Pumpkin carving

Hal writes:

Today was the annual pumpkin carving contest with the RDs and our supervisors. Four pumpkins were brought in and names were drawn out of a hat for teams. I was teamed with Trapper and Sherry. In addition to carving the pumpkins, we also use items found in the rooms that holds craft supplies for the RAs. Once completed, the pumpkins are brought out into the lobby for the judges (people we find in the hallway) to find a winner.

Below is a picture of Trapper and I working on the pumpkin. I am sporting what I call the "McDonald's Manager look", meaning that I had my tie tucked into my shirt and my sleeves rolled up. Trapper and I were having a GREAT time trying to make our pumpkin look like one of the other RDs. (I was laughing so hard at times that I had tears in my eyes.)

Here is a picture of RD Matt with the pumpkin we made in his likeness. The eyes are mini flashlights. It's hard to tell, but we poked little holes in the pumpkin to create the hairstyle and facial hair that Matt traditionally sports. Unfortunately, it freaked the judges out and we came in last place.

A group photo will all the staff and three of the pumpkins.

Back from UMR

Hal writes:

I have just returned from the UMR- ACUHO conference. There were a lot of laughs, some insightful programs, and reconnecting with old friends. I'll talk more later about it, I am somewhat tired (late nights having fun with friends and KJ and I working on our case study). I am also waiting for more pictures to go along with the stories. I took these pictures of off RD Stef's facebook.

Here is a picture of RDs Kelly, Hal and Jen at one of the banquet.

Kelly discovers that her head is smaller than Hal's shoes.

Which one is the REAL Mt. Rushmore?

Step on up to the microphone

Hal writes:

Homecoming is over. Also, I was on call this weekend which kept me busy, but that is done with as well. Hooray! It was miserable week for weather, including the 40 degree temp with rain for the football game on Saturday. I opted not to go outside and catch cold while UWP lost the homecoming game. Instead, I met up with some RDs at Badger Brothers Coffee and we stayed warm and dry playing board games in the community room. Later that evening we went to Dubuque to eat at the Olive Garden and Cold Stone before returning to Wisconsin. Add all of this to the Vikings and Tigers winning today, and it was a good day.

I went looking through the Facebook profiles of my students trying to add a picture of my colleagues and I in the Tug-of-War or variety show, but none have been posted. I did, however, find some photos from RA Training that were fun. Pictured below is when I was MC for the RA Skit Night and Variety Show in August.

Although it is a smaller picture, below is RD Nolan (far left) and I (far right) singing to one of my RAs. There is a prize box during RA Training and my RA Elise won a song from Hal and Nolan. Nolan and I are using our sub-par musical abilities to entertain the crowd with a song about why we like Elise so much.

Nolan and I, along with RD Kelly Jo, will be doing a "Pick Me Up" session at an upcoming conference called "You might work in Residence Life if...". The purpose is to have fun with our profession. My hope is that those who come will be eager to laugh along and poke fun at themselves. (Jim, I wish you could be there, but I'm guessing if you went to WCPA, you won't be at UMR.)

More Homecoming updates

Hal writes:

Here are some fun Homecoming updates:

* RDs were 1st place in their category of the talent show. I rewrote the lyrics to some Monster Ballads as sung by villains. (Because every villian has a softer side...) They did not do an overall first place, so our ongoing (fun-filled) fued against the music fraternity was not resolved. (They would have totally beat us.)

* Hal stood out in the rain for two hours as a judge for the 4 x 1 mile relay as he helped set up the course and made sure nobody cheated.

* Today the RDs went 0-2 in Tug-of-War (I hope some fun photos come out of it) but we still got homecoming points for competing.

Sorry there aren't any photos to go with these events yet!

UWP Homecoming: Mondy events

Hal writes:

Monday was not a good start to Homecoming for Southwest Hall. We were docked points on our banner for not spelling "Superheroes" correctly. (When you pluralize, you add an "e" and an "s" to hero.)

