. General boarding was called (these kind of flights ONLY have general boarding), and I was the first in line. When I boarded the plane, I was confused to see there were already about 30 people on the plane. An older gentleman sat next to me and made a comment about the flight going to Lewistown, Idaho. “Damn it, this flight goes to Lewistown (wherever that is)!? I am supposed to be on a flight to Seattle,” I thought.
I must have had a very concerned and confused look on my face because the gentleman next to me laughed.
Man Next to Me: “You’re not from around here, are you?”
Me: “No, I’m actually from Illinois.”
Man Next to Me: “Well, these ‘ole flights….they stop in every small airport ‘round these parts then head back to Seattle.”
Me (in confusion): “This is really new to me. So, it makes stops? People get on and off?”
Man Next to Me: “Sure does!”
Me (still baffled by this concept): “It’s like a bus…”
I started thinking of my plane as an “air bus”, which only made me laugh because an airbus is actually a type of plane: A huge plane—two floors across the whole thing—very unlike the tiny plane with visible propellers I was sitting on. Patrick, my younger brother, would be proud of me for knowing my types of planes.
…and I thought the Peoria Airport was small.
I walked up to the check-in counter, and the gentleman took my large suitcase from me. He then scoffed at my carry-on, telling me, “he’d let something that large slip this time.” I wanted to roll my eyes. My carry-on is on the larger size of carry-ons, but it is far under the 35 lb. weight limit, and I’ve never had a problem fitting it into the over head compartments of normal-sized planes. The planes flying out of airports like this are so tiny that no one can take a carry-on onto the flight and everyone leaves their bag at a cart on the tarmac anyway. No big deal.
After my check-in was complete I look over at the TSA security, which is apparently closed. I asked the man who has been helping me how security works here. He looks at me like I’m an idiot before explaining that security is only open 30 minutes before a flight is scheduled to depart. I take a seat with the approximately five other people who were presumably waiting for the same flight.
I went through security and the same man who checked me in was running security. He later would be the same person who directed the plane into the gate and removed luggage from the plane. I was actually surprised when he was not also the pilot. General boarding was called (these kind of flights ONLY have general boarding), and I was the first in line. When I boarded the plane, I was confused to see there were already about 30 people on the plane. An older gentleman sat next to me and made a comment about the flight going to Lewistown, Idaho. “Damn it, this flight goes to Lewistown (wherever that is)!? I am supposed to be on a flight to Seattle,” I thought.
I must have had a very concerned and confused look on my face because the gentleman next to me laughed.
Man Next to Me: “You’re not from around here, are you?”
Me: “No, I’m actually from Illinois.”
Man Next to Me: “Well, these ‘ole flights….they stop in every small airport ‘round these parts then head back to Seattle.”
Me (in confusion): “This is really new to me. So, it makes stops? People get on and off?”
Man Next to Me: “Sure does!”
Me (still baffled by this concept): “It’s like a bus…”
I started thinking of my plane as an “air bus”, which only made me laugh because an airbus is actually a type of plane: A huge plane—two floors across the whole thing—very unlike the tiny plane with visible propellers I was sitting on. Patrick, my younger brother, would be proud of me for knowing my types of planes.
…and I thought the Peoria Airport was small.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Wazzu?
Throughout my week at Whitman College, I had heard the Kappa sisters refer to other colleges around the area. I had heard the name “Wazzu” thrown around and had no idea what they were referring to. As the week came to a close, I was discussing my travel plans with the chapter members and told them I was going to “WSU” for the weekend to visit Tiffany, a chapter consultant (same job as me, but stationary) for Kappa Kappa Gamma. Turns out WSU is known as “Wazzu” or however you spell it. Guess that’s like the University of Missouri being called Mizzou. I get it now, haha.
On Friday morning I rented a car and drove from Walla Walla, WA to Pullman, WA. It’s only about a two hour drive, and the entire thing was wheat fields and blue sky. Absolutely gorgeous. I dropped my car off at the Pullman/Moscow airport and Tiffany picked me up. It was SO great to see a familiar face!
We went back to the gorgeous Kappa house at Washington State and dropped my stuff off before heading out to lunch. She drove me to Moscow, Idaho and we had lunch there. On the way back to Pullman (only a few miles away) we passed a sign for a local winery and decided we should go. We went back to campus, picked up Tiffany’s friend Ray, and headed to Merry Winery on the outskirts of Pullman.
