Monday, October 29, 2012

O Captain! My Captain!

I have never been the captain of anything. Sports teams, cheerleading squads, debate teams, boats-not things in my life. I'm not sure what else one can be captain of but I'm sure I've never been involved. So I'm both humbled by and a little crazy about being the captain of my trivia team.

Back in June (before I moved from CA), I went to trivia night at the Clarendon Grill with some of my friends from work. I've decided to stop using the phrase "work friends." I think work friends implies that I would only hang out with them if work was involved. Work is just how we met; I'd hang out with these guys regardless of work functions. Do we talk about work? Yes. Do we only talk about work? No, so we're friends who happen to work together.

Moving on.

We weren't the best team but we certainly weren't the worst either. There was a nice balance of trivia skills amongst the group (although we could have used a sports person). I was surprised by my knowledge of assassins and the people they assassinated. (This was a category-I killed it. Pun intended.) Allison likes to say that she knows stuff only old people know (she is not old by the way). We have a good representation of generations and random movie/music knowledge. And of course we said that we should do this again. And of course we did not.

Until this past Wednesday.

One of the original team members and I went to hear Junot Diaz talk about his new book, This is How You Lose Her. During dinner, trivia came up and we decided that we would get the team back together with some new additions. I sent the email around the next day and boom: The Idea Exchange was born. Yes, that's our less than stellar team name but it's actually related to something at work so it makes sense to us.

Of course (which I have used a lot today), my fellow trivia team members decided I would be team captain. I'm sure this has less to do with my leadership skills and more to do with the fact that none of them wanted the responsibility. Here are the responsibilities of a trivia team captain (as defined by me):
  1. Fill out the very tedious team information form which includes spaces for team name (which we had to come up with on the spot), team alias (used only for the night-really?), and team member information. I have really clear handwriting (former teacher and all) so I did well here.
  2. Write down all of the answers. Honestly, anyone can do this but it's probably best to let it be a consistent person. Again, handwriting is important.
  3. Take the answers to the trivia hosts.
  4. Pick a prize in each of the three rounds because we came in 3rd (first round) and 4th (second and third rounds) so we got prizes. 
  5. Rally the team. This was the longest trivia night ever. There were a lot of teams and the hosts were not very well organized (I really want to help them with that) so it took 3 hours. Can you imagine that? After working a long work day let's play trivia for 3 hours-I'm fairly certain everyone hated me a little bit even though it wasn't my fault (which they pointed out but still). By the end, there were only 3 of us (from the original 8) so let's just say things fell apart. We finished in 13th place. This is an area I need to work on before the next trivia night. I also hope the normal co-host comes back and they get their act together.
  6. Make sure we have a regular team even if it's not the same people. This is going to be my new thing (apparently). I've already recruited two non-friends from work and at least one more friend from work who wants to play. A good trivia team captain is always on the lookout for solid trivia skills.
  7. Foster a sense of camaraderie amongst the team. I sent out an email the next day with our final score and encouraged everyone to come by to claim one of the prizes (Sweet Tarts candy canes). I imagine this will be my new regular Monday thing to do.
Here's what else I've learned in this one experience of being team captain: I'm ridiculously competitive about really stupid things. I honestly hate the fact that we finished 13th! It's driving me a little crazy. I want us to finish in the top 5 or at least top 10 next time. I want to find a sports person because we will probably need one (although one of the guys did well on this so maybe we're okay). I also think we need to fill out our science and history areas. We have some people with skills in both but need a more rounded trivia knowledge set. Yes, I just used the phrase "trivia knowledge set" in a serious way. The only other time I've gotten this competitive over something was when I bowled with strangers last year. I had fun then too but I was oddly competitive against a group of women I had never met before. It seemed weird to me then and it seems weird to me now.

Maybe this is an after effect of never playing team sports. I've never been really competitive in my work life (back in my admissions days I was a little competitive about application numbers but that was the nature of my office). I wasn't competitive in my theatre days - just bossy. Bossiness and competitiveness are two different things (although being bossy doesn't hurt when you're team captain). Maybe it's the perfectionist in me. Everyone wants to win right?