The Academic Games were held last night. It was a traditional quiz bowl that included occasional questions about Superhero(e)s. The RD team took top place overall. RD Trapper is a former high school quiz bowl captain and RD Nolan knows all about comic books and movies. (RDs Jen and Kelly considered themselves "eye candy" but did answer a couple of questions. I wish I could have joined them, but I enjoyed moderating for the Greek organization quiz bowl competitions. SW came in last of the residence halls, but still garnered some points. My throat hurts from talking for 4 hours strait. Blah...

Pictured below is the RD homecoming t-shirt. Also, my official Judge button and ribbon from the Academic Games. I am also supposed to bring it to the other events that I am judging later this week.


Today's events include the Tricycle Relay and the Variety Show.

Shullsburg

Hal writes:

I am currently enjoying my second Saturday of the week. With fall break yesterday, it felt like I had two Saturdays in a row. While most employees of the university continued to work, the RDs enjoyed some much needed rest and took advantage of getting away from campus. Anna, RD Jen, and I went to Shullsburg just to see what was going on. There is a very fun main street that has a host of old buildings with new businesses (antique shops and other shops). The main street had a few historical markers and beautiful old houses (some which have been taken care of, others that have not). Of course, Shullsburg also is a large provider of cheese in the state of Wisconsin. The photo below is Anna outside of the cheese store.

The main street was decorated for fall and it looked like it required a lot of effort. I thought I had a photo of main street, but could not find it on the camera. Every lamp post was decorated with hay bales and fall harvest vegetables. I was surprised that the pumpkins were not all smashed, but in a community of less than 1000, I am sure that potential suspects (mostly teenagers) would be at a minimum, so they don't attempt any naughtiness. The photo below is Anna and I outside one of the stores that had some fall colors out for photo opportunities.

In one of the stores we visited, there was an advertisement that there was a restaurant in the basement. I was skeptical, but the food on the menu sounded appetizing so we decided to return when we were done walking up and down main street. To my surprise, we found a hidden jewel of a restaurant called Frank's Place. It was amazing. The place was beautifully decorated, had a great atmosphere and the prices were not bad either. Oh, and the food? Delicious! Jen and I are planning on taking the RDs here for a "mystery lunch" (where we don't tell them where they are going) in November. Pictured below are Anna and Jen giving their approval to the bruschetta and blue cheese soup appetizers. We all had different paninis for lunch that came with sweet potato fries.

Later that afternoon, RD Stef and RD Kelly joined us for a viewing of Drop Dead Gorgeous, a mockumentary about a small town beauty pageant in pretend Mt. Rose, MN. My favorite part of the movie is when the Mayor complains that the Shriners won't take down a sign about Frida, the Oldest Living Lutheran in Minnesota (who passed away, so the sign should not be up):

"Oh, Yeah, Frida, sure. She was the oldest living Lutheran. Now she's dead as a doornail. It's them damn Shriner's, won't take down the damn sign the lazy sons of bitches. Every year, every damn year I tell them, "Take down the damn Frida sign, you lazy sons of bitches!"

And, for one more adventures, Anna and I went to Dubuque to do some shopping in the evening. We got a console table for our entry way that Anna has been wanting for quite some time.

Homecoming Banner

Hal writes:

It is not the best timing, but my students have fall break (meaning they have this Friday off) and Homecoming week begins Sunday night. Throughout next week there will be a plethora (in my opinion, far too many) activities where the residence halls will compete against each other. Although I have a large building with all returning students, I am not optimistic of our chances to score a lot of points, but I hope that those who do participate have fun.

The RDs have entered three activities: Tug-of-War, Academic Games, and the Talent Show. I will not be representing the RDs in the academic games (aka "quiz bowl") because I am the Moderator for the event. Tonight we had a practice night for anyone competing so they could learn the format and I was able to practice reading questions. One of my dream jobs is to be a game show host, I just haven't been discovered yet. I will also be the judge for the 4 x 1 mile relay race, which means I stand out in the woods on the trail to make sure nobody cheats or trips anyone else racing.

