So including traveling home my overweight baggage fee total is now at $450.... for real, thats happening. Lorin told me to get another bag to check and get rid of the carry on, but I'm a small person and I'm not sure I could handle two large suitcases on all of the train rides that I have taken (it seems like I heart Amtrak, right?). Next semester will be a different story pretty much all flights and driving, so.... I'm considering it.
Being home was wonderful, being able to sleep in my own bed and have an option for clothing and shoes was amazing! I think that over winter break I will wear a different pair of shoes each day, just because I can and I have a closet not a suitcase to get them from! One of the consultants from last year told me that she did not bring anything in her suitcase second semester that she packed first semester. I love that strategy, but think that some serious shopping is order before that can happen. I'm such a case for What Not to Wear, they should come dress me in professional clothing that does not need to be ironed and is machine washable and can be thrown in the dryer. Talk about a challenge! Oh yeah, and it should make me look fabulous and pulled together like I dont live out of a suitcase.
Today was an interesting travel day that included slush, sleet and some serious holiday traffic. I left from Trenton where it was icy but not really snowy and hopped a train to Philly so that I could take an Amtrak train to Union station in DC. I had a small panic attack in Philly when I went to the kiosk to print out my ticket and there were no plans for today!! What, this is not happening again.... NOT HAPPENING. It wasnt! : ) I just didnt have the credit card that the reservation was booked with so I had to actually wait in a line and talk to a person. So, yes, I had a ticket and there was not miracles needed, today at least. Huge sigh of relief!
Well the Amtrak train was really packed. I was worried about finding a seat! I had to very politely ask a scrubby college student traveling in jeans and slippers taking over two seats if he could share with me. I had a very productive ride and read and replied to all of the emails that stacked up during the Thanksgiving break, about 30.
I arrived at Union station and then hopped into a car to drive to James Madison. Well, so were about a million other people driving to Roanoke, Virginia Tech, Washington and Lee and JMU. It was a highway filled with college bumper and window stickers. We even saw another Tri Sigma sticker and it was not someone who went to JMU, so I'm thinking Radford? Funny. In the car we also passed the little town of Woodstock, it took me a minuet but then I realized where we were. I cant wait to go back to Walton House in January and see all of the other consultants, I miss them!
I cant believe it but its almost Christmas. I have one more chapter visit and then will begin working from home until January. How has that happened. It feels like decades ago that I was going through training and getting to know the other consultants. My year is just about half over!
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Eta Phi Installation (Pratt)
What an amazing weekend. The entire Installation team arrived on Thursday and we hit the ground running for Friday morning. Set up and practice began and alot of hauling boxes from the building I was staying in to where we were doing the ritual ceremony. I love the people in Student Activities who let me "borrow" (read: steal for the entire weekend) their hand truck. Because I could not carry those boxes!
I think the best part of the weekend was seeing the women who had waited so long to hear the rituals and become true and lawful Sigma Sigma Sigma's become emotional and be so moved from the ceremony. Meeting Laura Sweet our National President was a total treat for them as well.
The banquet on Saturday night was amazing. It started pouring just after I went inside, talk about luck! It was fun to wear a dress and celebrate after such a long process for Pratt to finally become a chapter. The food was amazing and the decorations were perfect.
Its a tradition in Tri Sigma for each chapter to decorate a Barbie doll that is kept at our Headquarters to commemorate the time period each chapter was Installed. This Barbie was perfect for Pratt. She had streaks of royal purple in her hair, she was wearing a skull and crossbones t-shirt. The finishing touch was her messenger bag that contained an issue of the Triangle magazine, a painter's palette, t-square, and notebooks. She even had a duck tattoo on her ankle, a shout out to the symbol of the local sorority that the group was before they affiliated with Tri Sigma.
Sunday morning was Inspiration. I was so moving to hear the women talk about how much Sigma and each other meant to them. Everyone cried... everyone.
I traveled on Wednesday to Richmond, Va.
Baggage Fees: $90 (ouch Delta!)
Baggage Fees to Date: $399
I feel like I am doing a drive by visit, just four short days before I depart. I truly can not believe that it is Thanksgiving already. The weather is getting cold, and I hear that it has been flurrying. I am looking forward to spending time with my family and relaxing!
I think the best part of the weekend was seeing the women who had waited so long to hear the rituals and become true and lawful Sigma Sigma Sigma's become emotional and be so moved from the ceremony. Meeting Laura Sweet our National President was a total treat for them as well.
The banquet on Saturday night was amazing. It started pouring just after I went inside, talk about luck! It was fun to wear a dress and celebrate after such a long process for Pratt to finally become a chapter. The food was amazing and the decorations were perfect.
Its a tradition in Tri Sigma for each chapter to decorate a Barbie doll that is kept at our Headquarters to commemorate the time period each chapter was Installed. This Barbie was perfect for Pratt. She had streaks of royal purple in her hair, she was wearing a skull and crossbones t-shirt. The finishing touch was her messenger bag that contained an issue of the Triangle magazine, a painter's palette, t-square, and notebooks. She even had a duck tattoo on her ankle, a shout out to the symbol of the local sorority that the group was before they affiliated with Tri Sigma.
