Rose Parade & Pasadena Wrap Up

Well it's been a few days...

The Parade was AMAZING. We arrived on-site at about 5:00 am to some pretty chilly weather. We froze to the bone until the sun came up. The float was already parked on the street and awaiting our arrival. The students milled around a bit to keep each other warm. Not soon after the sun came up a tournament official greeted us and told us that we had won the Craftsman Trophy for Outstanding showmanship and dramatic impact over 55 feet in length. The students went nuts...and rightfully so...they put an a great show during the judging.


At about 8:00 am we started moving. I can't even begin to describe the feeling I felt as our float entered the first stretch of road and we saw the grandstands and media cameras. Unbelievable.


The students did a wonderful job of building enthusiasm and maintained it for the duration of the parade. The National Officers were jamming on the float to the point where it was bouncing. It was so cool to see it in action. As one of my colleagues said "I've definitely had worse Friday mornings". Although I will say, 5+ miles in dress shoes was rough. The gel insoles did nothing and I really respect the girls who bravely (albeit foolishly and unnecessarily) decided to walk in heels. I'll work on finding video of the parade and will post it.


After the parade ended, we headed to the football game. I've never seen so many people packed into a sports arena in my life. While the game was a cool experience, I think most of us would have been just as happy at the hotel in our beds. We were beat!

After the game we headed back to the hotel. We all looked like zombies during dinner. It was a late night for me as I had to pack up all of our stuff. I rolled out the next morning to LAX with seven students for San Francisco. We arrived in SFO about noon. I spent a few hours in my room until Cindy and Brian got into town. We grabbed a late lunch and then headed to downtown San Francisco to take in the sights. We went shopping on Powell Street and rode a cable car to the Pier. 

Those cable car drivers have nerves of steel. That would be a job that I could NEVER do. Firstly those cars pick up some speed on the hills of San Francisco and the drivers have to use every muscle in their body to stop an eight-ton cable car that is gaining speed and momentum as it travels down hill. Secondly, these cars travel on the same streets as regular cars, so they have to deal with obnoxious motorists darting in and out of their path. Props to them! Still riding the car was pretty cool. It was neat to look down the hills and see the whole city, the bay bridge and Alcatraz Island.



We walked around the Pier for bit in search of the famous sea lions who came to the Pier in 1989 after the earthquake. Nearly 1,500 sea lions have been at the pier for the last twenty years but recently they suddenly disappeared. We later learned that they migrated up to the coast of Oregon as their food source moved. It was a little disappointing but we could see a few out on one of the docks.


We spent some time walking around and seeing some street performers before heading back to the hotel. Today was mostly sleeping in and working on orientation. The students are all here and are ready to get things kicked off. As for me, I'm still tired and sore. My feet are still killing me...to the point where shoes hurt. I'm mentally drained. I need to find a reserve of energy though because I don't want to ruin this experience.


Well, I really need to finish a few things before bed. We kick off at 8:00am so there's plenty to be done.

Rose Parade - Day 2

Happy New Year! Sort of... (It's currently only 10:19 PM in California).

Today we spent most of the day on the parade grounds for the line up and judging of the floats. Despite a few logistical snafus (imagine serving 70 students subway out of a mini-van), today was awesome. The students did SUCH an amazing job. They choreographed a cool little routine to wow the judges as our float was being scored and our convention theme song blared over the speakers. We even got into a little dance off between some of our students and the Boy Scouts of America whose float was next to ours. No worries though, the students got to hang out with the scouts and talk. The scouts were so cool...they even brought two cases of juice over to our float. We even clapped for each other as our floats were judged. What an awesome display of camaraderie!

After getting back to the hotel, the National Officers through a great New Year's Eve party for the students. We had hats, noisemakers, party horns, balloons, streamers, banners...the whole bit. Alex's grandma even made "puppy chow" (variation of chex mix) for us and bagged up sixty five bags of it and mailed it from Michigan for the students. We celebrated New Year's on East Coast time and counted down to 9:00 PM local time. Such a fun time...Levy and Chase had music playlists and the whole bit. It was so fun!

Now it's off to bed. We have breakfast at 3:30 AM so that we can on the parade grounds by 5:00 AM. Watch for us on NBC, Travel Channel, HGTV, and of course RFD-TV.

Make sure that you vote for our float too as the viewer's choice. Visit http://bit.ly/7xHAam on New Year's Day and cast your vote between 1:00 - 8:00 PM EST (10:00 AM - 5:00 PM PST) for the RFD-TV/ FFA TODAY float.

Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2010!

Rose Parade - Day 1

Phew! What a day!

We spent most of the day just making sure that all 60 students arrived in Los Angeles without a hitch. In the end, three missed our buses. Thanks to to our handy rental van which I've dubbed "White Lightening" (everyone else on staff calls it "Ho No!" because "hono" is part of the license plate number), we got them squared away. Two of them are missing luggage but hopefully it is en route.

We headed to the pavilion to check out the float. The students loved it! I'd post some photos of the decorating but to be honest, I didn't take any. Here's a video though that will give you some insight into how this thing is constructed. We also had a chance to hang out and enjoy some "In-n-Out Burger" for dinner (easily the best burger I've ever tasted!).

The best part of my day though was the kickoff meeting. When I walked in the room the students all clapped and were cheering my name. It was probably the most satisfying gesture that I could have received for what has been MONTHS of work on a very nerve-wracking project. I can't even describe it.

