A Black Friday...

Turkey, cranberry sauce, naps and of course Black Friday shopping. One of my favorite days of the year just happens to be when an entire city wakes up at 4 in the morning and waits outside in the cold for stores to open, trampling the workers inside who must let them in. It is my third straight Black Friday that I have attended in Greeley, and is a lot of fun. Last year I stayed over break to work the desk at Harrison Hall, and in the midst of all of the working and Mighty Ducks watching, three of us went to Walmart and Circuit City spending far too much money, but receiving plenty of goods.

This year we planned for the best. Thursday night we hunted down a paper...which was no easy task since the entire town was out, so we ended up with a Ft. Collins Coloradoan (so ironic). We planned our morning so that we'd hit the best stores in order by when they open. First we went to Kohls and picked up some of our lesser items. Another RHA executive bought 10 games that we are using to give to children at a local non-profit, others bought picture frames and sweaters. Next we traveled to Walmart, which is the most challenging shopping trip of a Black Friday- the store is open 24 hours, but they guard all of the "sale" items until 5:00, when crazy people swarm in to get 2.00 movies, cheap tvs, xbox 360s, portable dvd players, craft items and more. It is really an amusing thing to watch, everyone is very focused on themselves and getting the items they want.

After Walmart we went to Circuit city which also opened at 5:00, I bought several more DVDs there, bringing my total to 7 at that point. After Circuit City we had one last stop at Target whcih opened at 6:00, they also had some amazing movie sales, like Cars, Transformers and other newish movies. What I found to be the most amusing was that four of us went and by the time we got to Target my car was sooooo full that everyone had stuff on their laps, or wedged between them. One of the Hall Directors bought a 42" TV, the Xbox, and then another friend bought a Cricket (craft cutting thing), vaccum, pot/pan set, while my friend Jaime bought a hodgepodge somewhere between both of them.

As the morning ended we all looked forward to going back to bed, just as the sun was rising. It was so much fun, a tradition that I'm sure I will keep, for a very long time.

Hey IACURH! Whose the best?

The title of my current blog may seem bizarre, but extremely relevant to my life currently. As a member of the Residence Hall Association I attend three conferences through out the year for leaders. We share ideas and further the work of leaders in the region and nation for the residence hall community.

This years regional conference IACURH which stands for the Inter-mountain Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls, was held in in Boulder, CO at the CU campus. School from Idaho, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, as well as Alberta and Saskatchewan all attend.

It is such an exciting experience. People cheer, do roll calls, create banners and displays, and swap school items it is such a blast and a great opportunity to network with people from other schools! It's not just a time to be crazy though, school attend for the reason of improving the hall they live in. It is an awesome leadership experience that UNC offers to those who enjoy the residence halls and what they have to offer.

The reason for me to tell you about them is that I am now the Regional Communications Coordinator of Presidential Relations. It is a position that works with the region to accomplish changes in the halls and works with the National Association of College and University Residence Halls, INC.

UNC has numerous of these opportunities to offer with leadership. It's a great experience!