Greetings from Sitka!

I sent this email out to the Stater listserv, so if you got it already I apologize!

I really can't believe that I've been here a couple days now!  I've kept really busy, but in a good way.  It's all been incredible from the moment I left the lower 48.  The flight up to Alaska is breathtaking.  There is nothing...nothing... at all out there.  Mountains as far as the eye can see.  It's such an awesome sight to see though.  Landing in Alaska was like nothing I could have imagined.  The airport in Sitka is tiny and right on the water, so you feel like you're going to land right in the ocean.  It's fine though because you're so distracted by the unbelievable beauty around.  The mountains come right up out of the ocean.  There are tons of little islands around Baranof and Japonski islands (the islands that make up Sitka) that are all like that.  They are covered by Sitka Spruce all the way up to the summit which is covered in just a bit of snow.  It's like the whipped cream on top!  I couldn't believe it when I got in and I still really can't.  I feel like I'm in a storybook place.  I walk around with my jaw dropped everywhere I go.  It all feels very surreal.  I'm told that I'm getting spoiled by the weather though.  It's been in the 70s and sunny since I've been here.  Usually it's rainy, so I guess I lucked out!  The town itself is really cute, too.  There is a super touristy street, historic sights, residential areas, more towny streets, and of course the beaches and mountains.  It has a little bit of everything.  There are also lots of cool wildlife.  I have seen bald eagles (they hang out in town!) and a sea lion so far.  And honestly, these are the nicest people I have ever encountered.  I've learned from other AmeriCorps that have been up here for a while that they have never met an unfriendly person in Sitka.  Everyone wants to share Sitka with you and hear about your life.  I have eaten both of my dinners so far at local peoples houses because they just invite you over.  It's crazy!  People are especially interesting because most people I've met aren't native to Sitka.  A lot of people go on some adventure or something when they're young and somehow find their way here after traveling the state.  Others are from other parts of Alaska.  A handful came on visit and didn't leave, found a job here, or stumbled upon the place some other random way.  It makes for some pretty interesting stories.  I've heard a lot of really incredible life stories from people so far.  It kind of makes you feel like you haven't done a lot with your life!

As far as details about my new life go... I live in the bottom floor of a house and it's really nice.  It feels very homey.  We can see the mountains from our living room window, too!  Two of my three roommates are here already and they are both great.  One is really outgoing and a little wild, but in a fun way.  The other is quieter but not shy, kind of nerdy and outdoorsy, but again, in a good way.  I think we'll get along well!  I had my first day at work today.  We're just doing office work until the kids get here, but I heard so many exciting things about what happens when the kids get in.  I'll learn about so many native customs, take free trips around the state chaperoning them, and get to "help" with classes that I want to learn (I'm going to take Chinese!).  I'm excited about the job.  I've spent all my time really immersing myself in the city and the people outside of work related things.  I have gone in museums, art galleries, blueberry picking (tons of kinds of berries grow wild everywhere here and you can eat them all right off the side of the road!), walking along the beach, ate dinner over a campfire on the beach, and ate fresh Halibut and Black Cod caught that day in a beautiful house on top of a mountain that overlooked the ocean.  I'm going kayaking in the ocean tomorrow and hiking up a mountain this weekend.  Honestly I'm a little nervous but I'm really pumped up about doing it.  I'm having a hard time believing all that has happened so far.  I think I can already see why people come up here and never leave!

I do feel a little out of place, but I think it will be fine.  I'm the only one I've met so far that hasn't really done any of this outdoors stuff.  I don't know anything about hiking, kayaking, fishing, etc.  I have SO much to learn!!  But overall I'm having a wonderful time and I think I'm going to really like it here.  Everyone should come visit!!  sitkaphotos.com - if you want to check it out a bit (totally doesn't do it justice though!). 

A few fun things I learned:

- Natives are allowed to kill and skin baby seals.  People joked about me doing this when I got here, but it's for real!

