Black Squirrels
This first week has been great. I learned a lot about the college, met lots of interesting people, and had meetings, meetings, meetings. One of the interesting things about Albion, black squirrels everywhere! Seriosuly, I live two blocks from campus, and last night I counted 11 on my walk home. It is just one of the manys things that make this campus so cool.

Everyone has been very nice, students have been stopping by all the time to chat and meet me, and staff has gone out of the way to swing over and say hello. I got my desk moved, into a much more "Sam Friendly" arrangement and I am still trying to figure out where I want what stuff in my office.

I got tours of all the Sorority lodges (no women live in their homes here) and attend their recruitment dessert function. I had my first IFC and Panhel meetings which both went great. Worked with AKA alum group to plan their fall recruitment to restart the chapter. Attended different functions, Coffee House Opening, speaker, Student Affairs Division Luncheon, and of course... more meetings.

Tonight the Greeks are doing a BBQ by the Fraternity houses. Welcome back thing and to introduce me to everyone. Should be very cool, and you know I am a fan of free food (especially BBQ). I am excited to meet more people, and then get tours of all the fraternity houses.

Saturday I head to Miami University (OH). I am doing my Risk Management presentation there, which will be fun. Then I will drive back with the GVSU guys to hit up the Ice Breaker. Lots of driving... but what's new right? All in the middle of that I will try to catch up with Becky who will actually be in Grand Rapids. Lets see how it goes.

Have a good weekend everyone!

8 minutes and a Briton Burger
This morning it took me 8 minutes to walk to work. How great is that! I was the first one into the office, got to make the good impression on my first day. Then did the fun Human Resource paperwork, picked my health plan, signed my tax documents, and BAM... I am official.

In the office I had a ton of papers waiting for me. Not fun at all, mail had piled up all summer. Mostly junk and advertisements for speakers and what not, but some important stuff from consultants and people coming to campus. I got into my email... already had 46 messages! Ah. I guess this school works largely on email communication... perfect for me.

I wanted to include some pics of campus for everyone to see.

The Kellogg Center, where my office is.

Wesley Hall is where a large amount of students live.

They have a cool observatory on campus built in 1883.

The Goodrich campus chapel.

The recreation center

Vulgamore Hall

Robinson Hall. I love the white pillars everywhere.

The architecture on campus is very distictive.

For lunch I had a Briton Burger from the Eat Shop. The burger has thousand island dressing on it, very tasty and an Albion tradition. The food place in the Kellogg Center is pretty cheap, but I need to find some healthier options... since I am gonna start working out and everything.

It is great cause it is not even 1 PM yet and I have had students coming in all morning to say hi. Tonight Panhel is sponsoring desserts by the sorority lodges which I will be attending (which means I will miss GVSU's Campus Life Night...). On Friday the fraternities are hosting a cook out which should be good as well. I am excited...

Now I have to figure out how I will rearrange my office furniture.

Edit: Miguel posted an Abuelo update. Update

Sugar and Spice
and everything nice. Becky reminded me of that, and I saw that Novali is made of it as well. Novali had a way of brightening everyones day after long times of waiting for updates on my abuelito and seeing what would happen that day. She made the week much more enjoyable, and I am so glad I was able to have her for so long.

I am glad she already got to meet my abuelito in Chicago. On this trip she did not get to see my abuelito, but she spent time with all the rest of the Centellas clan. Check her out:

Novali was way too excited to finally get her own new bike from Grandpa.

She watched Lion King with Grandpa and Abuelita... we needed some Hakuna Matata.

One night she got ready for bed with her grandpa and abuelita.

My mom is a great story teller and read to her a lot.

One day we went to McDonalds and she played, and ate pollo.

This is her favorite part of being in Saginaw.... ICE CREAM!

It is late, I packed the car already and at 6 AM we head to meet her mom. I am sad to take her back, we have had so much fun. This was a great break, despite the difficulties.

So Monday I relax and try to rest and get myself into work mode for Tuesday.