I will say this: even if we come in 13th place again, it will still be a lot of fun and I will get to hang out with great people. One of the things I've loved about moving back to VA is this feeling of belonging. Yes, I had people to hang out with in CA but I never felt like I was supposed to be there. When I hang out with my friends (from work or otherwise) and we're going to trivia or a book talk or dinner or to get a manicure and have frozen yogurt, it feels like home.

I haven't had that feeling about a place in a very long time.

Yes, we also won Christmas Garland. Please make jokes about my last name and holiday decorations. I've never heard them before.

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Anything can happen on Halloween

Howdy Island readers! I hope you enjoyed our crossover extravaganza. Thanks for reading and look for future crossovers coming soon - Bad Shakespeare will visit us again.

I love, love, love Halloween. It's my favorite holiday. I love Halloween decorations, themed food, costumes, and above all else, the movies. I love horror movies and family-oriented Halloween movies and cheesy Halloween movies equally. You have to have a little light to balance the dark. I like scary movies of all kinds but my favorites are ghost/haunting movies and zombie movies. I also really enjoy a good vampire movie (sorry, Twilight fans I just don't buy it) and I do like 70s and 80s slasher movies like the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Halloween. I can't stand the torture porn slasher movies that are popular now and I hope that they'll go away sooner rather than later.

I can remember the first time I ever saw The Exorcist, the first movie that truly terrified me. I was about 12 or 13 years old and I watched it in the basement (a finished basement with dark wood paneling), at night with the lights off, by myself. Because I'm a moron. It was one of the greatest cinematic experiences of my life and I continue to enjoy scary movies to this day because of The Exorcist. I get chills when I hear the score or see the poster. It's that scary and that good. No other exorcism themed movie will ever compare to this classic. No one should even try because they will fail.

Anyway, I really got into horror movies and books because of Stephen King. My older brother read his novels and passed them along to me. I remember reading Carrie for the first time. It's a truly terrifying novel and the Sissy Spacek film is another movie that terrified and still terrifies me. The creepy Jesus statue the mother has in the closet? The ending? I don't want to ruin it for anyone but I remember jumping out of my seat the first time I saw that last scene. Brian DePalma is a genius. And let's be honest: we all thought there was a girl in our high school that was Carrie and we thought something terrible would happen at prom. Or maybe that was just my group of friends. The other thing that impressed me about the book was how honestly and accurately Stephen King depicted teenage girls and puberty. Girls are awful and Carrie's mom knew it (even though she was off the charts crazy). I get chills just thinking about Piper Laurie saying, "They're all gonna laugh at you."

My other favorite King books are Christine, Salem's Lot, IT, and The Stand (and I like the film versions of all of them too). Let's talk a little about IT. The very notion of a villain that materializes as a clown named Pennywise is enough to make my skin crawl. I have never, ever liked clowns. I think they're creepy and unnecessary. There is nothing, absolutely nothing funny or amusing about a clown. I can't stress this enough. Stephen King hit so close to my actual fears that the book just creeped me out to the point that I had nightmares about it. But I still loved it and reread it several times.  And then the tv movie version came along. And Tim Curry starred as Pennywise. Dr. Frank-N-Furter and The Grand Wizard (two of my favorite Curry roles that are not frightening at all) was now the creepiest clown ever. Around the time this movie came out, I was also watching old black and white creature movies like The Wolf Man and Frankenstein. I think a character like Pennywise has a definite link to those creature features.

Despite the dread or the terror I feel when I watch a horror movie, there's something magical about sitting in a dark theatre (or your parents' basement or your living room) and watching that terror unfold or not knowing what's going to happen next. Goosebumps and jumping in your seat. If you're with someone, do you grab their hand when you get spooked? Or hide your eyes like my friend Jessica? Do you check under the bed before you go to sleep? Do you keep the closet light on? Or the shower curtain open? The shock, the fear - that's why we keep watching.

