What I DIDN’T Do On My Summer Vacation

I cannot believe that summer is over. It seems like just a few weeks ago I was making my summer to do list and thinking of all the time I would have to do things since I wouldn’t have students popping in every few minutes. Boy, was I wrong!

Some student affairs professionals have ten month contracts meaning that they don’t work during the summer. While a two month vacation sounds lovely, I kind of collected student loans like Beanie Babies and I need every cent I can get.

Unfortunately, unlike Beanie Babies, my student loans ARE worth tons of money.

I really thought that I’d have time to get all this stuff done. Most of the things on my to do list were things I wanted to do…I wasn’t taking departmental things into consideration because I had never done any of that stuff before. Next year when I’m planning for summer I will definitely know better!

So what was on my to do list?

To Do: Clean My Office

I really wanted to re-organize EVERYTHING and make my office look brand new by the time the RAs returned for training. I had all of these grand plans. My office was going to look like something off of Pinterest.

What Got Done

I did move old files into a filing cabinet to make room for things from this year. I also went through the mountain of papers on my desk…only for a new mountain to start growing. I’ll take care of it during Christmas Break.

To Do: Update The Website

I wish updating my department’s website was more like this…I could log on whenever and update it myself. But that’s not how it works. I have to send whatever changes I want to make to this IT person and he has to do it. There were some sections of our site that were in DESPERATE need of an update and I decided I would do that this summer.

What Got Done

I passed it off to a new employee. She needs to meet people in a different department, so IT’s a great place to start, right?

To Do: A Bulletin Board In Each Building

I wanted to do a bulletin board in each of my building’s entryways. I thought it would give the RAs a good example and be visually pleasing for all of our lovely summer residents. I saw so many cute bulletin board ideas on Pinterest and in the teacher supply store.

What Got Done:

I bought cute bulletin board supplies…that’s about as far as I got.

 

So what am I going to do next summer? STAY OFF PINTEREST!! Pinterest just gives me wonderful ideas that I don’t have the time or creativity to follow through with. I’m also going to put departmental things on my to do list (like planning RA training and training the new hires) and give those items timelines so I can fit my own tasks in more realistically. Did you do everything you wanted to this summer?

Things I’m Kind of Obsessed With At The Moment

Even though I’ve been super busy, here are the things I’ve been filling my five free minutes a day with:

The Carrie Diaries

Yes, I know that I’ve complained that it’s a bunch of twentysomethings pretending to be in high school and prancing around in Forever 21’s clothes pretending it’s the 80s…but I kind of like this show. To the point of when there’s NOT a new one in my Hulu queue, I get a little upset. It’s a tad predictable and I spend most of the show deciding which character I would punch in the face first, but I can’t stop watching.

whatshouldwecallstudentaffairs.tumblr.com

I’m obsessed with a variety of tumblr blogs and I’m going to take the time to only list my current top three, this being the first. It’s just so…accurate. My boss and I routinely send these to each other and just laugh that somebody else out there gets it. Also, this blog went on hiatus for awhile and those were some dark times. I honestly don’t know who the creator of this blog is, but we’ve chatted over Twitter so clearly we’re BFFs. There have honestly been times where I’ve thought about creating a “Notes from Your Greek Advisor” tumblr but then I think about what happens if somebody discovers me and then I actually do wind up living in a box. Ugh. Life is so hard.

fairytalesfor20somethings.tumblr.com

It’s no secret that I’m kind of obsessed with Disney, and this updates it for our modern lifestyle. My favorite ones are always about Cinderella because she’s my fave AND the author of this blog decided that Cinderella wants to be a photographer. Which back in the day is what I wanted to be. I only just discovered this blog the other day and have been checking it religiously, only to discover that it hasn’t been updated in nearly two months. This makes me sad and reminds me of when I was a small child and decided that The Beatles were my favorite band and that I wanted to see them in concert only for my mother to tell me that would never happen because half of the members were dead.

myfriendsaremarried.tumblr.com

Ugh, I wish this wasn’t my life but it is. My friends are getting married and having babies ON PURPOSE and it’s TERRIBLE. I was recently telling a student that I was going to visit my best friend for her birthday and he was like “You gonna go out and rage?” I contemplated LYING to him just to seem cool because actually, we’re having dinner with her HUSBAND AND CHILDREN. This is what my life has come to. And people wonder why I say “College Forever!” I know this isn’t professional, but sometimes I just want to celebrate Thirsty Thursday.

Shrimp

I know this is a really weird thing to be obsessed with, but lately every recipe I’ve been trying has had shrimp in it. I really like seafood but I feel like it’s super easy overcook it but I have yet to mess up shrimp. It’s also really convenient because you can buy them frozen and they take no time to thaw. Really, I just love anything I can cook so I can avoid eating campus food.

Sorority Clothing

I should totally be over this, except I’m not. I keep seeing cute things and I want it all!! Pictured above is the Spirit Jersey which in all honestly would probably piss me off because it’s so baggy (those sleeves!) but it doesn’t stop me from wanting one in thirty colors. I really should stick to ordering more…professional…clothing (I totally want a cardigan…maybe I’ll order one today…) but instead I lust after anything over sized and neon.

Arrested Development

I LOVE Netflix. I can’t watch just one episode of a show, I need to watch like 15 in a row and then sit back and wonder where my day went. I have probably watched the entire Arrested Development series four or five times since it went off the air. There have been rumors going around forever that they were going to make more episodes or a movie and last year these rumors were FINALLY confirmed to be true. Just the other day, they announced that new episodes will be available on May 26 which is perfect because it’s a holiday weekend. Of course, this is most likely going to crash Netflix, so not only will I not be able to watch Arrested Development, I won’t be able to watch ANY TV show.

Another thing I clearly am obsessed with…procrastination. Time to stop interneting and start being productive!