At Merry Winery we got to taste all of their wine (for free!) and take a tour of the winery. I told Patrick, the owner, that I was “in my element” as we passed all sorts of flasks, Bunsen burners, and different distillation tools. Tiffany and Ray are both getting their MBAs and did not find the same interest in the chemistry that I did. At the end of our tasting, we asked Patrick to take a picture with us and he gladly agreed.
After our adventure to the winery, we baked cookies, then joined Ray in the dining hall (on Ray of course). We decided to go out dancing that night, so Tiffany and I headed back to the Kappa house to get ready for the evening. As I was blow-drying my hair, I blew a fuse in Tiffany’s room. Everything was dark and Tiffany and I searched around for the circuit breaker. With little luck, we enlisted the help of the house mom. She took us to different circuit breakers around the house, and I swear we flipped every switch. With no luck, we hunted for clothes in the dark using our cell phones as flashlights and headed upstairs to finish getting ready. The electrician wasn’t able to come out Saturday, and it wasn’t until Sunday morning that we had electricity in the basement again! Oops.
Saturday was the perfect day. Tiffany and I slept in late, went for a walk, grabbed coffee, and then in the early afternoon decided to go to Spokane for the day. Spokane is only about an hour away, so we hopped in the car and left. We did too much shopping, got sushi for dinner, and Fro-Yo before heading back to Pullman.
Sunday we got up early (largely due to the celebration of having electricity again) and went for a great run through town. We went to a local coffee shop in town and Tiffany studied for her Finance test while I finished up my paperwork from my Whitman visit. We went to see “Eat, Pray, Love,” that night then drove to Idaho for dinner. Since I've never been to Idaho, I had to take pictures!
It was the perfect relaxing weekend. Exactly what I needed.
On Friday morning I rented a car and drove from Walla Walla, WA to Pullman, WA. It’s only about a two hour drive, and the entire thing was wheat fields and blue sky. Absolutely gorgeous. I dropped my car off at the Pullman/Moscow airport and Tiffany picked me up. It was SO great to see a familiar face!
We went back to the gorgeous Kappa house at Washington State and dropped my stuff off before heading out to lunch. She drove me to Moscow, Idaho and we had lunch there. On the way back to Pullman (only a few miles away) we passed a sign for a local winery and decided we should go. We went back to campus, picked up Tiffany’s friend Ray, and headed to Merry Winery on the outskirts of Pullman.
At Merry Winery we got to taste all of their wine (for free!) and take a tour of the winery. I told Patrick, the owner, that I was “in my element” as we passed all sorts of flasks, Bunsen burners, and different distillation tools. Tiffany and Ray are both getting their MBAs and did not find the same interest in the chemistry that I did. At the end of our tasting, we asked Patrick to take a picture with us and he gladly agreed.
After our adventure to the winery, we baked cookies, then joined Ray in the dining hall (on Ray of course). We decided to go out dancing that night, so Tiffany and I headed back to the Kappa house to get ready for the evening. As I was blow-drying my hair, I blew a fuse in Tiffany’s room. Everything was dark and Tiffany and I searched around for the circuit breaker. With little luck, we enlisted the help of the house mom. She took us to different circuit breakers around the house, and I swear we flipped every switch. With no luck, we hunted for clothes in the dark using our cell phones as flashlights and headed upstairs to finish getting ready. The electrician wasn’t able to come out Saturday, and it wasn’t until Sunday morning that we had electricity in the basement again! Oops. Saturday was the perfect day. Tiffany and I slept in late, went for a walk, grabbed coffee, and then in the early afternoon decided to go to Spokane for the day. Spokane is only about an hour away, so we hopped in the car and left. We did too much shopping, got sushi for dinner, and Fro-Yo before heading back to Pullman.
Sunday we got up early (largely due to the celebration of having electricity again) and went for a great run through town. We went to a local coffee shop in town and Tiffany studied for her Finance test while I finished up my paperwork from my Whitman visit. We went to see “Eat, Pray, Love,” that night then drove to Idaho for dinner. Since I've never been to Idaho, I had to take pictures!
It was the perfect relaxing weekend. Exactly what I needed.
A Quaint Little Town
On my second day at Whitman college, I was given a tour of the campus by the Vice President of Organization. I took a few pictures, the majority of which were of the Kappa Section of the Sorority Dorm. I just love the golden key above the door!
Every night the chapter had a different activity planned for me. I got to hang out with each class a different night and meet up with the Advisory Board for dinner. A few of the events involved going “downtown” to their little strip of shops and restaurants through town. The junior class took me to ice cream at Brights, an old-fashioned candy and ice cream store. The Advisory Board took me to a delicious little French restaurant where I had a great Syra wine and Mussels!
