Old people have christmas parties at work.

So the only thing remotely interesting that has happened at work recently was the christmas party at the executive mansion. It was a pretty good time and I got to talk to the Governor for a few minutes. He remembered who I was when I introduced myself and mentioned a specific event at which we had spoken. So that was pretty cool. Needless to say, this entry is just an excuse to post a picture of me and the Governor. There's another picture that I'm not posting because it is just awful... I look ridiculous and awkward while the Governor is talking to me so he's not looking at the camera. This picture is better, even though neither of us are looking at the camera.

Light at the end of the tunnel

I wish I had an exciting video update, those are my new favorite kinds. I kind of feel like I've been up against a firing squad though, so just imagine my life a little bit like Kellen's only on the other end of the gun. And with less fresh air.

Property final was Friday, a 7 hour long exam consisting of three essays. Next is Contracts, which is the scariest one, on Wednesday. I've been studying and studying but I don't think there is any way to go into a Contracts exam feeling confident, so I'm trying to settle for calm. After Contracts I only have Torts next Monday. That night we're having a big end of the first semester celebration, which will be very welcome. I (for some reason I still haven't really worked out) set up a mock interview with my Career Services Office the next day, Tues. the 22nd, but after that I'll be on my way back to CP for Christmas! So everyone who will be home on Tuesday, I should be high on life, so it would be a good time to hang out if I can stay awake past 9 pm.

Anyone else who is also working on finals right now, good luck! Hopefully you're done before I am. Dragging out three finals for 14 whole days is brutal, I hope your schedules are better. See everyone soon!

Claire

Video Update

My old roommate Ian (in the same unit as me for training) shot this video during one of our operations last week.

This is a good example of what we did for the past week, day and night.

I catch a flight home from St. Louis and arrive in Albany at 8 PM on December 19th,

so I will see you all soon.

Sorry for no updates!

Hi friends! so I am still living in CP for the next few years at the least (I figure if mom and dad don't make me pay rent then I shall live for free). Which is lovely because working two jobs doesn't leave much time to enjoy actually being at home. I am still at Freihofers and Borders for the time being but hopefully by January (or whenever the state passes their budget) I will be working in Albany at ZLS publishing creating book covers and illustrating children's books. It is the perfect job and I cannot wait to start. I am one of their first hires so I am lucky to have this position. And it also means I get to work one job from 9-5 Monday-Friday. What will I do with all this free time?! I'm pumped! Other than that not much else is new. I am just working all the time and when I'm not working I'm up in Ballston Spa at my boyfriend's apt or hanging with Suzy. nothing too exciting. I just bought three computers from Best Buy so I am giving the laptop to my parents (I figure if I'm living for free then spending money on them is allowable lol) And I bought a new digital camera so once I buy a memory card I will definitely update with pictures :) So when everyone is home please let me know because I am around (but probably working!) And CAT AND GREG--- I am hoping to come visit soon because Stephen's best friend goes to school in Hartford! (came to this realization the other night yay!) Ok I love you all and I will try to be better with updating! xoxo Nicki

A Short Photo Update

I don't have much time to write, so I'm just going to post a few pictures with some captions. I should be able to get to a longer post after Thanksgiving is over and I get some downtime. However, I will be back in CP from Thanksgiving day afternoon to Saturday midday, so if anyone wants to do something Friday night or get breakfast or lunch on Saturday before I fly out, give me a call.

This is Oklahoma. Pictured in the background are Oklahoma's only mountains.

Yes, that is a pie plate in which the burger is sitting. Welcome to the South, specifically Meers, OK.

This is me, on my daily commute. I ride to a range, shoot some things, then ride back.

More Oklahoma, as seen from the back of the truck I'm riding in.

In case it doesn't seem like I'm enjoying myself, I love my job. I get paid to lead soldiers, blow things up and shoot things. More to follow.

Kellen

Hello!

Sorry it has taken me so long to post.. I was waiting for something exciting to happen to me but it never did so I may as well get on with it. Though I do warn you in advance, I suck at posting in blogs (as any of the girls will attest to..)

