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Dad's Retirement Party # 3

Hal writes:

This weekend we drove up to the cabin to celebrate my father's third (perhaps final?) retirement party. I spent over eight hours driving on both Friday and Sunday, so my knees are not too happy with me right now. It was fun to see people and enjoy weather that I am used to (sub 90 degrees) during the day.

Besides my sister and I taking the pictures, the retirement party celebrants are 50 years old and above. (Well, except Uncle J, but he's not that far.) The connection with these people is that my grandfather and then father owned a tavern called "The Long Branch" and the people pictured all had been a part of that group one time or another.

The photo above is my representation of being back at UWP this week. My hall has the honor of hosting the famed Music Camp. I have over 100 7th-11th graders in my building. Now, I understand that kids this age are excited to be on a college campus, live in a residence hall, and discover their new crushes from other schools, but something is amiss. I don't understand the young girls always screaming. It is their reaction to everything. Something startle you? Scream. Something excite you? Scream. Is something funny? Scream. I don't remember girls doing that when I was in high school, but that was over 10 years ago so maybe that has changed. Can anyone help explain this need to scream? Other than the screaming, I also inadvertently broke up one make-out session while walking down to my laundry room. The eagle in the photo above is my mom's attempt to keep my uncle from cutting down any of her trees in an effort to make his satellite reception better at his cabin next door.

Tonight it was Mike's birthday, so a few of us went to Red's Supper Club. I have been sassy about supper clubs since moving to southern Wisconsin. I feel that they were the hot spot back in the day, but now are the type of place where people who eat dinner at 4:30pm go to eat. Well, I must say that I was impressed. When we got there, the table had huge vegetable tray with dip, rolls, cinnamon rolls, and crackers and cheese. All the dinners, including my "Nordic Salmon" came with potato and choice of soup or salad. I was able to get all of this and a couple of drinks for under $20. Not too bad. Since my fellow RDs and I are boycotting the Itallian restaurant in town because of how we are treated there, it is nice to have a new option to go to. After we were done at Red's we went back to campus and played the "Boxers or Breifs" game which, if you like "Apples to Apples", you'll like this game.

Other fun things of note since I last blogged: got to see my sister who lives in Boston and met my brother's girlfriend; Nolan left me Guitar Hero while he is on vacation; Anna met up with Holly, Carrie, and Sarah in Shell Lake this past weekend; Anna and I learned the hard way that our cell phone service area is not what we thought it was (over $200 bill for last month); Dr. Kelly "Boom boom" Bangstad is getting married next month; Officer Molly (UWP) had a baby girl; Jill (former Anna co-worker) had a baby this weekend; we had an RD decide not to work at UWP so I have to help fill a RD position in the next month (let me know if you want a job); working by myself in an office all day is no fun; as long as I have milk and cereal for the next morning, I am not motivated to go grocery shopping; I might get to move some stuff into our new apartment next week; and if you want to rent an RV for a spring break road trip, you have to pay by the mile in addition to gas and the rental fee.

I whine with my wine

Hal writes:

Myself and two resident directors were reposnbile for the hiring process to bring two new RDs to campus this next fall. One position was open because a colleague left and another was created with the addition of a new residence hall. Sometime in January we joked about having a party at our supervisor's house when we finished the hiring process. More specifically, we joked about sitting in her hot tub and drinking wine from a box.

Well, tonight that is what we did. We celebrated months of planning, interviewing, bringing people to campus and hiring two RDs. You noticed that I didn't include photos of me in the hot tub next to a box of wine, but there are some out there for your viewing pleasure if you know who holds the negatives.

Here's the kicker. As we were gearing up for our evening social, we found out this afternoon that one of the new hires e-mailed us to say that they are not going to come to campus this fall. Not only did this dampen the spirits for our wine and hot tub social, but it left us in a bind for next fall. (And don't even get me started on E-MAILING a resignation. Not appropriate. You pick up the phone and call.)

So, if you or any of your friends are looking for an opportunity to work with me at UWP, now is the time. Just send me an e-mail or give me a call and I will fill you in on details. Bachelor's degree and positive attitude required. I'm serious, if you know someone, get them in touch with me.