Sunday morning was Inspiration. I was so moving to hear the women talk about how much Sigma and each other meant to them. Everyone cried... everyone.
I traveled on Wednesday to Richmond, Va.
Baggage Fees: $90 (ouch Delta!)
Baggage Fees to Date: $399
I feel like I am doing a drive by visit, just four short days before I depart. I truly can not believe that it is Thanksgiving already. The weather is getting cold, and I hear that it has been flurrying. I am looking forward to spending time with my family and relaxing!
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Travel Plan Fiasco and Brooklyn again
Oh man. It was bound to happen for one of my visits but I still cant believe that it did! So I went to the Norfolk airport on Sunday about an hour before my flight and was ready to check in, I handed them my ID and I got the answer, "we dont have any travel plans for you for today".... WHAT?! So they asked for a confirmation number, which of course I did not write down, very amateur of me! So I left the line, went over to a bench, turned on my lap top real quick and looked at the confirmation email.
Ah, ha...... This is when I discovered that I had booked travel for 11/19 and not 11/9. Damn that extra 1!!! So, now I am alone in Norfolk, the chapter has left, because I told them I could get my ticket myself... yeah, well easier said than booked. So I went back in line and told the woman that we needed to make a small miracle happen and get me to Laguardia TODAY. Thankfully there was a flight about four hours later, *whew, crisis avoided.... oh whats that? Its going to cost $150 to change my flight?! The ticket only cost $105 in the first place! OH!! Well, I really have no other options, so okay, here is my credit card, charge away, and don't forget the $15 to check a bag and the $50 overweight fee. This time my bag only weighed 61 pounds. So we are down 6 pounds from the last flight, which adds to my theory that really none of these scales are right.
Total Flights: 2, Norfolk to Dulles, Dulles to Laguardia
Total Fees: $215: $150 to change the flight, $15 to check a bag and $50 because its too heavy, yet I can lift it and I'm a small person!
Total Bagage Fees to date: $309 (omg, and that does not count the fees to check the bag, that is alllll overweight fees).
Being back in Brooklyn is nice, its so great to see familiar places and faces. I got to see the sun setting as I was flying in, it was absolutely beautiful, when my travel plans go on as normal, I usually dont get to see the sunset! I was also on the right side of the plane to see all of the NYC sights from the air. I saw the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Empire State Building all lit up.
Preparations for Installation are going well. This weekend many volunteers and National officers will be traveling to Brooklyn to make our Pratt colony officially our Eta Phi Chapter. We are literally making history. I have been busy making last minute preparations, getting wrapping paper for gifts, inventorying supplies that have been sent, going over budgets, making sure everything is checked off and people know where they need to be and what needs to happen. I feel like I'm planning a wedding. We have table rentals, flatware rentals, catering, photographer's, favors that need to be distributed. After this... I feel like I can plan one!
Tonight I had an adventure in mid-town. I was invited by one of the Foundation GOLD representatives to a dessert reception on 40th to meet some NYC area Sigmas. So I very bravely (after looking on hopstop.com) took the Subway to meet them. It was great! Most of the women were from our Beta Upsilon chapter at Penn State University. Some of them were in areas where chapter's that I have visited need advisors, so it was great to be able to share information with them and make new connections. It also made me feel great to know that I was navigating NYC all by myself! I didnt even take the wrong train.
What does that say about me that I can take the right train, but I cant book a flight on the right day? Really though....
Ah, ha...... This is when I discovered that I had booked travel for 11/19 and not 11/9. Damn that extra 1!!! So, now I am alone in Norfolk, the chapter has left, because I told them I could get my ticket myself... yeah, well easier said than booked. So I went back in line and told the woman that we needed to make a small miracle happen and get me to Laguardia TODAY. Thankfully there was a flight about four hours later, *whew, crisis avoided.... oh whats that? Its going to cost $150 to change my flight?! The ticket only cost $105 in the first place! OH!! Well, I really have no other options, so okay, here is my credit card, charge away, and don't forget the $15 to check a bag and the $50 overweight fee. This time my bag only weighed 61 pounds. So we are down 6 pounds from the last flight, which adds to my theory that really none of these scales are right.
Total Flights: 2, Norfolk to Dulles, Dulles to Laguardia
Total Fees: $215: $150 to change the flight, $15 to check a bag and $50 because its too heavy, yet I can lift it and I'm a small person!
Total Bagage Fees to date: $309 (omg, and that does not count the fees to check the bag, that is alllll overweight fees).
Being back in Brooklyn is nice, its so great to see familiar places and faces. I got to see the sun setting as I was flying in, it was absolutely beautiful, when my travel plans go on as normal, I usually dont get to see the sunset! I was also on the right side of the plane to see all of the NYC sights from the air. I saw the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Empire State Building all lit up.
