Tag Archives: UWM

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Friday Near 2:00 And All Is Well

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Sorry if you were thinking I might’ve had more to say about my new job this week– didn’t have complete access to my workstation for part of it, and was busy with reviewing procedures, etc., for the rest.

Overall, Oshkosh is just about the way I left it.  There’s a new building here, or a remodeled office there, but things seem to be largely where they were when I last lived and worked here.  I said to someone early in the week, “it’s almost like I dreamed the last two years, and when I woke up, Bobby was in the shower.”

It’s too early to say much about what my new job entails, or “how it’s going,” so to speak, because I haven’t been able to dig in that much yet.  However, I can tell that it’s going to be a lot different than my job has been for the last five years or so.  There are a lot of things I’ll need to learn, more stuff than I can think of that I will need to re-learn, and who knows what else that I can’t predict.  I think it’s going to be exciting and interesting, though.

The commute is OK.  Even after just a few days, I’ve calmed down a bit about the time “wasted” in the car.  I have a bunch of podcasts to listen to, I can try to catch up with some folks on the phone, and as long as I don’t freak out too much about what time I’m getting home, there is still enough of each evening to be productive.

At this point, I can definitely say that the pace in Oshkosh is more my style than Milwaukee ever was– around here, there is enough staff to deal with everything on a day-to-day basis, people are pretty much up to speed on what everyone else is doing, and the students feel calmer as well.  I guess it mostly comes down to time: in Oshkosh, there’s enough of it to get things done, and also explain to one another what’s going on.  In Milwaukee, it always felt like I was just keeping my head above water, and there were a lot of guessing games about who was doing what and when and for what reason.

Anyway, I need to jet for my late errand-running lunch and then get primed up for a camp weekend in the Kettle Moraine.  Here’s hoping the weather holds out.

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Long Shots

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I looked at my sad little list of tweets on the front page today and it made me feel kind of bad.  Really just haven’t had a lot of blogocity flowing of late.

Anyway, later on this evening I will be taking in a second screening of Star Trek with some of the geek men from MKE.  We caught Watchmen as a group, too.  I’m going to turn in a little earlier than I usually would on a Friday, because I have to head over to the Wordell house in the Falls tomorrow to work on a computer; want to get said work done in the AM hours, so I’ll need some good sleep…

Went out and took some pictures last night after the sun went down.  Been meaning to do some night photography with my new camera, but this was my first chance.  Picked up a couple tips from Wordy on how to make some of them look better (I only uploaded a few of the decent ones).  Tip #1: remember that when you’re doing a 5-15 second exposure of a building and you’re zoomed in @ 300mm, you’re asking for blurring.  It’s just gonna happen.  Good point there.

What’s with the Brewers lately, eh?  They started slow, but things are looking up after a 5-1 homestand that came on the heels of a 3-1 road trip.  Brewers have won 6 series in a row, and they go to St. Louis this weekend playing for first place in the Central.  Yeah, it’s still early, but I see signs that the team is more relaxed and grown up than people were counting on.  I hope they don’t lose it, and they remember what is working during this good stretch.  Oh, and having Trevor Hoffman to handle the 9th doesn’t hurt, either.

I’ve got 2 weeks to go @ UWM before heading back to Osh Vegas for work once again!  How bout them apples??

What’s new with you?

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Slow Week

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So it’s been a wacky few days.  My laptop’s death kind of threw me for a loop and I was shopping around for a good deal on a new one over the last weekend.  Work has been nuts.  Got some excitement on all fronts, though.

I did find an OK replacement laptop at a decent price with my discount from work.  I’ve liked the ThinkPads that I had, and I stuck with Lenovo when buying a new one.  I’m sure I’ll be happy enough with it.  One thing I DEFINITELY wanted to do this time is get a brand new machine, instead of muddling around with a used one.  I STILL have a bad taste in my mouth from a really poor ebay experience like 4 years ago…

Lorch also came into town last weekend and crashed at Casa del Bocko for a couple nights.  He had to fly out of Mitchell at the crack of dawn on Saturday because he was shooting for a documentary on the Honor Flight.  It’s a really cool program, and all three of us (me, Lorch, Michelle) all agreed we wished we could’ve gotten our grandfathers signed up when they were around.  So hey– if you know or are related to a WWII or Korean War vet, check it out.  Seriously.

