What I'm Geeking Out About This Week - 06/26/15

Geek-and-proud

Greetings!

Here's what was going on in my world this week:

  • New Student Orientation

This past week has been our summer New Student Orientation at my institution. It's always a fun, exciting time welcoming new students to college and this was the first time I've been able to go through the entire process here. I even helped plan and track everything ahead of this week, so it was really nice to be able to see everything come together. A great NSO can go a long way with paying dividends for the upcoming academic year. If we really a good job getting our new students excited to come to our institution, properly prepared, and generally just feeling like they have support for this big life transition, we can retain more students and have them thrive instead of just survive. I see myself easily (ideally) transitioning to a position with orientation in the near future. It's just so much fun as well as important for the rest of the institution's operations.

I was really excited to see the news this week that we finally have our Peter Parker/Spider-Man casting for the new Marvel Cinematic Universe iteration of the beloved character. Tom Holland will be portraying the webslinger, and since he is a relative unknown, there isn't much baggage coming for the actor, which is good. He has the look and physicality down, so I'm intrigued to see if he has the comedic chops, which is so important for the character, especially go along with the current vibe of the MCU. I'm we'll see much more of Holland ahead of his debut in Captain America: Civil War in May 2016.

Seinfeld is one of my favorite shows of all time. I've seen most of the 171 episodes of the show, but I know there are some I've missed. Hulu now has the entire series streaming as of Wednesday, June 24 (only for their paid subscribers). It brings so much more value to the table for people paying into their service, and now, with a Showtime add-on on the way, it is continually proving to be a solid competition (or companion like I do) to Netflix and the other up and coming streaming services.

Thanks for stopping by!

What I Was Geeking Out About This Week - 05/29/15

Geek-and-proud Here's what is going on in my world this week:

  • Vacation

I took some time off last week since my first year as a professional was complete and it was my 26th birthday, so the timing felt right to get away and relax. I went down to Delaware and New Jersey to see my brother, some friends, and meet more of my partner's family that lives around there. It was a lot of fun, I ate a bunch of great food from the area that I miss (bagels, pizza, diners, etc.) and was able to unplug (mostly). I didn't blog much while I was away and just kept tabs on my email. It was nice to have quality time with my partner before she left for her internship in Boston and to just be out of the office. I'm taking another trip next month to Chicago to see a friend and then I'm sure July will have something fun in it as well, keeping my trend of a trip a month this year.

  • Work

I'm back to the office this week and it's already jarring having the students gone, especially after the whirlwind of closing and my trip. It's too quiet but thankfully the summer (as it always is in student affairs) is a time to plan and prepare for the upcoming academic year. I have a lot of little projects in my queue (including some personal ones) so I'm stoked to get working on them and make next year even more successful. I feel pretty good about how last year went (more on that in a separate post) but there are always ways to improve our systems and procedures (here at my institution especially). Stay tuned for more reflections on how my first year as a professional went.

  • Summer

So I've already talked a lot about summer goings on, but I am pleased to have gotten to this point. The weather has warmed up, the sun is out, I have time to spare for things I care about and some of the positive feelings that were missing during this long, hard winter have dissipated, leaving behind optimism and eagerness for the potential of this summer season. I want to get better about working out, see more of the nature here in Maine as well as some of the institutions here in my home state. I'll let you know how it actually goes, since I'm sure I won't get to everything but that I'll have some salient thoughts from what I do get to.

Thanks for stopping by!

What I'm Geeking Out About This Week - 05/01/15

Geek-and-proud

Good day to you!

Here's what is going on in my world this week:

  • Seinfeld

I love the show Seinfeld. It is a classic television sitcom that stands the test of time. As such, I was pretty excited when it was announced that Hulu will be bringing the complete series to their streaming service beginning in June. I feel like I still haven't seen every episode so I definitely plan to slowly burn through them all to relive my favorite moments and appreciate the series as a whole. If you haven't seen the show before, definitely check it out on Hulu when it's released.

  • Summer!

The end of my first academic year as a full-time professional is drawing close, and as such, I've been thinking about how I want to spend my summer. I'm sure it will be a mixture of work and fun (as I tend to like for my down time) but I want to take in all that I can while I have the opportunity here in Maine. That means trying to venture out to Canada, seeing more of New England, and continuing to appreciate the local offerings here in Maine as well. I hope I can get to it all while also planning and preparing for the next academic year. I have high hopes but I believe I can do it!

  • Sustainability

I've been working with our campus-wide sustainability committee here at my institution, and it made think about how we make change happen at a institutional level. My perspective on it is that it really can be difficult and time intensive, which needs to be acknowledged, but the efforts of committees like ours need to be strongly supported in more than just lip service and pats on the back to make us all feel good. We need broad support and we need financial support to make things happen. We can do a lot with changing behaviors to make a difference, but for sweeping, lasting change, we need to reform a lot of infrastructure, which costs money. While making sustainable changes gives the opportunity for a return on investment, the initial cost needs to be made, and I feel stifled by that concept most times. I also am impatient and have a sense of urgency for fixing the problems that surround us everyday (that I feel may not be shared by others at times). These are just some stream of consciousness thoughts I've had after going to these meetings for a few months.  We have just started this work on our campus, and we feel very far behind already, and then it feels like we can only move at a snail's pace. It's frustrating but I know you have to start somewhere, so I'll do my best to be patient for now.

Thanks for stopping by!