Office Update

The office has been coming together in pieces...but I have been excited about every piece. The cabinets and bookcases all came together within days of my arrival, which gave me a place to unpack, but the other pieces have been coming in a week at a time. Last week my brand new laptop/docking station/dual monitors arrived. Gorgeous! But I was working on the rolling modular cart at the time which didn't leave much for anything but the computer.

The desk arrived a week later (8.17.10). I haven't had a chance to hang my diplomas or "fluff my nest".. .this was 20 minutes after the desk was delivered and the computer moved. It feels a little "undone", but people have been asking to see the place (and I am working on letting some things not be perfect and jumping before I am ready) so, now for a "tour" around the office...

All good tours start at the door... it has my name on it! You can also see my "Strengths" are hanging on my doorknob. There are also a few chairs over there for advising and visitors and such... Oh and my favorite part may just be the new DRIOD on the desktop!

After coming in the door, you are looking straight at my bookcase of mementos... some things State FFA Office, some things NCSU, some things Mizzou, and room to grow the Oregon State collection (with my Achieve sign from the Velez's - Achieve is my top "Strength" on Strengthfinder). And, of course, a shelf for family! And the plants made the move from MU to OSU. 

 

Then you get the first view of the desk, complete with name plate (Thanks Ryan!) and business cards and TONS of workspace. The computer is phenomenal and I am using a laptop with a docking station so I can take everything on the work computer home as well as pick it up and take it to the classroom to teach right on MY computer. The bookshelf in the background is still a work in progress... mostly because it is still short a few shelves. And The M&M guys made the move, but I haven't filled 'em up yet.

Finally, a nice view of the desk from my side. Lots of storage: 4 drawers, 2 file drawers, a pencil drawer, and a pull-out keyboard shelf. LOVE IT! (even though it is not dark wood that I could use to "intimidate undergraduates!) And you can even see out the door and into the outer suite. 

P.S. If you click on the pictures, I think you can make them bigger so you can see in more detail.

Reading through summer

I am a geek. People use lots of different terms to classify the characteristics they are talking about:  nerd/ geek/ overachiever*/ smartypants/ teacher's pet. I have been called all of these at one point or another. I prefer geek. I admit it and fully acknowledge and embrace my geekiness. 

I think these terms were first applied because I like to read... most anything and as often as possible. I would go to the library as a kid and my mom would put a limit on the number of books she would allow me to carry out. I also like school. I have been in school non-stop (working or attending) since 1985. According to a friend's kid, I just finished the 21st grade. :-)  I read for fun. Grad school put a bit of a cramp in my reading for fun because I spent all day reading for school. I had to get glasses to keep up with all the reading :-)

So, once I got past that whole dissertation thing this spring, the starter's pistol fired and the race was on to read as much as I could before the academic job began and reading purely for fun went on the back burner again. Here are the one's (that I remember) I have read since May 15.

My favorite of the summer was BY FAR "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak. I found it while browsing some recommended reading lists online. It's set in Nazi Germany and narrated by death. Sounds morbid, I know, but I couldn't put it down. I think it is listed as young reader material, but it wasn't available when I was a young reader (it was released in 2005), so I am just catching up. Everyone should read it.

LOVED "Life of Pi" when I read it back in 2004 -because one of my SGHS kids was reading it in English classes and recommended- so when I saw a new book by Yann Martel, I jumped. I bought "Beatrice and Virgil" even though it was only out in hardback, which I never do. It was just okay ...so if you haven't read it, check it out from a library or wait until it comes out in paperback. Definitely no "Life of Pi."

 

My friend Beckmeyer got me hooked on Russo and in the last year I have read a ton of his stuff  (That Old Cape Magic, Empire Falls, Nobody's Fool, Straight Man, Mohawk). "The Risk Pool" did not disappoint. Next on the list, "Bridge of Sighs."