Anna and I are going to my dad's second retirement party (the non-official Long Brach gang at the cabin) this weekend, so no more posts until Monday night. I know, you will miss, but you can always call my cell and talk to me.

More L O S T

Hal writes:

Tonight we watched three more episodes from the first season of LOST. We are now at the half way point. There are two of us that have not seen any of the episodes, so others watch for our reactions. So far, it's been more of a "oh, that's neat" or a "yeah, I saw that coming", but Blake and I don't really react. So I've given into feigning shock as revelations come about. I have curiousities, but nothing that has really shocked me so far.

The summer is going by way too fast. After this week, I work for three more weeks, then I will take two weeks off before RD training. I hope that the break will help refresh me and get me geared up for the start of another year.

I'm missing Anna a lot. There doesn't seem to be a lot of time when we can touch base with each other. We both work during the day and then be both have some sort of exercise routine and/or nap when that is done. And since I put on the ice cream socials every night before a registration night, that sucks up a lot of my time. After this week, Anna only has two weeks until her internship is complete. Then we can start packing for our move to Southwest Hall!

Weekend Report

Hal writes:

This weekend Anna and I went shopping in Dubuque. I was able to spend some of my "birthday money" on toys, but most of it went towards scrapbooking supplies. KJ and Mike have inspired me to get back into scrapbooking after viewing their works of art. I joke about my birthday money because Anna is very good at making sure that I spend it on fun things. I used to just take the money I would receive from my birthday or other events and put it in the bank and it would eventually go towards gas, food, or other day to day items. But now I cash it and keep it in an envelope so I know that I can use it to buy fun things.

I just got off the phone with Jen who is up at her camp. Some of the RDs have been contemplating an RV trip to the Grand Canyon during spring break and after seeing a commercial to go to "gorving.com", I thought I should use her camp address to get the free DVD. She got it today and phoned to say hi, give me the camp update, and get the UWP gossip (nothing really to report).

There are some birds nesting just outside my apartment. Anna thinks it is too late in the year for baby birds, but I can hear them chirping in the next. I tried to get up close to get a picture of them, but Mama Bird would have nothing to do with that. Maybe when they venture out of the nest I can get a snap shot. Also outside my apartment are some bunnies running around and a blue jay has a nest near by. While I was running on the par course, I came within 10 feet of a deer before we both startled each other. If I could only get these animals in separate rooms in my hall, I could set up my own zoo: "Trapper Hal's Native Wisconsin Animal Conservatory". Mention that you're my friend and you get $10 off admission. Please don't feed the rat ape.

My mom just called as I was typing this. She bought a pontoon for the cabin. If you want a nice slow trip around Little Hanging Horn Lake this summer, just let me know.

In an earlier post I mentioned purchasing office furniture for the new hall. I placed the order today. Of course, I needed help with the colors, which I don't see very well. My office chair is "terra catta" and the guest chairs are "corn silk" and all the wood is done in an "English Oak" finish. Also, in happy news, all of the living room and bedroom furniture for the new apartment is complete and is waiting to be shipped as soon as the apartment is ready. I still feel bad about the price of everything, but I thank the Wisconsin tax payers for purchasing it and the Wisconsin criminals for building it.

Pioneer Passage

Hal writes:

Today was the second of what will be 11 Pioneer Passages. It is the summer registration day for incoming first-year students. The evening before, I scoop ice cream for the students and families spending the night on campus. (Which the orientation leaders affectionately call "Hal's Creamery". I'm not so sure about the title.) During the day there is a housing presentation and then we have a table at a resource fair during lunch. That is the time when parents come up and ask questions and I enjoy every minute of it. The only downside is that my hall for next year (Southwest Hall) does not have first-year students, so I don't get to actually meet any of my students or parents. In the afternoon we give a tour of one of our residence halls which I also enjoy doing. (3 years tour guide experience at Gustavus, 2 years of coordinating tours at WIU.)

Here's a recent picture of me and my buddy John Ryan. He's the adopted son of one of my fellow RDs and his wife. By the end of the year he should be laughing, cooing, and crawling, but he is already developing a personality as you can see from the photo. (My supervisor is worried that I am teaching him to be an extrovert.) I continue to go back and forth if I would adopt. My friend Tamara had some good thoughts on her blog; you should check them out. But for the time being, the last thing we need is a Hal Jr., so I won't be thinking baby any time soon.

