Not in First Class
~ I am writing this post while on the plane.

The San Antonio trip is over. The conference was excellent, some great stories to share and funny times with the Betas, team GVSU, and all my AFA/NIC friends. Right now I am writing this from the plane, with Shawna stressing over the fact that sometimes planes can crash on take off (she was really scared). I have never really been scared on planes, I get on, find my seat, take my shoes off, and pretend like I am in first class (we are one row behind them) by putting my feet up on the seat (or wall) in front of me. Good times.



The conference ended well. Our stay at the Quinta hotel (it was across the street) was interesting. The sign in front read, "Yes we are still open", how inviting. It was next to a Denny's and one night walking home I got to watch the cops wrestle a guy to the floor while he still yelled what he planned to do to the other guy. What fun. But we got free continental breakfast, so it worked out. The cinnamon twists were awesome.

The closing banquet was great. Ammar (SLB President) did the invocation and showed how much of a powerhouse the Betas really are in the Greek world. It was a good feeling sitting with all the National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations (NALFO) and we represented for the cultural Greeks. The weekend of networking was great. We also had a mini GVSU reunion when we all skipped a session to watch the national championship football game. We won the game, and then Shawna and I ran to some receptions.

One of the best parts of this conference are the fun receptions. It is a nice change to catch up with some folks and have a beer and talk about how work, school and family life are going. I love being in such a personable field. Example; when I saw Jon Hockman, who is one of most well know Greeks in the country (Delt Sig Executive Director for many years, now a consultant) the first thing he asked was about Novali. How cool is that?

It was also a good time at the Order of Omega reception to get recognized again for the hard work on winning the case study. The Order of Omega scholarships and competition are all normally dominated by folks from BGSU. It was nice for us to get some representation for our program at GVSU.



~ Right now the first class people are getting their hot towels. Would it be that hard for the rest of us 'common' folk to get a hot towel?

We land in a Ohare in a few hours, then a one hour layover and off to Grand Rapids. Tonight I will have to pack, hopefully talk to all my family, do the Beta photoshoot, relax (not too much), take care of some school items, and get everything ready to fly to the homeland. I am so excited.

I am sure you are wondering what I mean with Beta photoshoot. I was asked to help do some pictures for the new national website. So as part of my break this afternoon when I am in Michigan I invited the GVSU and WMU Betas to come over and we will take tons of pictures. I want some fun shots, I was hoping for some snow to get those pictures but no luck (probably a good thing since I am flying and all).

Being sick is no fun right now. I have been sick for the last few days, all the stress and traveling caught up with me. Shawna and Aaron were hoping I would not give it to them. I hope not to, cause being sick sucks. Especially for me since tomorrow I have to fly again. This entire weekend I had to run to the bathroom to blow my nose and it just plane out sucked. I am not a huge medicine person either, but I just might have to pick up some 'Tussin. At least the sun burn (okay... 'tanner' burn) is starting to feel better.

Well I am on the plane, and I think I might try to get some sleep. Shawna is eating her granola bar one kernal at a time, I inhaled mine, and now I need sleep. Oh yeah, this time I got the whole coke can, not just that mini-cup with lots of ice and a little pop. The whole can! It is the small things which make me feel special, I mean since I am not in first class.

I will post this when I touch down in Michigan. Adios!