On my last full day in Walla Walla, I had a lot of free time, so I walked downtown. The weather was beautiful, like 90 degrees, and there was actually a girl sitting in the fountain!
I also got a chance to take a picture of their downtown strip.
Every night the chapter had a different activity planned for me. I got to hang out with each class a different night and meet up with the Advisory Board for dinner. A few of the events involved going “downtown” to their little strip of shops and restaurants through town. The junior class took me to ice cream at Brights, an old-fashioned candy and ice cream store. The Advisory Board took me to a delicious little French restaurant where I had a great Syra wine and Mussels!
On my last full day in Walla Walla, I had a lot of free time, so I walked downtown. The weather was beautiful, like 90 degrees, and there was actually a girl sitting in the fountain!
I also got a chance to take a picture of their downtown strip.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
My Creepy Old Mansion
This past week I visited Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. I have never been to Washington before, and I have to say the state is quite beautiful. I arrived in Walla Walla last Sunday to a brisk 65 degree day. I was bundled up in a fleece, but the chapter members met me wearing sundresses. Apparently this weather was normal for them.
The Whitman campus is small, but quaint. Actually, the entire town of Walla Walla could be described this way. The sororities are un-housed at Whitman, but the sophomores stay in a section of the dormitories. As a result, I was housed in the Baker Faculty Center, an old house built in 1907 that has been restored.
On the first floor is a large dining area, serving area, and kitchen. (The campus has their faculty lunches there.) On the second floor are two large guest rooms and a few conference rooms. The chapter had rented one of the guest rooms in this house for me.
When I arrived, I was shown to the house, given keys, and quickly dropped my stuff off before meeting with the chapter president and giving a presentation to the chapter women. After a few meetings, dinner, and time to relax around the sorority dorm, I headed back to my room early to get a good night’s rest.
I walked up to my creepy old mansion and everything was dark. I unlocked the dead-bolt to the front door and stepped into the quiet house. “This is the perfect start to a horror movie,” I thought. I walked through the dark house, up the main staircase and towards my room. I flipped a light at the top of the stairs and proceeded to my bedroom on the other side of the landing. I unlocked that dead-bolt too, flipped the light on in my room, and jumped when my own shadow appeared on the opposite wall. I get this paranoia from my mother I think.
I started to unpack my stuff and then decided to call a friend from home or LC. I don’t remember who I called that first night, but I made a habit of calling someone every night so I didn’t feel so alone in that huge house. Once I got over the initial creepiness of staying in a room (heck, a whole house!) by myself, I began to appreciate the great guest room I had been given. The room was huge, with a king size bed, sitting area, fireplace, and bathroom to myself. Not really something I can complain about.
Believe it or not, I restrained from blogging about my creepy old mansion until the end of the week for fear that someone would read my blog and come scare me/murder me. Haha. Now I’m back in Montana, staying with the entire chapter in their house.
The Whitman campus is small, but quaint. Actually, the entire town of Walla Walla could be described this way. The sororities are un-housed at Whitman, but the sophomores stay in a section of the dormitories. As a result, I was housed in the Baker Faculty Center, an old house built in 1907 that has been restored.
On the first floor is a large dining area, serving area, and kitchen. (The campus has their faculty lunches there.) On the second floor are two large guest rooms and a few conference rooms. The chapter had rented one of the guest rooms in this house for me.When I arrived, I was shown to the house, given keys, and quickly dropped my stuff off before meeting with the chapter president and giving a presentation to the chapter women. After a few meetings, dinner, and time to relax around the sorority dorm, I headed back to my room early to get a good night’s rest.
I walked up to my creepy old mansion and everything was dark. I unlocked the dead-bolt to the front door and stepped into the quiet house. “This is the perfect start to a horror movie,” I thought. I walked through the dark house, up the main staircase and towards my room. I flipped a light at the top of the stairs and proceeded to my bedroom on the other side of the landing. I unlocked that dead-bolt too, flipped the light on in my room, and jumped when my own shadow appeared on the opposite wall. I get this paranoia from my mother I think.
I started to unpack my stuff and then decided to call a friend from home or LC. I don’t remember who I called that first night, but I made a habit of calling someone every night so I didn’t feel so alone in that huge house. Once I got over the initial creepiness of staying in a room (heck, a whole house!) by myself, I began to appreciate the great guest room I had been given. The room was huge, with a king size bed, sitting area, fireplace, and bathroom to myself. Not really something I can complain about.
Believe it or not, I restrained from blogging about my creepy old mansion until the end of the week for fear that someone would read my blog and come scare me/murder me. Haha. Now I’m back in Montana, staying with the entire chapter in their house.
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