Deep Dark Secret
I think it is time that I let my deepest secret out. I can not hold it in any longer folks, it is time that you all found out the truth about Sam. Most of you will not believe this at first, but I will explain and then you will understand. To those who know me best, I know it will come as a shock, but I have to let this off my chest. It has been a secret I have held for way too long...

I am a sale shopper. Thats right folks, I love nothing more then hunting around for deals. You are in shock... It is as hard for me to say as it is for you to believe. Not sure when this started, but a few years ago I found myself getting overly excited for getting a deal on a DKNY dress shirt, or some Kenny Cole shoes. Now I can't go shopping without finding that deal I can be proud of all week. It has gotten so bad that I rarely can bring myself to pay full price for anything. This from the guy who used to brag about how much he spent on his wardrobe, so today I am here to say... I am a changed man! Now I dig through sale ranks at Marshall Fields, stop at TJ Max to get ties, and wait for the Express sale before getting more MX dress shirts.

Let me tell you about my recent sprees:

Banana Republic: $13 polo shirt Gap: $9.99 linen shirt, 7.99 v-neck IZOD: $25 Brown casual shoe.

M.Fields:$12 CK dress shirt Kenny C Store: $19 Leather Flips Express: $19 Khakis

TJ Max: $9 Express jeans Macy's: $9.99 DKNY Dress Shirt Meier&Frank: 40% off Kenny C pants.

Pic of me yesterday: Adidas shoes $25, Kenny C Khackis $16, and the Quick Silver Polo I got on sale in Cape Cod.

As you can see, even yesterday, while sitting in the airport I was wearing all sale stuff. Man, I really am an addict. Is there a place I can go to get help? Do I want help? No, I like this. Will I always be like this? Maybe, I have learned how to work the system (shocked right?) and I like it.

So I got that out, and I feel good. I am still high maintenance though... Ha!

I hope all of you are over the shock now so I can give you some news. I have found my place in Albion. Here are two pics of the place I am going to get:

Less then half a mile from campus, and I love the big porch.

I finally get a garage, little but still a nice home for the NX.

The cool thing about the house is that it is for sale. So... if I like it enough, and want to stay at Albion for that long... I might be a home owner pretty soon. Wow... I hope I get a good deal on it... you know, being a sale shopper and all.

Alright, I got to get to my WRGA Board meeting. I love being in San Francisco, but I do wish I was back home to see Hermen today on his birthday. Happy birthday bro, and thanks for offering to help move my stuff. See you all soon... at my new place in Albion, wearing sale clothes.

270 Gallons of My Life
I had a whirlwind 24 hour stop in Grand Rapids to pack up my stuff. I will not be here when the guys help me move my stuff so I needed to get a lot of my stuff packed up for them to make it easier. There is a still a lot more to do, but I got nearly everything in my room packed up.

I bought some rubber tubs for moving. All in all I filled up over 270 gallons of rubber tub. That is a lot of stuff. I have accumulated a lot of things over the past couple of years. Moving is never a fun thing, but at least I know I have all the furniture I will need and nothing makes you feel at home in a new place like old familiar furniture.

All my rubber tubs and a few shoe boxes filled with my stuff.

My closest which was once stuffed to the top now sits empty.

My cluttered desk now has a clear top and empty drawers.

I did not get to somethings... like the storage room or cleaning the kitchen.

Getting ready for a new place is always exciting. I made some calls yesterday on some rental property. I am looking for a little house to rent. I would love to have a garage. Rent in Albion is very cheap which is great, so I hope I find something for a good price and all the space I need.

Today I am back to the grind. Early morning flight from Grand Rapids put me into Oregon before lunch and now I am working. I have been up since 3am PST and will work until 6pm. AH! I only have three weeks left I need to get into high gear and get all of my projects finished up so I can leave with some accomplishments under my belt.

Alright... this thing called work is calling my name. Adios!

Convention Ups and Downs
The 2004 Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity, Inc. Convention was another historical event for our great Brotherhood. For me it was filled with many ups and downs. First was that the GVSU Colony was not given chapter status, but will be granted it this fall once they start their new membership education process. Which is good because they were "conditionally" approved. A down was that I was not elected to the Board of Directors, I knew it was a gamble when I started. I am an opinionated Brother and sometimes my views are unpopular. At least I know that I say what I think, and unlike the rest of the "political" Brothers I don't hold back a comment because some people might disagree with it. I do my thing and don't look back.

The big up was.... GVSU won the Outstanding Colony for 2002-2004! I am so proud of them, I nominated them and I kept my fingers crossed. Those guy made me so proud I can barely describe in words. They are following another proud tradition... my chapter when we recolonized we went on to win Outstanding Colony for 1998-2000. I am expecting big things from GVSU this fall, and of course from the Epsilon Chapter as well.

Lets see the pics:

In return for me doing 5 workshops at convention my Headquarters hooked me up with a free room with a great balcony!

First night with Max and Hermen from the GVSU Colony.

The Brothers hung around my room a lot, seen here: WMU, Miami(OH), CMU, GVSU and Wichita State.

One of the WMU Neos, I am expecting big things from this Brother... big things.

During Convention I was in the middle of my negotiations with Albion College. I wanted to be sure I made the right decisions and wanted to weigh a lot of things out. I made the right decision during the middle of convention. I start there on September 7th and I could not be more excited. I am confident I will be able to accomplish big things there.

The last night of convention, once all the business is over, we had our banquet and dance. This is where the awards are given out and ends with a little gig. Check it out:

Mary Peterson, our Executive Director started the night off. We would not be the organization we are today if it was not for her.

MOA! The Michigan/Ohio Alliance of Brothers, now known as the East District of SLB was well represented.

Everyone gets dressed up and ready to celebrate a successful year, good meeting, and be presented with the new boards.

GVSU with Ammar the International President getting their award.

We have a special award for Brothers. Salon de Hermanidad inducted its 8th member, Brother Dough. I hope to have as successful a career as he is having in SLB.

The dance was crazy, hot and tons of fun. I was glad I got to chill with so many Brothers.

I am right now sitting in the lobby of the hotel. Getting some work done while I await my flight back home. I will spend tomorrow in Michigan packing up a lot of my things and then back to Oregon for a day before flying out to San Francisco. These will be my last couple trips before I settled into my new job.

Convention was amazing, I love sitting here and not being able to type because I have too many Brothers and Gammas coming over to say bye. I love my fraternity, for what it has done for me, what it does for our community, and what it will continue to do in the future to shape the views and culture of college students all over the country. We are doing Big Things, and I am proud to be a part of it.