L O S T

Hal writes:

Tonight began the weekly gatherings to watch the first season of Lost. The RDs and a handful of summer RAs are joining in to watch three episodes each Wednesday night (they only take 40 minutes without commercial interruption). I didn't watch the first season and this last year when there was an RD group watching, I had hall council. After the first three episodes I think that I will enjoy watching, but I know that there are 45 other episodes to see before I get caught up (with both seasons), so I've got a ways to go. The group is about 50/50 between those who have seen the episodes and those who have not.

Earlier in the evening I took my bike out for a spin. I got a little overzealous and went down a big hill knowing that I would have to come up it when I returned. Even shifting to the "granny gear" I was unable to make the hill climb, so I had to get off and walk it up. I'm no longer in the flat land of Iowa, I have to anticipate my routes more carefully.

Tomorrow I leave for Two Harbors, first time returning home since January. My dad is retiring from teaching and the shin dig for him and other retiring teachers is Friday night.

I've been given the feedback that people are enjoying the pictures as opposed to just text. Here are three opportunities where I had the camera in the past 24 hours, but failed to take a picture: RD game night last night (we played Boxers or Briefs), RD lunch this afternoon (Jen made lasagna), and the LOST crew tonight. I'm hoping not only to remember to bring my camera to Minnesota this weekend, but also to take some photos.

Friends!

Anna writes:

For Memorial Day, we had lunch with some of my friends from the DPT program. It has been such a change from seeing them everyday, all day (and sometimes late night) to not seeing them at all. I've missed them!! It was great to see them for lunch. We got to catch up on how our internships are going, what we've been doing, and just enjoy each other's company. As much as I enjoy being in the clinic, I'll be glad to be back with good friends in class next fall.

Pictured: Anna, Molly, Sam (Kim's fiance) Heidi (Jeremiah's wife) and Jeremiah.

Kim offered to take a picture of Hal and I, so here is that picture as well.

I'm heading back to Waverly this afternoon. It will be a short week, but Hal is heading north to Duluth for the weekend, so we won't see each other for a while. I'm not sure if I'll come back to Pville or not. If anyone has ideas for me to entertain myself, let me know!!

Reasons We love Wisconsin

Anna Writes:

Reason's we LOVE Wisconsin:

HAPPY COWS!!!

GOOD CHEESE!!!

WORLD'S LARGEST M!

(We climbed it!)

Governor Dodge State Park

Anna writes:

Today I convinced Hal that, despite the 90 degree weather and 90% humidity, we needed to go for a hike. I don't think that he was as sold on the idea as I was, but we set out for Governor Dodge State Park near Dodgeville, WI. We had a good time hiking and climbing a bit. The park was packed for the holiday weekend, but most people were at the beach staying cool rather than on the trail physically exerting themselves in the heat. We're tougher than the heat (at least that's what I told Hal). We had visited the park earlier this year, for a letterboxing adventure, but the trees have filled in with leaves and though we did part of the same trail we had previously done, it was an entirely different hike.


On the way home we came across this fun sign and had to stop for a picture:


My internship continues to go well. I really enjoy seeing patients, and my clinical instructor is letting me have more freedom with patient treatments and encouraging me to include aspects of things that I have a background in that differ from what she ususally does. It's great. I am lucky to have a CI that I am so comfortable with.

Hal writes:

On Saturday we picked up my new Trek bicycle. I had to show if off with my new helmet. I think I'm going to take it off some sweet jumps to test the shocks. The people at Momentum Bikes were so helpful, Anna thinks that she needs a new bike as well. We went to go for a ride last night, but it was delayed due to Anna's bike not having been used in a year (needed to get air in her tires). The nice thing about buying from a local shop is that I can bring it back in for free check ups and minor repairs.

Earlier in the day we wanted to get out of Platteville for the day, so we traveled to Galena, IL. The photo above is a look down one section of Main Street in Galena. There are lots of fun shops down the historic district: toy shops, canoe/bike shops, books stores, antique stores, quilting and clothing stores, and restaurants. (We recommend dining at Fried Green Tomatoes if you have the opportunity to visit the community.) We picked the right day to visit, there were plenty of free samples from the food stores: salsa, fudge, caramel corn, and jams. Below is a picture of the "business cards" the joke shop gave out. Hal is going to use his new glasses for conduct meetings and Anna will use hers for her 7:00 am class this next fall.