This is the banner that Southwest Hall entered for the banner competition. As you can see it has our name and the theme for homecoming, "Superheros: Pioneers Rule the M". (If you want to know what the M is, click here.) And in case you didn't recognize it, my students decided to put me as their superhero. They were a little generous with the arms, I don't think my six-pack is quite that defined, my hair is not spiked like that very often and although I get a kick out of the "Anna" tattoo on the arm, you all know that I don't like needles well enough to let that happen to my real arm. But, they got the glasses and big shoes right, so it kind of resembles me.

Ask the R.D.

Hal writes:

The basic premise of my position is to be a resource to the students in my building. With 380 students, there is more than enough concerns going on that I could be helping with. The problem is, students don't want to come and talk with me. There is a stigma associated with talking to an "adult figure" (even though I still look like I'm 17) that prevents most students from coming to see me unless I request it (i.e.: policy violation that leads to a conduct meeting).

As the RD of a new hall, there are a number of times when I want to inform my residents as to what is going on. For a generation of students that is so connected (through cell phones, internet, etc.) it's hard to believe that I have a difficulty reaching them. Here are some methods to communicate with residents and why they don't work:

E-mail: The administration (aka "the man") does not want to empower [full time, professional] hall directors with the ability to e-mail all of the residents of his or her building at one time. If I wanted to e-mail students, I would have to do so individually.

Bulletin Boards: Students don't want to take the time to read any information posted. Don't waste your time spending money on photocopies. If they can't receive all of the information without having to stop, they won't read it.

Phone: Students have cell phones, most of them with long distance numbers (when I call from my office). Students don't use the phone in their room any more.

Mailboxes: Students don't check mail frequently (if at all). Doing a mailbox stuffer is not effective because those who do check their box through the information away.

Facebook: Here was my brilliant attempt to try and get all my residents to join a facebook group committed to my hall. Initially, I only invited my RAs to join to give it a test drive for giving out information. Well, before I could invite any of my residents, the word was out that Hal was trying to find pictures of people consuming alcohol, so don't join the group. (Side note: I can view profiles whether or not they join a group I am a part of and, secondly, RDs at UWP don't go looking for incriminating photos.) So, that idea ended before it really began.

Instant Messenger: The administration does not allow RDs to have instant messaging programs on their computers. Long story. Grrrr...

Going door to door: It is diffcult to find a time when all four suitemates are all in the suite together. And they don't pass along information to each other.

Here is my latest attempt. It's my "Ask the R.D." bulletin board just outside my office. The idea is when there is a question that a number of students are asking, I post it on the board, with the answer, for them to view. A photo of the initial board is located below.


I'll let you know if I get any more questions or positive feedback on this attempt at communicating with students. Other RDs have any ideas about other ways to reach residents?

Big Toys

Hal writes:

In an effort to connect my hall to the dining center and other residents halls, a path needed to be created through a valley of trees. Sometime before the end of the year, there will be a "super crane" that will place a bridge over the valley. A super crane is needed because the bridge will be inserted in one piece over the valley. Below is one of the "big toys" that is currently moving dirt around. They started about 6am this morning and they were still working at 5pm when my staff and I went to staff dinner.

The picture below is a look across the valley. Originally, only one tree was to be removed, but as you can see, several have been taken down.

Here is a picture from Gustavus this past weekend. Kevin will be down to visit us some time later this month. Me he he he he...

GAC 5-year reunion

Hal writes:

This weekend Anna and I traveled back to Gustavus for my 5-year reunion. The morning started off with a gathering of donors at the President's house. I'm part of the "Cec Eckhoff Society" through my committment to donate to Gustavus every year. Then Anna and I went to the brunch for my class. The last few years the 5-year reunion has not had a great turn out. Cassie (my co-class agent) and I thought we did fairly well. Pictured below are about 30 of my classmates and there were probably another 20 that I saw throughout the day. During halftime of the football game, there was a Gustie Greeter (orientation leader) reunion where I say friends from other classes. After that, Kevin and I snuck into the new residence hall to check things out.


