February 14th

Two posts in the same day? What's come over me? Well, I figured I should probably address the significance of today's date.

I suppose the word "date" could have dual roles for this particular day.

It's February 14th. This means different things to different people. It's usually referred to as either 1) Valentine's Day, or 2) Single's Awareness Day.

Now, to help me explain who generally uses each of these monikers, I will need a little help from Facebook's "relationship status" feature.

Here's the breakdown:

1) Single -- Single's Awareness Day
2) In a Relationship -- Valentine's Day
3) In an Open Relationship -- Hmm...could go either way I suppose? Maybe it's Time to Have "The Talk" Day? I guess you get to pick how you see this one. I'd recommend going with Valentine's Day, just to be safe...
4) Engaged -- Valentine's Day
5) Married -- Valentine's Day
6) It's Complicated -- I have no idea what this day is for you, but I wish you the very best of luck! Maybe we could call it Incredibly Awkward Day.

I suppose I would fall into category 1, though I really don't have any problem with Valentine's Day. It's all good.

So to all the people in relationships of whatever kind, Happy Valentine's Day. To my friends in the singles category, CALL ME!!!! (kidding, seriously. Don't call, I'm out of minutes. Again, I'm kidding).

In the spirit of holidays that can be interpreted however we choose, I'm proposing a new holiday. Actually, let's make it a whole week!

I hereby recognize the second full week in February to be "Big Glass of Milk Week."
It's no so much a nationally recognized thing, or even an Illinois thing. It's more a "Bob needs to clear out some room in his fridge" thing. So this week I'm going to be drinking big glasses of milk. Feel free to participate. I hear it does a body good.

That's all I've got for now. Catch ya later.

Snow Daze

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

...the only problem is, it's February.

So we've had two consecutive snow days here in Springfield. In a few years we'll all be sitting around and talking about it..."Remember the blizzard of '07? Six day weekend!"

For those of you who do not know, I live off campus just past downtown Springfield. I braved the weather in my good ol' '95 Ford Contour yesterday afternoon to get to campus. It took me a little over an hour to make it to the student government offices (usually takes about 15 minutes). On the way there I saw something that I couldn't help but smile at (even though I did feel sorry for the guy). I saw someone digging out his snow plow. I love irony. Anyway, I really hope everyone stayed safe during the weather.

When it gets bad like this, I sometimes get reminded about the inherent goodness in human nature. Yesterday morning a buddy of mine was leaving my apartment. His car, of course, was snowed in. I grabbed my shovel and we got him dug out a little. He got stuck again and we continue our shoveling.

I saw one of my neighbors get stuck trying to get into the parking lot. I went over to see if he needed a little help, and we tried to get him into the parking lot (to no avail). Then another person came out with another shovel and started helping him, so I went back to my buddy again. We basically just started clearing off the entire alley that leads past our parking lot.

When I got back to my neighbor's car I learned that he had picked up an older gentleman who was trying to walk back home (he lives across the street from us). I helped the man back to his building and returned to shoveling.

My neighbor got his car into a strip of parking spaces at the school across the street (classes, of course, had been cancelled for the day). We finally got my buddy out of the parking lot and on his way.

The reason I really like this story is because of all the help we were giving each other. We ended up having no fewer than 6 people who were working on the snow. We didn't all know each other, but we recognized that we could be useful. I've always been a big fan of service, and when people come together to help each other (as I said earlier) it just reminds me that people are generally good.

That's my snow day story. I'll catch ya later.

A new candidate, a new movement

Barack Obama announced his candidacy for President on Saturday, and I couldn't be more excited.

I'll be quite honest, I am a HUGE fan of Senator Obama. I will be supporting him, and doing whatever I can to help with his campaign. I like him for a lot of reasons. In the first part of this post I'm going to try to focus not so much on his "rock star" status, but more on why I am excited about the implications of his candidacy. In the second part (below the divider) I'm going to discuss some things about Obama's candidacy in particular.

He's said it many times, but I believe it to be true -- that our generation is hungry for a new kind of politics. We want someone who is genuine and engaging. We want someone who is open and honest. We want our leaders to unite us instead of dividing us.