Now I'm off to Momentum Bikes where Anna bought me my bicycle. I'm supposed to go in for a break tune-up now that I have used it for a few days to make sure that the breaks are tight and not squeaking. Then it's time for another evening of ice cream social to be followed by another Pioneer Passage tomorrow. Mingle, mingle, mingle!

Made in the USA

Hal writes:

Every spend money using gift cards? Nice concept. It's not really your money, but you are able to acquire purchases through them. As a part of moving into the new residence hall, I have been asked to help select the RD office furniture (except the colors, for obvious reasons). The furniture to be purchased comes from one web site that I was allowed to look at. In the end, I will end up ordering a $300 office chair, $700 desk, $250 bookshelf as well as two other chairs and a file cabinet. And that's just for starters. I think that what first made me feel off was that, with my current salary, I would not purchase any of these items. Take the bookshelf. I could get a Target/Wal-Mart bookshelf that would hold the same amount of books, albeit less quality, for 10% of the total cost of the furniture. But what you have to realize is that with the red tape that we have to deal with for ordering, there are no options but to order from this specific company. And of course, there is the rumor that the people building this furniture are residents of Wisconsin making less than a dollar an hour (people in jail). Needless to say, I feel bad about being a part of this expensive process and I can guarantee you that I will take care of the furniture as long as I am an RD for the building. What do you think? Should I feel guilt over this?

I've been biking for the past couple of evenings. I'm still timid about going any great distances, so most of the rides consist of weaving through the non-busy streets of Platteville. In my travels I have come across other bikers who I exchange nods with as we pass in opposing directions. The highlight of yesterday's journey was seeing a group of cardinals chirping at me from a telephone wire. I have also found that my MP3 player headphones fit with my bike helmet (which you should not do because you can't hear cars bearing down on you) but it makes the rides feel less like exercise.

Tonight is the eve of the first of 11 registration days for incoming first-year students. On the evenings before, I assist with an ice cream social for students and families spending the night on campus. Tonight we had a group of 10 and it was fun to chat with anxious and excited students. The current students who work for the campus to help plans these days were around to answer questions. A few answers were brash and off the cuff, but for the most part they helped but some worried people at ease. During the actual registration day I will assist with a housing presentation (meaning I click the mouse for the power point), answer questions at a resource fair and in the afternoon work with a residence hall tour. I enjoy the admissions work and was happy that this was one of my summer assignments. In addition, I put together two display boards for the event. I normally don't dabble in the arts and crafts very often, but it's good for me to go through the process of selecting photos, working with the computer to design, and after printing and laminating, arranging items for the display. I have coworker who excels in this area (my femtor KJ) and she enjoys the work, but it was good for me to go through the process (even if I did use some summer RAs to help me at the end).

Movie update. I'm not usually a movie person, but my TV viewing has gone down since the summer started and that is fine by me. Anna and I saw Over the Hedge which was a fun movie, not the best, but I had some good laughs along with the other children at the matinee. Mike also loaned me two movies so I saw I, Robot (really liked it) and Assault on Precent 13 (what I expected, but a little more gore than anticipated).

Special prayer request for my friend Brian's church with the struggle he and the other pastors (as well as the congregation) are having with a leadership issue in their church.

Vote Now!

Anna Writes:

I was feeling sick last week with a nasty cold, so I apologize for neglecting my blogging duties. Due to lack of computer access, I can usually only blog on the weekends, however I'm posting on a Tuesday with a special request.

My clinical instructor's husband has recently decided to go back to school to become a Physical Therapy Assistant (PTA). Mike has worked doing floor covering for 11 years, and after a work related shoulder injury he became a rehab tech to make some money while he healed. In the mean time he found out that he loved physical therapy... he was just accepted to a PTA program and will begin classes in the fall! Mike also applied for a scholarship "Extreme Makeover: NIACC Edition" and found out that he is in the top 5 finalists to receive a full tuition scholarship. The winner will be determined by voting on the NIACC website. Please vote for Micheal R Negen at http://www.niacc.edu/makeover/makeoverballot.htm to send him back to school!!!

