Up in the Air

After one week in TX and two in Wisconsin, I’m reminded of the movie Up in the Air starring George Clooney.  One who travels often will relate easily to the movie.  Clooney is spot on when it comes to packing, airports, security lines, rental cars, and ‘life on the road.’  Up in the Air is a great movie, and if you love to travel, you’ll love the movie.

What reminded me of the movie was my packing for this trip.  Last night, preparing for my 3rd week in Wisconsin(and the following week in Illinois), I found myself mindlessly packing.  When I turned to shut the door to my place this morning(and for the last time for two whole weeks), I thought to myself, “I can’t have everything.”   However, having opened my suitcase tonight in preparation for tomorrow, I now know everything’s here and in its usual place.

If you’ve seen the movie, you also know that Clooney travels the country as a corporate downsizer, firing people at each of his destinations.  If you ‘ve seen the movie, you also know through his travels, Clooney has a personal goal to reach 10 million frequent flier miles.  Thinking of this, I got the great idea to track the number of miles I travel this fall season.  This will include only the miles I travel for work purposes.  Follow along as I provide continued “Milage Reports.” With that said, let’s begin:

MILEAGE REPORT 1:

Articulation Unplugged (week 1)- Bloomington/Normal, IL (9/13) – 386 miles

Parkland College Fair (also week 1)- Champaign, IL (9/15) – 512 miles

Texas College Fairs/High School Visits (week 2) – Dallas, TX (9/17-9/24) – 2278 miles

Iowa/Madison High Schools & Wisconsin College Fairs(week 3) – 864.2 miles

Wisconsin Educational Fairs (week 4) – 797.5 miles

Wisconsin Educational Fairs part 2 (week 5) – Currently in route.. to be continued!

Total Mileage thus far: 4837.7 Miles

Peter Diggins, your food is ready…

“Peter Diggins, your food is ready.  Petttterrr DIIGGGINS, come. get’.chur. food.”

This is how they called out my food order at The Twisted Root Burger Company, where I ate lunch yesterday after the college fair I attended.  Every customer was given a slip of card with a different name on it.  While I was there, so was Elvis, the Texans, and Bugs Bunny among others. 

One thing I love about being on the road is getting to experience an array of different foods, and divulging in new/unique places to eat.  During my first trip out last Monday, I was at a table across from the Texas Christian University(TCU) representative.  With such a strong football program, of course we started talking sports, however with my upcoming trip to Dallas/Fort Worth (where TCU is located) we started talking Texas.  She was quick to throw out things to see and places to eat.  Among these were Angelo’s BBQ and The Twisted Root. 

The Twisted Root has won an assortment of awards for their made-from-scratch food.  Every thing’s made from scratch; their burgers, fries, ice cream, everything.  I got to enjoy their “Green Chile,Guacamole & Pepperjack Burger with Sweet Potato Chips.” 

Green Chile,Guacamole & Pepperjack Burger - http://twistedrootburgerco.com/wordpress/

Their website says “Slap-Yo-Momma Good,” and their t-shirts said “Sofa King Good,”  and let me tell you, it lived up to both.  One of the best burgers I’ve ever had.

While the burger had me walking down the street on cloud 9, I was quickly brought back to reality by the $35 parking ticket I received during the hour I was parked.  $35 dollars?!  I guess I was familiar with Iowa City’s free weekend meters, and also their $5 tickets.  I guess all good things come to an end.

Orrr maybe not.  I’ve found this gem-of-a-website to find new places to eat throughout the week: http://www.hellofortworth.com/Restaurants.Cfm

<<<<<<<Stay tuned for my ‘college search’ advice.>>>>>>>

Road Warrior v1.0

Some call us “Road Warriors;” others simply “crazy.”

And so it begins; Travel Season 2K10.

Every fall and spring our admissions staff gears up for what’s simply known as ‘travel season.’  Travel season is a time when we’re traveling from state to state, town to town visiting high schools and college fairs to speak with students intrested in The University of Iowa.

Fall travel season is a bit longer, and more chaotic (I mean busier) than spring travel.  Reason for this? Fall is the prime time for you seniors to be visiting, applying to, and narrowing down your college choices so that when you apply for financial aid in January, your decision will be between a couple schools rather than many (stay tuned for a blog post containing advice on this process). Juniors, it’s a great time for you to start seeking information on institutions as well.

This week is the week I spend easing into my travel schedule. Yesterday was my first day out of the office.  I spent the morning driving to Bloomington/Normal, IL where I attended Articulation Unplugged, a college fair for high school counselors.  This event gave high school counselors a chance to ask questions about our admissions practices and policies as well as update us on trends in their individual high schools.  For me it was a great opportunity to see the high school counselors and also my other fellow “road warriors.”  Following the fair, I made the easy 3.5 hour drive back to Iowa City.

I spend another day in Champaign tomorrow before the I consider Tom Cochran’s Life is a Highway, my fall theme song.  I say this because I fly to Dallas, Texas (or as my fellow blogger Jade says “Tejas”) on Friday, and won’t be in the office much until Nov. 1st.  While I won’t be in the office much, I will be fortunate to make it back to Iowa City on most weekends to see the Hawks play and regroup/reorganize/repack for the week out.   But that’s not it; Iowa games mean returning alumni and my house = US hostel.  So, in addition to everything I hope to get done during the weekend, pile on hosting responsibilities, laundry and cleaning.  Yet that’s one reason I love Iowa City – everyone returns to see the city they love so much – luckily I live here so I get to see the people I love so much.

For a breakdown of my time out, here are my weeks and where I’ll be traveling:

(week starting) Sept 13th – IL, TX

Sept 20th – Dallas, TX

Sept 27th – Iowa/Wisconsin

Oct. 4th – Wisconsin

Oct 11th – Wisconsin

Oct. 18th – Southern Chicago, Illinois

Oct 25th – Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Stay tuned for further updates – for now, cue Tommy.  Click—> Tom Cochrane – Life Is A Highway <—Click

“through all the cities and all these towns. It’s in my blood and it’s all around.”