As Senator Obama said, this is not a campaign -- it's a movement. There is an energy out there that hasn't been present in past elections. It's a feeling that we really can change things for the better. Young voters are becoming aware of political issues, and are turning out in record numbers to make a difference.

I don't think Obama is the only reason for this new engagement. I think it's a sense that we, as a generation, have to start becoming active citizens. We're ready to step up and take some responsibility for shaping the future. After all, in a few decades we'll be the ones responsible for dealing with the aftermath of decisions made today.

So to all those who feel the energy that I feel, get involved! If you're a support of Obama, get out and volunteer for his campaign. If you don't support him (which, of course, is your prerogative), then volunteer for another campaign.

Even if you don't have an interest in working for a presidential campaign, there are lots of other ways to get involved. Write a letter to the editor about an issue you care about. Call your legislators to discuss an issue important to you (you will probably talk to a staffer, but the message will get passed along). Volunteer at Big Brothers/Big Sisters, or another organization of your choice. There is something for everyone out there.

This is a call to action for our generation. This is a pivotal time in history. We live in a global world. Our actions affect others around the globe. Young adults can be a force that cannot be ignored or written off as immature.

______________________________________________________________

Ok, now there are a few things about Senator Obama's campaign (and society in general) I would like to talk about.

First of all (and I am guilty of this too), people talk a lot about Obama possibly being the "first African American President." Now, this is very telling about our society for a number of reasons. First of all, it is exciting that we have a good chance of electing a President who is a racial minority. However, the fact that we get excited for that opportunity shows how far we still have to go for true equality. Someday it will not be uncommon for a minority candidate to be a frontrunner. Today, however, many focus on what an anomaly it is that Obama is so popular. Yes, we must acknowledge that it will be a milestone in U.S. history if he is elected (and I sincerely hope he is), but we must also look at why it is a milestone. Let us be aware that we still have a long way to go.

Also, I don't believe his "lack of experience" should be an issue. There are certain qualities that he has -- leadership, honesty, passion -- that are transferable to any venue. These are the qualities that make him so appealing to so many, and they are the qualities that will make him a great President.

And now I'm going to say the magic words. He is something of a political "rock star." He is fresh and exciting. As I stated above, I believe the ability to get young people motivated is especially valuable today. I attended a sign making party last Thursday to get ready for Obama's announcement. There were supporters of all ages there. Parents and their children were there. High school students, some of whom will probably not be old enough to vote for him in '08, were present. It was very exciting (also I got interview by the BBC, and am told that I was on CNN!!!!).

_________________________________________________________

Well, this post is getting rather long, so I will try to wrap things up. I came to UIS in 2003 because I am a political studies student. I liked the small class sizes and student-faculty interaction, but the potential to get involved was the biggest reason. I am happy to say that I have gotten involved, and I am glad I chose UIS for that opportunity. It is my sincere hope that more young adults will become engaged.

Now, this is going to sound sappy and idealistic, so be ready.

John Mayer has a song "Waiting for the World to Change." Well, we're done waiting. I think Senator Obama may be able to get us going. That's a big reason I support him.

Whenever I'm having drinks with friends, I always toast "To the Record." It is from Kurt Vonnegut's book Player Piano. Sometimes the best reason to do things, even if you are doomed to fail, is to get it on the record. Fear of losing cannot keep us from trying. Even if we are not successful, someone will take notice that we did, in fact, try.

This is my editorial. This is me lecturing. I don't wish to offend, but I do wish to make people think. You can take it to heart, or with a grain of salt, or a shot of whiskey, or whatever. In any event, thanks for reading. Feel free to comment.

I'll catch ya later.

Adventures in Activism

Welcome back to UIS everyone.

Well, winter break is over. I use the term "break" loosely, since much of my time off was spent coordinating campaigns for the Illinois Student Association (which is a statewide coalition of students leaders that I started this year). It's been a bit on the stressful side, but now that we've got a few things accomplished I can say it was well worth it.