So because it's almost Halloween and I like you, here are my top 50 suggestions for the perfect horror/Halloween movie fest. I like to mix terrifying with hilarious so my list tries to balance that for you. Unless otherwise noted, I'm referring to the original versions of these movies. I'm not a huge fan of remakes but occasionally one comes along that I enjoy.
  1. The Exorcist 
  2. Carrie
  3. The Worst Witch
  4. Freaks (This is why I love my DVR-this is on this week while I'm at work and I already have the recording set. It's one of my favorite films of the 30s.)
  5. Night of the Living Dead
  6. The Omen 
  7. It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
  8. Rocky Horror Picture Show
  9. The Shining
  10. The People Under the Stairs
  11. Teen Witch
  12. Near Dark (Possibly one of the most unexpected and awesome vampire movies ever.)
  13. Cat People (The 1942 version is creepier but I also love the version from the 80s.)
  14. Halloween
  15. Hocus Pocus
  16. Salem's Lot
  17. The Haunting (1963)
  18. Rosemary's Baby (You know who's awesome in this film? John Cassavetes.)
  19. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
  20. House of Wax (Any of Vincent Price's horror movies are worth a view. They're creepy but also really campy so you know they're fantastic.)
  21. Suspiria
  22. Let the Right One In (I'm told the English version Let Me In is also very good but I haven't seen it.)
  23. The Addams Family 
  24. Bride of Frankenstein
  25. Psycho
  26. Shaun of the Dead
  27. Repulsion
  28. The Others
  29. Dawn of the Dead
  30. Fright Night
  31. The Craft 
  32. Maximum Overdrive
  33. IT
  34. The Mummy (1932-I also really like the first one starring Brendan Fraser. Classic Universal storytelling in both.)
  35. Zombieland
  36. Planet Terror
  37. House of Haunted Hill (1959-The remake in the late 90s was decent but this is classic Vincent Price.)
  38. Nosferatu (I saw the original silent film a few years ago and it's really amazing. The shadows are the best part.)
  39. Corpse Bride
  40. Nightmare on Elm Street
  41. Pet Sematary
  42. Alien
  43. Scream
  44. An American Werewolf in London
  45. The Nightmare Before Christmas (Honestly, I can watch this movie all year long.)
  46. Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, Army of Darkness (You really can't watch one without watching the others so I've decided they count as one on the list.)
  47. Misery
  48. Haunted Honeymoon
  49. Sleepy Hollow (You can decide if you want to watch the cartoon version or the Johnny Depp version. I like them both.)
  50. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (I know most people prefer the tv show to the movie but I love the movie. Kristy Swanson is hilarious and Paul Reubens steals every scene he is in. It's worth the watch.)
I like to mix a funnier or less scary movie with a creepy one and then repeat. It's easier to convince friends who don't like scary movies that they'll be okay if they get to laugh too. Or sing or talk like a Valley girl.

Happy Halloween Island readers! I'll leave you with this:


Friday, October 26, 2012

Crossover Extravaganza: Bad Shakespeare visits the Island of Misfit Toys


                  Hello everyone. I’m not Erin. I don’t play her on TV as far as I know. And I’m not really headed anywhere to the Midwest. I’m Michael Hock, also known as Bad Shakespeare. I’m an old, old… ok, maybe not that old… friend of Erin’s, who knew her way back in ye olde High School Days. Because she has a blog, and I have a blog, we figured it might be fun to switch things up a bit. I promise, I’ll keep the Shakespeare talk light. But it might be fun to share some of my adventures. Eh?
                  So, right now I’m working as a receptionist/problem-solver/Google replacement at George Mason University in their Economics Department. It is way off track of where I want to be in life, which is the guy that tells Scarlett Johansson that looks really good on her for a living. While I’m waiting for that ship to come in, I’d like to be a teacher. A high school English teacher to be exact. I actually came back to work here on campus, not just for the sweet, sweet campus food but also because George Mason will pay for most of my schooling. Of course they can’t pay for my student teaching, which was a major oversight on my part, but it got me out of the Government Contracting Job I had been working.
                  The worlds are… different to say the least. I mean, on the one hand, I am still supporting people. In the case of Government Contracting I was supporting people within the Federal Government, which meant my duties could range from fetching coffee to entering information into a computer to going to the Pentagon at any given moment for an important meeting. A word on the Pentagon: They have their own Virginia DMV. Can I tell you how awesome that is? I was in and out in like, two minutes. It’s like I was in heaven, I swear.
                  Moving on.
                  Anyway, it’s a lot different world being here in academia as opposed to the world of the Government. On the one hand, life is a LOT laid back. When I had my Government job, one tiny mistake could lead to weeks and weeks of agony. No matter how long it took to fix the mistake it always went like this:
                  1. Notice Mistake.
                  2. Everyone does their best not to get blamed for mistake.
                  3. Everyone tries to find the source of the mistake.
                  4. Everyone ensures that the source of said mistake gets traced back to them.
                  5. Random panicking.
                  6. Three hour long meeting on above steps.
                  7. New rules in place to help avoid future mistakes.
                  8. Another three hour meeting to discuss the new rules.
While all of this is going on, some lone contractor has corrected the mistake, probably in just a few minutes. Keep in mind that this is a condensed version. Living it is a special hell that I wouldn’t risk on anyone for any reason, unless they are the person that invented “Gangnam Style.” Meanwhile, working for a University is a little more… we’ll say lax. I really think that most of the people here aren’t quite sure what it is I do, other than answer the phones and order books for them.
                  I will say, ordering the books is a cool part of the job. I get to sort of see what everyone is using, and it’s really the only power I wield here. No matter what anyone says, they all want a little bit of power. This is my little corner of power. It’s not a lot. I don’t abuse it, unless someone is mean to me (then their order gets moved to the bottom of the pile. Imagine that.) Sometimes I just like to sit here and get drunk on my moderate amount of power. One day I may build a little throne of books and announce to passersby that Winter is coming.
                  But I do quite enjoy it. The low stress environment and the non-three hour daily commute has done wonders for me. I didn’t really realize it until I had to be reminded to bring my car in for its oil change as opposed to having to take it in every other month because I had somehow managed to burn through all of the oil in my hellish slog every day to and from work that this might be good for me if for no other reason than the increased sanity. (I also work a lot closer to home.) Because I work on a college campus there’s actually scenery outside, and cool places to walk. There’s always something interesting happening on campus, whether planned or just part of an acting class practicing you happen to stumble across. (That one guy’s Hamlet is a little to be desired.)
                  However, this is really one of those things we call a means to an end. I’m writing constantly (reminder: at the end of this I should shamelessly plug badshakespeare.blogspot.com) and I’m still taking classes to get to my secondary goal of teaching English. Of course, once I’m in front of a classroom I’ll slowly brainwash the kids, so once they graduate from college with their English degrees and take their positions of power, It’s just a matter of snapping my fingers and taking over the world, hopefully before the robots do.
                  Thank you for taking the time to read my little musings.  Erin will be back to her regularly scheduled posts that contain way less references to world domination and robots. But it’s nice stretching my legs and introducing the insanity elsewhere. When you get a chance, make sure you check out Bad Shakespeare. Because anyone can do good Shakespeare.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Ain't talkin' bout love

Because I can't help myself, I watched a Hallmark movie called The Wish List this past weekend. I don't know what it is about having nothing to do and being roped into a silly, love is all around you made for tv movie but I can't help myself. If it happens to feature my crush since age 12 or Rory's dad from Gilmore Girls, well so much the better.

This round: The Wish List. The movie is about a hyper-organized woman named Sarah who tires of dating the wrong guys so she makes a list of all the things she is looking for in a man. And I don't mean that she keeps a list in her head; she puts up a large white board in her closet and writes it all down along with check boxes. It's pretty amazing actually. In the space of days she meets two men - one who embodies almost every item on her list and one who is the complete opposite of everything on the list (Rory's dad from Gilmore Girls). I think we all know where this is going. These movies are addictive because they follow a very specific formula that makes everyone feel calm and loved and hopeful. Damn you, Hallmark!

We all know I love a list so at the onset of this movie, I thought this whole list for love idea was genius. What could possibly go wrong with a list like this? I firmly believe that life's issues and concerns can be solved by a great list. Organizing your day, pro/con lists for things that aren't easy to decide, deciding on which apartment you prefer (you can substitute other material goods here - cars, computers, etc.), making sure you get everything you need at the grocery. Lists are the best.

As the movie progressed, I became completely underwhelmed and disappointed with Sarah and her list (it's also possible that it was the bad dialogue and the overacting but I can't really be sure). I'm not convinced that a list could actually help a person find love. A list is the exact opposite of most of the words and ideas people have about love. A list is rigid, organized, planned, contained. Love may be some of those things but it's also spontaneous, unexpected, uncontainable. I may be passionate about lists but I don't think there's anything particularly passionate about them. No one reads Anna Karenina and wonders if Anna was organized (I'm guessing not) or wrote a good list (it's possible this is true since she did have a household staff and infidelity to manage).

