We Ready...

Posted by Josh | Posted on 9.22.2008

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BA

That means Bad Ass (sorry mom), and that's basically how I describe the MTSU Sigma Nu Fall Pledge Class 2008. I went back to MTSU this past weekend for Smoker Night and Bid Day, and let me just say I wasn't disappointed- like most 19 year old girls were when they found out Britney WASN'T performing at the VMA's, tear jerker, I know! It was great getting back there and seeing everyone. And watching 30 new guys run out, all adorned in navy Sigma Nu Bid Day shirts, with a look of elation and pure ecstasy, knowing they were the biggest pledge class of any fraternity for fall '08 made the trip that much better. The cream of the crop (why do I always think of creamed corn, a little sickening) is basically how to describe them if you don't want to say BA.

Though I already knew many of them, after meeting all of the new guys, it really got me to wishing I was still there. Though I never had this thought then, having enough on my plate to stay busy, I now look back and almost feel robbed of a year and a half of true experience- and seeing how our hard work over the past several months paid off with the elitism of new guys really put me on that mind track. Knowing the amount of work each of the members did during the past year and a half, what we have all been through, how hard we have worked to get back to functioning- to have it all pay off with coming back for our first formal Recruitment since '06 with the largest pledge class (all of which were highly courted by others down the row) has a deeper meaning than many will know- and also quickly moves back where we left off, back to where we belong: on top! And I'll just say, that night, pure entertainment! So much better than watching an episode of The Hills (that's not really saying much though, I guess, now is it). 

They say "If you're on the outside you'll never understand. And if you're on the inside, you'll never be able to explain." True story. My time with Sigma Nu could never be traded, as so much of me grew during that experience, however, a few extra chapters would have been nice. 

*Pic: Notice the colors of NU (ours, of course) and the colors of OLD (a certain other). Funniest poster of the weekend.

Welcome Back, Kotter?

Posted by Josh | Posted on 9.17.2008

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The show kind of pre-dates my years, and I've never come across TV Land to see an episode, however, I DO know John Travolta was in it. That's beside the point though, get Travolta out of your head, greased hair, spandex-tight bellbottoms, multi-colored disco floor, and all, and just play the theme song in your head. Why am I doing this, you may ask? Well, because I told you to and it makes the story better if you have a soundtrack going in your head...and that is the song I have chosen. Any who, it was announced today that Sigma Nu at Middle Tennessee State University has been approved to have our charter reinstated! In laymen's terms, we are technically a fraternity once again!!! I won't go into the deets (that means details) but let's just be excited, bust out the streamers, poppers, and celebrate us a good ole time. To top that off, fraternity recruitment started this week- what kinda coincidence is that! So I'll be heading back to the boro (short for Murfreesboro. I just like to keep you up to speed on my extremely cool lingo and abbrevs usage- again, that means abbreviation) this weekend to participate in my first Smoker Night (Formal Night) since Fall 2006 and Bid Day on Saturday- again, the first one since fall 2006, but hopefully that was already obvious by my previous mentions. To say the least, I am more than ecstatic for the weekend and proud of the guys that worked on the piles of paperwork to get them there. {Insert Air Fist Pump over left shoulder and Air Fist Pump Over Right Shoulder HERE}

As I am on this whole Greek kick (the fraternity/sorority thing, not the actual country thing), sorority bid day at MTSU was on Monday and I wanted to say Congrats (hopefully I do not need to debrief you on that abbrev) to a few of my friends who went through! I could insert one of those extremely corny sisterhood quotes here, but I won't...because like I said...they're corny, and I don't like corn (especially on the cob. Don't you hate when it gets stuck in your teeth, then forcing you to crudely pick at your teeth, jamming your entire fist in your mouth doing so, all the while sitting across from the Queen of England, who then, for some peculiar reason, thinks you're being disgusting and gives you the stink eye). In short, congratulations, I couldn't be happier for y'all.

