tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75942882011-08-09T07:21:13.785-06:00Pnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2571100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1128378312532636322005-10-03T16:10:00.000-06:002005-10-03T16:27:09.856-06:00

All -When I worked at Amazon.com, the easiest way to say goodbye to a large group of people was to send a single email to everyone you knew (and in the early days, to the entire company). These emails were often funny, usually clever, and always sentimental. Every now and then a random tirade would come barreling into your inbox, spilling its guts about the injustices of the world and Amazon's

Pnoreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1127770094831853852005-09-26T15:27:00.000-06:002005-09-26T15:28:14.840-06:00

In Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe details the life of a tribal leader in Nigeria whose existence is slowly – though painfully – destroyed. It's less about colonialism (although the arrival of missionaries thoroughly wipes out any hope we might have for the protagonist's return to power) than it is about pride, erosion of tradition, and change.At least, I think that's what it's about. It's been

Pnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1127691660244671492005-09-25T17:40:00.000-06:002005-09-25T17:52:50.066-06:00

The UW club water polo team practices on Sunday and Tuesday nights. I started going about two weeks ago after being convinced by a fellow student in my post-bac program to try it out. I've always enjoyed water; I consider myself a decent swimmer; I've been trying to swim for exercise for several weeks now, but this is without a doubt the hardest workout I've ever had, wet or dry.Coed water polo

Pnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1127690681268244612005-09-25T17:24:00.000-06:002005-09-25T17:24:41.276-06:00

Well, folks, it's Sunday afternoon and I'm bummed. Not significantly or even unusually bummed, but bummed nonetheless.Mostly this has to do with being sick of school and the RA gig and the whole thing. I just want to get into the classroom and start teaching. Yes, yes, I'm learning some really important stuff – especially in my Teaching of English Methods classes – but overall I'm sick of sitting

Pnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1127181718711609062005-09-19T20:01:00.000-06:002005-09-19T20:01:58.723-06:00

Spent the weekend at K's place in Denver, or more accurately, K's older sister's and brother-in-law's place in Highlands Ranch. Sunday was J's birthday, and K's other, younger sister A and I drove down on Friday after class, negotiating some really obnoxious front-range traffic. A handled it great, though, even after I encouraged her to cut off a rather large dump truck. Hey, we needed into the

Pnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1126646681879570162005-09-13T15:24:00.000-06:002005-09-13T15:26:41.356-06:00

Tuesday, 12 midnight to 12:20am. Perform final hall round. Overhear a young woman say "I'll switch you shirts" in a rather loud voice behind a closed door in Crane. Hear other voices as well. Knock on door. Politely ask them to shut up.Tuesday, 12:20am to 12:45am. Finish reading articles and try to declutterize room. Notice that a pile of papers sitting on my desk are mostly outdated flyers I was

Pnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1126646617465453742005-09-13T15:23:00.000-06:002005-09-13T15:23:37.470-06:00

Monday, 7:00am. Wake up fully rested by alarm for the first time this semester. Feel refreshed. This feeling lasts approximately five minutes, when it occurs to me in the shower that I have a metric ton of homework and reading due on Tuesday.Monday, 8:00am. Breakfast at Washakie. Avoid Honey Nut Cheerios because the last time I tried them they were plain Cheerios because the Washakie staff can't

Pnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1126646559021856862005-09-13T15:19:00.000-06:002005-09-13T15:22:39.026-06:00

"What is, 'Paul had to bust people during his HR shift for noise complaints because they were so loud while they were gettin' it on?'"Alex: That's correct!

Pnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1126225507975133222005-09-08T18:23:00.000-06:002005-09-08T18:25:07.980-06:00

This blog has mostly refrained from getting way too personal about stuff. Sure, sure, I've crossed that line a few times, but generally the extremely personal details of my life are pretty much none of your damn business.Still, some things are worth sharing.I'm dating someone. K and I have known each other for over a year now, and a relationship that started as friendship has evolved into

Pnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1126053197502740962005-09-06T18:30:00.000-06:002005-09-06T18:34:31.430-06:00

Go see The Forty Year Old Virgin. I haven't laughed that hard so consistently in years. A group of us went Sunday night, and maybe it was the people I was with, maybe it was because the four male characters were as cleverly and accurately written as any males in recent cinema, or maybe it was because the middle aged woman next to me was laughing so hard she was crying, but I'm sitting here

Pnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1125845220185606732005-09-04T08:38:00.000-06:002005-09-04T08:47:01.790-06:00

I spent yesterday watching college football - lots and lots of college football - instead of freaking out about homework. Yes, yes, I have roughly 100 pages to read and a five pager to rewrite this weekend, not to mention some tricky assignments to crank out in my Methods class, but I woke up yesterday morning and thought I could use a day off.Wyoming lost but so did Colorado State, and when it

Pnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1125621984663876782005-09-01T18:38:00.000-06:002005-09-01T18:46:24.670-06:00