Last week was HUGE. Most of the week I spent planning a press conference here at UIS. We had it to release a report about H.R. 5, which is the bill in the House of Representatives that will cut some federal student loan interest rates in half over 5 years. The report described the benefits of the policy, and the Illinois Student Association (ILSA) was advocating that people support it. We held the press conference on Thursday, and it was well received. We were featured on the Channel 20 news at 6 pm, on NPR (WUIS), and in the SJ-R http://www.sj-r.com/sections/news/stories/105192.asp.

Friday I drove up to Chicago for a meeting at the Lt. Governor's office. I was meeting with Susanne Hack, the Legislative Counsel for the Lt. Gov. We discussed some upcoming legislation about textbooks. Senator Mattie Hunter was there, and Don Sevener from the IBHE phoned in. All in all, it was a great experience (except having to make the drive to Chicago!). ILSA is going to help build some support about the legislation, and we're hoping to have a rally day. Good times.

Monday was perhaps the coolest of all. I was invited to DePaul University to speak at a press conference about the student loan interest rate cuts. Whose press conference? None other than Senator Dick Durbin's! Very, very exciting. Senator Durbin is a co-author of the legislation and just introduced the Senate version of H.R. 5.

More good news come last Wednesday. The House overwhelmingly supported H.R. 5! One step closer to making loans more affordable.

Umm...other than that, I'd say I had a good Christmas and New Year's. I went home for Christmas and did family stuff, and visited a friend up at ISU for New Year's. I'm happy with how this winter break turned out.


Ok, on to this semester. I've only got one actual class, which is online. I also have an 8 credit hour internship at the State School News Service. It should be pretty good. Other than that, I'm catching up on some Student Government work, trying to get a GA position for grad school, thinking about the Navy Reserves, and trying to build up the Illinois Student Association (no worries, right?...).

Well, that's all I've got for now. I'll catch ya later.

It's the most wonderful-(ly busy) time of the year

I wrote this post last semester, just for clarification...but the internet seems to be allergic to me, so it's just now getting up...


Well, it's finals week. I just turned in a take-home final exam for one of my econ classes, and now I am getting ready to head to the library to work on my political theory paper (postmodernism...blah). It's been a good semester, but it's also been a busy semester...

We've done a lot on student government this year on campus and off. My goal for the year is to get an Illinois Student Association running. I'm glad to say that it is up and running, and we are getting more and more support in the state. There are 7 student body presidents from universities across Illinois that are interested in forming the coalition right now. I believe that soon we could have all 12 presidents signed on. We plan on running a textbook affordability campaign in the spring, which includes passing some legislation in the statehouse.

Other than the student association and other SGA issues, it's been a busy semester academically. I learned a lot, though, which is what it's all about. I also found an internship! I'm going to be working at the State School News Service in the spring. So yay for being able to graduate on time!

I got accepted to graduate school at UIS last week. I'm hoping to get a graduate assistantship to pay for it. Depending on how the whole GA search goes, I'll either be sticking around for a few more years or heading off to the Navy. Luckily, there's still a lot of time to decide.

I hope I'm not scaring any potential new students with all this talk about being busy. I've also had a lot of fun this semester. Whether it's a birthday party, going to a bar after class, or just hanging out with friends to watch a movie, I've had a great time. I feel pretty good about this semester because I've had a lot of fun and I've done a lot of (in my opinion) good work academically and in terms of advocacy.

My last final will be over Thursday. Next week I am heading up to Chicago for a hearing on textbook affordability and doing some more work for the Illinois Student Association. Then I'll be heading home to good ol' Nashville, IL. Winter break will give me a little time to relax and see old friends. It's the perfect thing to get ready for next semester, which will be one filled with meetings, lobbying, and internship work, and more good times with my friends.

Even though this week will be busy and stressful, I'm confident that I'll get through it without any major problems (unless there is another blizzard!!!!). So don't feel bad for me, because honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way. (The extracurricular stuff keeps me off the streets and out of trouble!)

So here's to a great semester, and another one to follow!

Thanks for reading, I'll catch ya later.

Turkey and Democracy

Ok, I admit it...I've been slacking a bit on blogging...however, a lot has happened recently, so I've been trying to keep up with all of that. Now I'll catch you up with it, too.