I am in my last semester at McGill and it is flyingggggggg by. I cannot believe that I only have 2 weeks of class left- yikes! I have so much to finish before I am done.. I don't know how it is going to happen haha. But I would be lying if I said it hasn't been fun. I really like my classes, which is a great way to finish my undergrad. I went on a field trip to some wetlands in Quebec at the beginning of the semester, which was awesome! Above left is a bog we visited (we were trying to channel the bog people..) and to the right is my prof in a salt marsh, which I nearly lost a boot in lol. We also went to a swamp but that was not nearly as exciting haha.

Since that little field trip, it has really been nothing but school.. lame, I know. I have crashed a few earth and planetary science parties (not as dorky as it sounds), but that is about it. I would say about 80% of my friends have graduated and left so my roommate and I just bum around watching movies alot. We did manage to get out for Halloween though- I was a penguin!

This is Lisa, my roommate (the flamingo), and I. And we also made a really yummy (early) Thanksgiving dinner for our friends- turkey, stuffing, the whole 9 yards. It was my first time actually cooking the turkey, but it turned out great (no food poisoning, thank god) so that was fun :-)

Not much else is new with me.. I sadly won't be home for Thanksgiving this year, but I should be home in December after finals for an indefinite amount of time.. lol. If anyone knows of anyone looking to hire a map-maker, please let me know :-\

Hope everyone is well! See you in December :-)

Jinna <3

Elfter

So the secret santa site is set up so everyone will be assigned a random name on the Nov 28th. Thats also the last day you have to sign up for it. If you're name isn't in by then, you won't be in the draw and won't get a name either. So too bad if you miss it. I figured its enough time to check your email, so there's no real excuse. I mean if Greg's on there then everyone should be on there by next weekish haha.
The spending limit is $50 but you don't have to spend that much. It's just a max the site makes you set. If someone isn't going to be home for the week of Christmas I would suggest you let the group know fairly far in advance so that who ever got that person can mail out the gift, or get it to them early or something.

You can also make a wish list and add a link to the site so people know exactly what you're talking about. I made mine a while back (my family is doing a gift exchange too) and it carried over. And I noticed Katie didn't waste any time getting her goodies up there. I say who ever gets her gives her coal, just to see the look on her face. (Good thing she doesn't read the blog).
As of right now we have 11 people, so were pretty good to go if no one else joins. We still need to set a place for the exchange. Kellen said he might be able to have something at his place in CP, but it would be nice to have some other options in that falls through. I looked up some places to rent out a room or something, and they can get pretty steep in price. I figured we would keep it cheap since we are all paying bills and junk now. As Levine put it, we're grown ups now. If you guys have any ideas/suggestions just throw em out there.

Anyway, see you guys next week. I'll be getting into CP Tues morning and staying at Alan's till Claire gets home. Then I take off Sat morning.

R.diz

Greg and Cat here!

So our lives haven't changed too much. Pretty boring. Cat started working at Gap again woo hoo. No real job yet. We just wanted to pop in and say hi! Come visit us! We won't be home too long for Thanksgiving, probably Tuesday through Thursday night. Cat has to work Black Friday.

What's going on with elfster? How does it work? Is it going to assign me a person? When? I could probably read all of this on the website, but I will let Rob explain it to me.

Blue Devils!

Here's some pictures from back in Aug. To sum up the day as a Blue Devil I'd go with...

Half naked blue people yelling, shouting, terrorizing, singing, drinking, stealing free public transportation, throwing baby powder at people, giant parade party crashing etc.

Make plans to join us next year!!!

Blue Devil Mas

Rob C. McRae
Post Sales Support Group
Rogers Communications Inc.
857 York Mills Rd,
Toronto, ON  M3B 1Z1
Email: rob.mcrae@rci.rogers.com

Odyssey

I think my next year could be summed up best in an outline:

- 28OCT2009 to 19DEC2009 – Fort Sill, OK – Basic Officer Leadership Course II – Shooting, running, crawling, suffering

- 19DEC2009 to 03JAN2010 – Home

- 03JAN2010 to APR2010 – Fort Leonard Wood, MO – Engineer Basic Officer Leadership Course –Building and blowing stuff up

- APR2010 to ???? – Southeast USA - Ranger/Sapper School – PAIN, priceless education

- ???? to ???? – Fort Lewis, WA/Overseas – 14^th Combat Engineer Battalion – Leading a platoon of combat engineers

In other recent news, I ran the Hartford Marathon in October and went to D.C. to cheer my Dad on while he ran the Marine Corps Marathon. On October 28^th, I started my 4 day driving journey to Oklahoma with two of my Army buddies from school. We stopped in Niagara Falls, Chicago, Springfield, Missouri, and Oklahoma City. It was quite the adventure (14 hour driving days on occasion) and I apologize for anyone I didn’t stop in to see along the way. I was on Army time, so I couldn’t really go off course.