I now want to have a brief convo on the weather- not that I feel as if I am experiencing an awkward pause in the conversation with you and have run out of other, actual subjects to discuss (you know exactly what I am talking about)- but because I just want to mention it was somewhat cool in Columbia today. That is right, the normal humidity was absent, causing my clothes to stay dry for more than 17 seconds after stepping outside and becoming drenched with sweat. I dare to say it was cool, and pleasant. I have a friend who moved from South Carolina to MTSU to start his freshman year this fall. I wrote on his wall (facebook terms, not his actual living room wall. My name is not Harold and I do not have a purple crayon [google it]) the other day asking why it was so humid (this is obviously not a question I was looking for him to answer), and knowing exactly why he moved out-as the day I wrote that it felt like 107 degrees. To that he responded, and I quote, "It was a cool 75 here today, with a nice breeze. It probably won't be like that in SC till November." I have since deleted his friendship.

I Love the Home of my 82,000 Friends

Posted by Josh | Posted on 9.14.2008

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Oh sweet weekend. Full of heat, fun, garnet, football, angry SC fans and triumphant UGA fans. 

Friday night was spent at Delaney's, a bar in the right-next-to-campus 5 Points. The area is populated with unique shops, Columbia-original bars, and restaurants found in movies. Weekend nights, however, the hair comes down and kiddies are out to play. 5 Points turns from the walker- friendly area it is during the day, into an all out bar crawl, crawlers being of the 
20-ish age. Back to Delaney's though, the hyped McFly is an 80's cover band  that was set to rock some strings and bust some amps
 
Friday night.  Over-hyped is how I would now describe it. The singer, however, did wear a bright red suit, which was interesting...the most interesting thing of the performance. Despite the mediocrity of the set, dances were still danced, laughs were still laughed, and fun was still....funned!

Now to the Palmetto state's church day: Game Day Saturday. Time of Kickoff: 3. Time of Tailgate: 10. Temperature in Degrees Fahrenheit: 178. Number of the Closest Friends in Williams-Bryce: 82,000. Now, from my perspective, it was obvious the #2 ranked Georgia would be pulling ahead by the end of the dollar (4th quarter..you can LOL amongst yourselves). Since I was wanting my life expectancy to span past September 13th, I decided to keep that thought to myself while the Gamecock Fans spit some insults and trashed some talk. Taking my standing spot in the student section of Williams-Bryce, packed in as tight as pickles (Ref: See Ellen Degeneres stand-up, b/c pickles are definitely packed tighter than sardines) the game lasted longer than waiting for Lil Mamma to spit out her absurdity of critiques on ABDC...and I have the farmer's tan on the back of my neck to prove it! The energy and passion that fills the stadium proves to be the best place in the city of Cola! Next week, the Cocks take on the non-SEC school Wofford, hopefully that venture will end in victory.

To my Blue Raiders, Good Luck with Sorority Bid Day Monday afternoon, and with Fraternity Recruitment this week! I'll be back on home turf Thursday!

And to those of you who did not get to witness the best impersonation in SNL history, I posted a little linky-link to the left from the Palin/Clinton sketch that opened up the season last night (Michael Phelps hosted, was horribly awkward, and the rest of the ninety minutes was packed with dullness..and then Lil Wayne!). 


That Southern Thang...

Posted by Josh | Posted on 9.10.2008

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As I was born and raised in the south, I want to take a second to talk about religion: football. More specifically college football. Yes, southerners care for the NFL, but it's the college league that reigns king. I mean, why would you eat at Olive Garden, when that Italian place with the real food is closer to home. I've had two main sources of excitement so far this week, both relating to said religion. First off, Middle Tennessee had a little upset this past weekend. They won. And not just to that college from Podunk, Wisconsin where the importance of football falls right under something like Volleyball...or bowling. It was against Maryland. Again, not Central Maryland College West at Sumter, just plain Maryland. That's the big time, boys. The video proves it.

