no school

there is no school today. however, it remains a busy type day for all of us, i feel. the critical issues symposium is going on today and i had the good fortune of seeing Cheryl and Linda Brown (of Brown v. Board of Education) at a keynote session this morning. they were both extremely eloquent and the session itself was quite powerful.

later, i will be singing with the chapel choir in a mid-afternoon worship service. should be a great service. i also found out that i will most likely be doing my secondary priniciples and student teaching placement at jenison high schools, so i am very excited about that. they have an incredible program, a place where choir directors actually team teach classes. for those of you who aren't hip to the choral teaching world, that is pretty darn remarkable. i am very excited!

i'm off. have a splendid afternoon. until...

it has been many days

since i have posted in this fine personal forum we call 'scenes from an italian restaurant.' i am really not sure why. as i have said before, this place is incredibly therapeutic. i get to tell you all about my day and hope that you care. don't worry, i know you do.

today has already been a day and it is only 11:33 a.m. i decided i should get the oil changed in my car since it was about one month overdue. due to the new cottage parking restrictions, i had to turn around in the backyard of our neighbor's house. i am not sure that it was a completely kosher move, but i wasn't getting out any other way. we got the oil changed, and stopped by college east apartments for the purposes of mid-morning salutation when it was realized that my wheel and hood were mildly smoking. we opened her up, and still didn't know what was going on, so we called dad. he assured me that the 10W-30 that jorge and juan put in my car would indeed keep the engine block from melding to the pistons, so that was good. we also decided that the smoking was probably burnoff from sort of spill that occured during the oil change process. great. good to know.

i finally obtained a device that would allow me to extract the pictures from my digital camera. as i went to make the extraction, i had the good fortune of losing all of the pictures i had taken at the george w bush rally. thankfully, i did not lose the ones i took during orientation. that would have been a travesty and a tragedy.

so, it has been quite a day. but we're just going to pick up the pieces and have a great day because the sun is shining and god is good! have a blessed day, y'all!

two very cool things

have happened to me in the last two days.

first of all, i got to see president bush in person at the ottawa county fairgrounds on monday. i was a volunteer and part of the so-called 'rally squad'. i can't even say anything funny about the day. it was just flat-out impressive. i don't care what anyone says, he commands attention by the way he speaks. the media does a great job of painting this picture that he can't speak english or doesn't know what he's talking about. simply not true. his speech was just solid. he's the man we want running our country for the next four years. oh no, he's not perfect. but i think he's the right choice.

secondly, i was cast as the title role in hope's production of bernstein's 'candide'. i consider it to be on of the greatest honors i have received at hope and i cannot wait to completely immerse myself in the role. it is going to challenge me more than anything i have ever done on stage, but i just want to do it and give it everything i have inside. this is such a special opportunity. music rehearsals start tonight (that'll larn 'em, darn 'em) with our good friend kerri daab. should be a wild time.

and now, for something completely different. until...

good-natured post about women making men wait

before i begin, let me just affirm the sentiment of this particular post's title and say that these next few paragraphs in no way have the intention of stirring up ire in the hearts of the females (or males) that will read it hereafter. the intent is instead to comment on an all-too-common tale.

"i'll be ready when you get here". "okay, honey". this exchange is one you've probably heard at some point in your life. i wouldn't go so far as to say that women outright lie to men when they say this, for surely they don't. i am sure that no girl has ever really had the intention of making their beau wait for them. but it happens.

my issue here is not out of anger or even personal experience. i have simply observed this phenomena in the relationships of those around me. in fact, she who i would call "the girl" is incredibly punctual and has never made me wait for her. and even if she did, i would be okay with that, for she is absolutely worth waiting for. but i can't help but feel sorry for these poor chaps who are forced to sit around and watch reruns of "full house" or even "the golden girls" while their beautiful, intelligent girlfriends complete their routines of getting ready to leave the house or apartment, whatever the case may be.

ladies, i know what you're thinking. (actually, i really have no clue, but let's pretend for the moment that i do.) you're thinking, "oh man, what is this turkey trying to say? who does he think he is?" what you need to know is this: man cannot live without woman. it's a force of nature. we would all lead ridiculously insignificant lives if were not for the wondrous female species. seriously, all kidding aside, i think i can speak for all men and say that without woman life would be boring and probably would not smell as good. in fact, if it weren't for woman, there would be no man--i need say no more.