Preparations for Installation are going well. This weekend many volunteers and National officers will be traveling to Brooklyn to make our Pratt colony officially our Eta Phi Chapter. We are literally making history. I have been busy making last minute preparations, getting wrapping paper for gifts, inventorying supplies that have been sent, going over budgets, making sure everything is checked off and people know where they need to be and what needs to happen. I feel like I'm planning a wedding. We have table rentals, flatware rentals, catering, photographer's, favors that need to be distributed. After this... I feel like I can plan one!
Tonight I had an adventure in mid-town. I was invited by one of the Foundation GOLD representatives to a dessert reception on 40th to meet some NYC area Sigmas. So I very bravely (after looking on hopstop.com) took the Subway to meet them. It was great! Most of the women were from our Beta Upsilon chapter at Penn State University. Some of them were in areas where chapter's that I have visited need advisors, so it was great to be able to share information with them and make new connections. It also made me feel great to know that I was navigating NYC all by myself! I didnt even take the wrong train.
What does that say about me that I can take the right train, but I cant book a flight on the right day? Really though....
Monday, November 3, 2008
NJ and back in VA
It seems like for the next few weeks I will be either in VA or in the NY metropolitan area. Last week I was at Seton Hall in NJ, I am now at Virginia Wesleyan College, I will be going to Brooklyn and then to Virginia Commonwealth University and then to NJ for Thanksgiving! Then back to VA to visit James Madison University. Talk about shuttling up and down the East Coast!
I am also on a string of religious colleges. St. Joes, Seton Hall and Virginia Wesleyan. I knew that Seton Hall was gated, but really surprised with how far they took that! Maybe it was because it was Halloween or maybe because it was gang initiation week, even still gates were locked at 11pm on a Friday. I definitely saw some hilarious blasphemous moments at Seton Hall, I'm so going to hell for thinking things like that are funny.
Yesterday was the longest travel day yet, I started at around 1:30pm in Newark, and arrived in Newport News, VA 8ish hours later! (and I'm soo glad that I did not have to change time zones when we switched over from Daylight Savings Time that really would have messed me up) But it was one very productive train ride. I love Amtrak and the fact that they have outlets for every seat : ) I was still playing catch up last week from the previous week when I had 2 visits (Longwood and St. Joe's), so I think that I finally caught up on Sunday on the train, so it was a blessing that I had 8 hours alone with my computer. I'm not sure why I keep having 2 visits in one week, those weeks it is always hard to tell what day it actually is because I usually arrive on Sunday but on those visits I travel Sunday and Wednesday.
Seton Hall was nice. It was great to be in north Jersey and get a little taste of home. I had visited the campus before so it was also nice to have some sort of sense of direction while I was there. Fun fact about Seton Hall, it seems that every single campus organizations get matching jackets. On most campuses I see Greeks with half zip hooded track jackets with names on the front and letters on the back. But at Seton Hall the Residents association had them and more too that I didnt know the abbrev's for.
At Virginia Wesleyan the women asked me how many visits I have been on... counting VWC 11! That doesn't even seem right! I cant believe that the semester is almost over and that the holidays are almost here. I am looking forward to being able to wear jeans more than 2 days in a row : ) and living in sweatshirts. I didnt think that I would miss dressing like a bummy college student, but I miss sweatshirts more than I miss my bed at home. Too bad I cant fit any in my suitcase either!
I am also on a string of religious colleges. St. Joes, Seton Hall and Virginia Wesleyan. I knew that Seton Hall was gated, but really surprised with how far they took that! Maybe it was because it was Halloween or maybe because it was gang initiation week, even still gates were locked at 11pm on a Friday. I definitely saw some hilarious blasphemous moments at Seton Hall, I'm so going to hell for thinking things like that are funny.
Yesterday was the longest travel day yet, I started at around 1:30pm in Newark, and arrived in Newport News, VA 8ish hours later! (and I'm soo glad that I did not have to change time zones when we switched over from Daylight Savings Time that really would have messed me up) But it was one very productive train ride. I love Amtrak and the fact that they have outlets for every seat : ) I was still playing catch up last week from the previous week when I had 2 visits (Longwood and St. Joe's), so I think that I finally caught up on Sunday on the train, so it was a blessing that I had 8 hours alone with my computer. I'm not sure why I keep having 2 visits in one week, those weeks it is always hard to tell what day it actually is because I usually arrive on Sunday but on those visits I travel Sunday and Wednesday.
Seton Hall was nice. It was great to be in north Jersey and get a little taste of home. I had visited the campus before so it was also nice to have some sort of sense of direction while I was there. Fun fact about Seton Hall, it seems that every single campus organizations get matching jackets. On most campuses I see Greeks with half zip hooded track jackets with names on the front and letters on the back. But at Seton Hall the Residents association had them and more too that I didnt know the abbrev's for.
At Virginia Wesleyan the women asked me how many visits I have been on... counting VWC 11! That doesn't even seem right! I cant believe that the semester is almost over and that the holidays are almost here. I am looking forward to being able to wear jeans more than 2 days in a row : ) and living in sweatshirts. I didnt think that I would miss dressing like a bummy college student, but I miss sweatshirts more than I miss my bed at home. Too bad I cant fit any in my suitcase either!
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