something new...

Today has been a whirlwind of changes, emotion, and coping skills.....

The Dean of Students at IIT resigned effective immediately (around 10:30 this morning), leaving our Office of Student Affairs to restructure and prepare for the summer without him. He left no statement of explanation, and didn't say goodbye to anyone; he simply left. I don't know the story behind his decision, but I'll miss him stopping in to say Hi and catch up with me now and then. He just defended his dissertation and got his PhD, so I wish him all the best in his future endeavors in higher education.

The most interesting events followed his announcement, though. Our Division of Student Affairs had a meeting with the Provost and head of HR, announcing the Assistant Dean (Katie, my supervisor) as the interim Dean of Students- and the entire Division pulled together to support her and join forces for the best interest of the students at IIT. I was really impressed by the positive energy that everyone offered, and by their willingness to do anything Katie will need to help her transition and manage the office without an Assistant Dean to help her.

Since Katie now has many many more things on her plate, she will not have the time to manage Orientation as she would have as the Assistant Dean, so after the Division meeting, she asked me if I would be willing to step in and manage Orientation mostly on my own. I enthusiastically agreed! I'm so happy that she was confident handing over the reigns, that she has faith in my capabilities and (hopefully) has been pleased with my performance so far =)

I showed up at work this morning stressed about money, hours, career, you name it....... I left work today with 40 hours a week, the confidence of my supervisor, congratulations from my coworkers, and finally a chance to really prove that I have what it takes and feel some ownership of the Orientation program at IIT. I know people always say things work out for a reason, and patience can be the best solution..... and today it proved to be true! Now, I can't wait to get to work Monday morning and really get started.....

a wonderful weekend

So I realize that I will have to really work to hold myself accountable to posting here, but that's my plan. I know that chronicling this pivotal time in my life, when so many decisions are being made and paths being forged, this reflection will be a huge help as I start figuring out the future.

This weekend was really great. Mark hasn't had a day off since he started his job, and we really had fun together. His roommate from Cincy, Aaron, and his girlfriend, Megan, drove over from Cleveland Friday afternoon. It was fun to be able to show them some of our favorite places in Chicago, as well as try out new ones!

Friday we had dinner at Matisse on Diversey near my old studio apartment (delicious!). Then headed south to The Other Side bar on Clark St. to meet up with Russ (Mark's coworker) and his friend Dave from NYC. After a few more beers at Russ's apt, we headed home for an "early" night.

Saturday, Megan and I cooked biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, and COFFEE, then headed to the beach to meet some friends for volleyball. North Ave beach on a holiday weekend = SPRING BREAK! The beach was absolutely packed, and the middle of the beach looked like PCB or Cancun.... =) Mark and I aren't volleyball fans, but we enjoyed a refreshing drink at the bar while we people watched (and there was NO shortage of people to watch). A few hours out in the sun and we were exhausted and hungry. We headed home with plans to return to the Sheffield/Belmont music festival, but a little too much sun did us all in and we spent the afternoon napping, snacking, and enjoying aloe and the AC. Saturday night Aaron and Megan treated us to a magnificent dinner at Roy's- a Hawaiian fusion seafood restaurant just a few blocks south on State St. We were all feeling the sunburns from the beach by the end of dinner, so we called it a night and watched "Away We Go" (very cute movie!!!!).

Sunday, Aaron's plan was to go to the Cubs game, no matter what. We stopped by Red Ivy in the heart of Wrigleyville, and met up with Russ and Dave before the game. Mark and I decided to finally wander over to the street festival and stop by our favorite bar, Sheffields, instead of going to the game. The rest of the crew met us there after the game (Cubs lost....) and we headed back to Russ's for dinner. Mark was a grilling master (as usual) and fixed burgers, brats, and chicken with peppers and onions- DELICIOUS! We were all pretty wiped out, so made it another early night after stopping by The Other Side one last time.

Monday morning, Mark and I took our guests to Eggsperience for brunch (another wonderful meal) before they hit the road back to Ohio. We spent the day being lazy, watched "Up" (another cute movie!), caught up on a few TV shows, and I made Chicken Parmesan for dinner.

All in all- it was a weekend filled with good friends, an amazing city, and delicious food! Happy Memorial Day!