thank you, ladies, for teaching us men to be patient and to savor every moment of the day. we are certainly better off for it.

thank god it's friday

well, hello there. welcome to my afternoon. it's friday the tenth of september and my elephant pride is starting to show. i'm going to be volunteering at president bush's rally on monday the thirteenth. sunday night there is a secret service briefing and i am thoroughly excited to be a part of that.

anyway, i needed to share this exciting news. now it is class time and then a little thing we like to call the choir retreat. see y'all on the flip side!

forty-three minutes until showtime

here we go, folks. four minutes of writing on this thing and forty-three minutes until showtime. a little callback action, a little twelfth street action and we'll call it good.

we have had the best stretch of weather these past few days. unfortunately, the polo/golf shirt i am current'y wearing continues to shrink every time i put it in the dryer. it's a tragedy that i can't get my act together in that respect.

now it's time for a little thank you. to you, who supports me in a way that no one else really can. your thoughtfulness made me smile today and will no doubt bear a positive effect on my evening. in fact, it already has. it couldn't be more wonderful, really. you take care of me, i take care of you and it's all good. so thanks for being you...

my four minutes has quickly concluded. until...

i should be doing homework

but i'm not. you see this next four minutes will be my chance to get everything i'm thinking about on this little page. you may care, you may not. but what matters is that for some reason, this darn thing is therapeutic. i can't figure it out.

anyway, today is wednesday. some call it hump-day. for me, there is a striking inappropriateness to that particular classification, but hey, whatever floats your proverbial boat. minutes ago, i was attempting to create an edition of an old caccini manuscript and if that doesn't get your heart racing from excitement, i really don't know what will.

what's frustrating is that i can't get bloggerbot (oh my, that is a strange word) to upload my picture files, otherwise anyone reading this would be inundated with the latest and greatest in photographic bliss.

well, my allotted four minutes has reached its conclusion and i must return to caccini. until again we speak (or whatever this is)...

labor day

many on our campus are laboring today. it's the hope college thinking that if students (especially first-years and that kind of sounds like harry potter) were to have a long weekend right after school started, many would go home and retreat to the comfort of that environment and perhaps never come back. it's a long shot, but it's probably true. me, i don't have class until later, hence the reason i am pining away my next seven to eight minutes writing in this electronic thought-fest we call the blog.

it was a fine weekend. we wrapped up orientation with a downtown holland party and i was both happy and sad to see it all end. it's amazing how four months of your life can go by so quickly, but i was entirely pleased with how it all turned out and i think many of the freshmen were as well. what a blessing to work with fun people all summer, put together a great program and get paid while doing it!

sunday was a fine day as well! a little church action followed by some panera, a lazy afternoon, a little leftover chinese for dinner, add a touch of the gathering and call it good. i got to bed at a decent hour and proceeded to hit the snooze no less than twice this morning, after which i conked (not a real word) my head on the bathroom counter (not an activity i would recommend at nine in the morning). thankfully, some frozen foods came to my swelling rescue, and here i sit, with a slight headache, but not really any worse for the wear.

soon, it will be lunchtime and then time for a little work in student development. it's beautiful outside although kind of warm, but we'll take it. my seven minutes has concluded. until...

oh, the places we went

well, it has finally begun to wrap itself up... it is sunday, august 29, 2004 and we just had the greatest weekend of our lives. i can honestly not believe how well this has went! the ADs came. the OAs came after that. then the new students came with their parents, siblings, relatives, and friends. we had move in day when karen and i ran around campus on golf carts, helping locate lost dell computer towers, boxes of garbage cans and hangers, and the occasional box fan. dykstra is a large residence hall with a lot of dorms. this is what i came to learn this weekend.