- Natives in villages where the pipeline runs through get approx. $3000/month starting at birth just because by the oil company.  This is a reason why they have such big families.

- Whalers have bombs attached to their harpoons and it takes about 5 harpoons (with bombs) to kill a whale.

- People turn up their noses at pink salmon here - you must have King or Sockeye!

- You can get a forest fire on a glacier.

Still Jobless

Hey Everyone,

So after about ten minutes of trying out how to actually write a post, here I am. My summer has been slightly uneventful so far, yet not as terribly boring as I thought it would be.

I am working right now as a temp at the same medical device company I have worked at the past three summers as an intern. I am on day 28 of no health insurance (woo!) and still looking for a full time job. Jon has been amazing at offering me assistance trying to find a job with the FDA and other government agencies. Yesterday I got a call for an interview for Aflac - as much as I love the duck, I declined because I want to stay in pharmaceutics. I've been applying to research positions, sales positions, you name it, at Pharma companies and hospitals up and down the east coast.

Some highlights of my summer include spending an afternoon with Linebaugh in Philly while he was here for training, washing and waxing my "almost mine" beautiful impala on the weekends when I'm bored (I get the car as soon as I get a job!), spending multiple weekends in New York visiting family, receiving inappropriate gchat messages daily from RJ because he knows I'm at work, playing coed softball a couple nights a week and basically hanging out catching up on some reading for pleasure. I was already fed-up with living at home about the second week I was here, although there are a few perks to being home - I'm saving money on rent and my dad's awesome coffee ready for me in the morning. Living at home isn't a bowl full of happiness. I really miss everyone but I don't think it will really hit me until its time to go back but I'm not.

Jon and I are trying to go to the OSU vs PSU game at State College this fall. My little sister (still not street legal James) will be a freshman at Penn State starting August 22nd and my best friend is finishing up her last semester so there will definitely be a place to stay. I think all of you should come even if we just tailgate the whole time (tailgate? whats that?).

Miss you all!

BJ

James Goes to a Bachelor Party-Hilarity Ensues

Hi Friends,

I'm glad people have been posting already. I hope we can keep this up with life updates and random stories.

I've been laying around doing nothing on campus for the summer. The weekends have been the highlights: 3 weddings, 4th of July, and bachelor party. My sister just got married yesterday, so that's kind of a big deal. I'll give stories from that later on: I found out where my mean drunkness comes from.

Some people have heard part or all of this story, so I apologize if you've heard it before, but I don't think you guys will mind too much. It is a long post, but I guarantee it's humorous. I apologize in advance for the stripper portion it is verbally graphic......
So I was a groomsman in my sister's wedding and went to the bachelor party in Chicago. I knew half the guys from either school or through Rob, my new brother in law. We went there because the best man, Craig, lived there. This was a stereotypical bachelor party: a group of guys drinking a large amount of alcohol with the addition of female nudity. A group of us drove there and as soon as we walked in the door we were handed beers and noticed that there was a hardcore porn DVD playing in the background. This played in the background pretty much all weekend. At one point Saturday the 11 of us were just chilling with beers watching porn for like 10 minutes-I found that somewhat awkward.

