My Simpson Experiences

Another week of travel has come and gone, and during this past week, I met a ton of new people. I was able to share so many of my experiences from Simpson with them. Among the thousands I left Simpson with, there are certain events from my four years as an undergrad that come up quite often--such as studying abroad, the relationships I built with professors, opportunities do to research with primary documents, the great friends I met over four years, the ideas I analyzed and the books I read.

As a student, I studied abroad in multiple places (as one of my previous blogs mentioned). I spent a May Term in Thailand and Vietnam, one in Greece and Turkey, and a semester in London. Every time I get to talking about these experiences with people I have just met, I find I am constantly coming up with a new story to tell--like riding an elephant with my friend Nick through the jungle in Thailand, or the day we spent on a rickety huge old boat in Halong Bay, Vietnam, avoiding stinging jellyfish and sunburns--those were good days. Although I learned a ton about the world while studying abroad, I learned more about myself.

I also like to share stories about my favorite professors from my time at Simpson. People are always surprised when I tell them about my years as an undergrad and how I would often meet a professor for lunch, or a pedicure; as often as we talk about personal relationships with the professors on campus, it isn't until actually hearing stories from people who are/were students that you can really begin to understand what that means.

Of course, I have to tell students about the great friends I met over the past four years. I came to Simpson and continued all the way through with one of my great friends from high school, and along with that, I met so many new friends along the way. Some of them I met at summer orientation, or on the first day of class. Others I met through student organizations, study abroad trips, different classes, randomly at the library, or in the dining hall. I met some of my best friends from college through other friends, and some I met quite accidentally. Any way I look at it, I realize that I left Simpson with some of the very best friends in the world--they always say that college is where you meet the friends you'll have for the rest of your life, but it's hard to believe that statement until you actually live it. In my experience, it's true.

Research. Well, often research doesn't sound like something that is tremendously entertaining, but to us history majors, we were in heaven. I worked on a ton of research papers throughout college, but a project during my senior research seminar was one of my favorites. It was based on the history of Simpson during a span of a year during the 70s. We used the Simpson archives, conducted interviews in person and over the phone, read old newspapers, etc. to try to reconstruct what actually occurred during that time here on campus. Putting the pieces together, and being able to place our project into the broader context of Iowa, the nation, and finally the world gave me a greater appreciation for history than I had ever had before.

I also fell in love with reading. Courses in college are quite different from classes in high school. Expectations, assignments, and the time needed to complete projects/papers/and the like are much different. My senior year, I found there were many nights that I would have like a hundred pages to read, and as much as I complained about it and would have rather been hanging out with my friends, I was always content to be curled up in my roommate's reading chair with my blue and white blanket and whatever book it happened to be at the time. I spent hours reading classical literature, poetry, history texts, memoirs, historical fiction, articles on politics, editing papers, and the like. Although I am sometimes glad to not have to read that much every night, I still find myself reading for (get this) fun!

When I first went to college, I knew I was in for a ton of change. What I didn't expect was for that change to shape the person I became by my senior year and the things I became passionate about. I also find that the experiences I had at Simpson have shaped the way I see the world, and the way I continue to live as an alum.

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**For those of you following my travels through this blog, next week I am headed into the great state of Wisconsin for several college fairs. I'll keep you all informed of my adventures in the coming days...

Just another day...

This being on the road stuff is kind of exhausting. For real. Last night, I got everything finished up and it was about 8:15 so I was just hanging out in my hotel room watching tv and was too tired to keep my eyes open, so I went to bed. Yes, at 8:15. And, to make this even better (or worse?) I slept clear through the night, and didn't even have to get up til 7. That's 11 hours of sleep--more sleep than most human beings find necessary, but holy cow did I feel a thousand times better this morning when I woke up!