Ok, so how about those elections? It's true, I was pretty excited about the results. Democrats take the House and the Senate. Rumsfeld resigned. Rich Whitney got 11% of the Illinois vote, making the Green Party a recognized party in the state. Wonderful. Sorry to anyone who doesn't share my joy at the results, I'm not trying to rub it in. It does, however, indicate a major shift in Illinois and in the U.S.

I think that the voters did what any democracy is supposed to do. They voted in new blood when they felt the current government wasn't doing its job. It happened to the Dems back when Newt Gingrich and other GOP candidates made their Contract with America, and now it's reversed again. Also, the people of Illinois showed that, if neither of the two major parties puts up a candidate they believe in, they will vote 3rd party. In a predominently two-party system, a Green Party candidate getting 11% of the vote for governor is a big step.

Ok, so that's enough politics...for now :).

Who else is excited about Thanksgiving? Turkey. Mashed Potatoes. Pumpkin Pie. Amazing. I'm heading home on Wednesday night. Thursday is Turkey Day, and the rest of the weekend will be basically dedicated to hanging out with my family and friends from home. We haven't all been home at the same time in a while, so it should be a great time.

I can't believe the semester is so close to being over. Less than a month (and a week of that is break). It has flown by. Next semester I have on class and an internship, and then I'm graduating. Now it's time to decide between grad school and the Navy. Decisions, decisions.

I interviewed at the Illinois Bankers Association for a Governmental Affairs internship. It would be a lot of research and lobbying-related work. I think it would be a very interesting internship (and it's paid!!!). I have another interview with the State Schools News Service tomorrow. They put out a news letter about education issues. I would really like to work there as well, since education is an issue that is very important to me. Whatever internship I end up with, I'm sure it will give me a lot of experience, which is the most important thing.

Well, that's it for today. Have a happy Thanksgiving. I'll let you know how the break was for me. Catch ya later.

Halloween 2006

That's right, it was Halloween weekend last weekend. Good times....good times.

Let's see if I can remember the sequence of events...Thursday after class I went out to Bootleggers with some friends (and there may or may not have been a professor that came out with us too). I do believe a good time was had by all...let's see if there are any pics appropriate for this venue:

This picture is many things: One of those things is stolen from facebook (thanks Kim)

Anyway, that is my friend Kim and, you guessed it, me! One of us needs to shave (you get two guesses which one!) I'll give you a hint...it's me. It's cool though, since it was my birthday.

Ok, on to Friday...Friday night I went back to Bootleggers to see The Station play. Jayger played too, but I didn't make it there in time to catch them (sorry guys, next time for sure). The Station was awesome...

Not only was it awesome music, but even the band dressed up.

The place was packed with people, and many of us were out in our costumes. It was a really fun time.

Ok, in the first picture you have Chewbacca...in the second one you have me as a ghostbuster and Mel as a soccer player...

And then there was Saturday...thanks to Bob Sipe (poli. studies professor), some of us were able to go to the Mother Jones Dinner in town. It's a labor dinner, and it was absolutely incredible. The president of the UMWA, Cecil Roberts, spoke. He was a very powerful speaker and he said some things that really got me pumped up. Good food, good music, and good people pretty much sums up the dinner.

After that I went to a Halloween party that my birthday buddy, Kelsey, puts on each year. It was pretty good time. When we got home the next morning I was pleased to catch the House marathon (great show), although I also watched some of the Bears game for a while. That night I came to campus to see the Rocky Horror Picture Show. There was audience participation, of course...fun fun. After a quick stop at the Monster Bash a few of us headed to Cafe Kanichiwa (pretty sure that's misspelled). Richard, a new political studies professor, was playing some free jazz with a group of guys. I didn't know what to expect, but I really enjoyed it. I'm definitely going to try to make it next time.

Well, that's the weekend. I've got to get going. The girls basketball team is playing St. Louis College of Pharmacy, and one of my high school friends is on the opposing team!!! Soooo it should be a good time. Thanks for reading. Catch ya later.

Big Announcement Everyone

Ok, so maybe it's not THAT big of an announcement, but it's pretty sweet. So the Student Activities Committee (SAC) sponsored a "Build your own fishbowl" event....you can see where this is going, right? You're so smart!