We're drinking Friday night and Craig says theres a stripper coming in a half hour. Sexy Lexy arrives shortly thereafter with her bodyguard and large suitcase of stripper accessories. She gets Rob in a chair and starts dancing all over him: stands him up, takes his shirt off (no one wanted to see that), takes his belt off, drops his shorts a bit, rips the elastic of his boxers and puts it over his head, and whips him with his own belt. She moves to the next part of her routine, but Rob says he's had enough. The group then decides that I, as the little brother, need to get in on the action. She pulls out a Black and Decker drill............with a dildo on the end of it-a drilldo. It looked a lot like the picture above. I'm sitting on the couch and she comes up and straddles the corner and just puts the thing in her and the hands me the handle-WTF. I am freaked out and nervous and barely pull the trigger, which she laughs at and forces the trigger to full speed and makes me move the drill back and forth. The other guys said it was one of the funniest things they had ever seen because of the look on my face and the fact that I was leaning away from her. I can only imagine how awkward I looked. Then she lists off the other things she can do: for $100 someone can use a dildo on her, for $150 she can masturbate and squirt 10 feet in the air, for $200 she can suffocate someone, or for $250 she would, I am not joking, put a pickle in vaj then shoot it out and knock over miniature bowling pins. I was in complete and utter shock. The group decided to do the suffocation thing with me again as the "lucky" receiver. I lay on the group with a $20 bill across my nose and mouth. She then sits on my face. The only thing between me and a stripper's crotch was a $20 bill. This was frightening. She then made me scream "I love pussy" but then she would do something with her ass cheeks that made my voice cut in and out (kind of like when you use your hand to make an Indian call). Then she tells me she's going to cut off my air and to tap out when I had enough. She then cut off my air by fully sitting on me, which I didn't really think she could do, but trust me she can. Then I didn't know what to do. Do I tap out quickly because this is rather gross? Do I try to be a badass and hold my breath as long as I possibly can? I think I went for like 30 seconds and then tapped out; it was so odd.

We kept drinking at Craig's place until we went to a decent restaurant to get delicious pizza at like 10 o'clock. We were all hammered so I'm not sure why they let us in even. We were loud and obnoxious. The few tables around us tried to block us out..........until we started rehashing about Sexy Lexy and then they listened intently. If you guys remember my roommate from the fall, Charlie, he joined us for dinner because he knows some of the guys as well. We then started walking back to Craig's when another guy, Bauer talked to some girl on the street and got her to come drink with us. The three of us were chatting on the walk over and she said she would call some friends over-the guys were happy. She has a beer then has me go downstairs with her to help her friends get there. In the stairwell she grabs me and makes out with me for like 15 seconds. This was totally random. I was not hitting on her or anything and I didn't initiate. As we are down there Bauer comes down and out of nowhere asks her for some ID. I am confused. She pulls out 2 ID's (bad sign) that say she's 26. There is no way she's 26. Bauer says he thinks her say she was 17. After we ask a few times she owns up to being 17. I had just made out with a 17 year old-wtf. In my defense I did not initiate and everyone there said she looked at least 21. More importantly what 17 year old girl is walking around downtown Chicago on her own and joins a group of 11 mid twenty year old guys for drinks? I then proceeded to call Justin and leave a drunk voicemail. I am told it's humorous.