I started the day re-energized, despite the cloudy sky and the rain that drizzled ALL day long, and my high school visits were awesome! The students I talked to had great questions, and I had ample opportunity to share stories about how great my Simpson experience was. After I told them about: how much fun I had studying abroad in London, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam, Greece, etc., how great and friendly my professors at Simpson were, the wonderfully dynamic classes, all the different majors and opportunities for students, May Term, all the student groups I used to be involved in, how lovely the campus is (come visit, you'll see), all the different sports offered, awesome internships, intramurals, the fine arts opportunities, Greek life, how easy the application process is, our on-campus housing, the close proximity to Des Moines and the opportunities therein, and a bunch of other stuff...well, after I told them about all of that, I was pretty much out of time, so I answered all their questions and went on my merry little way.

I finally made it back to my hotel, did a bit of work and went to grab a bite to eat at this little restaurant close to my hotel. The food was awesome--grilled chicken salad and a side of turkey and wild rice with almonds soup! In the words of Rachel Ray, Yum-O!

Now, I should probably go clean my car. One of the hazards of being on the road for work is the mess that your car becomes. As I was looking over in my passenger seat today trying to find my map, I also found my purse, both cell phones, a couple water bottles, my travel binder, my book, a banana, my calendar, list of high schools, a half drank bottle of Diet Coke, pens, paper, publications, cds, need I go on? Thing is, the car is a MESS! And, that's just the passenger seat. The floor of the backseat contains remnants of many meals on the road, pop bottles, cups, napkins, a random shoe or two, clothes, an umbrella, several binders...it's just insane. And, frankly, to the random outsider looking in, the urge to throw up would probably be quite uncontrollable. It's darned ridiculous, and on the verge of disgusting. The worst part is, I don't have tinted windows so any Joe Schmo can walk by and look in my windows and pass silent judgement due to the current state of my car...Yeah, I should go take care of that.
*But it's getting dark, and cold, so I will probably stay right here in my hotel, warm and growing ever-more engrossed in the television...

One Week Down....

Well, folks, 987 miles later, week one of travel is complete. Along the way I talked to so many great students and their parents about Simpson, and, well, in all honesty, I discovered a great deal about "life on the road." For that reason, I would like to shed a little light and dedicate this blog to the many lessons learned in only the first few short days.

*Don't skimp on the cost of conditioner. I bought an extra set of "bathroom stuff" so that I wouldn't have to transfer it from my bag to my bathroom and back and forth for the next couple months. Well, I thought I would be smart and save a couple dollars...bad idea. Any money you thought you saved will then be spent on the ibuprofen you have to buy to make your head feel better after ripping your hair out with your brush.

*Subway is NOT the easiest fast-food to eat in the car. Although it might seem like the health-friendly option, driving and trying to eat your 6 inch lettuce, pickle, black olive, cucumber and turkey filled sandwich is quite a feat. Although, if you don't mind dried lettuce stuck to your clothes, rock on, "eat fresh."

*That clerk at the gas station looks at you funny when you put a 32 ounce fountain pop on a debit card. I had no cash, and I needed my Diet Mountain Dew. If she knew that my heart ceases to beat without the DMD she might have looked at me differently. I probably should have told her that... *so you all know, DMD is Sara's lingo and I stole it from her! :)

*That hair you found in your sandwich wasn't really there. Dispose of it, and pretend it didn't happen. You'll be a lot happier that way.

*The hotel gives you two beds so that that big bug can crawl between the sheets and die. With a second bed, you can let it rest in peace, and sleep in the other one.

*When hurriedly putting on your nametag, you should check to make sure that it is right-side up. If you were to talk to several families with an upside down nametag, well that would just be embarrassing. I'm not saying that happened, or anything...I'm just saying. Okay, that was a shining moment.

*I didn't think it was possible, but after nearly 1,000 miles in the car, and listening to the RENT soundtrack 525,600 times, it DOES get old!

*Following an oversized vehicle that is driving less than 40 mph along the no-passing-zone hills and bluffs and winding roads of NE Iowa can better be described as pure torture.

Well, that pretty much sums up my week. It was awesome to get into my territory and explore the towns and cities along the way, but after a week out on the road, it was nice to come home for a while. All of my lovely readers in the Mason City area, I'll be visiting you next week! And certainly, there will be more experiences from my life as a "Road Warrior" in the days to come. Until next time...