This also goes completely against the idea that life is not linear. I know that's not true and if I tried to plan every aspect of my life, I would never accomplish anything. Or I'd only accomplish the mundane things. I'm realizing that I am way more Type-A than I really want to admit.

The perfect man (in this movie) points out that one of the items not on Sarah's list was actually love. She could list qualities and habits but she couldn't plan for falling in love with someone. She could check off all the criteria but that didn't mean that she felt anything. Interestingly, I had a similar conversation with two friends at happy hour yesterday. Our conversation went something like this: when you're the single friend in a group, your married/attached friends automatically find the single person in the room for you. They work through a checklist of things (single, not a felon, told a mildly funny joke, knows how to read) but don't really think through the longer term connection that's needed to make a relationship work. Being single is the only factor that matters.

So I've decided that this is just one of those things that I will have to stop trying to plan. Instead I will consider the following: the only thing that I really require in the future love of my life is his ability to sit through a terrible Hallmark movie with me without being asked and having Kleenex ready (since I do tend to get weepy when I watch these movies).

Trust me, that's love.



Monday, October 15, 2012

Love, death, and jazz hands


I've recently been rereading some stuff I wrote immediately before and after Hurricane Katrina. This was on of the pieces I thought was interesting (even after 7 years). Enjoy! 

July 5, 2005—West Side Story rehearsal

I’m sitting in a theater waiting for the final run through of West Side Story to begin. I would prefer to be at home waiting for Tropical Storm Cindy to come, hopefully getting me out of work tomorrow. If that happened, I could stay at home reading Chuck Klosterman and being mad at him for beating me to the deconstruction of Lloyd Dobler while I fall more in love with him (Chuck, not Lloyd). I know he will never be Lloyd Dobler and I’m totally okay with that.

Instead I am waiting for West Side Story to begin. And considering how bad the weather will be when I leave the theatre and wonder why rehearsal wasn't canceled. What if a tree falls on my car? I wonder who'll drive me home if that happens.

As I wait, I return to thinking about Chuck and realize that he has it all wrong. It has nothing to do with Lloyd Dobler and everything to do with the musical:
           
            Tony & Maria
            Anita & Bernardo
            Nellie & Emile
            Maria & the Captain
            The Camelot love triangle
            Fanny & Nicky Arnstein
            Mimi & Roger
            Collins & Angel
            Sarah & Sky
            Adelaide & Nathan
            Millie & Jimmy

The list goes on. Love is at its height in a musical. Characters fall in love within minutes and SING about it. Amazing. When I was younger, I dreamt of finding my Tony (not that I wanted him to die) or Emile, the older, wiser Frenchman. One of the first productions I worked on at this theatre was a production of South Pacific. I could listen to Emile sing “Some Enchanted Evening” every day of my life. This love was eventually replaced with a full on love affair with Lou Reed that has never ended. A leap but a worthy one.
          
Musicals give a false sense of security in the notion of true love. Musicals are formulaic. You know that the lovers will be together forever by the end of the first song. Like fairy tales, happily ever after tends to rule in musicals. Even in many tragic musicals there’s still a glimmer of hope before the lights come up. At the end of West Side Story there is a hope that the divide between the gangs will be bridged following Tony’s death and Maria’s emotional exit (did I ruin it for you?). We, as an audience, don’t know what really happens but we can hope.
          
And that, Chuck, is why it’s all about the musical. Lloyd Dobler is a hip man’s Tony (without the whole death thing). Remember he and Diane are from two different worlds. Her father doesn’t think Lloyd is good enough. Lloyd doesn’t want to “buy, sell or process” anything as a career. That has musical potential written all over it.

I guess my point is that no one will ever be Tony or Lloyd or Emile. We can hope for it, but most of the time we settle for Joe and write 67 songs all about him. And that has to happen too. Because when Joe breaks our heart we can always return to Tony and Lloyd and feel better about ourselves. We'll wait in a darkened theatre for the first song to begin and hope that this is the time that love triumphs all.

