Don't Get Bent Out of Shape

Seriously.  If anyone says they're from (or lived there) southern California or Hawaii, I always ask if they surf.  For some reason people who don't surf think this is a weird question.  I don't get it.  I really don't.  They give you that awkward, "why are you asking me that?" look.  You know which one I mean.  The one where their face turns slightly to the side, one eyebrow lifts a tiny bit, their nose scrunches, and they overall seem annoyed.  WHY ARE YOU ANNOYED!?!?  (and more importantly - WHY DON'T YOU SURF!?!?!)  

I mean, I'm a skier.  I can understand why all people in areas with awesome ski areas don't ski (or board) - it's expensive.  However, if you WANT to do it, there are ways to do so relatively inexpensively, or at least at major reduced cost.  

Being a skier, though, I still ask people in snowy, mountainous areas (or relatively close proximity to them) if they've at least tried it (or snow boarding).  Skiers and boarders do not get bent out of shape by these questions.  In my experience other people in these areas don't either.  

What's the difference?  I have no clue.  

I DO know, if I lived somewhere where surfing was an option, count me in, I want to at least try it!  As for you bent out of shape folks, mom always said, "Careful, your face might stick that way."

When One Can Only Dream of Sleep

Most of the tome things stay at a pretty "normal" level of chaotic around here. Late nights, ridiculous pranks, lots of laughs, too much candy, excessive amounts of ramen, the never ending paperwork mountain and constant meetings....yeah, that's the norm.

The past two weeks have been a blur. An ongoing major crisis from last week took many hours to come up with a game plan and involved my entire department above me. That had barely had time to settle when this week hit with two back to back incidents involving 11 students in the wee hours of the morning when the rest of the world gets their beauty sleep. Eleven hours of sleep in sixty four hours.....I was in rough shape.

Today I was finally on my homestretch for disciplinary forms and meetings and just wanted to make it through the day before another wave hit when two of my residents (one of whom was the boxer briefs kid I mentioned before) decided to throw ALL of the bouncy balls being used as part of a "Seven Deadly Sins" program on wrath at me from the other end of the hallway.

My first reaction was, "No! Guys, the sprinkler heads! Seriously stop!" Eventually though I could only laugh as forty to fifty little balls came happily bouncing at me off the floor and walls. They were laughing hysterically from the start, I just needed to refocus my priorities and relax.

Thanks for the reminder.

Life in a Residence Hall: The Worst Part of the Job

When people think of what the worst part of life as an RD, I know many think it would likely be the constantly over flowing toilets, the never ending relationship drama, continually reminding students they left their moms and maids at home, reminding students to go to class and do their homework, and the ridiculous hours. Maybe some of you have a better idea - you know it has to be the boat load of paper work that follows an incident report, especially one with multiple people involved.

For me, none of those even comes close to dismissing a student from the residence hall. I HATE dismissals. I mean I don't like disciplinary parts anyways, but these are the worst of the worst. Even when the resident is someone who had it coming, who has repeatedly made poor decisions throughout their time here I hate terminating their housing agreement.

Yes, they're my resident, but they're also a part of the fabric and community here in the building, it stinks when they are no longer welcome because they made one too many stupid decisions.

Usually dismissals are people who are already on probation, they've maybe struggled with classes or broken the rules. Most residents make an honest effort when given a second chance. To watch and be a part of great improvement in an individual only to have them slip up and be dismissed is heart wrenching. Who knows if they'll be able to commute and stay in school to graduate, if they'll give up the change and say "F*ck it" (sorry, it's the most common phrase around here) and go back to the mess they were before.....I don't dare say.

So many of them have such messed up lives away from here. Normalcy has a completely foreign meaning for me when applied to their lives. Multiple parents, step parents, foster parents, adoptive parents, stand in parents, and the all too common absent parents. Not to mention the jail time, lost driver's licenses, etc.; it's overwhelming.

It leaves me with moments where all I can do is breathe and pray.

Life in a Residence Hall - Some Days You Can Only Laugh

I really need to start keeping a journal in my office to keep track of all the "normal" yet crazy day to day things that go on when your home is a residence hall filled with 145 college kids.  

I figured I'd share a few of the laughable moments from the semester thus far: 

• One of my Korean residents had only been in the states 3 days when her toilet overflowed  (we have bad toilets, this happens all the time) flooding 2 resident rooms and the bathroom plus three rooms downstairs.  The poor girl was still jet lagged and her english was still pretty iffy.  After the mess was fully cleaned up she burst into tears  and was nearly inconsolable.  After a while, she was able to answer my questions of what was wrong and said she was afraid that all the other residents would only know her as the girl who flooded the building! 

• A resident tracked thick mud through all of first and second floor of our building so I walked upstairs to ask him to remove his muddy boots from the hallway and to mop up the mess.  When I told him I'd even get him a mop and a "wet floor" sign he said he had his own mop and whipped out one of those sponge ones and a little 1 1/2 gallon bucket.  I told him I'd still grab the wet floor sign and I'd be right back.  Upon returning with the wet floor sign I found him happily mopping the floor with one hand and carrying his water bucket with the other ---- while stripped to his boxer briefs.   I just said thank you for mopping :)

• On a Sunday evening, after returning from a weekend off, a student came running into my office, all excited.  "Did you hear what happened to ________?" "No?" Well, apparently someone (at that point unknown) had posted another resident in the Men for Men personal ads section of Craigslist.com complete with phone number and real photos.  The poor guy's phone had been blowing up all day on Saturday with text messages.  Apparently the kid had just gotten a new phone and didn't have anyone's number so when he got the first text of "Hey we should get together sometime" he responded with "Sweet deal" and then received "I'm a little older than you're looking for, 35 but if your good I'm in" to which he thought it was still just a friend of his being stupid and replied, "Age is just a number" after that it went downhill quick and is not blog worthy, but man, while I felt bad for him he's a good sport and is laughing about it now. 

• One of my residents (who happens to have a bright red beard and thick BRIGHT red hair) decided for the second time this year to shave the top of his head so he looks like a cross between a monk and a really bad impersonation of Red Forman from "That 70's Show."  Last time it was because he lost a bet.....this week?  He just felt like a hair cut.   Another student asked him if he was doing a "breaking the social norms" project (which is USUALLY why students are doing above and beyond weird things (like a 300lb guy wearing a strapless gown through the Bangor Mall.....he was also covered in tattoos and had a mohawk)), but nah, this is just his "norm." 

Beyond that it's just the normal occurrences of guys wanting to make team t-shirts but not knowing how to read directions or run an iron and they only have 45 minutes until their game starts; packing tape across doorways; lube in the shower; burnt popcorn fire alarms; community service kids playing with the backpack vac; lobby twister parties; and lots and LOTs of easy mac.......  If you're thinking of purchasing stock, Kraft and the company that own Maruchan noodles is the way to go....LOL