Ride on into the next town...

Well, folks, I'm TiReD! Today was cuh-razy! I worked this morning, but forgot about a meeting and HAD to get an oil change in my car before I continued driving this week (I was 2,000 miles over and after thinking about that, I was stricken with panic over the fact that I convinced myself if I didn't get the oil changed like NOW my car was going to blow up going down I-80). Point being, I didn't have nearly enough time in the office as I would have liked.

But, on to more exciting things, I spent the afternoon driving to Dubuque. As I'm driving down I-80, I see that I am coming upon Newton. As I look over into the two rushing lanes of on-coming traffic I spot Beth whizzing by me at nearly 80 mph on her way back to Simpson from her college fair this morning. Just to make sure my eyes aren't playing tricks on me, I had to call her..."Did you just drive by Newton?" "Yeah, why?" "I just passed you on the interstate!" "Nu Uh!" "Yuh huh!" Sure enough. Random.

Anyway, I enjoyed the scenery on the way to Dubuque (found a cool place off the beaten path, but that's for another blog that can include my pics!), in some areas along the way the leaves are starting to change colors, and against the sunny blue sky, the open road was absolutely b-e-a-u-tiful. Hours later, I finally got there and grabbed a pita sandwich at this little Greek restaurant that could be a new favorite. I then took a little walk around the neighborhood to see what was there since I had a half hour to waste, and eventually found my way to the college fair where I talked and talked and talked to some really cool students and their parents. Afterwards, I drove another hour and a half or so in a caravan of seven cars, and just got in to Fayette...I am super sleepy. My eyes are burning, and my throat feels like someone rubbed it raw with sandpaper. I better go sleep it off--I'm up for another day of driving through the state and meeting new people again in the morning!! Fayette and Decorah, see you TOMORROW!

Hello, travel season!

Well, friends, I just spent two days on a long date with travel season. We're getting along thus far, and I think this new relationship might actually end up working out quite well! Right now, though, I am back in Des Moines at my apartment --which is actually way too hot and sticky due to this heat wave, and our refusal to turn the AC back on. Anyway, what was I saying? Oh yeah, my date with travel season. So, yesterday I spent the day with another admissions counselor, Andy, at a few high school visits. Our last was in Webster City, and from there I headed straight to Cedar Falls to settle in for the evening. Now, I figured that at some point throughout travel season I would have some issues with maps, and getting lost, etc. What I didn't expect is that it would happen on day one. I am driving down Hwy 20 and I have the directions I printed from the Internet that are supposed to lead me straight to my hotel. I must add that I have not been to Cedar Falls since my cousin's high school football team went to state or something and played there--I was like 8. So, back to driving--I am looking and looking for this exit I am supposed to take, and all of the sudden I realize that I am driving through the Waterloo exits, and it dawns on me that I have clearly gone too far. So I call the hotel to see where in the world I was supposed to have gotten off the highway--sure enough the exit I am looking for doesn't actually exist. Big sigh. Anyway, several unnecessary miles later, I make my way to my hotel.

This morning, I was awakened by a hotel alarm clock that was so loud I literally jumped into being awake this morning; after surpassing the fright, I got ready, checked out, and made my way to the Dome for my fair. I find it very easily, parking is a breeze, and I make my way into the building. Last night, I had a momentary bout of panic as to where and what time I was supposed to be places, and so after re-reading the information, I know there is going to be no elevator. It says something like, there will be one flight of stairs.... Okay, cool, my stuff weighs about 704 pounds, but I can handle that. Imagine my surprise when I find the stairs and realize that by one flight they actually mean like four stories worth of stairs...needless to say, I was sweating and gross by the time I had my table set up...right on!

But, when the students finally arrived, I had a blast--I met a TON of AwEsoMe students today--there were just so many great people! You all know I'm the rookie here, so to actually be out meeting students, getting to know them, and doing what lies at the heart of this job--well, that was great. And, frankly, it was a lot of fun.