Folks, I'm not sleeping well and I have no idea why. Last night I went to bed at 11, woke up at 2, and never went back to sleep. Yesterday I woke up at 4. The morning before that was the adventure with HR (which has since blown over).And during the day I'm an idiot. In class I can't concentrate for shit. I've already dropped the ball on two assignments out of sheer inattention.The good news is

Pnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1125519421891480872005-08-31T14:05:00.000-06:002005-08-31T14:17:01.900-06:00

Methods of Teaching English - Basically, this class takes place in two parts on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The afternoon section is tailored for more advanced students, which includes my fellow post-bac graduate students. This class is going to be one hell of a lot of work, but also very valuable in terms of preparing me for student- and real-world teaching. The most important class I'm taking this

Pnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1125408863986319462005-08-30T07:32:00.000-06:002005-08-30T07:34:23.993-06:00

Okay. It's two and a half hours after that previous post. I just called my boss and gave him a brief overview of last night's incident. After some quick questions, he assured me I did fine. He also wasn't surprised I couldn't find the report form, because apparently that seems to be a trend throughout the department right now.All's cool. But I'm still very sleepy. And that last thing is still

Pnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1125399118149908902005-08-30T04:49:00.000-06:002005-08-30T04:51:58.156-06:00

Well, folks, I'm writing this at 4:15 in the morning because I can't sleep, and I haven't been asleep for several hours now. I'm on on-call duty tonight, and at 2:30 the desk worker called me. I won't get into the details of what's going on because it's really nothing major (and it's confidential anyway), but the actual incident isn't what's bugging me.For this kind of situation we're supposed to

Pnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1125098932689090192005-08-26T17:25:00.000-06:002005-08-26T17:28:52.696-06:00

Well, actually, it's been steady but overall not too bad. Well over half of my floor is checked in; I'm taking a quick break in my room and the desk worker promised to call me if I had any arrivals.As with last year's move-in Friday, I have eaten nothing but sugary food today. Literally. Nothing else but sugar and carbs and caffeine.And now I feel a little oogie.

Pnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1125028587216381522005-08-25T21:56:00.000-06:002005-08-25T21:56:27.216-06:00

Hitting the deer last night was an odd moment. Technically, we didn't hit it so much as it hit us - it literally jumped into our car's rear quarter panel. Dazed, it proceeded to wander directly into the path of the behemoth pickup behind us. By the time we turned around the other driver was already out of his truck, digging in his toolbox for a knife. The deer, not yet old enough to have lost its

Pnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1125028552424578062005-08-25T21:23:00.000-06:002005-08-25T21:56:52.073-06:00

Check-ins start tomorrow. Keep me in your prayers.Last night a combined group of Crane and Hill staffers drove over to Saratoga to hang out in the hot springs there. It was a great night; we got back at 2 this morning after having reached and breached the limit of adventures a group of RAs can have in a 140 mile trip. Pulled over by the cops? Check. Mooning the other carload of RAs on I-80 at 1:

Pnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1124902019231814712005-08-24T10:44:00.000-06:002005-08-24T10:46:59.236-06:00

Well, two of us anyway.N and I have early check-ins scheduled today, and have been excused from a training session which looked not only agonizing but also completely irrelevant to the Crane RA job.Small mercies.

Pnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1124677437996918502005-08-21T20:22:00.000-06:002005-08-21T20:23:58.003-06:00

Okay, things are looking up. The room fiasco was solved by a last-minute cancellation on the women's wing, my desk schedule is limited to two four hour shifts (Sunday morning and Thursday night), and I don't have to get up early tomorrow morning. That last one is actually irrelevant since I'm an early riser, but after the weekend I've had, I'll take what I can get.Turns out the campers had a

Pnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1124648107589949082005-08-21T12:14:00.000-06:002005-08-21T12:18:49.463-06:00

Bad: I learned yesterday that I couldn't go camping because I had an early check-in.Good: Last night some friends stopped by and we drank port and watched Old School.Bad: Seeing those friends made me really miss last year.Good: Another early check-in arrived late this morning. Thank God I was here or she would have been really super pissed.Bad: Due to an administrative snafu she had been assigned

Pnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1124641927482772332005-08-21T10:31:00.000-06:002005-08-21T10:32:56.363-06:00

A little picture of what Crane hall looked like in its heyday.

Pnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1124570921775873962005-08-20T14:47:00.000-06:002005-08-20T14:48:41.786-06:00

Well, folks, it's been a very busy week and is ending, at this very moment, on a sour note. More on that in a minute.RA training is going better than it did last year, but that's a bit like saying this year's colonoscopy is better than last year's. Some of the sessions are vaguely interesting and occasionally relevant. Most of them are exercises in mental anguish. I literally walk out of the

Pnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1124045962768947542005-08-14T12:53:00.000-06:002005-08-14T12:59:22.776-06:00

Because I'm all about mnemonic devices and I'm also all about not having a webcrawler find my number online, I present to you my new number in Crane:307.POOR1AHor, if you prefer . . .307.POOP1AH

Pnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1124027131832445432005-08-14T07:43:00.000-06:002005-08-14T07:45:59.486-06:00

I'm back in Laramie after a week in Illinois, where it was hotter and more humid than a boiler room in hell. Nothing too exciting went down on this trip; mostly I sat around and read. That first Sunday my mom and I drove up to Chicago to see my sister and her family, but other than that. . . nothing too major.Although come to think of it I did walk to the UI campus and back (my mom lives about a

Pnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1123220920939472362005-08-04T23:34:00.000-06:002005-08-26T15:01:18.290-06:00

Folks, it's been a busy week.I'd been in my second class of the summer for the previous three weeks; it's my first graduate level class and probably the single most useful, informative, and inspiring class I've taken at UW. This week is the last week of class, and we've been consistently busy turning in various assignments, including lesson plans, an electronic portfolio, and obviously having

Pnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1122841792159900202005-07-31T14:29:00.000-06:002005-07-31T14:29:52.166-06:00

A little proof for the doubters out there. This is the USGS marker at the very top. 

Pnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1122841653189779692005-07-31T14:27:00.000-06:002005-07-31T14:27:33.196-06:00

The peak. Most of the mountains in the background are in Colorado. 

Pnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1122841560009993612005-07-31T14:26:00.000-06:002005-07-31T19:40:28.056-06:00

Me at the peak.The trail started in that little slot above my left ear where the woods and rocks meet.

Pnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1122841310255159812005-07-31T14:21:00.000-06:002005-07-31T14:21:50.260-06:00

At the peak, looking north. That's Elk Mountain. 

Pnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1122841026840085492005-07-31T14:17:00.000-06:002005-07-31T14:28:19.656-06:00

A little higher. Still a long ways to go.

Pnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1122840983957286142005-07-31T14:16:00.000-06:002005-07-31T14:16:23.963-06:00

Looking at the ridge from the .9 mile marker. Still another 1,000 ft. and 2.6 miles to the peak. . .  

Pnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1122840824036864212005-07-31T14:13:00.000-06:002005-07-31T14:13:44.046-06:00

As your body grows bigger / Your mind must flower / It's great to learn / 'Cuz knowledge is power! / It's Schoolhouse Rocky / A chip off the block / Of your favorite schoolhouse / Schoolhouse Rock! 

Pnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1122840717113646162005-07-31T14:11:00.000-06:002005-07-31T14:11:57.120-06:00

From the Mirror Lake trailhead the trail gains about 1,000 ft. of elevation in less than a mile. This is at the .9 mi. mark, looking east. Laramie is over the horizon at center somewhere. 

Pnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1122840510762215362005-07-31T14:08:00.000-06:002005-07-31T14:08:30.766-06:00

Willie, this is looking towards your neck of the woods. I realize you can't tell from this picture, but the snowy mountains just behind the tree are the range through which Rabbit Ears Pass cuts. I think one of those smaller lumps is probably Hahn's Peak. 

Pnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1122840377185232712005-07-31T14:06:00.000-06:002005-07-31T14:06:17.193-06:00

Me at Libby Flats. Medicine Bow Peak is the slightly higher lump right of center (almost directly above my left shoulder). 

Pnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1122840150188223652005-07-31T14:00:00.000-06:002005-07-31T14:02:30.196-06:00

Three friends and I hiked Medicine Bow Peak yesterday. I still think it's longer than 3.5 miles, but I'll skip the long-winded trip report and just post some pictures instead. Although I will say that first 1.5 miles of that hike is remarkably brutal for a non-technical trail.

Pnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1122241979784277902005-07-24T15:50:00.000-06:002005-07-24T15:55:24.440-06:00

And we should mention, just for the record, that we're about to get all Code Red on his ass for this little fuckup.

Pnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1122152490278401022005-07-23T14:35:00.000-06:002005-07-23T15:12:50.513-06:00

I've mentioned previously that I enjoy pranking people. For about a week now we've had a random set of linens sitting on the lobby counter, and a few days ago as I leaned over the counter I smelled something really bad.I sniffed at the sheet, tentatively and from a very safe distance. Nothing. The blanket? Nothing. The pillow?Oh. . . My . . . God. I'm not exactly sure how a pillow could come to

Pnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1122150830038026292005-07-23T14:27:00.000-06:002005-07-23T14:33:50.046-06:00

That's what it's like to sleep in my room: hotter than hell. So hot it gives you bad dreams. Hot and lately, filled with bugs. So I had to close my window, which makes it hotter.Two . . . weeks . . . left . . . in Downey . . .

Pnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1122128635620109882005-07-23T07:49:00.000-06:002005-07-23T08:23:55.723-06:00

One has to lower one's standards when dealing with debate camp. You can't expect them, for example, to be asleep at four in the morning. Nor can you expect them to take noise complaints seriously. Nor can you expect them to use their swipecards to enter the building, which means they have to buzz in - a very loud and very obnoxious buzzer goes off when that happens, and I have to get up to hit

Pnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1122059167413070892005-07-22T13:05:00.000-06:002005-07-22T13:06:07.420-06:00

Some of you may have seen a post earlier about an experience at an elementary school. I took it down, due to concerns I've mentioned previously. Sorry.

Pnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1121815643023211192005-07-19T17:18:00.000-06:002005-07-19T17:27:23.030-06:00

I haven't even stepped foot in a classroom, but I know not to do this. Granted, this is higher education and the student's name wasn't posted, but still . . . c'mon, man, use your head.But while I'm on the topic. . .This brings up a subject that I've been meaning to broach for a while now, Dearest Readership.[Insert dramatic sigh here]This blog will soon be no more. Oh, it might still be

Pnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1121814365889392362005-07-19T16:23:00.000-06:002005-07-19T17:06:05.913-06:00

Okay, so it's not exactly about Michael Berube, but it's still funny. First a little background.In my two years at the University of Illinois, from the fall of 1994 to graduation in spring of 1996, I more or less fell in love with no fewer than 5 women. Now, when I say I "fell in love" with these women, I mean that I found them physically attractive and they were smarter than hell... and that

Pnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1121811662135959622005-07-19T16:14:00.000-06:002005-07-19T16:21:02.140-06:00

So, I'm sitting here working the lobby desk - although I use the term "working" very loosely here - and surfing around the blogosphere. Lo and behold, it's one of those days when I randomly come across blogs that are not just well-written but also just goddamn smart. I think I found one of them via my main man Michael Berube (funny post about Michael Berube impending) and the other one, well, I

Pnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1121638670782486212005-07-17T16:15:00.000-06:002005-07-17T16:19:03.610-06:00

Picture this: an ESL student from Japan, whose English is still very, very, VERY much his second language, sits on a lobby sofa. Across from him, a person from the ESL office expounds at great length on the difference between K-Mart and Wal-Mart.

Pnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1121632074885973602005-07-17T14:27:00.000-06:002005-07-17T16:20:35.643-06:00

I haven't been sleeping well all summer. I've narrowed the reasons down to three sources: a rickety bunk bed from the Ford administration (whenever I climb up to bed I feel the whole thing shake, and the feeling that your bed might collapse is not exactly an ideal sleeping environment); my room this summer looks out over Grand Avenue, Laramie's busiest street, and at any given moment there are

Pnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1121221225239037702005-07-12T20:18:00.000-06:002005-07-12T20:20:25.246-06:00

It's almost official: as of the start of my new class yesterday, I'm a grad student. I don't have to apply to the Graduate School until spring for some reason but the class will count toward graduate credit. It's called "The Art and Science of Teaching," and so far I'm really impressed with the instructor. He's a GA pursuing his PhD in Curriculum and Instruction, the same field in which I'll

Pnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1121127165921724922005-07-11T18:09:00.000-06:002005-07-11T18:13:36.906-06:00

Do not, under any circumstances, click here.Apparently these are not Barbie dolls but real people. Which frankly scares the shit out of me. Big thanks, I guess, to Mary for sending me the link.

Pnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1121049958455841422005-07-10T20:23:00.000-06:002005-07-10T20:47:38.613-06:00

Friday afternoon I took off for Lander, where Chad lives. He and I had been planning a weekend, non-serious car-camping excursion practically all summer, and lucky for me (but luckier for him), his fiancee's family has land in the Owl Creek Mountains near Thermopolis. It's just over 3 hours to Lander and the drive can be brutal - giant rolling hills with a 75mph speed limit, semis, tourists in

Pnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1120604307369796822005-07-05T16:40:00.000-06:002005-07-05T16:58:27.390-06:00

I had yesterday completely off - my only shifts are 2-10 on Sundays and Tuesdays, and class is over (until the new one starts this Monday). So basically I have a week off, and the 4th was a great start.After sleeping in until 8, I cooked up some tasty French press coffee and watched ESPN for, like, a few hours. Then I went to the local driving range and got my mid-irons to work pretty well (and

Pnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1120573338151159472005-07-05T08:20:00.000-06:002005-07-05T08:23:00.650-06:00

Blogger is screwing me. New posts are simply replacing the most recent mosts, and the posts they replace aren't showing up in my "edit posts" tab.Uh. Not cool.

Pnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1120522497979334662005-07-04T18:11:00.000-06:002005-07-04T18:14:57.983-06:00

How very odd.Yesterday I posted a couple of paragraphs about how I get hooked on golf every year at this time, and then the post just plain disappeared. Which would explain, hopefully, the title of the previous post.I spent the morning hitting a few buckets at the local driving range. For the first outing of the year, I didn't swing too poorly. I got decent but not impressive distances, even by

Pnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1120421342067867212005-07-03T14:05:00.000-06:002005-07-03T15:50:37.203-06:00

Rothfuss is my best friend - we've known each other since junior high but weren't really friends until the last day of our sophomore year of high school. I have many, many, many stories about him, but for now just swing by his blog and check it out. Be sure to check out the pictures of his son Connor.

Pnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1120229325393616392005-07-01T08:35:00.000-06:002005-07-01T08:48:45.416-06:00

A completely random selection of my favorite moments/scenes from movies:In Boogie Nights, John C. Reilly's segue during Amber Waves' cinematic ode to Dirk. There's a guy in my class who goes off on tangents just exactly like that, and I struggle to keep from laughing out loud every time.The tavern gunfight in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Sure, sure, the Germans are shooting MP-40s in 1936 (MP-40

Pnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1120006502283740702005-06-28T18:44:00.000-06:002005-06-28T18:55:50.316-06:00

Thanks to Mags, I have the opportunity to share some very embarrassing trivia.1. What were three of the stupidest things you have done in your life?A. I made a Very Large Personnel Mistake That Could Have Ended Up in a Lawsuit at Amazon. Get your minds out of the gutter - I just tried to fire someone without having good (enough) documentation.B. Buying a 2wd instead of a 4wd truck.C. Telling my

Pnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1119659624837270312005-06-24T18:28:00.000-06:002005-06-24T18:42:33.180-06:00

What happens when an incredibly bright literature professor draws the ire of an incredibly inept political hack? Why, the incredibly inept political hack winds up looking like the complete fucking moron he is, that's what!Horowitz, if you're reading this: give up. Everyone's laughing at you. Even your friends.[Editor's note: I took a class from Michael Berube in the spring of 1996 at the

Pnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1119627340271487862005-06-24T09:26:00.000-06:002005-06-24T09:44:39.583-06:00

This summer I'm trying to lose some flab and generally get in better shape. I'm biking pretty much everywhere; I'm doing daily arm exercises with two 20lb. weights; I'm eating a healthy diet.Except on Thursdays. Thursday is my cheat day, when I eat whatever the hell I want to eat. I still do that other stuff on Thursdays, I just also eat crappy food. Yesterday at lunch I had some nasty cafeteria

Pnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1119403231016600522005-06-21T18:08:00.000-06:002005-06-21T21:43:30.870-06:00

Kind of a rough day.In class we talked briefly about Greg Michie's book "Holler If You Hear Me," and then watched the first part of a video about school funding with Bill Moyers. The video compared school districts in rural, urban, and suburban Ohio, and demonstrated how the current system of school funding has an immediate and direct impact on the lives of students. I have a few thoughts on this

Pnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1119291329233792862005-06-20T12:08:00.000-06:002005-06-20T12:31:33.736-06:00

One of the major geological features in eastern Wyoming is Laramie Peak, 60 miles north/northeast of Laramie (or, if you're looking at a map, it's just west of Wheatland). At 10,272 feet, it seems like a reasonable day hike – just drive up to the trailhead on the west side of the range, grab the daypack and hit the trail. Take impressive pictures from the top, drink some water, and walk back down

Pnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1119145951570522382005-06-18T19:46:00.000-06:002005-06-18T19:53:23.400-06:00

After a busy day in the sun playing frisbee with K and then later with two guys from the summer staff, I rented four movies tonight because I'm bored out of my skull and also sunburned.First up is Sideways, which I'd heard about but never seen. I'm in the middle of it now but have paused it because the line quoted above just made me cackle for like a minute. I share some uncomfortable

Pnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1118928908747150602005-06-16T07:25:00.000-06:002005-06-16T07:35:08.753-06:00

Class is going full-bore and I'm mostly enjoying it. Yesterday we covered major philosophies and just barely touched on how those philosophies might affect education. We've already had a few good exchanges, and the truly touchy stuff is yet to come - our reading assignment last night focused on power structures embedded in cultural behaviors, and how those behaviors are often implicitly racist.

Pnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1118799725420897702005-06-14T19:40:00.000-06:002005-06-14T19:42:05.426-06:00

Figures. The day after I write about how shitty the weather's been in Laramie, we get a (relatively) nice day. Sunny. Warm. Almost - not quite, but almost - hot when standing still in the sunshine. Still windy though.

Pnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1118767999497415672005-06-14T10:52:00.000-06:002005-06-14T10:53:19.503-06:00

Anal Expedition, Anal Ram, Anal Tundra, Anal Legend

Pnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1118725122733335812005-06-13T22:55:00.000-06:002005-06-13T22:58:42.740-06:00

I came across this gem on Boatertalk:When you're on the road, use the word "anal" as a prefix to the car names you see out there (Anal Explorer, Anal Rambler, Anal Escort, etc.).My favorite so far: Anal Probe.

Pnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1118720177699183462005-06-13T21:33:00.000-06:002005-06-13T21:36:17.700-06:00

Wyoming's all wacky and shit with the weather. Fine, Mother Nature, thank you for the lesson.It hasn't been above 80 degrees once this summer, and it hasn't been above 70 degrees in over two weeks. It's been in the low 60s and windy and/or rainy every single day for almost three consecutive weeks.Did I mention they shut down the university's boilers over three weeks ago? Because they did. The

Pnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1118719975333008812005-06-13T21:29:00.000-06:002005-06-13T21:32:55.340-06:00

I started my first summer class today. EDST 4000, Foundations of a Diverse Society, promises to be a rollicking three hours every afternoon for the next three weeks. Okay, maybe not "rollicking," exactly, but at least it's intellectual stimulation. I mean Christ, I can only read 250 pages of Patrick O'Brian daily for so many weeks before I start looking for other forms of entertainment.The class

Pnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1118593197315289922005-06-12T09:58:00.000-06:002005-06-12T10:19:57.333-06:00

After a twelve hour shift at the desk, we still had enough light to head into the hills for a few hours of fishing. A and I debated on the 1/2 hour drive how many people would be at the lake, a tiny but well-stocked secret in the Snowies' foothills.There was only a group of three other guys there, but what they lacked in physical presence they made up for in behavior. Picture the most redneck,

Pnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1118496138235789292005-06-11T07:05:00.000-06:002005-06-11T07:28:14.136-06:00

I'm working a straight 12 hours at the desk today, from 6a to 6p. Due to a rather heavy mail day yesterday I didn't have it all done by 2, when my shift ended. I let the next person know about the remaining mail and she seemed to understand what needed to happen; namely, two plastic crates of magazines and stray letters to be forwarded or returned.This morning, when I relieved my fishing buddy A

Pnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1118457116749840582005-06-10T20:28:00.000-06:002005-06-10T20:31:56.756-06:00

Partly because of Leslie's suggestion, and partly because it's cold out, and partly because I work from 6am to 6pm tomorrow and will be going to bed soon, but mostly because I'm just bored, I'm about to weigh each and every piece of camping gear I own. Then I'm going to - because I'm nerdy - enter that data into an Excel spreadsheet. Then I'm going to - because I'm really nerdy - categorize each

Pnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1118361218532335572005-06-09T17:50:00.000-06:002005-06-09T17:53:38.533-06:00

One of my alltime favorite interstate rivalry jokes:Q: How do you know it's springtime in Wyoming?A: All the license plates turn green.

Pnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1118151018513478112005-06-07T07:30:00.000-06:002005-06-09T17:49:53.680-06:00

Of the six summer RAs, five of us are from Orr Hall’s staff this past year. One of them, A, is also a Secondary Ed major (although he’s focusing on Science) and as it turns out, one hell of an outdoorsman and fisherman. We’ve been talking lately about how cool it would be to hike through the Wind River Mountains, maybe from Pinedale to Lander. That trip is 40 miles as the crow flies, at an

Pnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1117918549930070512005-06-04T14:41:00.000-06:002005-06-04T15:08:36.250-06:00

Last night at 6:30 several summer staffers and a few friends piled into two cars and drove to Saratoga Springs, about 70 miles away when the pass is open. Laramie sits in a wide valley with the Laramie Range bordering us to the east and the Snowy Mountains on the west. The Snowies are actually about 20 miles away and five thousand feet higher, so Wyoming 130, the road that cuts across the range,

Pnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1117749325098659832005-06-02T15:50:00.000-06:002005-06-02T16:23:41.286-06:00

See a hockey game in Canada. This goes hand-in-hand with a burning desire to hang out in Canada. For years.Skydive.Build a model boat from the early 19th century. I'm in the middle of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin novels. 'Nuff said.Build a real boat. I'd probably build a kayak or canoe from a kit supplied by these folks.Participate in a physical competition. Something harder than rec league

Pnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1117416774746720632005-05-29T19:26:00.000-06:002005-05-29T19:32:54.766-06:00

Somehow, I'd forgotten that spring in Laramie is tricky. Today has been windy with occasional light showers; it's so dry here that rain evaporates from the sidewalks quickly, even when it's this cold. Well, actually, I'm just assuming it's cold out. I haven't been outside myself, not once today, having taken a nap after my shift and then watching baseball. Fuck you, Yankees!So the clouds have

Pnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1117375810173791742005-05-29T08:09:00.000-06:002005-05-29T08:10:10.183-06:00

It's been an interesting few days.Thursday afternoon I drove down to Ft. Collins, a white-knuckled hour on US 287. It would be a pretty drive except that it’s one of the most dangerous highways in America, clogged with Wyoming rednecks in pickups and Colorado yuppies in sports cars. That’s a volatile mixture in any environment; on a curvy two lane road it’s just plain scary. I made it, though,

Pnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1117207159724459122005-05-27T09:16:00.000-06:002005-05-27T09:20:23.863-06:00

So, obviously, I’m given to romantic notions of sailing and the sea in general, recently stirred by what I’m reading in my plentiful spare time. My sister and brother-in-law gave me Patrick O’Brian’s The Complete Aubrey/Maturin Novels for my birthday, and I’m well over halfway through the first volume. The stories take place during the Napoleonic Wars in the early 19th century; the film Master

Pnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1117205919356804082005-05-27T08:57:00.000-06:002005-05-27T09:01:42.813-06:00

In the summer of 1999 one of my Amazon buddies invited me to go sailing with him in the Puget Sound. He was a prototypical pre-IPO Amazonian: he never finished college, he did things on his own terms (which would cost him his job during Amazon’s First Great Bloodletting shortly thereafter), and he was astonishingly smart. That summer was two years after Amazon went public, near the peak of the

Pnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1117068043092790372005-05-25T18:26:00.000-06:002005-05-25T18:50:12.546-06:00

It's pronounced "vee duh voo," like it rhymes with "peekaboo," and it's an odd geological area just east of Laramie. Vedauwoo is a rock climber's paradise (I'm told - I hate heights) and an awesome place for quick hikes - those rat bastard politicians want to charge five bucks for a day pass, but most locals just park along Forest Service roads and hike in to wherever we want to go. Vedauwoo sits

Pnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1117067099125025822005-05-25T18:24:00.000-06:002005-05-25T18:25:36.643-06:00

Vedauwoo, looking south / southwest. The white strip beneath the horizon near center is I-80. Just to the left of the farthest bluff, you can barely make out the Colorado Rockies' front range.

Pnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1117066817360749862005-05-25T18:20:00.000-06:002005-05-25T18:20:17.366-06:00

On top of a rock outcropping at Vedauwoo, looking due east.  

Pnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1117066605920205992005-05-25T18:15:00.000-06:002005-05-25T18:16:45.926-06:00

Generally I've never been too pleased with my physique. In a fit of humor or maybe caught off-guard during a weekend bender, the gene fairies gave me my dad's stocky torso and core, and my mom's thin limbs and digits. As a result, I'm simultaneously slight in parts and chunky in others. Think of E.T. but with a smaller head.Especially annoying is the fact that I have no biceps or triceps to speak

Pnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1117065228212404762005-05-25T17:53:00.000-06:002005-05-25T17:53:48.220-06:00

My boss stopped by the lobby desk yesterday, and I took the opportunity to let her know about the staff's feelings about the meal plan fiasco. I was as civil and rational as possible, saying that we RAs understood the compensation plan when we signed up and had made a commitment to the job, so there was no impending mutiny or anything silly like that. We were just, you know, kinda peeved about

Pnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1116908106319840932005-05-23T22:12:00.000-06:002005-05-23T22:16:55.260-06:00

Exactly one year ago, I pulled into Laramie and moved into my room over in Orr. I had interviewed and been accepted as an RA for this past school year, but for a few reasons, I had not been accepted as a summer RA for last summer. For one, summer RAs don't have any real training to speak of; summer RAs are almost by definition returning RAs and have therefore been through two weeks of official

Pnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1116624592397937772005-05-20T15:23:00.000-06:002005-05-20T15:45:02.340-06:00

I worked the lobby desk this morning from 7 to 11, and between watching the original Star Wars last night and checking out trailers for Episode III on the Internet, I got a wee obsessive and made a compulsive decision to go catch the 12:30 show this afternoon.Wow.Despite some crappy dialogue (what would a Star Wars movie be without George Lucasisms?), this was the best of the prequels by far, and

Pnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1116443986003577742005-05-18T13:19:00.000-06:002005-05-20T08:26:53.376-06:00

Another prank that I’ve always wanted to pull involves creating nasty, horrible smells in someone’s room. This version is strictly off-limits to residents, since it involves room invasion, but it’s perfect for RAs. In most halls here, where two RAs work on the same floor, their rooms are divided by a bathroom. Sure, each bathroom door locks on both sides, but most partners get to the point where

Pnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1116432681747812892005-05-18T10:08:00.000-06:002005-05-18T10:13:26.976-06:00

The original Star Wars premiered on May 25th, 1977, three days before my fifth birthday. We were living in Brookings, South Dakota, in a large white house a few blocks from the South Dakota State campus. That house and its expansive backyard are about all I remember from my early childhood, although two things do stand out in my earliest memories: I remember a neighborhood kid coming over to our

Pnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1116357612235450222005-05-17T13:10:00.000-06:002005-05-17T13:20:12.246-06:00

So I’m working the lobby desk this afternoon, and taking a break from forwarding mail, when I notice a file on the computer desktop that says “Staff Movie List.” I open it up and sure enough, it’s an Excel file with each RA from this hall listed alphabetically, and a list of DVDs and VHS tapes listed under each name. The staff is gone for the summer. The file is not locked.A wickedly funny

Pnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1116201842773211212005-05-15T18:04:00.000-06:002005-05-15T18:04:02.776-06:00

Steamboat Springs. We hiked up a trail on the valley's western mountain, and this view looks east across the valley. 

Pnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1116201770153274562005-05-15T18:02:00.000-06:002005-05-15T18:07:27.860-06:00

The weekend in Steamboat Springs with Willie and Jenn was, as these weekends always are, a good time. It would have been a better time, though, if I hadn't come down with some wicked allergies or cold-like symptoms on Friday afternoon. I felt a tickle in my throat Friday morning, and somewhere near Walden I started sneezing, and by the time we were hanging out in Willie's condo I was suffering

Pnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1115996361621982632005-05-13T08:57:00.000-06:002005-05-13T08:59:21.630-06:00

Wow. I really didn't think it would happen this semester, but happen it did.Due to a schedule switcheroo that worked in my favor, I'm heading down to Steamboat today to hang out with Willie and maybe do the Yampa town run. I'll be back by Sunday afternooon.

Pnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1115868757329229982005-05-11T21:31:00.000-06:002005-05-11T21:32:37.336-06:00

Every now and then I get completely obsessed with a song; listen to it, play it, study it, sometimes to the point until whatever relationship we had is smothered by my attention. For example, I can't really get excited about Bob Dylan's Tangled Up in Blue or Jeff Buckley's Hallelujah anymore. I've simply worn those songs out; I've studied their lyrics and listened to them in a dark and otherwise

Pnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1115821469261885902005-05-11T08:02:00.000-06:002005-05-11T08:24:29.413-06:00

If you know me at all, you know that I generally hate primetime TV. In fact, about the only TV I watch anymore is SportsCenter in the morning and endless hours of WWII footage on the History channel at night. But some friends convinced me to watch The Amazing Race, and last night . . . well . . . the right couple won the million bucks. For once.First, some background. A group of us went over to

Pnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1115752112218355772005-05-10T13:06:00.000-06:002005-05-10T13:08:32.223-06:00

Some of you might have caught a recent post in which I listed my new address and phone number. Right here. On the Internet. Where random strangers might find it.Heh.Big thanks to MaryAnn who pointed out how very stupid that was. Email me if you still need the new info.

Pnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1115649726471357942005-05-09T08:40:00.000-06:002005-05-09T08:42:06.476-06:00

I spent yesterday moving from one dorm room into another; my new room in Downey Hall is smaller. Much, much smaller. You walk into the room and take a left, and you're at the window. Take a step to the right and you're at the desk. Turn around and you're at the sink. Downey Hall was built in 1965, but judging by the room dimensions you'd think it was built two centuries earlier. It's sort of

Pnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1115476081493716252005-05-07T08:26:00.000-06:002005-05-07T08:29:16.080-06:00

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!Heh.

Pnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1115344749010074342005-05-05T19:50:00.000-06:002005-05-05T19:59:09.016-06:00

It's finals week, and the residents are getting antsy. I walked out of my room this morning to a giant furniture pile/sculpture/fortress in our floor lobby, a trail of toiletpaper that wound up and down the entire floor, and two residents' doors had shaving cream and other unidentifiable goo plastered all over.Yesterday my RA partner and I split a sixpack of Coors and the last of my Jagermeister,

Pnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1115176135628399152005-05-03T21:04:00.000-06:002005-05-03T21:08:55.633-06:00

After numerous edits and five of the most excrutiatingly slow pages of writing I've ever extracted from my brain, I hit the "print" button on my computer at precisely 9:00pm local time. The Senior Seminar research paper, my last assignment of the semester, is currently sitting in a state of near perfection on top of a massive stack of library books on my floor.Why yes, I'd love a beer.

Pnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1115071757843218032005-05-02T16:04:00.000-06:002005-05-02T16:34:08.076-06:00

All that could be done for my Linguistics grade has been done; the final exam this afternoon went okay but certainly not great. A good deal of the exam involved defining terms, short answers, and one essay. . . and given the professor's penchant for precise definitions, my grade depends on whether or not my words matched her words. And really, I'm not having a great writing day (sometimes the

Pnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7594288.post-1114972067059018462005-05-01T12:26:00.000-06:002005-05-01T12:27:47.060-06:00

I took time off from studying and went to church this morning, where my old friend H was preaching. He's the assistant pastor at an evangelical church, and he's heading off to seminary in August. We're slowly rebuilding our old friendship, though, and I'm getting more comfortable talking to him about religion. Part of his sermon this morning actually made reference to some of our high school

Pnoreply@blogger.com1