The second may seem slightly more minute (the small kind, not the seconds and hours kind), but it is far from that. It could be measured on the same level of excitement 28 year old women felt when New Kids on the Block announced a reunion. I got a ticket to the USC vs Georgia game!! You may be asking, "But sir, why is this such a big deal? Did you simply not just purchase a ticket?" And to that I would respond, "Don't call me sir, I am not a 57 year old man with a comb over thinking I am stumping people on the whole question of whether or not that is actual hair from my entire head, or just a tiny section. You can simply call me Josh." Once I am past that little debacle, I would tell you about how Gamecock country deals with the student ticket sich (short for situation, btw). You may have to read the next few lines twice or thrice over, it can be confusing. A student is given points based on their classification (Freshman-4, Sophomore- 6, Junior- 8, and so forth). If a student wants to go to a football game, they must go to the athletic website during the "Request Phase" for that game and request a ticket. You are then entered into a lottery. Depending on how many points you have depends how many times your name is entered into the lottery (you earn more points for attending a game, and penalized if you get a ticket and don't go to a game). Of the 30,000 students, 9,000 tickets are awarded. You get a nice little email saying you actually won a ticket- let me tell you though, the rejection email is pretty harsh. It is as if SC was dumping you and merely decides to send an email to avoid the pain and awkwardness of the delivery. Anywho, this time I won the lottery and got a ticket! Hard to believe there are more logistics to this whole ticketing charade, but who wants to read for another thirty minutes. Just know I'll be decked out in Garnet and Black come Saturday.

You also may be wondering about the name, The Life of Forrest Gump. Obvi, my name is not Forrest Gump (it's Josh btw, nice to meet you). Like Gump, however, I am from the great state of Alabama (I've decided to add Great State of- prior to my mention of Alabama to parallel Sarah Palin's mention of The Great State of Alaska in every speech she has given. Except I don't add that northern twang thing to it, so don't get that little audio snippet in your head when you read it) where Paul "Bear" Bryant is a legend and hounds-tooth is forbidden by Auburn fans. He also went from The Great State of Alabama (it's catching on, isn't it) to South Carolina to find his Jenny. If I wanted to be all grad student on this, I could say his search for his love correlates with my move to SC from the Great State of Alabama to find my love in student affairs (because I am nearly certain my love as it relates to the human kind happens to be in a more horizontally shaped state). You may also be asking why I didn't say The Adventures of Forrest Gump, that sounds more exciting. Well, my life isn't that exciting to be considered adventurous. It's just life. So feel free to follow as I walk in my unadventurous shoes. Because, ya know, "Mama says they are magic shoes. They can take me anywhere...."


Off to USC We Go....

Posted by Josh | Posted on 9.09.2008

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45

That is the number of days I have now been a resident of Columbia, South Carolina. A place where the Palmetto is ever present, where Cock is in the vocabulary for those of all ages, humidity makes the air thicker than butter and hotter than hades, where the bow-tie is preferred over the neck tie, and the mercedes are bountiful. Ahh, the University of South Carolina, Gamecock Country. Fields of Garnet and Black farther than the eye can see. From those 45 days, I have come to the conclusion that everyone is equipped with that southern hospitality, without SC being categorized as a truly southern state. Like the truly southern state of Alabama, however, football is the official religion and the color orange is a sin (Clemson orange, that is). Rich with tradition (as are many of the students), USC is ingrained in the minds of all who attend from the crawling years, creating an energy that surrounds the expansive campus. With roughly 30,000 students, Carolina spans across acres of land, an abundance of train tracks, and buildings older than that grandmother of the three women in Sex and the City. It is a place I have quickly come to love and fallen, eerily with ease, into yelling "Go Cocks!"

As a first year in the Masters Program for Higher Education and Student Affairs (more commonly referred to as HESA) my cohort consists of 45 students. With a ratio of exactly 2:1, it is easy to say the women by far outnumber the men in my program. Along with those in their second year, all 80 students are equally as outgoing and passionate about the field they are in. With the caliber of these students, the ingenious and friendliness of the administration and the multitude of opportunities available within the field, it is easy to see why the HESA program is recognized as one of the best in the country.

Working as a Graduate Assistant in the office of Resident Student Learning (concentrating on leadership), taking nine hours of graduate classes, and working with the office of Campus Wellness (and later this semester Judicial Programs) for my Practicum, along with conferences, meetings and come-as-they-arise requirements, it is easy to say I am staying busy. This blog is to keep you up on what's going on in Gamecock Country and what progresses. And seeing as I am trying just to live one day at a time and work with whatever I am handed, check back to see what's occurring, because as they say, "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get..."