then we didn't have buses for the trolley tours. that was not so fun. then we performed H.O.P.E. for the parents and mom and sister came. perkins. then a return for a meeting a b & b. orientation extravaganza in the pine grove. saturday came with a little bit of rain. we called the picnic and had a minor kerfoffle as all the parents wanted to eat in the same place. karen and i spoke at several sessions. i troubleshooted as one new student did a faceplant during a rousing game of link tag. sad day. then to eighth street grill for a little dinner. playfair was rockin'. then the luau. i can't stand the booty dancing, but oh well. sunday came and we had a little brunch with the mom and sister. i came back and worked on some things before singing in the opening convocation. some picnic time at the bultmans' backyard bbq. they had a roasted pig. it was off the wall crazy fly. then orange and blue for you. it was sweet with a little twelfth street action to open. followed by the best orientation video you ever did see. the greatest sussie i have ever gotten. an antique painted chair. then the great handing out of the sussie. the nalgenes were sweet. and now a little coffee house and maybe a little sleep as well. until the next time i post.

what a day

here i sit, taking a blog break after a long day that is not over yet. tomorrow i move back into the sauna and i cannot wait. although i've loved living in the luxury of the sauna, i more than welcome the opportunity to get back to living with my brothers in van saun. i hope they've all had awesome summers and are ready to get back to school.

we had a bit of a stressful one today, but even after all these hours, we're holding up and looking forward to another day. we're making it, and are very excited for all of the staff and new students to come to hope. like i said, tomorrow is move in day, and i just pray that that will go very quickly and smoothly so that i may get back to the office and make that my priority.

a big thanks to chris avery for all of your help today, we couldn't have done it without you.

and thank you, for loving me the way you do each and every day.

until again i break for the purpose of blogging, a pleasant good night to you all...

it really is bedtime

well, i should be going to bed right now. i need to get up in less than seven hours for a workday that could conceivable top out at sixteen. it's okay though--i really do love what i am doing. in several days, our staff will start to arrive and i simply cannot believe where the last three and one half months of my life went. i've been packing up my things in kraker and i so easily remember bringing them in on may 2 2004. what a ride it's been. school is coming quick. but first, some quality time with the class of 2008. we can't wait for them to come (as long as we're ready for them). we will be. i am not worried about it. however, i should have gotten a receipt at wendy's. i'm not convinced that a bacon mushroom melt (no matter how good) is worth the $5.50 i spent on it. but i was nourished. and now, as i begin to babble, i shall hence to bed while i am still cognizant enough to brush my teeth. with that, i bid you all (i assume that someone will read this, otherwise i am just talking to myself) a fond good night and pleasant dreams. good night. au revoir. auf wiedersehn. good night.

taking a blog break

well, if the word "blog" weren't weird enough, i am now taking a break from working to participate in the activity of posting to my so-called "blog". i'm over it. and now, after eleven and one-half hours away from my wonderful apartment, here they are, my thoughts on the day...

we had a good day today! about 14 days until new student arrive and we are in fairly good shape. i know karen and i are both very excited that our staff will being coming early next week...we are pumped to have some help around here!

do you ever feel like you have ten things on your plate and you don't know where to start? that's about how i've felt the last couple of days. it seems i can't have enough post-it notes around my little desk here. we'll see you soon...

workin' in the O

the issue is this (and the subject does say it all): "workin' in the O" means nothing to anyone except myself and maybe my esteemed co-director karen schuen. i know, right. so when i use it as my away message, i have to ask myself if anyone will really understand what's going on. well, now's a good time to start i suppose. i have been working for the last three months as a director for orientation at hope college in holland, michigan. yup, that's right. in a little over two weeks, about eight hundred wonderful new students and their parents, siblings, guardians, and gardeners will be on-campus to ring us into a new school year. this has, by far, been one of the single-greatest experiences of my college career. there have been times when i felt i would simply go crazy, but on the whole, i have loved these days.

when i think back on the summer, i have to say how it has felt more like two summers, many months at least. may was wonderful, that's for certain. and then june, with its trips to florida and disney world. space mountain. and july, which came in with illness and ended with a fantastic trip to that state you might never have visited, iowa. that's right cornfields and more cornfields. plus that baseball field surrounded by a cornfield, the field of dreams. and now august is here. i've loved these days.

a first time for everything

i didn't think that i would ever participate in one of these blog-type things. to me, the entire concept of putting all of your thoughts out into one place under the assumption that someone actually cared what you were thinking was a bit, how do i say this, presumptuous. i have, however, come to the conclusion that i was just being silly and that this is a wonderful way to share a little of myself with you, the reader. the truth is, i am interesting.