...For Better or Worse
For Sickness and in Health... my abuelitos took that oath 60 years ago today, on September 3th, 1944. That is a long time... definitely over shadows my mere 26 years on this planet. As I have sat in the hospital with my abuela, she tells stories of their youth, when my papi was born, different jobs and adventures she has had, about the day I was born, how her and abuelito met and other stories about abuelito.

This year he turned 83, he has seen a lot for an old carpenter from Oruro Bolivia. They have traveled the world, and to the USA, not once, but three times. They drove to Canada and got hassled by border patrol, saw Makinaw Island and ate fudge, saw Shamoo (Sea World) and abuelito got wet, visited the Detroit Zoo and laughed at the penguins, walked on the black sand beaches of Chile and complained that the sand was hard, watched their grandkids water ski (Bolivia is landlocked, so that was totally new) and went fishing, and one of abuelitos favorites... watched a World Cup Soccer game (Brazil vs. Sweden) and watched the famous Ronaldo in his first cup (and watched Bolivia lose... but we try not to talk about that).

He made beautiful furniture with his hands, before power tools. Later he ran a small store from his house. The neighborhood called him Don Enrique and he took care of everyone. He was known for giving food to people when they had no money, without worry about when they would pay him.

They raised a family in La Paz during the revolutions. Abuelita said that the family never went without, even while half of the country starved his five boys had what they needed. I am one of sixteen grandchildren, and they now have five great grandchildren. An impressive family tree of doctors, engineers, professors, accountants, teachers and much more.

Here are some recent pics of their travels.

Navy Pier in Chicago, they took a boat tour of the city.

With Novali and I in Chicago. We swam, got in the hot tub, and ate lots of chicken wings.

Michigan State Gardens... nice Spartan caps... wonder who gave them those?

Abuelito and my papi went to Comerica park for a Tigers game. There's that green cap again...

At Crossroads Village, a Michigan museum, they saw old trains and this stage coach (abuelita swears they did not use these when she was a girl).

The fish they caught a few weeks ago up north.

Sixty great years... and counting.

The Not So Big Day
Today I got one year older. My birthday is never a big spectacle (minus last year) because it usually falls on labor day weekend and all my friends would be out of town. In college I never had the big hooray or anything, usually something low key.

This year, for the first time in a long time, it will be spent in Saginaw. I will spend it running to the Secretary of State office to update my car tags (nothing like the last minute right?). I was gonna run to Albion to get my last Oregon check (which they mailed to me instead of direct depositing it, AH!) which I need ASAP, but Andres will just float me the money until Tuesday so I do not have to drive.

Then rest of my time will be at the hospital with my abuelito who is still not getting better. Of course some time with Novalí today and Andres who is in town for the weekend. Miguel also is going to get into Saginaw as well, so the Centellas boys will all be in the same state and city for a little while.

Either way, off to start my day.

Catching Up
Alright... so I posted about my place. Let me catch up on other recent happenings.

Novali
I have had her since Saturday. She has been a riot as always and keeps me on my toes. She is speaking more and more English and knows the difference between the two languages now. I impressed her when she arrived to my new place and saw that she had her very own room, with a TV!

Here she is in her room watching a movie.

We had a ton of adventures, and yes, with Nono Nuevo.

I am glad she is with me in Saginaw because she is helping to brighten the days of my parents who have been stressed taking care of my abuelito. My dad got her a Barbie bike (with training wheels) and I can barely pry her away from it.

Bronco Bash
Those who know me... know I love Bronco Bash! This year we had a tropical theme and had flags for our different countries. Novali enjoyed the event as well because it meant free suckers, toys, and her new favorite toy, a Jesus is the Light Flashlight (she like to push it against her cheek and watch her skin glow).

In our new shirts, ready to recruit.

All of our flags, the Bolivian kept falling for some reason.

We got a lot of people signed up.... recruitment looks good.

We handed out flyers to the party and repped SLB.

It was a great day, saw some old friends and also people who work at WMU. Now that I am back in the area I want to get more involved in WMU Alumni activities.