Eder, myself, and McAdams at Niagara Falls, after two failed photos by Japanese and Russian tourists.

I’ll post more along with some images of my training as I progress further here. I will definitely be home for Christmas and New Years, from 20 December to 3 January. I'll be flying in and out of St. Louis, so I will be borrowing my parent's vehicles while I am home. My contact information as far as a mailing address changes frequently, but will always be listed in my Facebook profile. Make sure you let me know if you’re sending anything though, as I may not be at that address. I should have email and phone contact on a weekly basis though. Hope to see you all soon.

Kellen

Spooky Property Halloween

Let's see some Halloween costumes! Mine isn't going to make any sense to anyone not in law school, but I'll try to explain it. Our first property case was called Pierson v. Post, a case from the 1800s about a gentleman out fox hunting when just as he was closing in a "saucy intruder" (actual judge's language) swept in and killed the fox. The first hunter took him to court, claiming that the fox was his property because he was in pursuit. So pictured here are Pierson, Post, and myself as the fox with hounds circling overhead....and a green power ranger. He kinda jumped into the picture at the last second. The other picture is of my roommate Kara. She was Wednesday Addams (random trivia: The Addams family was created by a Colgate grad).

We went to a Halloween party put on by our Law Student Association at a "Mexican Irish" bar downtown. It was a blast. Tonight, on the actual Halloween, I'm doing all kinds of work and I probably won't make it out. I would love to see what everyone else is wearing!

Turkey week

If anyone is going to be around the tuesday before turkeyday let me know! I'll be arriving by train and will need a ride from the station yo.

Halloween

SO, for halloween I don't like to dress up unless I look ballin, and it seems to work out pretty well each time. Senior year there was the Matrix party at Amie's (who I forgot to add to the blog, hmm) and I went as Morpheous- or however you spell his name. Sophmore year I was "The Ladies Man" Leon Phelps. The year after that... now that I think about it, I skipped it ( maybe it hasn't worked out every year). And last year I was Sisqo, which was a huge hit cause Sisqo is and will always be a bitch haha. This year I need something that will blow minds away! Claire wants to take advantage of not being together and finally getting me to do matching costumes, which I could do from a distance. So toss me your ideas folks. I'll see if I can dig up some pictures of the past costumes if you haven't seen em. Feel free to add your own old pics of the sweet costumes you'ev had.

Calling all CPers

Salut everyone. Just wanted to say that Kate is coming to see me in Boston this weekend, and anyone in this area who wants to see us just let me know if you'll be around! Or make special plans to visit! Kate is going to make me quit reading at some point I'm sure, and I have some limited knowledge of good places to go in the area. Mostly consists of the Sunset cafe and the Joshua Tree (oooooo the Joshua Tree...). I'd love to see you for dinner or a night out or anything you like.

So come see us!

Love Claire

Goulet goes to law school

Hi Friends! It's been fun catching up on all of your lives. Glad to see you're all doing so well.

Right now I'm hanging out in the law librizzle before lunchtime. I'm loving law school so far, which is good seeing as how I've wanted to do this since 11th grade. My classes are fun (well, besides torts - eddie and I disagree on this point) and I really like my professors. I also have a fun group of friends which makes the experience that much more enjoyable.

We aren't allowed as 1L's to join any type of clinic or do any sort of pro bono litigation, so I've been trying to get involved in other ways. I'm a member of the American Constitution Society (like the Federalist society, except for opposite - we're the liberal end! woohoo there's like 4 of us in the whole school), and I joined an academic law fraternity, Phi Delta Phi, which has been good for making connections. I'm also really trying to prepare to make law review by meeting with my legal writing professor weekly. Cross your fingers!

Another fun aspect of being here is the fact that I actually get to see REAL football games. I'm obsessed with college football now, and yes, I have painted my face for the games. It's been fun to get the "real" college experience in law school which is kind of counterintuitive, but whatevs! We usually all have a law tailgate during the day then go to the game together. I have come to find that lawyers are binge drinkers. The thought that some of these people will be future "doctors" is borderline frightening.