After that we made it downtown to the hotel we were staying in, which happened to be the one Rachel Hilfer works at. Some of us went out to a bar for a bit after that, but nothing interesting happened. The next morning people got up and went back to Craig's to start drinking around noon, but I stayed at the hotel until Rachel got off work and we got lunch. Then I met back up with the guys at this place called Whirlyball. It is a 5 on 5 game played in bumper cars. You play with a whiffle ball and something kind of like a small curved lacrosse stick. The things used in Hyli (sp?) if you know what that is. So you use the sticks to pick up the whiffle ball and throw it into a goal; it was a blast. The place itself was weird because it had children's parties going on but also a full service bar. Then we all posted up at a bar at like 5 PM on Saturday. Needless to say no one was there. We informed the bartender we were there to do some serious drinking and went about our business. On the walk home from the bar, one guy tried to throw a half-full water bottle past me to hit his buddy, but he missed HORRIBLY and hit me smack in the face. I now have a small scar in between my eyebrows from where a plastic edge cut me. The other guys told me it looked like I had a red dot on my forehead and should therefore work my magic on Indian girls at the bar that night-this did not occur. We went back to Craig's to eat dinner and continue drinking. The porn DVD was again put on in the background. We left to go to a bar but Craig was done for. He face planted into the street at least 3 times. Jeff (my 3rd floor roommate this year) broke his flip flop and tried to trade shoes with a homeless man. We got on the subway and started a slow clap at each stop. We met a couple of girls that we convinced to meet us at the bar later. Craig knew most of the staff at the bar so we go into the secret upstairs bar, but he was quickly kicked out for being too drunk. They sent him home in a cab. Other highlights from the bar consist of one guy hitting on the girl from the subway only to be cockblocked alllllll night by her less attractive sister. The guy that hit me in the face couldn't believe a Bud Light cost $5 so he threatened to attack the bar tender and repeatedly asked him if he was high. When we left, Jeff ran off and we lost him. He found a receipt in his pocket the next morning from Subway, where he spent $23. He later remembered that he chatted with another homeless man in an alley and in exchange for subway the guy gave him a mix CD of his own rap songs. He raps under the name ill-noise (get it? illinois) and the CD actually wasn't that bad. I think he spent money on studio time instead of on housing. The rest of us made it back to the hotel bar to keep drinking. Some guys went upstairs to go to bed but couldn't get into one of our rooms so they pounded on the door until a middle-aged guy opened up. Apparently no one left any stuff in that room, so when the maid's cleaned it they thought we left and they gave the room to someone else. They went downstairs and bitched at the front desk until they got another room. In the meantime I had made friends outside of the hotel bar. The professional BMX tour was in Chicago that day and they all stayed at this hotel, so I drunkenly chatted with a couple of them for a while. One guy randomly offered me some roasted red pepper hummus and pita chips at 3 AM-it was delicious. When I finally head upstairs I see Jeff trying to get into the room. He came back late because he had passed out in the alley for an hour. When he got back to the hotel he pounded on the door of the room that wasn't ours anymore and woke the same guy up again-he was NOT happy. Then Jeff went downstairs and bitched at the front desk again-we were not good customers. Luckily I ran into him and let him in. We all passed out. We all regrouped at Craig's the next day and then drove back to Columbus, rehashing the events for at least the next 2 hours.

I think that sums it all up. Sorry it was long and if that at all offended people. That weekend was the last one in June. It caused me to miss South 40, which was very saddening. The wedding was this past Saturday, which was another great weekend as well. Adios friends!

Getting ready for a change

I'm pretty excited about this... and excited people are actually writing! Sounds like we're all living glamorous lives right now and I'm happy for all of us. ;) We're growing up!

This post is going to be short because nothing too exciting has happened just yet for me. I'm still in Mineral Ridge until Tuesday (7/28). I've been visiting with a lot of family getting ready for the big trip up north. I recently bought a nice camera and a new laptop, so I've been nerding out and learning about those things, too. The camera is for all of you to be wowed by the beauty of AK. :) Laptop is a Mac, which means I have webcam capabilities now. Let me know if you do, too.

I'm so ready to be out of here. Each time I'm back in Ridge I want to be here less and less. I did have some visitors though! My boys came up to visit along with Liz, Hayley, and our very own James Knight and Craig Morin! They saw the beauty of Y-town and the true lack of things to do around here. We did have a fun time climbing around in the woods and sitting around a campfire, though. It was the highlight of my time back home.

Next time you hear from me I'll be in Sitka. Hopefully it will be as fun as I'm hoping. It's going to be hard to compete against OSU though. I love and miss you all!

Manch Vegas

After couch surfing without an apartment to live in and spending a few days in Philly for a conference, I am finally settled into my apartment. Two of my roommates are from different parts of Michigan but seem to be pretty cool. The other one is from North Carolina and he's a bit of a handful. Overall, not too bad a mix of roomates.

I'm just finishing up my first week of work at the City Clerk's Office. I spent the first two days being shown the city by two former police officers that work in my office. They showed me all sides of Manchester. I was enlightened on video poker gambling("ManchVegas"), licensing every type of business possible, and the many issues with neglected properties. These past three days I've just been sitting here on my ass with nothing to do because the guys I work with are at some training thing. Hopefully next week I'll get a little more done.