Thanks alot!

Our New Nephew

Kristine (Anna's sister) and Brian had their second child born this morning. Josiah Timothy is pictured below with his daddy:

Little John Ryan

Hal writes:

After work yesterday I had the opportunity to play disc golf for the first time with some RDs and RAs. We didn't complete the course, but I was able to make par (and sometimes slightly over par) on the ones we completed. I would still rather play a good game of Ultimate, but the disc golf allows for socialization, provided that you take the time to stop and which exactly where your disc went in the weeds so you can find it.

Later that night Stef, Matt and Kim, and I went to see Friends With Money. The bonus deal on Monday nights all candy, pop, and popcorn is $1. Plus, there is a station to butter your own popcorn and add flavor. I don't know why I like apple cinnamon on my popcorn, but it tastes good.

Tonight I had an invite to eat with my neighbors. Nolan is another RD at UWP and his wife Hilary made use a wonderful dinner of fried rice, shrimp, and vegetables. (They called me before I started boiling the water for Mac and Chesse...) Of course, I got to hold John Ryan, their two-month old baby, while they cooked for me and cleaned the dishes. I think it's a great deal and hope there are similar offers in the future. Here are the three of them:

Nolan also introduced me to Guitar Hero for Play Station. Think "Dance Dance Revolution" with a guitar hooked up to the PS2 instead of a dance pad. We took turns trying to play along with the music. I managed to complete some songs with varying accuracy, including completing the Hard level for "I Love Rock and Roll". Nolan managed to unlock some stages with his playing while I was there.

Congrats to Jim, Peter, and the UW-Oshkosh crew on winning their bid in San Francisco this weekend. (The RDs in Platteville are quite pleased that we don't have to travel far to make future gatherings.)

Pictures for Anna

Hal writes:

I wanted to share some photos with Anna, but you are all welcome to look. (No, wait, I changed my mind! Don't look!) Anna has been working with our plant for several months to bloom and she had her first flower over the weekend.



I was able to take some photos of our new apartment today. Linda (my supervisor) and I were in the building looking at other things, but I brought the camera with. The first three pictures are the living room/kitchen of the new RD apartment in Southwest Hall. I had to be quick because I was interrupting work, so my apologizes if the photos are not good quality.

The door that you see may be replaced. It is supposed to be more of a French door and not as institutionalized looking as you see. One of the workers is standing on our patio. To the left of the door, near the floor, are two ports. One is for electricity, and the other is the TV cable and internet port (perhaps telephone as well?). There are similar ports in both the master and guest bedroom.

This is our kitchen. In the photo above you can see the sink, drawers, counters, cupboards, and a little bit of the tile. The photo below also shows a little bit of the tile. Anna, there is room where the cardboard box is sitting to the left of the counter (photo above) and in between the counter and the doorway (photo below) that has tiles on the floor with outlets next to them. One place can hold the Culligan water and the other can hold the garbage can (so it's not on the carpet or under the sink). What goes where? Your choice! Also, you can see the space reserved for the refridgerator in the photo below.

In the photo above, you can see long, white plastic material on the boxes. This is a shelf/clothes hanger. They have lined both closets with this about 5 feet off the ground. In the laundry room, they will build us some shelves if we want, but we might need to go to IKEA to buy some shelving units.

The photo below is of our bathroom. The drawers that you see are fake and there will be a mirror placed where the blue piece of tape is. Hidden from view behind the door, above the sink, is another mirror that double as a cabinet. To the right (not seen) is a second room to the bathroom where the toilet and shower are located.

Minnesot-ahhhh...

Hal writes:

I left on Thursday evening and headed north. Within 10 miles of leaving Platteville I was routed because of road construction. I read recently that people in the United States are not very patient any more. So instead of grumbling, I took the time to enjoy the beautiful country side that I would not have seen had I not been routed away from my normal path. I sometimes wonder what it would have been like for a young man my age to be one of the first non-native Americans to cross this area. He (let's call him "Bill") (only his mother calls him William) would not have had the luxury of an air conditioned vehicle traveling at good speeds on paved roads with Michael Buble playing on the CD player and a compass on the dashboard. Wow, Bill, you are far more adventurous than I have ever been.

