I've Spent My Entire Life Stalking The Beatles... Who Wants to Make a Movie?!

First Werewolf Game!

Last night, I was able to break in my new deck of Ultimate Werewolf cards with some of the Academic Staff and ResLife Staff. Since it was everyone's first night, the game was a bit shaky and slow, but I know it will get better the next time we play. We still had a blast playing, though.

Sweet new cards

This morning, my day started off with lugging a box of staff handbooks to breakfast and then to the MLC for the first day of Orientation. It wouldn't have been so bad if I wasn't also lugging a giant camera bag with a laptop, but that was my own fault.

We started off the morning with an ice breaker called the Human Machine. The core admin did not participate this, but instead watched the hilarity ensue. There were five groups of staff members that were given a machine to act out with no props. We had a coffee maker, a vending machine, a lawn mower, a car wash, and a popcorn maker. Our OSD recorded all of the machines so it will be nice to laugh at them again at the end of the term.

Car wash

The morning went by smoothly. I met with my staff for the first time and made them play Giants, Wizards, and Elves. It was pretty much just for my own entertainment, but also to make them step outside of their comfort zones. They seemed to enjoy themselves so that made me happy. After the game, we did a general overview of everything we'd be discussing throughout Orientation. I think it went pretty well, but tomorrow will be the moment of truth for my skills as a leader. I'm still really nervous about all of this, but I think I can manage.

We had a break for lunch from 12PM-1PM and then returned to the MLC for more training. We played an ice breaker that my RHLs and RPA planned. We were split up into groups and had to come up with an identifiable sound. My group decided on a meow (for obvious reasons... #catladyforlife). We were then blindfolded and moved around by a staff member. When they said "go" we all shouted out the sounds we came up with and tried to find our groups. It was such a strange feeling not being able to see where I was going. I was incredibly disoriented by the time I found my group, but I was ecstatic that we found each other. And then we did it a second time. We decided our sound would be HOO HOO. It was so loud and another group had the same sound, but we found each other much sooner than the last time. Go us!

After this team builder, we had another training session with our OSD. It went so well, but there were a ton of questions. I think everyone is starting to feel a bit more confident about things, but only time will truly tell.

We had a break from 3PM-4PM, but I wound up having to solve a ton of housing issues. Multiple people needed room changes, keys were missing, and there were not enough rooms to move people into. I was able to remain really cool, calm, and collected (go me!) and handle everything, with the help of the Community Director. We make a solid team. We also had the opportunity to talk about Southern dialect and inclusive language. I really enjoyed having these kinds of conversations with someone who understood what I was talking about.

After the fiasco was handled, I took some staff members out for driving training aka I was chauffeured to the hospital and the clinic and then back to campus again. Of course there was another housing issue while I was doing this. (I could not catch a break.) Obviously there was not much I could do while I was in the car so I told the staff member that I would handle it when I returned.

Monsoon-ing

Once I got back to campus, I handled the situation with grace. We figured everything out in time for me to head to dinner. After dinner we planned to go to trivia night at the Wild Goose. When we were ready to leave, the heavens opened up and the sky poured down like a monsoon. A few people came in from a minute outside and were DRENCHED. They could wring out their clothes and leave a puddle. I immediately changed my mind and decided on a movie night with the OC.

It took forever, but we finally figured out the HDMI cord hookup with my mac and watched Across the Universe. The OC and I decided to look up trivia about the movie and found out some really bizarre stuff. There are so many obscure references in the movie that someone must've said "I've spent my entire life stalking the Beatles... Let's make a movie!" Here's a link to the gems we found.

After the movie was over, a few staff members hung out together watching youtube videos, playing guitar, and singing. It was a lovely end to a hectic day.

Tomorrow is going to be a long and heavy day. Between ResLife training, Diversity sessions, and Behind Closed Doors, I'm going to be physically and mentally drained. (This most likely means I will not post again until Friday...)

On a completely unrelated note, THE UNION KICKED ASS TONIGHT! 3-0 against Columbus. I'm so proud of my boys in blue. I wish I could've been there to see the win, but I'll take the three points regardless. Here's to hoping Saturday goes just as well.