Blake and 20th...

The American Association of Geographers (AAG) has divided the country into 9 regions of which K-State is part of the Great Plains/Rocky Mountain Region. Each of the regions holds an annual meeting at a school located somewhere in the region. For example, two years ago K-State hosted the regional meeting, last year it was SD, and this year Wyoming played host. I enjoy the regional meetings as most of the presentations are relevant to my areas of interest and accessible unlike the national meetings, which tend to be rather ‘high brow’ and, quite frankly, boring.

This past weekend I traveled to the regional meeting in Laramie to present a paper on the history of the logging industry in the Northwoods. As is often the case, I thought I did “so-so”, but received a lot of positive feedback with a number of people stopping me afterwards to ask questions or share their own stories. It was a quick trip, but a lot of fun.

I only spent Saturday during the day in Laramie because I wanted to make sure I made it back to Denver in time for the Rockies game that night (I stayed in Denver). A small group of my friends made it there for the ballgame: Chris, Ronel, Greg, and Branden—who had planned on traveling to a conference last weekend, but had his plans change at the last minute and decided to surprise me by showing up at the game! Great to see them all again!

I’m not sure what was better…seeing the Rockies shutout the Giants or telling stories of cat-eating-dogs. Both are so much fun.

Ps—Tonight a former student of mine, Crystal, spoke to my class about her trip to Kosovo this past summer. It was her first time speaking to a class such as this and she did great! I bring this up because if any of you out there should be reading this and want to put something together for my Human Geography class let me know…I’m always looking for a way to work in material like this. (Andy Taylor you are greatly missed)

"Everybody to the Limit"

There’s a small coffeehouse nearby called Radina’s. As a grad student armed with a PowerBook, I have found that it makes for a nice home away from home as I do much of my studying and socializing there.

I spent a good portion of the afternoon there yesterday relaxing with a book and listening to Strong Bad sing such classics as “Everybody to the Limit”. The music was worth a laugh or two before I cracked the cover to my book. The book I have been reading is Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman’s Long Way Round. The book is encouraging me to step out through that door once more (take note Mom!).

As a grad student I don’t often get the opportunity to take a day off but I felt it was important to do so yesterday as it was MY BIRTHDAY! I had a great day. I spent the morning finishing up a bit of homework before trekking down to Radina’s for an afternoon of mocha and relaxation while time spent having fun with friends filled the evening hours.

Last night Crusade had a swing dance for everyone over at the K-State Student Union. I had taken a lesson or two several years ago just before I moved to Manhattan. It took a little bit to get back into the swing of things (so to speak), but once I did I really had a great time!

My roommate (Ryan) and I had left a bit early because we had a number of people coming over for an ice cream cake and festivities. The entire way home I couldn’t stop talking about the dance. Really enjoyed myself.

I guess I knew it was going to be a good day when my mom called yesterday morning to wish me a happy birthday. My mom and dad have been babysitting Magnus this week while my sister took a short trip down to see one of her best friends in Colorado. When they called, Magnus couldn’t wait to get on the phone with me. He grabbed the phone from my mom (or so I imagined) and yelled “Happy Birthday!” and then ran off yelling in three-year-old jibberish.

What cracked me up most came at the very end. I could hear Magnus running all over the place and I could tell my mom was rather distracted. After a brief conversation, she said “I think I’m going to have to go.” I told her I understood and told her thanks for the birthday wish. My mom ended the conversation by saying, “Have a great day! Love you!—Conner! Don’t throw that cow!”

That kid makes me laugh