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Creativity is not an option

I've just (I mean yesterday) returned from my company's annual meeting/fancy party extravaganza, the H'Oscars. Yes, you read that correctly, the H'Oscars.


The H'Oscars are definitely a lot of fun and an interesting way to celebrate success and achievement within our company. I am a proud two time H'Oscar winner (my H'Oscars sit in my cube at work where I'm sure they're very happy). It's fun to get dressed up (it is a formal event) and I enjoy debating with the guys over whether packing a tux or a formal dress is more difficult. Gentlemen, you will continue to lose this argument every year. You don't even want to know all the parts that go into looking as fabulous as all the ladies do at this event. My other favorite topic to discuss is the hooker/matron shoe conundrum that happens every year when I go shopping. Last year this sparked a very heated FB discussion. I ended up with more matronly shoes last year. This year, I decided to go closer to hooker on the scale. The shoes were amazing.

While the annual meeting portion of the event was very interesting and the awards and party were wonderful, my favorite part was our opening speaker. In the four H'Oscars I've attended there hasn't been an opening speaker. We usually hear the nominations and enjoy cocktails in a cool venue (like Churchill Downs). This year, the organizers were able to arrange for Sir Ken Robinson to speak. If you don't know Sir Ken Robinson, I'm sorry for you. Sir Ken is a leading writer and speaker in education and focuses much of his work on creativity and innovation. He's really the perfect speaker for a group like ours. The company mission statement includes a line about creating the world changers of tomorrow. You can't do that without innovative thinking or realizing that all students are not cogs in a machine.

I was first introduced to Sir Ken's work by my friend Allison. She also happens to be my manager and was originally the person conducting new hire training for our division (this is now my job). Anyway, she uses a video of Sir Ken in training that's really amazing and a great way to start new hire training. I've been reading his articles and books and following him on Twitter ever since. When it was announced that he would be the speaker I did a little dance at my desk. My co-workers think I'm weird. That's cool.

Sir Ken's speech was great. He's funny, engaging, and interesting. He talks about creativity as a process (like Andrew McCarthy!) and as something that can be taught (which I agree with). I also appreciate his discussion of creativity as something everyone should and can do. You don't have to be artistic or fanciful to be creative. Math can be creative. Organizations can be creative. You just have to focus on it as part of the process. He describes it as "a competency" (like literacy). Couldn't agree more. Students aren't really taught or even encouraged to be creative unless they show aptitude for an arts skill. That's a sad statement about education. Students should be encouraged to use their imagination and creativity. Anyone who has children or works with children knows this is the way to help with problem-solving and social navigation. It's not about who can paint well or play the violin beautifully or solve complex math problems, it's about the things that make us different and interesting as a human. I liked Sir Ken's description of imagination as "the source of every human achievement." (Yes, I took notes. Don't judge.)

The other thread of Sir Ken's speech that struck a chord with me was about life not being linear. Not everything can be planned. As much as I love to plan, I have to agree with him. Our lives aren't or shouldn't be designed based on the first few years of school or even what we study in college (I was a theatre arts management major so clearly this is true). I thought about some of my more recent life choices (moving to California, moving back to Virginia, dying my hair dark red) and realized that these were not planned choices. Once the choice was made, there was planning but I didn't make a pro/con list for either move. I didn't research hair colors for months and then pick one. I let my life be divergent and went where it took me. Did I make good choices? I think so. California was a great 2 years and I'm happy I lived there when I did. Do I love Virginia? I'm beginning to come around to seeing it's awesomeness. And clearly, dark haired Erin is the best choice I've made in years.

Sir Ken's speech really made the H'Oscars for me. I think it helped put other parts of the event into context (the goals and strategic plans for the company, the awards and the winners). Even the bus ride to and from Pittsburg (yes, we took buses). And the trading cards. Yep, we have work trading cards. Don't be jealous. I have some extras if you'd like one.



So as I go back to work on Monday, I will start my new hire training class with Sir Ken's video. I will think creatively about my job and how I can help students do the same. I will still make lists but I will also try to be a little less rigid with some things. And I will find a place to wear my fabulous shoes.

Because really it's all about the shoes isn't it?