So I have a fish!

This is my fish...

His name....is John Stamos.




I'm going to give you all a second to let the nostalgia set in....
For those who don't know, John Stamos is pretty much the coolest guy ever to don a greasy mullet on a sitcom. Think back to the days of Full House...

Check him out for a comparison...


They could practically be brothers!

P.S.--If anybody is reading this on facebook...I'm not sure the pics are going to show up...so you may need to go to www.uis.edu/bloggers to check my blog out there...

I really don't have much else to tell you...John Stamos was pretty much the highlight of my week. My birthday is tomorrow, so that's kind of cool. Big shout out to my birthday buddy, Kelsey Dennis.

If anybody knows of a political-related paid internship, I would love to hear about it. I'm looking for one so I can graduate in May. Just throwing it out there...

Thanks for reading. I'll catch ya later.

Go Cardinals!!

Ok, as a guy from Southern Illinois (Nashville, IL to be exact...yes, there is one), I love the Cardinals. Obviously I'm pretty stoked about them being in the World Series. Last night's game was incredible. I've been reading all the predictions about the series, and far too many of them have the Cardinals losing pretty badly to the Tigers. Hopefully the 7-2 win last night clears the air about the ability of the Cardinals.

I must admit that I do have a great deal of respect for Jim Leyland, the Tiger's manager. He gave the call to pitch to Pujols, which proved to be a mistake (as Pujols hit a home run). Leyland, however, took the heat for it. He said it was his call, and it wasn't what they should have done. It takes a lot for a manager to admit that, especially during the World Series. So props to you, Jim Leyland.


In other news, tonight the Student Government Association is having its first live meeting on the UIS TV station. We've come a long way to make the meetings accessible to everyone. This is really quite a big step for us.

Oh, and midterms are over (at least for me). I'm sooooo happy to be done with them. For my political philosophy midterm (a take home essay exam), which I totally loved reading for, I wrote a good-sized paper (20 pages). The subject is so interesting. If anybody has a desire to get some good philosophy time in, I suggest reading "Reason in History" by Hegel. Another good book is "One-Dimensional Man" by Marcuse, which isn't philosophy, but rather a critique of society. Good stuff.

For any potential political studies majors out there--don't get scared about the size of the papers for classes. This is a graduate level class. My paper was on the short side compared to some others, but as an undergrad you won't have to go that far...although you may want to, since the subject matter is so interesting.

Anyway, another cool event wasn't too long ago. United Students Against Sweatshops has a "Coffee Pong" tournament. I think my fellow blogger Suraj will be writing about that, so I'll let it to him. He competed, I just helped run the event. Be sure to check out his blog for a better story (oh, and if I learn that he's decided not to write about it, I'll post a separate entry about it!).

On an entirely different note, I graduate in May! I know it's still a while away, but I'm getting to the point where I'm finding my internship and classes for my last semester. It's exciting, but also kinda crazy. College has been awesome, and I've definitely grown a lot while I've been here. I'm not going to get all sentimental in this post (although I reserve that for my last post of the year...), but I have been thinking about it a lot lately. I'm joining the Navy (yes, the liberal is joining the military!). It should be quite the experience.

Well, I've got to go get ready for the SGA meeting. Catch you later!

Homecoming!...Pics coming soon!

Last week was homecoming week. Guess what? It was awesome!

Note: Pictures are coming soon...I left my camera at my apt. this morning, so I'll have to post them tonight...my bad.

Monday night we had a bonfire to kick off the week. Homecoming court was announced as well. Plus, we got our sweet blue tie-dye T-shirts (compliments of the Student Activities Committee). After that a few of us went to Capital City Bar and Grill. We caught the end of the Packers game (alas, my team was destroyed by the Eagles). It was a good night.

Tuesday night was actually a pretty chill night for me. After class I watched movies with my roommates. If anybody is looking for a really good one to rent, I recommend Thank You For Smoking. I would have gone out w/ some friends, but I had to get some packing done for my trip...