After that, I drove back to Indianola, went to the office and realized how much stuff I have to do. Then, I got all sorts of anxious, tried to knock a lot of it out, but then decided I was too tired and really just wanted sweatpants so I decided to bring the work home, and on my way into Des Moines I decided that I really really wanted Fazolis and so I went and got it, but it is so out of the way of my house--well, not really any farther from home, it just takes about twice as long, but come on, when you want pasta, you want pasta. Anyway, by the time I got my food, and got all the way across town I had wasted several minutes of precious time. And now, I am blogging, but have to finish my work, and repack as tomorrow I am back in the office in the morning and then I am leaving at noon to head to Dubuque for a college fair (see you there) and then after that I go to Fayette, stay the night, have a fair there and then one in Decorah on Thursday, and finally on Friday I will be heading back to the office to catch up on work and go to meetings all afternoon. Somewhere in there, I am going to find a second to breathe...and, in all honesty, I LoVe it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Take me out to the ball game...

No, I mean, take me out OF the ball game....

Last night was my second game of slow-pitch softball on a league I've joined. It was gorgeous outside yesterday, until about 7:00--our game was at 7:15. I got there at about a quarter to 7 so that i could stretch, jog a bit, and get ready to play. By game time, it had gotten windy, cold, the sky turned into these nasty looking black clouds, and was starting to rain just a bit. We were up 6-3 or something close to that in the 3rd inning, and it was my second time up to bat. I was thrown a bunch of balls, and eventually was walked to first base. Pretty uneventful, right? That's what I thought too...

Then, Ali gets up to bat. We've got two outs, and Eric, my first base coach says "You're running on anything." Okay, cool, I can do that. So, Ali hits the ball, and I tear off running for second base. Steps one, two, and three are fine, but on step four, I am certain my life is going to end. Imagine taking both hands, sticking them into your thigh, and then pulling the muscle in opposite directions--that's pretty much what this felt like. My right leg hurt so bad that it was all I could do to walk back to the dug-out (we had an extra girl playing last night so I was rotating innings--I was sitting out), and got to the bench where I held my breath and rocked back and forth for several minutes occasionally gasping for breath, before the pain subsided a little.

Finally, innings are switching up, my team comes back, someone gets me some ice, but it's pretty apparent that I am going to be sitting out for the rest of the game.

Then, it gets better. It is my turn up to bat again, and if I don't bat they get an automatic out. So the idea is that I go, bat, get on base, and then we put in someone else to run for me. Uh huh, this is going to work really well--I'm thinking I'll just hit one out of the park, because then I can gimp around the bases, and it will take at least 15 minutes for me to get home. If you know me at all, you know my idea here is ridiculous. Anyway, I hobble out there, strike out, and hobble back into the dug out, bruised and humiliated...

The drive home was fine. As long as I drove cautiously and used only my heel to move my foot from pedal to pedal, I was fine. Any emergent stops, though, that required lifting my leg, were pretty much excruciating. And, to make things even better, it's 4 flights up stairs to make my way to my bed. I'd've sooner eaten nails than make that trek again.

After a night of ice packs and laying around, Ibuprofen, and sleep, I've woken up feeling sore, but much, much better. And, I better heal quickly and get back into shape, because friends, next week starts TRAVEL SEASON and I'll be documenting the best parts of my life on the road as the rookie! All you NE Iowans, look for me at a college fair near you next week!

I (heart) Wednesday!

Well, I love Wednesdays. The BEST thing about Wednesdays is 'Last Comic Standing.' We're down to the last three--in about five minutes one will be eliminated. I LOVE Gerry Dee, and if he loses I might simply break down and cry. John just got saved, and, sadly, I have a sneaky suspicion Gerry might be heading back to C a n a d a: "O Canada! Our home and native land! True patriot love in all thy sons command. With glowing hearts we see thee rise,The True North strong and free!"