Club Soda
We had an after party for Bronco Bash at Club Soda. People said we were crazy for throwing a party on a Monday night... I said.. We were crazy to not have thought of this before. It turned out great. Brothers from GVSU and UoM came and supported and we had a great time.

The guys all ready.

We had all kinds of crazy people in there.

We filled the club up... can't wait until next year.

Of course the Gammas came and supported. Thanks!

I of course was not able to stay for the party much. I had Novali and we just went to check it out, say hi, and then we went home. Novali had a great time in Kalamazoo and I think she got hooked on Bronco Bash like I am. Thanks to everyone for helping to entertain Novali for me, and shot out to Hermen and Heather for chasing lights with her.

Now back to the current (now my blog is caught up). I sat tonight at the hospital with my abuelito. At midnight he got his last set of shots and I talked with him and then went home. Tomorrow I go back around 7 AM and the day starts over. Raquel is going to watch Novali so I can be here all day with my abuelitos. So I need to get some rest, the day begins again in a few short hours. CIAO!

Back!
I find it hard to believe... I went for a whole seven days with no internet... deep breath... and exhale...

Alright I had an adventure the last few days. I will start with my new house! I got more settled and started getting the place set up.

Outside Pictures:
The neighborhood seems pretty nice, I am two blocks from campus so I get to walk to work and can easy run home for lunch if I need something. I also already found a good chinese food place and have their delivery number on my phone.

I love the big porch and tons of trees.

The NX finally has her own driveway and garage.

I have a good size backyard and friendly neighbors.

I even have flowers around my garage.

My Stuff
I walked into my place and bam! There was all my stuff just staring at me...

Every spot on the first floor had stuff on it.

Upside down futons... stacked up storage bins.

Every corner had something on it. There is my Connect Four game!

Even the NX was stuffed with stuff to the top.

The Space
I have tons of room... and I filled most of it with stuff. I took some pictures of my space before I started cramming my belongings into every nook and cranny. I have three bedrooms up stairs and huge bathroom. Downstairs I have a large akward shaped living room, square dinning room with hardwood floors and ugly wallpaper, and a good size kitchen and half bath. Stonewall basement that is good for storage.

My bedroom has huge mirrors on the closet doors, but not much closet space.

Most of the house has light beige carpet. This is my home office.

The stairwell is very cool, I can't wait to paint it!

The poor fridge... I doubt I will ever get it too full.

Family Update
I am having fun because on Saturday I picked up Novali. We are having fun, this including a fun trip to WMU for Bronco Bash and the Club Soda after party. She had a great time with my friends and her new Amiga (who needs to comb her hair). She chased lights with Hermen, Heather and I, and she loved her free "Jesus is the Way" flashlight. Today, in Saginaw, she got her new bike from her grandpa. She was way too excited and did not want to stop riding it, even when it got dark. Pictures coming soon.

On another note... my Abuelito Centellas is very sick. The doctors are still not sure what is wrong with him. Miguel came home for a while last week to help out, and I am here now. Andres is coming in sometime on Thursday and then who knows what will happen. It looks like their trip home is postponed... I can only imagine how hard it is for him. He is in a foreign place, with nurses who can not understand him, and few family members. I wish I could do more to help him, even Novali asked today why everyone seemed sad. It makes me very thankful she got to play with him in Chicago. He is a great grandpa, and I hope he gets better soon.

Bedtime... more pictures coming soon.

And People Wonder...
This morning I read a newspaper article that almost made me sick. I consider myself religious, I believe in God, I go to church when I can, especially for all major holidays. I am a good person, I know the Bible. I eat wheat. So I qualify to be Catholic.

You sense a little sarcasm... yeah just a little. You are thinking... what does wheat have anything to do with it? Well, according to that article, it has a lot to do with it. I never knew! Once again, good thing I can eat wheat.

The article: There is a young girl in Eugene with a rare condition in which she can't eat wheat. It could kill her. She wants to be catholic. She finished her classes to be able to take communion. And guess what? Communion bread is made of wheat. She requested to be able to use a rice bread instead, and was denied.