Perhaps we can use this photo for our Christmas cards this next year?

AIM concerns

Hal writes:

Before I go into my rant du jour, I do want to say that I was excited about the summer RD assignments that I have been given. I want really find out what is entailed until I meet with my supervisors tomorrow, but the topics sound fun. :) My assignments include assisting with New Student Registration, helping write the Year End Report, and assist with Senior Assistant training in the fall, among other areas. I also realized that I was paired with a colleague on two summer assignments who I have not had the chance to work with much this past year, but I am excited to do so.

My colleagues and I had another lunch picnic, this time at a park near the UWP football stadium. It was a little windy out, but nice to be outside with friends and laughing lots. Settings like this is where private jokes get their start. So when I come into a room and say that I was just "spoon-eyed", some close friends will know what I mean. I don't mean for this to be an exclusive thing, but more of a connection between myself and friends. I think the difference is whether or not you are trying to exclude someone is the basis for how hurtful a private joke can be. If you want to know what "spoon-eyed" means, feel free to ask, but there is a deeper meaning for those who shared the moment of it's inception.

So here's the problem. Our computer tech services wants to remove AIM from the RD computers. The RDs don't want that to happen. The argument on one side is the security risk involved to university property (the computers) whereas the RDs use AIM to communicate with each other, staff, colleagues at other institutions, etc. A couple of us have tried the web based client, but it is not functional and does not meet our needs. But I am not going to just whine about it here, I sent a letter to my colleagues (it was four pages in length on Word) sharing my thoughts and hopefully there will be an opportunity to do so with both my supervisors and computer tech at the same time.

Exciting news. I got a call from my mentor, Royce. I was out of the office and missed the call but, in typical fashion, left a five minute voice message. I have not seen him since he moved to Nebraska a few years ago. He is the equivalent of a chancellor at a small college, and is raising four teenage boys with his wife that are not their own, so he has been very busy. Royce has been an inspiration in faith and career and I hope that this phone call will begin more of an effort for the two of us to keep in touch.

Last day before summer...

Hal writes:

Tomorrow we receive our summer assignments for the department, and with that comes summer hours. As an RD, it might be difficult to adjust to a 7:30am - 4:00pm type of schedule, but I should adjust after a week. Today a few of the RDs had a picnic in the green space between a set of four residence halls known as "the block". Hillary and Nolan's baby John Ryan joined us as well, but preferred to nap on a blanket. I finished off what was left over from my staff having their last dinner together (last Friday). I think I got a little sunburned, my Scandinavian skin needs to get used to seeing the sun again.

I am not yet 100% Wisconsin resident. I still have yet to get WI license plates to replace the Iowa ones on the PT Cruiser. There is a long, drawn out story about me getting in the middle of a WI vs. IA state war about getting my title across state lines so I can get the plates. The short version is, I'm going to refinance my auto loan in WI so Iowa is forced to send the title across state lines. Please people, it can't be this difficult, I'm not the first person to move from Iowa to Wisconsin.

UWP Housing staff is now complete, we hired a tenth RD. To celebrate, Team S will have a hot tub party with sophisticated adult beverages (we're sharing a box of wine).

Happy birthday to me!

Hal writes:

Thanks to friends and family for cards and phone calls on my birthday. My coworkers conned me into going to a local Mexican restaurant for lunch. There is a Polaroid of me in a sombraro just after the waiters sang happy birthday. (The con was that I didn't get to pick the restaurant, I was just told to go there and I found out when it was too late that I had the sombraro prize in store for me.) I would include the picture in this post, but I don't have a scanner. Just use your imagination. Thanks for buying me lunch Jen

Anna got me a bike for my birthday present. The local bike shop had to put in a special order because apparently there are not many people with my height (or inseam) that purchase bikes from them. Perhaps it will arrive this next weekend. It's been a long time since I have had a bike (since getting my driver's license) but hopefully I am done growing so I can get a bike that matches my height and I will be able to use it for a few years. Anna also got me a helmet, something that we didn't use as a kid. Usual uses for my bike as a child was to get me to Odegard park and back for baseball in the summer, riding at full speed and grabbing onto the maple tree branch and watching the bike continue on it's own (mom didn't like that one), or for racing around the block. I almost took a car on head first, so from then on bike racing around the block had the rule that you stayed on the sidewalk.

