Nice to Meet You Mr. President

October 29, 2012

Yup, it is official. Dr. Todd Voss is now the president of Southern Wesleyan University. Although he has been in power for over a year, the inauguration to commemorate this great event took place just 3 days ago. I can’t claim to be invited by the president himself, but his daughter-in-law, who just happened to be my roommate from college, extended the invitation to me.  At the last minute I accepted, as hurricane Sandy rolled in to cancel a trip I was supposed to go on.

The whirlwind weekend started with the ceremony, 

followed by the President’s Banquet complete with ice sculpture.

The next day provided a 5k run, 

blow up games, delicious food, and gut-busting laughter, as we were entertained by the hilarious Indiana Wesleyan crew that journeyed down especially for the event.  Unfortunately, I got to see all of that food again, tossing my cookies several times the next morning. Alas, I mustered up the energy to drive home feeling a bit weak but completely content on my choice to witness this momentous occasion. Thanks the Voss family for always making me feel welcome and a part of the family. 

Long Awaited Visitors

October 15-18 & 19-23, 2012

Within the past week and a half, a curious thing happened. I had two relatives come for a visit. This may seem normal to the average person, but for me a visit from my dad and then my mom within a 10-day period is very abnormal. As the essence of this blog demonstrates, for the past 7 years I haven’t stayed in one area for all that long. Some previous housing situations have made it very difficult to entertain guests. When each parent discovered that I now live in a 2-bedroom apartment with a full kitchen they requested to penciled in on the calendar.

Naturally I was at a loss on how to entertain. As I was so used to be the one going to other people’s houses, I struggled to know where to begin.

Fortunately and unfortunately, my dad had a mission to complete on his visit. My car has been on the fritz. So together we worked on that during the day and managed to squeeze in a tour of campus with a volleyball game in the famous Cameron Stadium.

Fans rushing onto the field as Duke came back to win it!

My mom happened to come to campus the same weekend as the biggest football game of the season– Duke vs UNC. As I already had plans to go with some friends, I offered the other ticket to her. She went with an open mind as I dolled her up in as much Duke gear as I could find. The weather was perfect for a football game, and, on a couple of occasions, I even caught her being pulled into the excitement of the game!

After an organ recital in the Duke Chapel, my mom rounded out her weekend with a tour of Duke Gardens.

On Duke's West Campus, this little farm was added to Duke's Garden in September

I have to admit I enjoyed their visits; however, I can’t deny that I was a bit stressed out about them. Nevertheless we were blessed with beautiful weather on all accounts and just the right amount of activity. And thanks to Dad my BYOB (bring your own bed) policy has now been lift for future visitors.