After driving for 250 miles in 5 hours (that an average of 50 mph for non-math people) I ended up at Shell Lake, WI. I was able to spend some with Anna's mom and the Cardwell pets, but Molly the dog was the only pet to give me positive attention (the birds just squawked at me). Kat was off playing at camp so I didn't get a chance to see her. I couldn't stay very long because I was eager to see Lake Superior in the daylight but it was nice to stop and stretch my legs for a bit.

I spent Friday morning visiting the new Two Harbors High School. The new school opened this past fall. I won't get into all of the pros and cons of building a new "high school" (6-12 grade are there) but needless to say it is a beautiful building with a view of Lake Superior on the second floor and Mr. Nyberg, the principal, has one key that serves as the master key for everything (a hall director's dream). In addition to spending time in my dad's classroom, I was also able to stop and chat with a few of my high school teachers. Wow, what a lack of respect these high school students have. Seriously, I couldn't imagine saying/acting the way these kids did. Even some of the less than scholarly classmates I had didn't act like this. What the heck happened in the last ten years? "When I was their age..."

During the afternoon I drove around Two Harbors. Things have changed since I lived there. Two houses that belonged to families of my classmates had For Sale signs (Luke's and Molly's) and I have memories of being in each of them. Both the elementary school and the high school I attended are now empty. The area north of 16th Avenue has expanded and has more houses (which destroyed the tree fort Paul, JB, and I built in the summer of 1993). Bud still works his lawn to perfection across the street, but Vi is not longer with him. The businesses on main street and 7th avenue have changed. The curriculum at THHS has changed. The number of gray hairs on my dad's head has, well, you get the idea...

Later that evening was the retirement party for my dad and other retiring teachers from the district. (Little known fact: the THHS school district is one of the largest in the country, about the size of Rhode Island, and employees teachers at several schools.) This year six retired: Carol Boyd (classmate's mom, my teacher for French and various English courses), my dad, Sandi Gredzens (art teacher, did not know her), Bill Hermanson (homeroom teacher in high school, 9th grade speech teacher, his son Tom and I played basketball together), Linda Hoffman (health education teacher, most difficult class of my high school career), and Al Vanderziel (my 8th grade homeroom and English teacher, retiring after 43.5 years of service). There were also retired teachers in attendance that I had during my time in the school system: Arnie Overby, Bill Arntsen, Marlene Frahm, Gene Magnuson, Winston Norby, Joan Gunsolus, Dennis Herschbach, Bill Tranah, Dave Rossetter, Jim Udovich, Tom "Coach" Swanstrom, and Jan Hockman among many others in attendance that I did not have as a teacher.

A photo of my parents and I. I figure that this gives me "favored child" status for a least two weeks for attending. (My sisters will take over that role when they are in Minnesota for Father's Day.) Below is a photo of my friend Melanie with her husband Dean and baby Zac.

On Saturday morning my parents and I got up early and went to Lou's for breakfast in Barnum. Although I don't go as nearly as often as other family members, Robin still knows my usual (breakfast sandwich, hashbrowns with cheese, biggest glass of milk she can find). In the afternoon I went to my cousin Kylie's high school graduation party and a saw a number of my relatives (from mom's side) at the event. I only got one "thinking of having any kids yet?" and that was from my cousin Fawn who is less than a month older than me but already has two children. (UWP married men wanting children update: I'm currenlty at 3%, Mike is around 12%, Nolan is 100% and Matt is ?%.) After the grad party I stopped to see my grandma for a little bit, then my Mom and I kayaked around Little Hanging Horn lake. My mom likes to go along the shore to spy on the cabins and see who is around, so it's a workout. That evening my parents and I went to eat pizza in Moose Lake and then saw RV at the theater.

This morning I got up early and drove to Wavelry to see Anna. I was glad I had a chance to see her today so we didn't have to go two weeks without seeing each other. We had a fun afternoon in Waverly and did some shopping Cedar Falls and ate at the Texas Roadhouse. Mmmm... meat... (and cinnamon flavored butter for the rolls). Then back in the car once more to complete my three state road tour and got back to Platteville.

I'm glad to be out of the car!