Speaking of the trip, that happened on Wednesday. My roommate drove me up to Chicago on her way home, along with another friend of ours. I was actually a little apprehensive about trying to navigate Chicago on my own, so I was really happy she offered to take me with her (what can I say, I'm from a small town down south...Chicago is a whole other world to me!) :).
That evening was spent getting ready for the Department of Education Hearing. I got my testimony worked out, and talked things over with Trevor (a friend I was staying with who goes to UIC).

Thursday was the big day. It was absolutely awesome. About half the people testifying were students. We talked about student debt and how the department could help. It was quite an experience. Plus, I got some advice about a few initiatives I want to work on for Student Government this year. That evening Trevor, his roommate Paul, and I visited Bar Louie. It was a pretty nice little establishment, and I had a most random encounter with one of my friends from UIS. To paraphrase Trevor, "Bob, I don't even know anyone in this bar and I live in Chicago. How do you know somebody?" Like I said, it was random.

Friday night was the homecoming dance. Congrats to Nathan and Samantha, our king and queen. It was a good time, and once again SAC did a great job.

Saturday was the homecoming parade. I marched with the College Democrats. For it being the first year of having a parade, it turned out really well. After the parade was the tailgate. The tailgate led up to the game....and we won! The team we played was ranked in the nation, and we beat them 1-0. Awesome. At halftime the Student Government was inaugurated as well. That evening we had a birthday party for my friend Brie, which was a good time.

That's about it I think. Like I said, it was a really fun week. Sorry about the camera thing...I'll get on that ASAP (like after my Econ. Midterm tonight...wish me luck).

I'm really no good at thinking of titles....

This year is crazy. I'm busy at all get out, and I'm loving it. There are a lot of really important things the student government is doing. I'm planning on heading up to Chicago for a U.S. Department of Education hearing in early October, which is really awesome (yeah, I'm a political nerd...). Also, elections for SGA are coming up. I hope everybody votes!

Speaking of voting, anyone who is not registered to vote needs to do so. It's an election year, and there are a TON of really good races. I'm hoping to become deputy registrar for Sangamon County, which means I can register people. Plus I'm looking forward to canvassing and phonebanking for candidates soon.

In other news, the 1986 national champion soccer team from UIS had a reunion recently. I was able to hang out with them and show some of them around the campus (yeah, my job is good like that) :). These guys are great.

(Ok, this is where I tried to put a picture of the guys...but I seem to have broken the internet...)

Anyway, they were so much fun to hang out with. They kept talking about funny stuff that happened back in the day. Some day I want to do that w/ my college buddies ("Hey, remember that time SGA passed that AWESOME resolution? Yeah that was sweet!"). Okay, so maybe it won't be as cool as the soccer stories...

The other weekend was my friend Holly's birthday. We went a little crazy that night. Based on what we all remember, we're pretty sure we had a good time. One thing we did for sure was to have a cab take us there and back. No drunk driving, end of story. I don't want to preach, but it's really kind of a big deal. Ok, I've said my piece.

I do have a lot of friends with birthdays this time of the year, so I'm going to have to allot some time for recreation (like I said, it's been busy). I think one of the more valuable things I've learned during my tenure here at UIS is how to manage my time better. Freshman year I was an unorganized as I could be. I'm still a little unorganized (you should see my room!), but I must say I do well considering all the meetings and things I have. To all underclassmen reading this, don't worry, it comes with age. Soon you'll be so on top of things you won't remember the time you slept through two classes and a meeting :).

Well, I must be going. Today there is some "Kickin' Cookin' Competition" in Springfield. Apparently it's $5 to get in and then you get free chili, hot wings, and beverages. A few of us are going to track it down to see how it is. I'm optimistic, and hungry.

Thanks for reading. I'll catch you later.

Short Version of a Long Break

Well, I suppose an apology is in order...I did say I was going update more often, and then I waited until now. That's my bad. More bad news....no pics this time (since the batteries to my camera hate me...). But hey, it's all good. I got some new rechargeable ones!