Anyway, it was nice to hang out with Lorchie and watch the Brewers together.  We had some beers at The Harp, and we grabbed a pizza at BBC.  We talked about getting ready for attending Wordy’s wedding this summer.  I am looking forward to the vacation, for sure.

So, later in the week here, I got a call back from my old boss up in Oshkosh.  She had a good reason to call, as I had been in there on 4/23 for an interview.  I got offered a job as the Assistant Director for Operations back at the old UWO FAO.  It’s a really good professional opportunity, so I took it.  I didn’t say much about it to many people as I decided to apply and go through this process, for a variety of reasons:

  1. It was the least qualified I felt going in to an interview in quite a while,
  2. I knew I’d have to field a lot of questions about my plans for the future, as I just moved down to Milwaukee about two years ago, and I didn’t feel like addressing those until a new job was a sure thing,
  3. I thought I might jinx it.

So, it turned out well.  Here are the answers to some of those commonly asked questions that immediately come to everyone’s mind:

  1. Yes, Michelle and I are doing just fine.  I think we’re really good, in fact.
  2. Having stated #1, no I’m not in a big hurry to move back to Oshkosh.
  3. Having stated #2, yes that means I’ll be commuting for a while.
  4. Having stated #3, yes I’m OK with that.
  5. Having stated #4, yes I’ve thought about what it will cost.
  6. See #4.
  7. This doesn’t mean that I’m “giving up” on any creative aspirations that I’ve had related to my English degree.  It just means that I’ve recognized that I have a strong base of knowledge and experience in this area, and I might as well use it to my advantage.  It’s a stable, well-paying vocation for the time being.  I can work on other things in my free time.
  8. I’ll be starting there June 1.

Anyway, I appreciate your interest, and I look forward to speaking with you soon.  I’m going to do the books for the month and finish watching this ball game…

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A Slowdown

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I’ve noticed that when things are particularly slow at work (they have been the last couple days), it actually makes blogging more difficult.  I think my brain might’ve gone on spring break.

Speaking of the break, things have sure changed here in the ol’ UW System– Osh Vegas will be rokkin class in full effect on 3/17, but here in Pantherville we will be quasi-shut down for a software upgrade during the break.  I wonder if there is anyone left IN Oshkosh to tell the students the legends of the riots and the reason it was “students verboten” on St. Patty’s for such a long time.  I know Jim Droste is still there, but probably would not care to fan those flames  😛

Other than that, Michelle and I and a couple other friends are going to give skiing one last go on Sunday, before the season ends for good.  It’s not looking that great, even up in Mt. Morris where we’re planning to go.  It’s gonna be cheap, though, so we’re looking forward to it.  I had my bike out once and rode to work at the end of last week, though, so I’m thinking spring is right around the corner.

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Not Lazy, Just Not a Lot to Report

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Let me tell you this right here– work is crazy nuts right now.  Freshman orientation is probably the most hellish time of the year.  Combine that with all the paperwork, and, well… there are things happening.  Not as much time to look at or think about the interwebs of late.

Continuing to work on my thesis and move along on that whole deal.  Trying to get my committee all put together and my prospectus done so that I can actually register for the thesis credits.  After that, it’s kind of just a matter of deciding that the work is done…

As I’m working on that prospectus this evening, I’ve also got an ear on the Brewers, and a Firefox on the Cubs.  I would really like the Cubs to keep on losing whenever they wanna get around to it.  The Crew continues to slowly but surely climb, record-wise at least, but Chicago just doesn’t seem to want to lose.  It’s kind of frustrating.

Hey– Mike Cameron just hit another one.

Also officially got a letter in the mail today saying, “Hey– you can has apartment!”  I did think it was funny that the form letter I received encouraged me to get my phone service locally through Ameritech, because “other telephone carriers may charge an additional connection fee to access the Ameritech owned lines.”  Yeah.  Well, y’know, that first merger only happened about 10 years ago, so they might not have updated the template on that WordPerfect 5.0 floppy.

OK, so I’m going to get back to work on this bibliography.

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In a Haze

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Had a rough weekend, as I started to get sick late in the afternoon on Friday, and basically didn’t get out of bed on Saturday.  By mid-day on Sunday, I was feeling a lot better, but I’m still pretty congested and I’m working through a murky, medicine-induced fog.

