Tuesday, June 03, 2008

The Campaign Ends

The 07-08 "Teach the Churlen" Campaign has drawn to a close, friends and neighbors, and not a moment too soon. Our last day of finals was Friday. That went swimmingly. I manged to get all of my grading and end of the year checklist-type things done by the end of the day. That meant I had a weekend of practice for the summer.

So, Saturday and Sunday saw the Monkey and I doing a lot of reading and sitting around on the patio, as well as some additional yard beautification (a lifetime project, it appears). The Monkey Grounds are certainly looking good. Perhaps a few pics are in order, but, that will have to be later.

Monday was a cake walk. We had an awards breakfast (I didn't get an award), followed by a final faculty meeting. After that, I had three hours to kill before I was off to join in the sixth annual faculty golf extravaganza!

After a lunch with my foursome (and a few other department folks), it was off to a local course for a quick nine holes. Let me tell you up front: I have never golfed in my life. I have hit a ball around on th eputt-putt course, and I have gone to a driving range a couple of times. Hell, I even have five clubs that I bought at Play It Again Sports about six years ago. But, I have never actually tried to hit a golf ball toward a three inch hole 300 yards away. So, I wasn't expecting to impress anyone.

Lucky for us, it was a team game, so, we got to use everybody's best shot each time down the course. Believe it or not, I'm not too bad at hitting off the tee, but the short shots are impossible for me. I shot so many putts about fifty feet past the hole it wasn't funny. But, our team had a lot of fun (and drank a lot of beverages). We came in last, but, we got a prize for that! And, we all got major league sunburns! It was a great way to end the school year.

Of course, the end of one year also marks the beginning of the next, so, tomorrow, I will attend my first professional development workshop of the 08-09 "Learn the Churlen" campaign. A Wednesday morning of multicultural breakout sessions (I don't really know what that means, even after being in hundreds of them), and then I can not think about school for about three weeks, since Monkey and I are off to ITALY on Sunday morning!

I hope to communicate with y'all before then, but, let me tell you, there is some serious excitement in the Monkey House, right now! Ciao.

2 comments:

AMVB said...

At the start of my first semester in my doctoral program, my department organized a golf scramble. As my advisor was participating, I figured that I too should sign up. At the time, my prior golf experience was similar to yours. And like you, I had great fun, gained a new appreciation for golf, and developed some good connections. Even now my advisor and I still remember that time fondly. I'm glad you had a good time and a nice end to your first academic year in LiNE!

No better way to celebrate that than to head overseas to Italia!!! I need to send you a few pictures, but for now my best advice is to be sure to validate your train tickets before you board. It took us a while to figure out that this happens at a little yellow, but otherwise nondescript, box on the platform.

I hope you have a great time! Eat and relax well. Buon viaggio!

comoprozac said...

Where in Italy are you heading? I've done northern and the food was great. Of course, we all expect a full report as soon as you return.