rANdOmiTiS

In my last blog, I mentioned that I was going on a Juno date & BELIEVE ME - it was pure genius & tummy-hurting hilarious! Heck, it was even a tearjerker. I absolutely loved it it. Juno had me at hello. :)

Also, we had our big staff meeting & I was pretty ExCiTeD to hear that I get to go to Washington D.C. on February 1st for a Simpson Alumni Reception!! I've attended one in Phoenix & Denver, and enjoy hearing stories of other Simpson alums as well as give them the scoop on the College today. Even though I'll only be in D.C. for a day, I love it there & will take any time I can get...after all, it's a city that you can never see everything in just one or two visits! I went as a junior in high school, once with my family & one other time for a Peer Educators Nat'l Conference in college. The alumni office is also inviting some prospective students, so it will be good to meet them since we don't actively "recruit" out East. One of them is a junior daughter of a wonderful alum who has worked for the ATF, FBI & U.S. Department of State! She really wants to play softball for us. I also know of some recent alums who are working for U.S. Senators or are lawyers living in that area.

After covering all the nuts 'n bolts, we all went to The Sports Page for lunch (come to Simpson & you'll have the treat of being only a few short miles from this World's Greatest French Fries & Potato Skins-restaurant!). It was DE-LISH! I threw my New Year's resolution out the window for an hour, so I could have the tator skins as my meal...it was well worth it. I had fun hanging out with all my work friends again & it was kinda cool, because the topic of politics came up & the whole world knows that there are 2 things you're NOT supposed to talk about with friends - politics and religion. Well, there were no arguments, just friendly discussion, so YAY! Now, I know there were a few of us biting our tongue from debating - after all, we're all admissions counselors who love to talk & persuade others, it's hard not to... :)

Today I had a mini-college fair at Plattsmouth High in Nebraska. The school holds 2 days of college prep info & games as an incentive for achieving C's or higher in all classes. I spoke with about 15 students, primarily sophomores & juniors, so it was good. It's never too early to start checking out your options!

Tomorrow evening I head to my parents' house near Des Moines for the Berkenes family Christmas - woohoo! It's January 11th, yes, but that's what happens when 2 kids get married & you have to schedule around weekend work schedules & 4 different families! Call me cheap, but I don't think it's such a bad deal because I just get all my Christmas gifts like 50% off after the holidays - the less they cost, the more you can give! I'm also ExCiTeD about playing games with the fam - I'm a huge board game nut & am often called a Game Nazi because of my extreme competitiveness. ;P I play to win, not just for fun, LOL! Sunday, we'll all (Mom, Dad, my hubby Josh, my brother Cory & his wife Crystal) head over to my Aunt Julie's house for another little family Christmas gathering with my cousins. Patrick is a senior in high school, so I'm gonna see if I can engrave "Come to Simpson College" into every inch of his brain! ;P

Well, I'm outtie for now...gotta call some students...