Go Big Red!

Because my permanent address is still listed in Ohio, it takes a long time for my parents to build up enough of a supply of mail to merit sending away to me.  Such is the case for the most recent issue of the Denison Magazine, a publication given to all alumni of the one and only Denison University.  On the front cover I discovered that in March the men's swimming and diving team finally knocked off Kenyon College's 31-year steak of being the national champions winning the meet 500.5 to 499.5, a margin sure to rival Phelp's 7th gold medal won by a hundredth of a second back in 2008.

Roommates Nathan, John, and Brian just after graduation.

In the final pages, brief updates on students are listed by year of graduation and this is always one of my favorite sections to read.  I was actually surprised to see my name in there because I don't know when and how I gave my information (but I'm glad it was in there because I think the more people included, the better!).  The update said that I keep up a blog but listed the end of the website as blogsport.com, which is not right.  If anyone reading this has caught the typo and found my blog thanks to the Denison Magazine, welcome!  I'm glad you made it!

Denison University will always be my alma mater.  I shed a lot of blood, sweat, and tears at that school and love it to death.  Sure I may attend other schools for graduate classes or programs, but Denison forever holds a special place in my heart.  Go Big Red!

Hard to Get

At the peak of Sharp Top.  Photo: Cornelia

I've been hard to track down the past week or so.  Sorry about not saying anything.  Everyone likes a brief post, so here's what I've been up to:

I hung out with Liza as well as Mike and his family in Charlotte.

Liza and I came back to Raleigh for a couple days and I started working at the Broadreach office.

We then drove up to VA to visit family (met my new baby cousin whose birthday is the day after mine).

With family, we hiked 3 miles (I was barefoot for the entire hike). Good times.

Liza and I returned to Raleigh and I started working again at the Broadreach office.

Staff training starts on Thursday night, then I meet my co-leader on Saturday, and I'll be gone from internet until next weekend.

Don't forget to cheer on the Miami Heat as they power through the NBA playoffs! And also FC Barcelona as they take on Manchester United for the UEFA Champion's League Final.

I've Got the Month of May

Despite the constant distractions that kept popping up, I managed to eventually get everything packed away either into my car or the closet. My room in Miami now looks completely bare aside from the vacant furniture.

I am the kind of person to have a lot of different friends and whenever I hang out, it's often with a group. I've honestly forgotten how nice it is to sit and talk with one person for several hours but a good friend of mine helped me realize just how enjoyable that can be. Sure it meant I didn't go to bed until around 4am with tons of packing to be done by my morning departure, but it was well worth it. I finished all that needed to be done in the morning, left Miami on schedule at 11:45, and powered through boredom all the way to Raleigh arriving around midnight.

Me and Liza immediately following her graduation.  Photo: Dad

 For anyone who knows me, you know that my sister is one of my favorite people in the world. Her graduation was the reason of my early drive up to North Carolina instead of staying in Miami to dive, work, play, socialize, and see some Miami friends graduate. It is with great pride that I announce she successfully completed a masters degree in speech pathology at UNC Chapel Hill and within a week secured a permanent job in Charlotte. Yeah, she's pretty awesome. If you talk to her do not only congratulate her on those things but also on her upcoming wedding in less than a month and her birthday tomorrow!

My plan is to remain in North Carolina until Broadreach training starts toward the end of the month. If anyone is around or knows of anything fun to do (preferably outdoors), please let me know.

Year Gone By

Almost 2 days from my departure from Miami and I have not packed a thing. A lot has happened since my last post.

I have been on three shark trips collecting a total of 1 lemon, 4 nurses, 3 sandbars, and a scalloped hammerhead. My favorite was the scalloped hammer because they are very rare to find and I ended up being the one on top of the shark holding it down. It's my favorite place to be when we have sharks on board and because we are such a versatile team and trade roles constantly, it's rare to end up being in the right place at the right time to be the one to pin the shark down. Anyway, 90 drumlines, 8 sharks. Populations have indeed declined by over 90% over the past few decades, no doubt about it.

Here I am securing the hammerhead.  Photo Credit: unnamed volunteer

The Miami Heat are now into the second round of the NBA playoffs and are up 2 games to 0 against the Boston Celtics. Go Heat! On the European front, FC Barcelona has ousted Real Madrid in the Champions League semifinals which is another notable victory.

A month ago, Natalie and I decided that we will not continue our relationship past the time we leave Miami. I'm leaving in about 2 days and decided to finally make it official. I'm back to being single, but certainly have no hard feelings against her. Being single seems to be the easiest thing for me.

The instructor for my graduate diving course told us last week that the grading would be pretty strict: someone once got a 95% on the in-water portion of the final exam. Because of this warning, I was somewhat surprised to hear today that my grade was a 100%. The instructor of the course has offered me the potential of a TA position for next semester. I'm not first in line based on my student status but he said I'm near the top of his list and I have a good chance getting the position assuming administration follows through. He also mentioned the very likely possibility of certifying me as a GUE diver as well which would be phenomenal. If it happens, I'll explain a lot more about what GUE is. In the mean time, you're more than welcome to look it up.