I had the opportunity to walk across campus with some good friends, stopping in different academic buildings and sharing memories. But there have been some changes since we were students. The inside of Old Main was totally redone, Whalstrom hall is gone and there is a new residence hall on campus, and we saw a former classmate's office. One of the goofy Gustie Greeters is now a professor of English back at the Alma Mater. It was good to see a variety of friends, even if it was for a brief period of time.

Anna and I were able to stay at Scott and Brenda's house. Last year when we stayed with them, they had just adopted their daughter from China. Over the past year she became much more mobile and talkative. Below is a picture of her as she was busy telling me which finger was my tumb, ring finger, pinky, etc. She's so fun. Why can't all children start out being able to move and talk? I think it would make things easier.

Thus begins Homecoming

Hal writes:

This week has flown by and Homecoming preparations are underway. I have a group of 10 students that is determined that Southwest Hall enter every event and have huge participation in the activities. But, without the enthusiasm of first year students, I don't know how well that will happen. The homecoming coordinator for Southwest sent me a few e-mails between 10pm - 11pm concerned that people were not signing up for events. Today is the last day to turn in entry forms. To see what fun and games are played at UWP, click here for the Homecoming website.

Yesterday the Homecoming group sat in the lobby asking residents to participate in events. Nobody was really interested. Some went so far as to yell out their window to their friends to enter the building through a side entrance to avoid being asked to participate. I don't know why there is this mentality among college students. College students today don't want to commit to anything except a few minutes before an event. It is so hard for groups and organizations to plan things because nobody shows an interest. The easier route for students is to be in their room, IMing and using Facebook to keep in touch with high school friends (or watching tv, surfing the internet, checking e-mail) instead of experiencing college. If I were to design a residence hall, I would have a switch that could turn of the internet, another switch to turn off the cable and a powerful device that would dampen all cell phone coverage. Then students might interact with those around them and develop some real community along with communications skills.

I'll let you know how many events we actually sign up for. We are also selling a lime green t-shirt that has navy writing. On the front is a "SW" inside a superman shaped logo, and on the back is "UWP Homecoming 2006". If you want one for $10 let me know.

The view from my desk

Hal writes:

This is the view that I get sitting at my office desk. It only inlcudes a portion of the room, perhaps another day you will get to see a different angle. The only thing missing is a student who has come to see me about a conduct issue (they typically don't liked to be photographed).

Can you find the following items in the photo?
* Hal's talking bear
* A pirate flag (I'm an Aarrrgggh D)
* Viking stain glass that my Grandpa Pat made
* Books from graduate school (there are a lot of them)
* Boxes/containers I have not unpacked yet (usually hidden from view behind the door)
* Iowa liscence plate (it's a little washed out)
* Picture of Hal, Karena, Ali, Leslie, and Karl graduating from GAC (it's a little washed out)
* A plastic pot of flowers that does a song and dance (aka: Kevin's future wedding present)
* Folders and papers that consist of Hal's "to do" pile (several correct answers)
* Waldo (not really in there, but if you grew up the same time I did, you know what I'm talking about)

Secrets of the Alchemist Dar

Hal writes:

I am once again a Treasure Hunter. Secrets of the Alchemist Dar was released this weekend and I got my copy on Saturday. This is the second book by Michael Stadther that doubles as both a children's story and an actual treasure hunt. This time, there are 100 prizes to claim, each one a jeweled ring ranging from $5,000 to $1,000,000 in value.

The last two years I was working with his first book, "A Treasure's Trove". I was initially skeptical about real tresure to be found (the first hunt had 12 prizes) until the first prize was discovered in Iowa (where I was living at the time of discovery). After that, I attempted to solve the hidden puzzles and find treasure. At one point I almost had my dad and my brother in law Brian go with me to a state park just outside of Las Vegas to look for treasure. (I ended up being wrong, but my answer seemed reasonable at the time.)

Although this next treasure hunt has more prizes to be won (100 instead of 12) it also will prove to be more challenging. When you find out the solutions, they seem much more obvious than when you did not know what you were looking for. This time, there is not as big of a hint given to start the game as there was for the first hunt.

If anyone is interested in comparing notes, purchase the book and I can start sharing theories with you. I want to find treasure!