Last week we had a law ball which was fun (for those of you AD fans - we called it Bob Loblaw's Law Ball). Unfortunately, I don't remember most of the night, but I was told I had a good time. Whoopsie!

I went to Rochester this past weekend for our alumni weekend. It was awesome, I hung out with Ali and most of my DG friends. Unfortunately, Ali was the only one out of my roch crew who could make it, but we stayed in a hotel on sat night and 'twas quite fun. I also have come to terms with the fact that my college days are over, but that's okay since I'm liking my life here.

Alright, hopefully I'll talk to you all soon! PLEASE come visit me - especially if you're bored at home. We have lots and lotssssies of fun on the weekends. I won't be home for turkey day, so I'll see you all in Decemb.

heartsies!
Wags

Holiday plans

Yes I know its early but what are the plans for the holidays?! It would be a lot easier if we could plan this far ahead instead of trying to just get something together at the last min. Obviously everyone will have family plans, but at least we could think up some ideas so we can organize the time off. Although it has never been planned, I have always ended up at Alan's for turkey day. Not sure how it will happen this year, but then again I say that every year. If you guys will be home for turkey weekend maybe we could get together to watch some football or just hang out.
If there is going to be a group back home in Dec maybe we could coordinate a Christmas party since it seems like this is going to get harder and harder each year. If anyone wants to volunteer their place that would be great, or if someone has any alternative ideas like renting out a place for the night idk. Throw some ideas around.
Also, my sister Teri started this secret santa with our family this year through the site Elfster. It picks your recipient and lets you make wish lists/suggest gifts for people. So far my list is pretty ridiculous, but its turning out to be a lot more fun then I expected and its only Oct. We could set up a similar one, which could include people who won't be home as long as the gifts are mailed out in time. Let me know what you guys think.

Senior year in rochester

Hey guys!!!!

So im in my last year of rochester...

This past summer i worked at Ultra life Corporation.. a military contract builder for satellite communication systems and accessories. at the end of summer i went to LA for a end of summer trip ... So much fun. if you ever have chance i would highly recommend it. Any who im half way done with my 2nd to last quarter at RIT and ridiculously busy. Senior Design own my life. My Project is sponsored b the FDA and the american cancer society to evaluate the nicotine enriched vapor produce by electronic cigarettes. The electronic cigarettes have no testing or standard for smoking, so my team is required to build a system to smoke one and capture the particulates and vapors so they can be analyzed for carcinogens. besides that i havent had much time for personal fun.

-Mike Moy

"I'm from the government and I'm here to help"

I'm really terrible at writing blog posts, which is probably why I don't have my own blog. (Why does the spell-checker not know the word "Blog"... does it not know that it is spell-checking a blog?)

Anyway, as most of you know, two months ago I started a job working for Governor David Paterson (D-NY) as what they call an "Advance man." For those of you who don't know, which I imagine is all of you since it is a pretty obscure position, an advance man (or woman, I guess) is the person who goes ahead of a politician in order to set up any event that the politician will be attending. My duties range from figuring out where to put the podium and how much lighting/sound is needed to wrangling the reporters and making sure that the Governor greets any VIPs that are also attending the event. The most important part of my job is making sure that the pictures that are shown in the media tell the same story that the Governor's speech and press releases is telling (a simple example would be that for an event emphasizing education and the importance of young people, I would make sure that there are plenty of pictures in a school with the Governor greeting smiling children). Pay attention to the visuals next time you see a news story online or on tv. If they are incongruous with the actual story, its probably the advance man's fault.

If you are interested in learning more about what I do, here are a couple links. The first is just a more succinct description of the job and the second is a longer anecdotal story written by an advance man for the Clinton '96 Campaign:

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-advance-man.htm
http://www.salon.com/politics2000/feature/2000/02/09/advance/

If you have twitter and want to follow updates about my various work adventures, follow AdvanceMan55. My public, personal account is ltob86.

I'm doing really well and I love my job. Unfortunately, I'm still living at home, but that's saving me a lot of money, both in rent and food. Also unfortunately, I've been working so much that I don't have many updates on my personal life. I desperately miss DC and my college friends, but I got to visit them this past weekend, which was really great. I hope to be making more trips to visit all of you at some point, but work does not really allow me to make solid plans more than a week in advance (and even that can be stretching it).

