Semester in Full Swing

Hello Everyone!

Everything is just dandy around here. Here are my recent activities!

Last Friday we had our first broomball game...I even got some ice time in the second half! Here is some info about Broomball and about watching me play (I already emailed some of you this information)

The team I am on is called "Silly Salmon." The game schedule is on our team webpage (see link below). When looking at the schedule the game times are in Eastern, not Central time. Basically if it reads 6pm, the game is at 5pm MN time. You can watch the game live! If you go to the webcams link (http://www.mtu.edu/webcams) you will see the different webcams. My team plays on the GOLD RINK all season. It will probably be difficult to tell who is who on the ice, but for the upcoming games I will let you know what my broom stick looks like so you can try to find me :)* The link to our team page is http://www.broomball.mtu.edu/team/view/161276 Here you can see our game schedule, game records, individual statistics, as well as view video recordings of past games (in case you missed it!). Note: In order to view the recordings you may have to use Firefox or Google Chrome (the video format does not like Internet Explorer).

* I do plan on putting a chrome (silver) strip of duct tape on my helmet.

Aside from broomball, the snow/ice scultures are taking formation around campus. I will soon be taking pictures of some of them and then we can watch them evolve into masterpieces!

Last weekend we played Alaska Anchorage in mens hockey and beat them both nights. Exciting games!

We had no school on Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Classes were back in session the remainder of the week and I have already had a few quizzes.

The snow continues to fall, as usual, though we have had an awful lot the past 48 hours. Every morning the need for the alarm clock because less and less as you only need the "song" of the snowplows to wake you up...BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!

Winter activities are in full swing as well. Skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, sledding, sculpture making, broomball, and ice hockey (among others) are the general talk of the town. The school's ski hill is fully open and the students are certainly taking advantage of it!

Another topic of talk is recontracting. It is that time of the year to start thinking about housing for next year. I am applying to be an RA (Resident Assistant), PA (Program Assistant), or an OTL (Orientation Team Leader). If I am oftered a job as an RA or PA I will get my own room. Otherwise, next year I will live upstairs with my Treehouse friends!

As usual, my mind is spinning, but this time about spring break and summer plans. MTU offers many different trips and opportunities over both spring break and summer. There are also many opportunities through other institutions to pursue! We'll have to see what peaks my interest!

This past week I have had a lot of meetings. I attended an Honors Institute interest meeting, a spanish conversation social, a LeaderShape follow-up meeting, as well as my regular WHSA, USG, and WAM meetings. I will most likely also begin to attend the wildlife society meetings, the Students for Environmental Sustainability meetings, as well as the chemistry help sessions.

On a different note, my work (Wolves and Moose of Isle Royale) is now on Facebook and you can also follow them on their website (www.isleroyalewolf.org). Every winter three guys go out to the island via small plane and locate moose remains and observe the interactions between the wolves and moose. They then take note of thse locations and doings. This is called winter study. You can follow "winter study" via one of the guy's blog which you can get to from the website. They headed out to the island on Tuesday!

Then, in the summer months, they have groups go out and write up the autopsy records for the remains they locate. The data collected during the summer months is what I enter into the computer system. Pretty cool, huh? Also, the study is one of the longest predator-prey studies in the world (this is the study's 54th year). This past week one of the lead researchers got an article published in the NY Times!

Anyway, back to here and now. This weekend will be fairly low key. There is a hockey game versus our biggest rival, Northern, tomorrow but other than that not a whole lot. Also, I will post any recent pics (though I don't have many) soon.

Hope all is well wherever you are! Remember, life is good!

Busy, Busy, Busy!!!

Hello y'all!

The adventures of second semester have begun. There are a lot of things to talk about so here we go!

LeaderShape went great! I had a great week surrounded by great people and leaders. I learned many good tips, tricks, and knowledge about leadership. I plan to post the few photos I took soon. Also, at one point in the week we had some guest speakers come in. Below is the news article from the local newspaper.

News article: http://www.mininggazette.com/page/content.detail/id/523596.html

In other news, I just got a twitter account. Don't worry, you don't have to check that too! I got it because I am required, yes, required to have an account for my Natural Resource Policy class.

That leads me to the next topic...classes!! My classes were stressful at first, but they all seem to be pretty good. Here are a few highlights:

Chem: I have chem something everyday..chem class on MWF, recitation on T, and lab on TH.

Calc: Seems to be alright. My class is my teacher's first class ever. EVER...so that should be interesting. He will still be refining his teaching as we attempt to learn calculus.

Spanish: My professor does speak english, but will only ever speak spanish in class. She is from Peru and this is her second semester here, so she is fairly new to the area. Fun fact: My friend Jessica is in my class :)

Natural Resources Seminar (NRS): The class seems pretty easy. It should provide me with some connections for summer jobs, internships, etc.

Natural Resource Policy (NRP): This class seems right up my alley! My professor for that class is new to MTU and recently moved from Canada. He has a fantastic accent :) Also, for this class, as mentioned, I am required to have a twitter account. We will see how that all plays out.

World Cultures Activities (WCA): I am required to take this class because I am in a language. It is my first, and hopefully only ever, evening class. It is on Tuesdays from 7-9pm...yuck. My professor for that hasn't taught that class before either. Lots of new or recently new teachers! In WCA we will watch cultural films and have to write essays about them.

Moving on, I joined a broomball team today!! I didn't think I was going to be able to play because I couldn't find a team to join, but I finally did :) The team name is "Silly Salmon" Now I have to get ready to play (get equipment, make my broom, read the rules, etc.) Exciting! Also, you can watch broomball via live webcams from the broomball website! (www.broomball.mtu.edu)

Also related to winter activities, the snow statues have began to form! Winter Carnival is just around the corner!

Closer to home, aka my room, I have added a nice addition: a humidifier. Hopefully my nose will be happier :)

That's what has been happening around here! I hope all is well wherever you find yourself this second week of 2012.

Michgan Tech - Volume 1, Part 2

Here we go...part two of the first chapter of my career here at Michigan Tech! I can't believe how quickly the first semester flew by!

To kickoff the 2nd semester, I will be attending a leadership conference, called LeaderShape, beginning tomorrow (Tuesday Jan 3rd) through Sunday. We will be doing teambuilding exercises, a ropes course, and will be working on our leadership abilities. It should be fun!

Classes then begin on Monday, January 9th. As stated previously, my course load for this coming semester includes calculus, chemistry, spanish, and natural resource policy.

In retrospect, I had a wonderful Christmas at home in MN. I got to be with my family and got to see many old friends. The new year came quickly and before you know it's 2012! I will hopefully post a few pictures of my break soon.

The report from Houghton - snowy, windy, more snow, quiet, snow.....did I mention snow? We have quite a bit of snow here :) It is quiet in the residence hall, as there are only a few of us back for LeaderShape and campus is pretty quiet too.

Well, time to unpack from the trip from MN and time to pack for the trip from here to Alberta, MI, the town where this conference will take place!

I wish you all a joyous and peaceful new year!