Sunday, October 7, 2012

I may not leave my house once winter starts

Conferences are exhausting. It's nice to be home and have a day to do absolutely nothing (and by nothing I mean laundry and watching tv - you, know things I don't have to leave the house to do). I feel like a bit of an old lady this time around; I don't think I stayed out past 10 pm the entire conference.

Anyway, the important thing that I learned during this conference is that I am grossly unprepared for cold weather. It's only October so I don't think anyone was expecting it to be as cold as it was even though the conference was in Denver. When I checked the weather report a few days before the trip, it said that it would be in the 60s and 70s  during the day and the 30s in the evenings. No snow was in the forecast and I believed that I packed accordingly. I even grabbed my fall weight jacket just in case. The forecast lied. It was in the 80s the first day I was in town but then it got super cold and there was a light dusting of snow. My fall jacket was not appropriate and I really should have brought different shoes. Ballet flats were not the best choice.

I left northern Virginia after Snowpocalypse 2009/2010 (two blizzards in less than 3 months was enough for me). Living in Northern California was no day at the beach (that's SoCal). We have "winter" where it ranges between the 30s-40s and rains all the time. If you're an outdoorsy kind of person, you can go up into the mountains and ski and do other things people who like cold do in the winter the months. Obviously, I stayed in my cozy apartment watching Hallmark holiday movies and drinking hot chocolate. This behavior has in no way prepared me to be back in a place that has actual seasons and the potential for snow.

Now I know that NOVA winters are not like winters in Minnesota or Maine or Vermont, but for real, it's cold and the potential for snow is real. Now that I don't have my SUV, I have visions of myself stranded on the side of the road in my little blue car. I'm sure that this won't happen but the thought is still there. I guess I should probably keep a blanket in the car and maybe some water or something. Right?

One thing that I do love about the fact that winter is coming is that we have to go through fall first. Fall is my favorite season of them all and I've been without fall for two whole years. No pretty leaves and no real crisp weather. I like getting my sweaters out (and buying a few new ones), wearing my cute boots (that are in no way winter weather appropriate), and Halloween and Thanksgiving (best holidays ever).

You know what else happens in the fall? I make pumpkin cookies. I'm making the first batch of the season today (the photo is from last year). One of my co-workers describes these cookies as "pumpkin crack" and I can't say that I disagree with him. My apartment will smell pumpkin-y and fall-y. And I will temporarily forget about my fear of the winter and the cold.


Possibly my favorite thing about the Colorado Convention Center.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Admissions Counselor Blues


NOTE: I'm attending the annual NACAC (National Association for College Admission Counseling) conference this week. I'll be seeing many of my admissions counselor and school counselor friends so I thought I'd reflect on a time when I was of that world more specifically. I originally wrote this for a project that a few friends were working on focused on stories of the storm but it never got off the ground and this ended up in a notebook in a box in my closet. I found that notebook when I moved to Arlington and have been revising some of the work. I hope you enjoy it. We'll be back to our regularly scheduled Island musings this weekend.