Today I had my end of year check out with RD and RA related materials. The next week will be continuing to finish up the academic year with end of year reports and other to do lists. Starting next week we will begin summer duties. Some of my fellow RDs have sought off-campus employment (Jen is going back to camp) while others are working 50% (Kelly) or 75% (Matt)days. I'll be working full time until Anna is done with her internship (mid-July). Then I'll take a couple weeks vacation before starting RD training in August.

Two films

Hal writes:

It's not very often that I go to see a movie in the theater, but yesterday I had the opportunity to see two films. Anna and I went to see The Da Vinci Code before she went back to Waverly. Later that evening I went with Matt and Kim, Jen, and Stef (thanks for buying my ticket!) to see Stick It.

After having read The Da Vinci Code, I knew that there would be sub plots and other aspects of the story edited out, but it still stayed true to the story line. Anna has not read the book yet, but plans to, so I will be curious to hear how she views the film after reading the book. By the way people, if you are caught up in the hoo-ha of protests, it says "fiction" on the book jacket. Plus, if I remember correctly, in the dialogue of supposedly brilliant scholars, one refers to Eve when talking about sacred symbolism of the feminine deity. It talks about "Eve talking the apple". In a book so rich with going beyond stereotypical definitions (for example, taking the time to explain that the Wickin star is actually a combined male and female symbol) one should know that Eve ate "fruit" and not an "apple" if you are translating correctly. So, that is just one reason why I believe this to be a work of fiction, any true scholar would know that.

Oh, where to begin with Stick It. Let's start with the opening credits where the music manifested some dancing from Jen, Stef, and Kim. (Matt and I declined.) There were only two others in the theater besides us. The story line was what I expected and it is by no means a good film, but when I'm with fellow ENFJs, the movie provides for some fun laughs and random commentary. What else would you expect from the creator of "Bring It On"?

MIKE AND IKE!!!!!!!!

Anna writes:

While searching for a napkin in the glove compartment of our car during a visit over Christmas, our friends Jeremey and Heather were surprised to discover that Hal an d I keep a secret stash of sweets in the glove compartment of our car just in case we get an urge for a treat on our long drives to see family or friends in MN/Northern WI. One of our favorite treats is a movie-sized box of Mike and Ike's, which keep well and store nicely in their box between road trips.

This week in the mail we recieved a large box with a note that said "This should keep your sweet tooth satisfied!" We laughed.... It's the biggest bag I've ever seen! Five pounds of Mike and Ike's will last us a several trips to Duluth and back!

Thanks to J & H for the fun treat!

Week One in Waverly

Anna Writes:
I'm home for the weekend after my first week of clinical rotations. It was GREAT! It's so exciting to be in the clinic after a year of classes...I really learned some things! My clinical instructor has only been out of grad school four years herself, so she is still very enthusiastic about PT and does alot of her own research about current trends in treatment and modalities. I'm getting a varied experience as well. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday we see patients in a clinic located in Allison, Iowa. Tuesday and Thursdays in the mornings we do industrial consulting at a factory nearby, and then the afternoons are spent doing home visits to patients who are unable to travel to a clinic. Seeing patients in the factory is really fun, because we are able to treat patients the step right off the line. This means that we're seeing injuries that are brand new, so they have the greatest chance for sucessful rehab. We are also able to visit the workstations along the line and make egonomic changes as necessary to relive stress on the worker's body. It's really neat. I'm really enjoying my clinical experience so far!

As Hal wrote earlier, I'm living on Main Street by myself. I don't have a whole lot in my apartment, just a mattress on the floor, one chair, and some food in the fridge.... so in order to keep from getting bored I have been going for loooooooong walks on the bike trail. It's nice to be outside so much! I am also reading The Gift of Pain by Paul Brand. I highly reccomend it...I can't put it down in the evenings.