The church said that the communion bread must have unleavened wheat in it, like the last super. It also explained that wine must be fermented, and that catholics do not allow non-alcoholic substitutions (not even for recovering alcoholics, they just get a reduced alcohol wine). The church suggested a low-wheat content wafer. Wow, how nice of the church! I mean, that won't kill her, just make her really sick and potential cause intestinal cancer.

I find this appalling. The article mentioned a similar case in Massachusetts. That family left the catholic church because a rice cake substitute for their daughter was not allowed. Wow. I here thought the Bible said all you had to do was believe in Jesus and you would be saved (John 3:16 is a good example). I had no clue that in fine print below it read, "And you must be able to eat wheat." For a church with big problems, like over 200 million dollars in law suits over priests raping little boys which has caused all the bishops to have to sell their million dollar estates and priceless art to cover those expenses... I bet those bishops can eat wheat though.

Let me say once again that I believe in God. I am talking about organized religion... how can a faith that for years turned the other way to the crimes of priests, but won't let a girl eat a rice cake... be right? How can that be what God wanted?

I am sure if Jesus knew one of his disciples could not eat wheat, for the last super he would of bought some rice cakes.

Have You Seen Me?
Missing, from Chicago, IL is a little pink bunny, AKA "Nono". He was lost at a Chicagoland Target store and is being missed terribly by a 3 year old little girl. A reward, for the safe capture and return of the infamous Nono is being offered. The reward will more then likely be in the form of Mac and Cheese, a sucker, or possibly a used pair of pink sunglasses. Novali has little to offer, but misses her Nono.

A substitute Nono has been identified, AKA "Nono Nuevo". Although similar in appearance, this "Nono Nuevo" is not the same. See attached:

Photo of Nono: He stands about 1 foot 2 inches tall, weighs about 8 oz. and is sometimes seen wearing a little purple sweater.

This is Novali... missing her Nono very much. A hotline has been set up, please call, 1-800-HELPNONO.

Send all email information to novali@centellas.org

Sam's Believe It or Not
Somethings in life are unexpected, and throw you for a loop. I like the unexpected because it shakes the day up. Here are some weekend events I did not expect or found hard to believe:

1. Got my taxes done... instead of filing for another extension.
2. Puerto Rico's basketball team beat the USA team in Athens. Who'd a thunk it? I can hear "Que Bonita Bandera" playing right now...
3. I highlighted my hair today. The last time I got my hair highlighted was when I was in Santa Barbara last year... I was over due.
4. There is only one broadband internet provider in Albion and they are really expensive... so I might not get it... I know... the world is in awe.
5. I had fast food today, it was the first time in three weeks!
6. Going against all intuition I agreed to let Vic (WMU Fraternity Brother) live with me.
7. I realized I am looking forward to living in Michigan... who does that?

This week I have to get a lot done. I am very excited to be heading back to Michigan, but also sad to be leaving Oregon. I really do like it hear, but I know it is my time to go. I can't wait to see Novali again (who I can't even catch on the phone lately), to drive my little NX, and start arranging furniture and decorating my new house!

6-3, 6-3
Those were the scores of my two tennis games tonight, I was on the losing end. It was just the perfect way to end a terrible day. Losing. I am glad I am getting back into tennis though.

So this morning started bad, when I learned that I was overdrawn with National City, but this time it was not my fault. I was told by their customer service people I could wire them money using Western Union. I did that on Monday... but it still had not shown up... so I called in today to see what the deal was... the person said, "Well sir you can not wire to your account from Western Union." I then replied... "Then why did one of your customer service reps tell me that I could?"... I was then transfered to a manager, who apologized for me being told the wrong thing again. I then asked, shouldn't you remove my overdraft fee and pay be back the expense of the Western Union wire? She said no.

So in response to me being pissed I wrote a letter, and tomorrow I mail it out. How can that be? Some company gives me bad information, and the negative repercussions are not their fault? Everyone tells me to leave National City... I think now it is time. They have gone too far... I wonder what their reply to my letter will be... I did fill out a web form about my complaint... no reply yet.