Even so, Gilbert Gottfried is a guest spot on the show tonight, and if he doesn't make you smile, well, nothing probably does. Don't know Gilbert Gottfried? Well, you might remember him from the movie "Problem Child," where he played the really annoying principal, or, you might know him from the ever so popular and unforgettable movie, "The Amazing Sea Monkeys"--A movie I've never actually heard of, but it's a fabulous transition into my next topic: Monkeys!

Tomorrow is a pretty exciting day. I am going to the Great Ape Trust with several other people from Simpson. So the day is actually more about apes, and less about monkeys, but whatever. Anyway, this place is in Des Moines and is an ape sanctuary and research facility for gorillas, bonobos, chimpanzees, and orangutans--and we get to go spend the morning there and check the place out. Simpson will likely have a lot of connections to the Great Ape Trust in the upcoming future, so this is a pretty exciting thing. I was there once last summer, and one of the bonobos had just died, thus they were in kind of a transitional period, so I suspect it will be a bit different this time. I'm SuPeR eXciTeD.

Well, folks, Gerry Dee just lost--and he cried. I feel badly for him, but, I managed to hold it together. I mean, come on, he missed the birth of his first born for this show (no joke) and now it's over. As is this blog.

Pick me! Pick me!

On my 27 minute drive home today I had a lot of time to do some thinking. Amidst the internal curses at the sunglasses clad man in the Mercedes who was driving, punching on his PDA, talking on his cell phone, and checking his watch while simultaneously merging into my lane (and basically into my car--thank goodness for trusty brakes!), and the formation of mental lists for the rest of the week, I ended up grumbling to myself about things that I still want out of my life. I want my Internet back (which, thank my lucky stars, after a month of no service my Internet provider is off my naughty list!), I want to go buy new clothes, I want to move back to London, I want to take a trip somewhere new at least 6 times a year--I want to travel--I'm gol-darn obsessed with traveling, I want to go out for dinner every night and see a movie afterwards. I want this, that and the other. And, if I think about it long enough, much of that seems ridiculous. (Work with me here, I'll get to the point where you all realize that I am not that petty and selfish...give it a couple paragraphs!)

I think sometimes I get too bogged down in thinking about the rest of the things I want to do in my life that I forget how great today really actually is for me, and if I think about it long enough, I realize how fortunate I am--I mean, really, I have a great job, lovely friends, and I laugh daily. As I was installing my new Internet (high five!), I grabbed my journal from my Thailand May Term trip off the shelf and decided to flip through it. That was my first trip out of the country without my family. As I read through the passages from before we left, I was surprised by how apprehensive and scared I was. And I was even more surprised at how much I seemed to have changed in those three weeks. And, if I think about it long enough, I realize that I am blessed--I am lucky, and often we (or maybe just I) get too caught up in the things that seem so silly that I forget to appreciate all the beauty and wonder that I already have--and I have it good! Among other things, traveling opened my eyes to that.

Now, after traveling in college, I think that "going" has become part of my very being (which is probably why this job, and the traveling therein is about perfect for me!). I itch to go, to leave, and to wander. Any random trip that comes up in life, I'm like a freakin' kindergartner who really really wants to be called on with my hand up in the air squirming in my chair: PICK ME, PICK ME! And every time the teacher is like, "Jamie, you answered the last question, give someone else a try, shh," it about kills me to put my hand down, but I do so, begrudgingly, knowing that I'll volunteer again for the next one...



***p.s. you can check out the experiences of some Simpsonites abroad in London for the semester on their blogs:
Dr. Palmieri's : http://simpsoninlondon.blogspot.com/
Drew's : http://sc-blogger3.blogspot.com/

12 things about me, because 10 wasn't enough.

A few things you might not know about me.

1: I'm a middle child. I believe that middle-child syndrome exists, and that I suffer from it severely. Just ask my family.

2: If I could do anything in the world as an occupation, I'd be a writer--someone like Carrie in SATC, only more like Miranda, but subtract the column, and add novels--that's who I'd be...I shoulda majored in English, too.