"The Secret Life of Bees" is one of those popular "IT" novels that you get a lot of buzz about all at once, but a really quick read with a neat story - and, bonus: then I got to rent the movie (with Dakota Fanning, Queen Latifah, Alicia Keyes, Jennifer Hudson). Both were entertaining!

"Rebecca" - Another classic and apparently made into a film by Alfred Hitchcock WAY before I was born (well, before my parent's were born). Now the film is on my "to-rent" list. And, like all things Hitchcock might gravitate towards, there was a nice twist.

"Brighten the Corner Where You Are" - Another one of those from a recommended reading list. Worth the time.

"The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" : I thought this was a great story - even if a friend I recommended it to was not exactly excited about a boy and his dog! And, maybe the only "Oprah Book Club" book on the list. (I won't hold that against it.)

A class. I threw of few of these in just for fun. Now I can say I have read "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn"

"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time": Amusing note: I read the entire book with the voice of one of my former students in my head as the main character (both happen to be autistic).Neat story.  

Yes Indeed, That's LC's second book, "Sweet Little Lies". I told you it wasn't exactly high-brow stuff (and I admit it, I loved "The Hills").

"Game Change": one of the only non-fiction items on the list, but I wouldn't say it was exactly academic in nature. All the behind-the-scenes dirt on the 2008 Presidential Election. Interesting stuff!

And, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" is the one I am finishing this weekend: so far, it's awesome...and, being made into a movie. The other two Stieg Larsson books in the series are now on my to-read list, but it may be Christmas before I get there.

That's because the current list is related to the fact that I am teaching leadership this fall and next spring. The current list includes "Today Matters" by Maxwell, "Cases in Leadership" by Rowe, "The Leadership Challenge" by Kouzes and Posner, "Leadership" by Northouse, "Leadership" by DuBrin, "Teach with your Strengths", "Emotionally Intelligent Leadership" by Shankman and Allen, "Good to Great" by Collins and a stack full of supplemental materials that I could use to teach. Good thing I like to read!

*Rob Terry says "Over Achiever" is not the correct term because it implies that I have achieved beyond my capabilities. Therefore, "High Achiever" is more accurate, but he may be the only one who has called me a high achiever.

Art in the Garden

This Saturday I went to 'Art in the Garden' at Garland Nursery. What a neat little place! They had a wine tasting (and free coffee - which was much more up my alley) along with local artists and vendors. I just strolled around the garden center and snapped some photos. I need to take a class in photography! They had an amazing bonsai section! I want to take a class in that, too! (Anyone doubting that 'Learner' was my third strength in StrengthsFinder?)

It made me miss working at Homewood in college or being a "plant geek" of a teacher, and taking field trips to garden centers all over NC with plant ID teams. Good times....

I am broke and I live in an apartment...combining those two things meant my only plant purchase of the day was a $7.00 orchid (I love orchids!). Although, I almost drooled myself dehydrated over a gorgeous dissected Japanese maple. They grow so well here.. Well, everything does! I did take a business card from a local artist who shoots black and white images of Oregon. Some of his work will be hanging at my place before long. Gorgeous stuff.

I then tried out a little pasta place here in town and had the mac and cheese (just for you Annie!). It definitely wasn't The Rome :-( The search goes on....

Where I Work

Well obviously I work at Oregon State...And, I get lost all the time so I am the worst person to give the tour. But I am the only one offering :-) I definitely haven't made it all around campus yet, but here are the highlights.

The Stadium

Valley Library

The MU (Memorial Union)

And here is my specific building: Strand Ag Hall (built in segments between 1909-1913).

The great part about our location is that we are right in the middle of things. We are between the Valley Library and the MU so if you could fly, my building would be right in the middle of things.

My office (there is lots of green in Oregon so you will have to take my word... my office is back there). Once I have permanent furniture in my office, I will show you the inside.

It's County Fair Time

So I spent Friday night at the Benton County Fair and took in all the sights.... booths, games, rides, demos, rodeo and more. Here are some shots. I tried to be good and steer clear of the fair food. I only had a sno-cone.