March 14, 2006

            Banner. Nametag. Rolling bag. Prospect card. I have never thought I’d have a profession that was at once so identifiable while being so anonymous. If you were to pass me in an airport you would think that I’m just another member of the traveling business class with my rolling bag and permanent cup of coffee. If you followed me to my rental car you would see a standard, non-descript colorless (is beige really a color?) mid-size, two door car. Probably a Dodge Stratus or a Chevy Malibu. Follow me on to my hotel and you’d find me at a Marriott or Courtyard or whatever by Marriott. I’m a Marriott girl (at least for now). No fancy suite, just your average room, hopefully there’s wifi and a king would awesome. I like to sleep in the center; it’s like sleeping on an island. 
            If you were to continue with me over the course of the evening you would see a fairly typical life of a person who travels mainly for work. I like to order room service and watch cable (I have neither at home). I like my hotel room cold. I try to neaten things for the cleaning staff. Up to this point, I’m traveler Jane in a sea of traveler Janes. Nothing special or unique.
            If you followed me after my Starbucks run the next morning you would soon see the traveler Jane persona fade away. I have a banner and a nametag. I have a table to set up and I’d prefer a rectangle. Circular tables and my banner don’t get along.
            I am the face of my university. I am my banner and my nametag. A roller bag accompanies me everywhere. I am on a quest for a fully completed prospect card and the mythical oboe player from South Dakota. I am an admissions counselor! I help shape the university classes of the future. I have begun to take my job a bit less seriously.
            Admissions counseling seems like a subculture in higher education.We’re the black sheeps of the university family. No matter what, we will never be good enough for the rest of the family. I’m hoping someone will research this phenomenon one day. Maybe it can be their dissertation. We have our own language and gestures and rituals. There are hierarchies and hierarchies within hierarchies. There are lifers and the rotating masses of 20 somethings in their first job. When I first started I described the job (the road part at least) as being a lot like high school only with slightly more money and way more alcohol.
            What happens when that identity is removed? During my first travel season I wondered that all the time. We had been trained that forgetting any of the items for our table would be considered a huge sin and we would be reprimanded upon our return to the office. My ODC constantly kicked into high gear every time I packed to travel. I checked for my badge and banner at least twenty times before leaving. Yes, I have a compulsion. That’s the way it goes.
            As I finalized my travel for my second fall season I was a bit more relaxed. I knew that nothing too horrible would happen to me if I forgot my nametag and prospect cards are easy to photocopy. I had a new rolling bag this time around and it wasn’t as heavy as my parents’ Corgi (without the materials). My trips were, in my opinion, better planned and a more efficient use of my time. I was determined not to get lost. I left work on August 26th with all my trips booked and ready to go.
            Friday night was nothing special. I had errands to run over the weekend but no plans to evacuate as of Friday afternoon. I woke up on Saturday and a lot had changed. I ran my errands, packed up my bag, the cat and headed to Birmingham. I threw in my day planner (awesome). We thought we’d be home by Wednesday.
            Pretty soon we realized that we would not be home on Wednesday. My friend and I made our ways to our parents’ houses to figure out what next. By the time I got to DC, I got the call “Buy some suits, you’re doing all your trips.” I spent the next three days frantically rearranging flights, buying clothes and photocopying prospect cards (see?).  I would head out on my first trip once week after the levees broke. My on the road identity became something I really never wanted it to be: hurricane college.
            The biggest issue with being “hurricane college” is that there is no way to stop people from thinking that ever. No matter what you tell someone, they will not believe you. I tried my hardest to clarify and explain but images on CNN speak a whole lot louder than words.
            For the first two days of my first trip to Omaha, NE for Catholic Colleges Week, I had a maroon tablecloth, photocopied prospect cards and college fair flyers and nothing else. Compared to my colleagues I was plain, no frills, not that interesting. They had nametags and pretty banners and fun photos of their campuses and students. I had horrible images in a 24/7 news cycle and a sad computer generated sign. The staff at one of the local universities had to photocopy the one business card I had for a counselor breakfast (thank God my mom always has one of my cards at home). The whole thing made me feel very out of control. I just wanted to go home (and I mean home to New Orleans).
            I thought things would get better when I got my “banner” (a plastic temporary version) but I only got yelled at by seventeen year olds and became a bit of a target. Whoever said Midwesterners were all nice has never been to Omaha following a catastrophic hurricane.
            As I continued to travel that fall I became even more aware of the trappings of the admissions industry. I liked not having so much stuff (viewbooks, junior pieces, etc.) but missed the reliance on the pictures. I started to hate my colleagues; they didn’t have any hard questions to answer like me. While they answered questions on GPA and scores, I had to answer questions like “Is you school even there?” or “Do you offer a major in scuba?” People are not particularly sympathetic or sensitive to events like these. Basically, people suck.
            It doesn’t seem to matter how much times passes; we will always be “hurricane college.” We can rebuild our city and not have another storm for a 100 years but the label will still be there. It doesn’t matter if I have my nametag and banner, I’ll still be identified that way. Not as traveler Jane, not as an admissions professional—just as hurricane college. People will never realize the pain and the hurt and how awful and hurtful their comments and “jokes” were. They don’t really know what it means to miss their home like I did. And I hope they never do. They will never have the desire to punch a 17 year boy in the face for asking if everyone in my city was dead and then laughing about it. Again, I hope they never feel that way. I guess I rather be traveler Jane, anonymous and plain, then hurricane college any day.