3: I LOVE movies in which the characters speak with a British accent--the movie can even be total rubbish, I simply don't care. If I see that movie in the theatre, it's even that much better!! I LOVE all things England; I want to move there.

4: I lived in Germany for three years as a child; my little sister was born there.

5: At this stage of my life, I have no athletic ability--who am I kidding, I never did; although, as a youngster, I was a pretty good archer. I even won trophies and stuff (I should give a shout out to my grandpa for teaching me how--thanks gpa!).

6: I had braces, twice. Since we're on the teeth topic: one of my front teeth is dead (or whatever the dental terminology is). The summer before 2nd grade my cousin threw a cardboard box at my face, hit me square in the mouth, and the rest is history. I'm not sure he ever apologized--punk.

7: My face turns red a LOT (I like to refer to this as red face syndrome). Usually only when people talk to me, make me laugh, make fun of me, ask me questions, force me to talk, when I tell a joke, do something embarrassing, when people look at me, when I read aloud, you get the point. It's not that I'm embarrassed (I mean, sometimes, yes, but not as a general rule); I think I just have some sort of chemical imbalance. It's horribly bothersome.

8: When I'm stressed, I drive around and turn up the soundtrack to RENT really really loudly for a good 15 minutes...then, life is all better. I wish I was a better singer.

9: I had 2 little lizards as pets as a child--Lizzie and Fred. One summer day, I set their cage too close to an air conditioning vent, and they froze to death. May they RIP. I'll never forgive myself.

10: I was a total tom-boy until 5th grade. And, since my parents gave me a unisex name, it was very easy for people to assume I was a little boy--and believe me, they did. * I'd post a picture, but I'm too embarrassed.

11: I love spending time alone.

12: Sometimes, at the library, I park in the "30 minute parking" spot, but I stay longer.

Well, there you have it. Now you have a little more insight on me and my life--not that any of it is particularly invigorating. Take it for what it's worth--I'll unveil more later!

"Take me out to the ball game....

Take me out to the crowd,
Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks..."

Last night was my first visit to see the ICubs this summer. I quite enjoy watching baseball, but even more than that, I love going to baseball games to watch the people. Last night was filled with lots of quirky little events that left me wondering about human beings in general...

First of all, we weren't even a third of the way through the game when the man with the booming announcer voice comes over the loudspeaker and says "Ladies and Gentlemen, could you please direct your attention to the jumbo-screen (or whatever it's called)." Everyone looks over to see a message that said something like "Suzy Jane, will you marry me?" And all of the sudden, the happy couple is on the screen and she's crying and hugging him and he's concentrating on not dropping that ring into the pile of three month old peanut shells, ketchup, and stickyness on the concrete floor below him. It was quite sweet.
*Note to my future husband : don't even think about it.

The best part about this was that as I was licking the salt and ketchup off of my fingers while shaking my head as an answer to my friend's question: "what if that's how someone asked you to marry him?" and they put MY FACE on that darned jumbo screen. There are thousands of people in the stands, mind you, and they picked me at that exact moment. My friend was sitting beside me and starts laughing because there I am, just lapping the condiments off my fingers like a pig in slop, oink oink. Classy!

Soon enough the little cart that shoots hot dogs out of the back comes around. As they take their aim and shoot a hot dog into our section, this cute little blond boy maybe five years old or so climbs up on one step of the railing and reaches out to claim his victory. This flying processed meat in bun is only two inches away from the little boy as this grown woman leans ahead of him, and totally snags the hot dog. She then turns her back on the little boy and passes it off to her 12 year-old-ish, Dennis-the-menace-but-a-little-rounder looking, son who then snickers at the little blond boy as he shoves the hot dog into his mouth. Humanity at its finest.

No game is complete without kids running around dressed as hamburgers, pizza and hot dogs; there was a dancing contest among four little boys; we sang take me out to the ball game, and totally smoked Omaha. Finally, our night was capped off with the last fireworks show of the season. All in all, it was a pretty fantastic evening. I'm going for game number 2 of the weekend tonight with my sister, her husband, and my niece Emerson--we'll see how it compares!