They had logging competition - not something I have seen at a county fair before. These were just kids but it was neat. This was a race to climb the trees.

This was the only part of the rodeo moving slow enough to capture with my super-slow camera... the kiddie stick horse race.

I just liked this sign....

 The entire midway... it was a pretty small fair, but good. A thoroughly enjoyable evening.

The weather was a phenomenal 70 degrees. Perfect fair weather.... so I did the very Oregon thing and walked, yup, WALKED to the fair. It was about 2 miles... each way. It wasn't so bad going because it was 6 in the evening and all down hill... (there is a mountain back there if you look hard). Gorgeous views everywhere I look.

Coming back was a little more entertaining. It was cooler but ALL UP HILL. The rodeo ended and the concert was going ("The Guess Who" was playing). I could hear them my whole walk back. But about a mile in to the walk and up a particularly steep hill I had this vision of these nice people sitting in the living rooms with the windows thrown open, enjoying a cool summer night and listening to "These Eyes" while a 30 year old woman was walking along in the dark breathing hard. It cracked me up so much I laughed out loud. And I am sure that made them wonder even more!

Times they are a changin'

I think Bob Dylan said it best: "The times they are a changin'".

Since the first of July, I have a

new car
new apartment
new job
new couch
new chair
new smart phone
new address
ring full of new keys
new bookcase
new office
new license plate number
new parking tag
new time zone
new cable/internet company
new business card
new boss/ secretary/ colleagues
new office phone number
new email address
new home office desk
new appreciation for things that stay the same. Hmmmm...maybe I am not the self-professed change-junkie that I thought I was.

Ode to Naps

This blog is supposed to be dedicated to all the new adventures in Oregon. I have only been here for two weeks and have only had my things here for a week... so i spent this weekend settling into the casa and breaking in the new couch :-) This means my biggest adventure so far has been... weather. I know what you are thinking, but wait!

More specifically I am talking about perfect sleeping weather. In North Carolina, we get a few weeks in the spring and a few weeks in the fall when the weather is just perfect. You know: great temperatures, nice breeze, low humidity. The kind of weather where you throw the windows open and sleep like a baby. That's Oregon right now. We are hitting day time highs in the lower 80's. Since I have been here, we have only passed 90 twice. But the nights are the best because as the sun sets, the valley cools, the breezes blow (at times it gets downright windy), and nighttime temperatures are in the upper 40's to low 50's. I am off to bed :-) Of course.. .perfect sleeping weather means it is that much more difficult to get up in the morning.

My Things Arrive...

So the moving truck showed up yesterday. I guess that means I should'a blogged about it yesterday, but I was exhausted by the end of the day, even though all my things fit in this tiny U-Haul. The best part was someone else drove it and unloaded it. And, they put everything right where I wanted it :-) It's the only way to go.

It was like Christmas morning... a REALLY long Christmas morning. This was especially true of the items from the kitchen because in Columbia I was renting a room in a house and kept my kitchen items stored in the garage. I really did unwrap things that I didn't remember I owned. 

I have all the boxes emptied and out of the house except one. MAJOR progress! However, while it all may be unpacked, it is definitely not put away. There are two reasons for this. The first issue is that my closet here is dramatically smaller than my closet in Columbia. That's okay because I have too many clothes and my closet is in desperate need of a purge if not a downright overhaul. 

The second issue is that I did not move my desk from Columbia. It wasn't so much a desk as two base kitchen cabinets and a Formica counter that I moved from my townhouse in Archdale, NC. It was time to retire it so when one of the movers offered to take it off my hands, I agreed. That, of course, means I need to find something new.  Insert Craigslist advertisement here! I love Craigslist. I know I know... some med student in Boston was killing people he met on Craigslist, but I have had tremendous success shopping on Craigslist. I found my Columbia casa on The List. Today, I found my new desk... (and a "project" but more to come on that later). Love it!

