Extended absence

Hal writes:


It's been about ten days since I have had the opportunity to make some comments on our blog. The last two weeks have been difficult for us. On the tail end of the VT tragedy, my campus lost two students in two separate situations. A number of my residents have been affected about these things, and with finals looming in the near future, the stress level is up. Anna is also approaching her finals and preparing to leave for Phoenix in two weeks, so she has been busy studying as much as she can. Additionally, one of my colleagues lost her father unexpectedly this weekend, so we are all going to do our part to help oversee her hall by each taking a different task related to running the building (staff meetings, hall council, conduct meetings, closing information, etc.). Here is one way my residents dealt with the VT tragedy (a marker board in the lobby for students to join in support):

In the midst of a down couple of weeks, there have been uplifting things happening as well. In an effort not to dwell on the negative, we've also had positive things happening in our lives. It's my hope that things will get better. There are, fortunately, many positive distractions on a college campus. On Friday alone I met with prospective students and families as part of an admission day (one parent asked why we don't do first-year communities like UW-O... thanks Jim), and later in the day help with housing tours. In the afternoon I gave a tour of my hall to a group of architects. Then in the evening I was emcee for the Leadership Awards Night. I enjoy hosting, and I had a full day of it. Pictured below is me playing the role of Judge during the annual Jail and Bail (my bounty hunters caught someone who escaped jail).

Here is a photo of me with some residents and a some RAs at the Residence Hall Awards night. My staff was voted on to receive "Best Teamwork" for their contributions to the first year of running Southwest Hall.

This is my second of three weekends on call. Here's to hoping the phone doesn't ring tonight!

In support of VT

Livin' la vida RD

Hal writes:



The phone call came at 2:11am. That was the first incident. Over the next two hours I deal with intoxicated residents, theft, campus police, incident reports, taking statements, upset RAs and other fun parts of the job. It's now 4:10am and I'm too wired to go to sleep. A little surfing on the internet might calm the nerves.


If this is the type of employment that interests you, check out the job details of our open positions. (Don't worry, there are also fun things that go along with being an RD.)

Easter weekend

Hal writes:

I would have put up our Easter adventures earlier, but one of the things the Easter Bunny left me (and several other family members) was a touch of the flu, so that slowed me down a little. (What did the Easter Bunny bring you, Hal? Dirty rabbit brought me pestilence...) Anna and I made the annual trek to Indiana to spend Easter with her side of the family. Among the many traditions is the Easter Egg hunt. There was an abbreviated version this year due to colder weather. There was a very light dusting of snow in the Midwest, but when it's colder on Easter than it was last Christmas, you want to keep the distance of the hunt to a minimum. Among candies and other treasures (including a new Twins baseball cap) you can see me holding some gift certificates and Bunny Money (later exchanged at the Bunny Bank for real money).



Other traditions include a big meal after the hunt, napping after the meal, celebration of birthdays, and fun evening activities where grandparents watch the grandkids. This year a few of us went to see a move, Blades of Glory. Now, the movie cost us $1.50 in the evening, so that can tell you the condition of the theater we were at. I left my wallet with Anna when Bobby and I paired up to face the dangers of the restroom. Perhaps next year we will drive the extra 15 minutes to get to the $5 movie theater.

Kids! There were a few kids, mostly under the age of five, that were a part of the weekend. Our first night it took a little time for Mia and Cooper to warm up to the tall, tall man, but they eventually were comfortable enough around me to play, but pretty soon they were trying to knock me over or wanting me to pick them up and flip them upside down. Pictured below are some of the children on the bench with Cooper's birthday cake. (Side note, there were four birthdays celebrated with four different cakes that weekend.)


The Sisters Cardwell...

At Church on Sunday morning. (l to r) Hal, Anna is holding our niece Analise, Kat, Grandma and Charlie, Kristine is holding Josiah, and Brian.

Oh no! Tacos!

Hal writes:

Anna invited classmates to dinner at our place on Wednesday night. She made a chicken and salsa dish in the crock pot and slow cooked that all day and then browned some hamburger later. In addition to all the toppings for the tacos, there were some Tastefully Simple dips and some brownies for an after dinner snack. Pictures below are some DPT students and their significant others. The man to the left of Anna is a DPT student. Additionally, all the women in the photo are DPT students and all of the men are simply sugar daddies (they are making the money to put the students through school). They weren't hip to a "big smile" picture, so they went for the frightened look instead.

This morning we are leaving for Indiana for the traditional Easter weekend spent with Anna's family. Unlike the "spring" Easter in years past, it looks like this one will be rather cold (flurries and highs in the 30s). Keep your fingers crossed that the Easter bunny doesn't freeze!

Hey Christians, check out this article.

Hey people who love Lake Superior, check out this article.

Tempting

The last couple of sections of my life have come in sections each defined by the time period of two years. I have been at Platteville two years, previous to that at Wartburg for two years, and previous to that at Western Illinois for two years. So, if I were to follow the pattern it would mean moving on to a new location for the next two years. (This doesn't apply to all areas of my life as Anna and I will celebrate three years this summer.)

But since Anna does have another year in school, it looks like we will remain in Platteville at least one more year. I tell my students that a hall director who says they are 100% sure they are either lying or hopelessly optimistic. There are a variety of reasons, at any given time for a RD to move on, at best an answer should go no higher than 98%. At times of despair or stress with the job, it can go to a lower percentage which usually leads to looking for jobs both within and outside the area of student affairs. (Currently, the forecast for Hal staying in Platteville looks to be in the 90s, but some turbulent weather could have him dipping down into the low 60s.)

For me, times of despair find me looking at the popular sites of Academic 360 and Higher Ed Jobs when looking within the field of student affairs. When I get the itch to be a camp director, I usually check out Lutheran Camp positions, the YMCA, or Year Round Camp Jobs. Other times I think about either pursuing a Masters of Divinity or a Doctorate in CSP, which leads me back to some academic sites.

Another method of exploring other career opportunities is through personality testing. According to one web site, my personality type would enjoy the following occupations: Facilitator, Consultant, Social Worker, Counselor, Teacher, Clergy, Sales Representative, Human Resources, Manager, Events Coordinator, Sales Representative, Politician/Diplomat, or Writer.

I found it humours because within the last week I have thought about changing to the following occupations: Facilitator (with Playfair), Clergy (go to school in Boston), Diplomat (work for the government), and Writer (work for this guy). But it should be noted that one trait associated with my personality type is that I always look for change and can get bored easily, hence the reason I know that there are multiple web sites out there to assist in looking for employment.

Anyway, before I got on this tangent, I posted a picture up top. The Wisconsin in Scotland program is in need of a resident director for their castle in Scotland. Same type of employment as a RD in the US, you still work for Wisconsin, just in a foreign country. Obviously there are not many opportunities like this, and I do happen to have the qualifications for it. What do you think? Should I spend some time working abroad?