Tomorrow is "Media Day" and float judging/rehearsal. I've got to get to bed because 6:00 a.m. will be here before I know it!

Whirlwind Adventures

Tomorrow I leave for what will probably be the busiest month of my life...well, ever.

I leave at 5:50am for Los Angeles/Pasadena to coordinate a float in the Tournament of Roses Parade. From there, I travel with seven students up to San Francisco where we meet up with thirty-nine other state officers and some FFA staff and board members to spend ten days in China. We'll visit farms, agribusinesses, colleges and cultural sites as we take in all that the People's Republic of China has to offer. Then it's back to Rhode Island to recover before headed back to the land of hoosiers.

Stay tuned as I post some thoughts, reactions, pictures and reflections from the next month of my life!

Balance and Coincidence - or lack thereof

As I grow older, I become less and less of a believer in coincidence. More and more I find myself believing that what some might pass off as a coincidence is really something greater. Calling it "a sign" seems so cliche but there's really no other way to describe it.

Recently, I've found myself looking for one thing in life: BALANCE!

Now, when I say balance, I'm talking about a feeling. I want to feel that my life is "in tune"...that it's "just right". I've got a job that fulfills me. I'm working on my education to further my career. I've got friends here in Indy who are my family when I'm away from home. Still, I feel like I'm missing something. I feel incomplete.

Let me put it all out there. What I'm missing is spirituality. I look around me and see people who are deeply rooted in their convictions and beliefs and I realize that they have a special relationship that I don't have. This relationship isn't a romantic one but one that is spiritual and sometimes even emotional. These people surround me and they seem fulfilled. They have balance.

This summer, I opened up to a friend of mine. Ever since I've known this person, I've felt comfortable seeking his advice. Since he's one of the most spiritual people in my life, I decided to seek out his advice on developing a relationship with God. We talked about what I was looking for and why I wanted to find it. After several weeks of reflecting on that conversation, we checked in again. This time, I knew I had to open up. I had to do more than just listen to his thoughts...I had to share my own. Scary stuff! I explained how religion hadn't been part of my upbringing and that I didn't have a close relationship with God. I told him how I felt distant from others because I didn't have that inner faith like they did. He challenged me and made me think critically. He shared with me a verse:

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world (James 1:27).

Later that night, I logged on to a friends blog and began reading. Here's what she wrote:

"The fact of the matter is Jesus Christ lived a life - and died a death - that was about everyone but himself. And so I believe that serving others is one of the best ways that we can be made more like Him. He commanded us to serve. And so I think when we serve others in obedience to Him, we are changed through that experience, and our wickedness is slowly melted and replaced by the same love He has for us."

She was writing that at the exact same time that he was sharing that verse. I have to believe that these two events happened for a reason.

Tonight I was reading another blog, one on leadership. Yet the author chose to post a blog called "Losing My Religion." ((Guess where this is going...)). In the article, he posted a quote from his mentor:

"You cannot be disillusioned about anything unless you are first illusioned."

As I think to the relationship with my own spiritual mentor, I find myself blessed for the conversations that we've had and excited for the ones that are to come. After reading the leadership blog, I pulled up another friend's blog. This friend has been chronically his own spiritual growth. He shared another piece of scripture that resonated with me...

"As iron sharpens iron, so one friend sharpens another" (Proverbs 27:17)

Am I really to believe that these are not all related for specific reason and purpose? It's pretty brazen to write these all off as coincidence. Sometimes I can be downright cynical, but I have to believe that this is more than just coincidence. My friend ended his blog talking about the person who has invested themselves into his spiritual growth and the following challenge:

I encourage you to seek out a trainer. Seek out someone who will push you to learn more, do more, serve more, love more. Surround yourself with people who will push you towards God, not pull you away from him. Happy training!

I'm ready for my training.

Moving at the Speed of LIFE

Time is flying! I can hardly believe that summer is almost over. Today a co-worker who has been working out of town the whole summer asked me "What did you do this summer?". I him'd and haw'd for a few seconds before saying "Nothing."

Really it's true, I haven't done much this summer! Sure, I went to Washington, D.C. for the Fourth of July but other than that everything else was work-related. No concerts, no weekend day-trips, nothing notable. I'm not complaining...I just am regretting not taking greater advantage of the opportunities around me.

I've decided to come up with my own little "To-Do List" full of things that I want to try or do in the next year. Here's a sample:

• Day Trip to Chicago (Two Hours Away)
• Check out some of the Museums in Downtown Indy
• Attend one of the outdoor concerts at Connor Prairie or Verizon Wireless Music Center
• Spend a weekend touring Nashville, TN (Five Hours Away)
• Get tickets to some Pacers games
• Go on a Central Indiana Wine Tour

Life is moving fast right now. Summer is almost over and National Convention is in sight! I'm starting grad school classes in just a few weeks and before I know it the Holidays will be here...along with my January travels (Rose Bowl Parade in Pasadena immediately followed by ten days on ILSSO in China - more on these later!). That being said, I need to make the most out of my work-life balance by taking better advantage of what's around me.

Nearly Five Months Later...

Sorry! Once again, I've pretty much forgotten about this blog. Admittedly, I don't think anyone really reads it though. Hmmm.