New Computer, Same Great Blog

My trusty computer finally failed me about a week and a half ago. It had been acting up bit - spontaneously ending programs and not wanting to shut down - but I didn't think too much of it. The PC and I have developed an intimate relationship over the past seven years, and the churlish desktop has been prone to intermittent fits and stutters. Yet, through the years of research, paper writing, procrastination, and emailing, the old guy hasn't let me down. I made it through Mac and now the first year of grad school without any major incident.

True, I did lose some files but at least it didn't kick the bucket during finals time. I was somewhat purturbed when it decided not boot up any more, but in the end I was forced to accept that I had pulled my last late night, scrambling to finish a paper with this computer. I mourned, but like the passing of an old pet my mourning was assuaged by the arrival of a new, energetic replacement. I purchased a new desktop and things are looking up once again.

In other news, I started an internship last week. I am now volunteering a small amount of my time at UMOS, a non-profit organization that provides services to immigrant populations. Their primary constituency is hispanic migrant farm workers, but their programs extend to the much broader immigrant community as well. They seek to provide labor force enhancement (job training, work fairs), education services (Head Start, ESL), housing (temporary and permanent), health care services, and legal services to all who seek help from them. UMOS has built a strong reputation in the area and I am excited to be a part of their work.

I was connected to UMOS through a friend of mine in the program. The organization is based in Milwaukee, but they have offices throughout Wisconsin and the Midwest as well. A new office opened in Madison earlier this Spring and I was able to contact the woman who is operating here. She's a lawyer and I met with her to interview for an internship position. It turned out to be less of an interview and more of an information session as it seemed to be assumed that I would work for them and they had things for me to do. (I suppose all non-profits would be interested by the prospect of free labor.) The woman was very nice and excited for me to get involved. It will work well for me too because the work is very flexible. I can do all my work from home and communicate with her via email and phone. This is great because it allows me to maintain my time committments at Willy Bikes without much conflict.

Unfortunately for me however, the beginning of this internship coincided with the end of the computer. A mild source of consternation, but nothing disastrous for sure. I just turned in my first memo about a grant proposal to her I am awaiting a response. I don't know how this will all progress but I am looking forward to this opportunity.

Back to Madison

After Leah's graduation from Macalester, it was back to Iowa for a little bit. Asa and I left St. Paul on the Sunday afternoon with a minivan full of Leah's possessions headed for Ames. (Mom and Dad stayed on until Monday to spend more time with Leah and dropped Aaron off at the airport. They had our other car and loaded that with some more of Leah's stuff.)

I was only back in Ames for one night as I helped Natalie move into her new apartment in Cedar Falls. She will be starting school at the University of Northern Iowa in the Fall but wanted to move up there and get settled before the semester starts. She actually has a job playing piano at a Von Maur department store. Natalie, with the help of her parents, had moved a bunch of stuff up a few days before I arrived back home. So, all that was left to us was to gather the few remaining things - the cat included - and head on up.

I was greeted by a mountain of boxes when I entered Natalie's apartment for the first time, but it was a nice little place for sure. She has a one bedroom with a balcony and even enough space to fit a piano in there. Certainly plenty of space for the little devil Dexter to roam and knock over plants. After living with her parents for over a year, Natalie is duly excited to have a place of her own. I can emphathize with this sentiment and I think she will be quite happy in her apartment and at school once everything gets settled.

Moreover, Cedar Falls isn't far from Ames, only about an 1.5 hours driving, but it's in the right direction. The town is located in the northeastern portion of the state, and conveniently for me, is directly in route to Madison. It cuts the distance considerably and will hopefully make travelling back and forth a bit easier.

Leah's Graduation

Almost immediately after turning in my last final I was whisked away to the Twin Cities for my sister Leah's graduation from Macalester. My other sister, Claire, swung through Madison on her way from Chicago and we drove up to St. Paul. Though somewhat comatose/delirious from lack of sleep and hyper brain activity, I managed to stay awake and talk with Claire for most of the trip. I am sometimes derelict in communicating with my siblings throughout the year and so it was great to catch up with her.

It was odd to watch Leah walk across the stage and accept her diploma. It was definitely satisfying because she worked very hard and certainly earned the degree. But at the same time, I clearly remember her being a little freshman at Mac when I shook the President's hand and took my diploma. I don't recall exactly when, but at one point Leah told me her motivation in school was to do better than me. I like to think simply gaining academic knowledge should be motivation enough, but beating an older sibling should not be disregarded. In a family such as ours, there is always a degree of sibling rivalry and there is a certain amount of dangling achievements in front of the others. This one-up-manship is never too intense - and certainly not malicious- but it is especially fun to do to Leah because it makes her so flustered. I think Leah has perhaps the highest combination of academic aptitude and drive to perform. To her credit, she graduated with a double major and maintained a higher GPA than me and earned some sort of prize for a paper she wrote. (Still, I had a minor degree and an honors project as well ;)

On the whole, it was an excellent weekend. Definitely the way to toast finishing up my first year of grad school. All my siblings had come back from their respective domiciles (Philadelphia, Chicago, Iowa City) and my parents were up from Ames, obviously. My mom was especially pleased to have us all together. I was definitely on guard against random attacks from Mom-hugs for several hours arriving (not that I am complaining).

Whenever we all get together its a raucous time: this was no exception. There was lots of food, lots of drink, and lots of revelry. The first night we made pizza at Leah's house and drank some of my dad's home brew. The next night was grilled steak and more libations, topped off by homemade soft-serve ice cream. Dad even brought up the carbonator so we made a variety of bubbly beverages. I think Leah's roommates were somewhat overwhelmed by our family, but such is the Ritz experience.

In addition to family, I was able to hang out with a several friends who are still in the area. I hung out with my former roommate Roscoe, my friend Katie, and even unexpectedly bumped into a former teammate, Robbie, at the commencement ceremony. I was also able to see my Sociology adviser and met up with my coach, Ian Barker. I saw about everyone that I could over the weekend... fantastic.