The best part of Craigslist is that you talk to people... and I have been in need of people to talk to.This desk was from a very nice girl (she is about my age, but married with 3 kids...that always blows me away!) who invited me to come to church with her on Sunday. She is from "back east" (Ohio) and moved here in college to play basketball for Oregon State. When she heard I was new to Corvallis, she immediately declared herself my "first friend". Of course, I have already met some great people that I am going to be working with at OSU so I am willing to call her my first non-OSU friend. Hopefully the first of many friends to come! 

Lessons from Columbia

Three years ago next week I moved to Columbia, Missouri, to begin work on a PhD. Immediately I didn't like it. I missed ACC sports. The Midwest was vastly different from the Southeast where I grew up. Sweet tea was not readily available. I didn't know anyone. My family was 850 miles away. I began to notice that I was going whole days without speaking to anyone... well, anyone except the poor clerk at the store who got my life story when she asked "how are you today?" There were many evenings spent wondering "What am I doing" or "how I could give up friends and family for this?"

Less than a month after I got to Columbia I had pretty tremendous back pain, ended up in surgery and, amazingly, friends sprouted up around me like Forsythia blooms signaling the end of winter. I suddenly had a network of supporters who rallied around me. They cooked, they doggysat, they allowed me to live with them (Thanks Amy), they packed/moved everything I owned in an afternoon, they covered my classes, they even tied my shoes (thanks again Amy). From that moment on... Columbia was home. Friends started sprouting up in ANOVA class, at church, and around the office.

Fast forward 3 years and the sadness I feel at leaving Columbia is hard to describe. In my head I know it would not be the same, even if I stayed, because Columbia was never intended to be my home. It was intended to be a stop along the journey to teach me not only academic but life lessons. I have made some great friends in Columbia. (Ironically, many of them are not there anymore either or won't be there in another year or two.)

I have learned a lot about myself and those hard learned lessons from Columbia have made the move to Corvallis a little smoother. I still think I have gone about 48 without talking to anyone (except those poor store clerks), but I know that means it's time to put in a call to family and friends (and hope they call me sometimes, too). I don't want to have another back surgery to find my Corvallis family. I know I just have to be patient and I will find them, just below the snowy surface, waiting to bloom.

Money Money Money

The best part about not roadtrippin' anymore is that I have stopped spending $120 a day on fuel. However, the money hemorrhaging has not stopped. First, there was rent for the new apartment, then the cost of a summer parking permit and, of course, the cost of restocking my modest kitchen. That is not the end, however. While the moving truck is scheduled to arrive on Monday, there are plenty of things I do not own because I didn't need them in Columbia. In fact, when the truck arrives the only things headed for the living room are a coffee table, an end table and my TV. So seating is a problem....

I thought I would start small:  A bookcase to hold the 9 cartons of books that will be coming (and that doesn't include the books for the office). It was one of those build-it-yourself jobs.  I think it turned out well. And, today I picked up the barstool since my apartment has the little bar area.

The bookcase went so well that I got ambitious and found a small console table for $25 at Fred Meyer so I snatched it up assuming it would go as smoothly. INCORRECT ASSUMPTION! It was made in Vietnam and required much more complex tools. In fact, as good as it looks in the entryway here... the top is not technically attached and will not be until my real tools arrive on the truck.

So.. combine that lack of seating with the boredom of nothing to unpack and not officially being on the job yet and....ta da..shopping spree. Behold my first ever new furniture (ignore the hideous pillows on the couch... they will be finding a new home). The couch is great.. for sitting and napping. It is firm enough for my bad back so I love it. The chair is even better. It swivels!

On a lighter note... I STILL love the Murano and spent the afternoon babying it with an oil change and a hand-washing to remove the bug population I collected in my 3,000 mile journey. Hopefully this time it will take me a little longer than 2 weeks to require another oil change.