So what's been going on, you ask? Well, I've been working a lot of Student Government stuff. We're trying to get a new lobbying group off the ground. Also, student debt awareness is high on my initiatives list this year. I joined a couple of student groups as well (United Students Against Sweatshops, Pi Sigma Alpha--the UIS Poli. Sci. Honor Society Chapter, and I'm seriously considering getting involved with the Innocence Project and the Women's Issues Caucus). So yeah, busy busy busy.

In other news, we had our first Student Ambassador dinner last Saturday. It was amazingly delicious. We ate at Los Agaves. If anyone has not yet eaten at Los Agaves, I highly recommend it. It's on Wabash sort of across from the mall. Mmmm....Mexican food.

Oh, and UIS had a Star Party last Friday. My friend Holly and I went to check out Jupiter and the moon, along with some assorted constellations. It was pretty cool. After that we had a few drinks and attempted to watch Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. We were extremely unsuccessful in the movie sector but overwhelmingly successful in the drinks sector. We did have a lot of fun joking and telling stories. The moral of this story is, "Go to the Star Parties and you will have a good night."

Well, I'm going to get some coffee and probably read the U.S. Department of Education's report on the Future of Higher Ed. (because I'm a political nerd...), or maybe a little Hegel (I'm a sucker for a good political philosopher). Be back later, with pictures!

First Week!!!!!

First Post! YES!

Alright, well it's been one heck of a First Week here at UIS. Lots of good times! Let's see...where to begin...

Well, Monday was the first day of classes (by the way, my schedule this year is incredible...Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday at 6 pm). So I saw a lot of people that I hadn't seen in a while, which was cool.

Tuesday was a fun day. I worked at Admissions, then hit the Involvement Expo to stand at the Student Government table. I didn't get any pictures of that, but I'm hoping one of the other bloggers did. At 6 I hit my night class for a few hours. Once I got out of that, it was off to JW's (a local bar). Jayger plays there Tuesday nights, and it's a great time for anyone who is old enough to attend (I'm talkin' to you, transfer and grad students :-) ). Let's see if I can't post a few pictures of that right here...

Jayger

So Tuesday was cool. Wednesday after work I helped put together some furniture, then chilled a little at my apartment. One of my roommates has Guitar Hero for the PS2, so I rocked out a little bit as well. I ended up hanging out with Becca and Josey (two of my friends that I'm sure will be in many posts to come) at Thirsty's Playground for just a little while. Overall, it was a pretty chill evening. But Thursday...oh, Thursday...

I'd been looking forward to Thursday all week. I worked, went to my peer mentoring meeting, and then headed up to my evening class, which is a political philosophy class. This class is going to blow my mind, as far as theory goes. After that I met up with some friends, and eventually we made our way to Bootleggers for a going away party. Leslie Rossman, who just completed her master's thesis, is moving to Chicago soon. We're going to miss her, but I'm sure she'll be around to visit (Leslie, if you're reading this....you'd better come around to visit). It was just a great time for anyone in attendance.

Now on to Friday. I had a campus senate meeting in the morning. When that finished I went to a focus group about the preview days we have at UIS (we're always innovating...we're good like that). Then I worked until five. After that was a tailgate followed by the soccer game. Hmm...I'm sure I have a few pictures around here to show you.

This is Chad. The games wouldn't be the same without him.

This is my buddy John. I'm taking a picture of him, taking a picture of me, taking a picture of him...you get the idea (oh, the complexity of it all!)

On the left is my friend Vishal. He's also the Senator to the College of Public Affairs and Administration (PAA) on SGA. That's the kind of enthusiasm I like to see!

That's probably enough for the soccer game. Next time I'll actually post some pics of the team. Well, back to the post. Saturday I had to run home for an eye doctor appointment. I'll have new glasses soon, so I'm pretty excited about that. Then some of us walked downtown to a blues festival that was going on. It was really interesting being able to see the community turn out like they did. Sometimes I forget that there is a lot more to Springfield than just UIS. I think I have one more pic I can put up, then I'm going to wrap things up.

See, look at all the people who aren't students!

It was a good night overall. Today is Sunday and I've got an SGA meeting tonight. It's our first one of the year, so I'm looking forward to it. I'll try to make my posts more than once a week from now on. I imagine this one was a little bit long...

Thanks for reading! I'll see you around.