I think that's enough for one post.


PS I can't go without mentioning that I saw the President speak at HVCC a couple weeks ago. It was awesome.

They call us the Legal Eagles

Hello CPers! I am sitting in Contracts waiting for class to start. I'm a month and a week into law school at Boston College. I really love it; studying the law requires all of the analytic and problem solving and puzzle skills that I find fun for some reason. And, it makes watching CSI and Law and Order even more wonderful. This week and next week are several practice midterm exams, which are the first taste of any kind of test we've had. Nothing is graded until the end of the semester (with the exception of legal writing class) - everything rides on our final exams, which are supposed to be harrowing, from what I've heard. So I'm bound to be in a bad mood most of December, just beware.

I'm taking 5 classes, serving on a couple student government boards, competed in a negotiation competition, doing a little pro bono work, and playing in a softball league on the weekends. I love Boston, although admittedly I haven't spent much time in the city. Newton, where Boston College is, is about 6 miles from the center of Boston, kind of on the fringe. We have Monday off for Columbus day, I'm on my way to Toronto tomorrow.


Hope everyone is doing well! Hopefully I'll see some of you for Thanksgiving!

Love Claire

Life since Rochester

I think most of you know that Greg and I moved to Connecticut...Greg was offered a great position with Hamilton Sundstrand so within 2 weeks we packed up our bags and moved to CT. I decided to make the move with Greg because I will not need my MBA to sit for my CPA here in CT. I decided to leave the accounting job I had in Rochester. Forget grad school...Hartford here I am! I have been unsuccessful in finding a job so far, but I will find one. We are now closer to CP, Boston and NYC, so if you are in the Hartford area stop by and see us! And as Rob said, post your contact info so everyone knows where find you!



Come see us!
Cat & Greg (Let's be honest, he will probably never update on his own)

Updates on life after college

SO, after graduating from UB in International Business I was more or less deported out of the country since all American's hate Canadians with the exception of Claire. So I'm living up North in Toronto near my mom's side of the family. My dad sold the house on Mallard drive a little over a year ago and he just remarried and moved to Ottawa. For now I am living with Tara in a sweet apartment by Lake Ontario. I got a job about a month after graduation working for Rogers Communications, which is the largest cable TV, home phone, internet, and wireless company in Canada. (I no longer have an American phone number by the way, so don't text me unless you want so crazy charges!) It’s a great company; I get an outrageous amount of benefits from day one. Not to mention it's easy to spread my name around the company since my sister Shauna (yes, there is another sister, 4 total) works at the Rogers downtown office. My plans include hitting up grad school and working in Event's management until I am able to finance my club which will be in the States. Hopefully by that time I will be able to live in the US permanently, although I seriously doubt they will ever let that happen.

Intro

Hey guys,

As explained in the facebook message this is going to be a personal blog just for the group of us. It is going to be a trial run for a project I'm setting up here in Toronto, but I figured it was a good way to see what you fools were up to. Over the years I've noticed that I have been in contact less and less with friends from Clifton Park. I noticed the same thing happened when I moved there from Montreal, and now I am in contact with only a handful of my friends from Quebec. I wouldn't want the same thing to happen again just because of distance, espically since we could use something as simple as a blog to stay in touch. I know everyone is busy with their own lives, and it can be hard to keep in touch besides the occational message (Facebook, AIM, Myspace, Twitter, blah blah). This way we can stay in contact in one simple medium that is exclusive to us. Use it for funny stories (college, trips, jobs) life updates (weddings, moving, news) to set up something to get everyone together (new years, montreal, etc) or just to say "What up!". Also I'll set up some addional blogs for different topics to discuss and to find info easy like where to get cheap flights, items for sale, current events or anything you guys are interested in reading about.
I know you ladies have a similar situation set up, which is fine since "Girl Talk" seems to be inevitable, but now there is a place where everyone can join in.
The only rule I ask you guys to follow is to not invite random people without asking me first. This is a sort of experiment for some plans I have in the future, which makes you guineapigs ;) and I would need to keep it regulated to collect some info. Other than that, feel free to do what you will with it. Over time I will update the site with add-ons for pics, links, videos and some other goodies.

If you have any questions just hit me up on this site, email (Robdiz8@gmail.com), cell (647) 982-1100[long distance folks], or aim (McKer17).