This weekend we are also going to celebrate Hal's birthday, which is on Monday. I'm going to make a family favorite, Creme de Menthe Cake for him and we'll celebrate with dinner out (which we don't do often).

It's nice to be home for the weekend! I'm having a great time in Waverly, but boy, do I miss Hal when I'm away!

Finals

Hal Writes:
Today is the last day of finals for UWP students. My residents "should" be all moved out by 6pm, but we will see how well that goes. Tomorrow will be cleaning up the building and checking RAs out. By 2pm Saturday, I hope to have the building empty but until then I will be busy checking otu rooms. This will end my year in Dobson Hall and I can prepare to move to Southwest Hall.

Election Day

Hal writes:

Election day! Both Anna and I were elected to different posts. Anna was elected to serve as the graduate student representative to a state wide Physical Therapy board. We were surprised because the University of Iowa likes to consider themselves the "power house" of the PT world (in Iowa) and we thought for sure that the student(s) running from Iowa would be elected. But Anna's biography posted to voting members must have interested more than a few. Yeah!

I had my first Academic Staff Senate meeting this afternoon. During this meeting there were elections for different officers for the 2006-2007 academic year. I went in to the meeting telling myself that as the new guy they would probably give me work to do, and I managed to deflect most opportunities for extra work. But then I realized that all the new senators would be placed in a position, whether or not they were willing. So, I bid for and was voted in as Vice Chair of the Academic Staff Senate. My two roles will be to assist the Chair (and most likely run for that position in one year) and I am the official liaison for the Faculty Senate meetings. I am told that during Faculty Senate I do not have a voice, but I get to take notes and bring those back to the Academic Staff Senate. Not very exciting, but it will give me an opportunity to observe faculty governance (which will be helpful if I do become the President of a college some day).

In sad news, Anna left for her clinical internship this morning. :( But, I will still be able to see her on weekends and Waverly is not that far away, so I am sure we will be ok.

Lion Tamer

Hal's favorite tourist attraction in Platteville. There are at least two water fountains like this in the 25+ parks Platteville has.

This photo was taken by Kevin during his visit. Right after it was taken, I tried the water fountain to see if it worked. I was taking to Kevin and got a mouth full of water. When I tried again, no water came out. I had the joy of ingesting the last bit of water that had been sitting there since last fall when the VFW turned off the water in the park. Sick.

Waverly

Hal writes:

Friday afternoon we drove to Waverly where Anna will be on internship this summer. The apartment is a loft style on Main Street. Unfortunately, it is overlooking the back alley and not the scenic side of the building. It is nice and clean, but no furniture. (Special thanks to Matt and Kim for loaning their air mattress until some other option can be found.) Tonight Anna is packing up everything she needs, but if she forgets something she can get it when she comes home on the weekends. When we were in the area, we stopped to see friends at Wartburg College where Hal worked for two years and Windcove where Anna worked for a year.

Today was a rainy and cold day, but since Anna is leaving tomorrow we felt the need to do something out of the apartment. We looked at community events in the surrounding areas, but with the rain it didn't look like many were going to happen. We ended up going to the Grotto in Dickeyville, WI. A priest spent 5 years in the 1930s creating his tribute to God and Country in hopes that it would be a must see American destination. It did not become that big of a destination, but since we live in the area now, we have to take advantage of the opportunity. Every time I move from a community (St. Peter, Macomb, Waverly) I feel like I didn't take the time to look around as much as I should. Since we are going to be here for at least two more years I have some time to explore this area.

Hello!

Hal writes:

Hello friends and family! (Also, hello to anonymous individuals who have stumbled upon our blog.) Since Anna and her DPT classmates will be on internship this summer, she thought this would be a good way for people to stay in touch with her adventures. But since Hal is the storyteller, he has been asked to publish as well.

I still remain a little wary about blogging. Many of my students have heard from me that these online methods are not viewed by friends only, but anyone can stumble across them. As hall directors, we find more information than we want to know online, so we are cautious when using facebook or other online information sharing methods. My best hope is to set a good example.

Special thanks to Brian and Kristine, Jim, Kevin, Mookie, and Cory for posting blogs that give me the inspiration to start my own.

Hal and Anna

Hal and Anna outside Dobson Hall in Platteville.