I miss you all and I miss Ohio State but this is a very interesting place and I'm looking forward to the experience. I don't know if I'll make it back to Ohio until the holidays but if I do I'll let you know.


-Rob

A little of this and that

Hey Guys! Hope everything is well with all of you and everyone is transitioning smoothly :) I'm really pumped about the blog...I actually just recently started my own so I'm becoming a blogging queen now I guess.

Maggie, I actually met someone a few weeks ago who knew Scott Boden as well! That Scott is just too popular.

I'm still in cbus...nannying, but looking for something else full time. Recently I have become a jack of all trades apparently because someone found out I can give kids swim lessons so I literally have a list of parents wanting me to come to their house and teach their kids to swim...strange. I'm not complaining though - they pay.

I'm also helping Susie Whittington re-do her home office, which I think will be fun. We all know how sweet and awesome she is :) I went out to their house for a consultation and going back next week for some idea presenting, fun!

Going to Buffalo, NY this weekend to spend some time with friends of Nathan and I's...(that's weird to type, but it's how I say it)

Can't wait to hear what everyone is up to!

-Mama Godwin

Why My Life is Completely Insane

So I am at Miami University. In Oxford, Ohio. Near the booming metropolis of Hamilton, Ohio (In the week I have been hear I have heard it referred to as that 4 times.) Even though I am scared to death of small towns, I have a feeling I am going to love it here. It is like Rocky River on steroids, -the lake, +a WalMart and a bunch of townies.

I am going here for my Student Affairs in Higher Education degree and I am in a cohort of 19. My assistantship is in Residence Life and on the first day I had a guy come up to me and ask me if I knew Scott Boden. When I got really excited (I will tell you why later) he started doing an impression of Scott that was amazing. Sorry to tell you James, but it blew your impression out of the water. This impression happened at some roadside diner in Indiana on our way to a 4H county fair. Yes this is what my life has become.

I say that I got really excited about the whole mention of Scott Boden because no one here went to or has any connections to Ohio State. Which is weird for me. A couple of my professors do, but I don't start taking classes until August, so I haven't had much experience with them. Also, there are so many Kent, Texas A&M, and Grand Valley State people here that it is weird to not have connections based solely on the love of OSU. Needless to say, I miss Columbus and all of you. Hopefully I will have some crazy stories for you soon, but for right now I am in Oxford, Ohio at Miami University where almost no students take summer classes. The place is dead.

Hope all is going well for you.

(For those of you who spent a lot of time in the Union/were a marketing intern or know the marketing department well, one of the full time staff members that is on my team is Kurt Foriska's identical twin. Their personalities are nothing alike, but it is scary how much they look alike. I keep staring at him, which is weird and creepy since I am the new kid no one really knows, and I think he is finally getting nervous around me. I need to stop this. I am trying to figure out how to get a picture to you.)

Holler

Hello my fellow Stater Grads,

I hope you're all doing well. It's crazy to think that we're all preparing for graduate/professional school and/or a career at this very moment. Me? I just finished up my 2007 taxes and am working diligently to get the 2008 ones in STAT. You know, gotta catch up on all of those great things. I leave for Alabama (my dad's house) this coming Monday and then for Athens, GA for grad school on August 9th. My apartment is amazing, so you should all come visit. I'm paying an arm and a leg for it, so I figure I should share the fabulousness with as many of my friends as possible. You know, stick it to the man! (Shut up, James.)

In any case, much more logistical planning to do. This post is lame thus far, so I will end by telling you that at this past weekend's SPHINX Advance, I peed the tent - on both Vicki and myself.

Gotta love the memories!

ITS(Can't wait for James to post about the Blacker & Deckerrrrr)S,

Mark

The Beginning

Let's all give this a try!

-James