So then I get back from running to another bank (which did the wire for me to my account) and my day got worse. To cheer myself up I figured I will order a big sandwich, get some chili... yes, this will be great... AND GUESS WHAT? My sandwich shop was out of bacon. Not only did I want bacon on my sandwich, but I wanted extra bacon (a 50 cent extra). Instead of extra bacon, I got no bacon on my sandwich, and my chili was kinda cold. Bad day...

The fact that I have not had time to get my taxes done today does not help either. So my weekend will be spent working on taxes, and not having fun. Tomorrow is Friday the 13th, I mean, I just can not get a break right now. Ah... maybe something will cheer me up tomorrow.

The System
People say I know how to work the system. Any one who knows me knows that I love finding loopholes, and ways around doing things the "normal" way. I like to mix it up, be different, do it my way. Some examples:

My undergraduate degree: my diploma says "Bachelor of Arts, Cum Laude" on the front. My resume outlines my degree in Student Planned Curriculum, focus on Engineering, Design, Art and Communications. What it does not say is how I came to that degree. Student planned degrees are for people, who before sophomore year decided to custom plan a course of study to help them in graduate school (usually law or pre med). Not for people like me to changed majors just so they could take a class they thought would be interesting (like Food Marketing MKT 250, Human Resource Training COM 480, HIV in the African American Community BAS 490, Figure Drawing ART 210, Latino Admissions Research Project HNRS 490, etc.). I conned my way into getting my degree in that my senior year so I could graduate faster, and still get my 3.51 GPA so I could be Cum Laude.

That was a big example. Here is a list of some little things I have learned, in no particular order.

1. When on a plane, if you ask for a drink with lots of ice, they are more inclined to give you the entire can.
2. If when checking out of a hotel you mention something that was not perfect, they will give you 10% off your bill. Just complain nicely is the key, like it was not a big deal.
3. If you have a real complaint, take the time to send it in a real letter. Recently a complaint to Enterprise got me 100 off my bill and a voucher for another 100 bucks, and American Airlines gave me 5,000 frequent flyer miles because my flight was delayed. All from taking the time to mail a letter.
4. Taxes are not really due on April 15th, just ask for an extension, you automatically get approved for August 16th, just takes a five minute phone call and you get four more months to do your taxes.
5. McDonalds gives free kiddie ice cream cones. Just ask nicely and they will give you one, or two.
6. If you are out of state when your lease expires, your friends will move your stuff for free Burger King, beer, and the ability to drive a big truck.
7. You can haggle with the Financial Aid office... its kinda like the award letter is their first offer. Talk them up.
8. Verizon will take off late fees on your monthly payment, so I don't pay my bill until they call me. Its kinda like an extra service, they call me to get their money. I save time cause they let they me pay on the phone via credit card and I save money on the stamp.
9. Always buy stuff on sale: See previous post.
10. That "Introduction" price to cable internet from Charter... is not really introduction price. When, after three months, they try to raise the price on you, call in to cancel it... they will let you keep paying the cheaper price.
11. If you order the full ribs at Apple Bees, when they bring it to you say... "Um, is this the big one?"... act surprised and disappointed when they tell you yes...the waiter will not know what to say... but the manager will tell them to charge you for the half rack.
12. If you ask for just water at the beginning of a meal, and then later ask for a coke... usually they forget to add it to your bill. (It is up to you whether to tell the waiter or not)
13. The trick to a wingman is to have him go in first. Make it look like you are the wingman, it will buy you more time because you have confused them.
14. People will tell you anything when playing 20 questions on IM, its more powerful then a double dog dare.

I know there is more to add to that list. I just can not think of them right now. The real reason I wanted to share this list is number #4. My taxes are due this week... and I am not done yet. Yes even after a four month extension. So dad... if you are reading this... I might need some help.

So as you can see, some of my scams don't work just as I planned them to... stupid IRS

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.