The positive thing is that I’m getting all sorts of work done today.  I have to think it’s because my brain is more or less zoned out, and just functioning enough to keep my bodily functions up and running.  Maybe a frontal lobotomy is the solution to the probs I’ve had with getting motivated around here…

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A Little Revelation

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I was thumbing through emails this morning as I started my Thursday, and I had yet another message about PantherFest. I won’t be attending this event, but it made me think about how the festival season completely blew by me this year.

I was living in Milwaukee all summer, and this is the first time I can remember since I’ve been in college that I didn’t go to a single ethnic festival all summer long. Michelle and I had a couple hours at the State Fair, but that was it. I even missed Summerfest and fireworks on the 3rd of July by the lake.

Next year I’ll probably be more settled in and whatnot, so I imagine things will be different.

Here’s another little revelation, though– I’ve never lived in Milwaukee over the winter. I don’t think it’ll be any different than what I’m used to in other parts of the state. I guess the commute could suck more, with things like trudging through the snow on my way to the bus stop, etc.

*Sigh*

Only 110 days until Christmas.

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My Problem, or Yours?

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So pretty much right when I started working here, another one of the fin aid advisors is taking a new job in Madison (I thought about applying for that one, actually).

I was thinking about whether or not it would be nice to have another male come in to the fold and join our little ‘unit.’ I haven’t worked in a lot of places with other men. I don’t know what that says about me. The last one was WTMJ, and we all know how well that worked out (I don’t think it had anything to do with the gender make-up of the staff, though).

At UWO, my supervisor was a man, but he was kind of old enough to be my dad, and we didn’t have much in common. Plus, I don’t think it’s easy to be chummy with one’s boss.

Here, there are plenty of other men working in the department, but none directly in my ‘unit.’ The biggest thing that I differ from my immediate colleagues on is the length and depth to which situations and/or procedures should be examined/analyzed. I really appreciate having the least discussion necessary, and moving ahead with the solution or approach that makes the most sense. If it turns out that it doesn’t work, I look at it as a lesson for next time. I don’t feel like imagining every conceivable scenario in advance is always the best use of time.

While I would certainly appreciate another ‘male’ perspective on this and other topics, I also get a little apprehensive thinking about how I and the new man would be naturally expected to ‘get along,’ but that may not be the easiest thing for me. At times, I’ve been guilty of having a first impression of someone that is way off, and it gets awkward when I no longer want to associate later on, but enough time has elapsed that I’m ‘stuck.’ In relations with women, this is a lot easier to overcome, because it can simply be chalked up to “gender issues.” I dunno, this is probably just a personal anxiety issue. I have some problems.

Anyway, that’s what I’m working on today. I also need to try to figure out when/if I’m going to get some time off to move, and where I’m going to move to. I had some thoughts and conversations over the weekend that freaked me out about buying real estate again, but it still might be the best thing (as opposed to renting).

Oh, and this was interesting: I walked home from work to Jen & Joe’s on Friday. About 8 miles. It took me roughly 2-and-a-half hours.

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Short Entries

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I wanted to pop in and say a little something in here today, for the simple reason that I’ve been lax in doing so most of this week.

Moving to Milwaukee and starting a new job is going to be an adjustment. I really really can’t wait to find a place to live down here. The commute is longer than I’m used to, processes and stuff at work are (of course) different, and I feel a little out of my element in general. I want to sleep in my bed.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s going just fine, and everything will come together eventually, but this period of transition is going to weigh me down for a little bit. I felt like I wasn’t paying much attention to Michelle early in the week because I was having a hard time finding myself a place (not to mention a method) to relax.

Tomorrow is Friday, though, and that means I’ll only have five weeks left before I have to move. I should put my vacation requests in right now. Don’t let me forget to do that today. I’m going to the Brewers game with Nick Petters tomorrow. Hopefully being back at home will help get them on the right track again. I’m also planning on going out to a ‘happy hour’ thing with people from work, somewhere around Bayshore Mall.

Saturday, I’m going up to Oshkosh so I can pack, get a haircut, and be at my house. I forget if I told the mailman to hold my mail *through* Saturday, or *until* Saturday. I also wonder if the way I think of those things is the same way the US Postal Service thinks of them.

OK, and the stacks of paperwork around here only get bigger, so I should get to it.