Thursday, May 29, 2008

Hour of Power, Good Will, Patches' Dilemma, and the Lawrence Arms

Next season on November 6th, we are going to take part in the 3rd Annual Ted Mullin Hour of Power Relay. Take a look at the information and note that we will do this as a fundraiser for Sarcoma Cancer Research. This reminds me that we also were going to take part in the Realy For Life- which I put Leah, Marianne, and the PP4 in charge of (Let me know what is going on with that). I know, you have been barraged with things that involve money recently. We will do what we can. I certainly do not want to force the philanthropy on you, I understand without thought, creativity and effort we are limited to going to the same well repeatedly for finances. Thankfully, you are a bright, talented, and creative group of kids who will come up with some good ideas.
That brings me to our friend Patches, who has so much time to be on the computer complaining about finances, that he could have another job or two! Just kidding Pat, but seriously...get another job.
I leave you with this line from the Lawrence Arms which is resonating with me, if you don't get it now, someday you probably will.
There's a park in this city where I used to go,
but now it's covered with fences and cops and lightposts.
And I'd never go back if anything was the same,
but it kills me to know that it's changed.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

My weekend in Tucson, Arizona

I have done quite a bit of traveling, up and down, across and around this country. Although, I have been through Tucson before, this past weekend was the first time I have spent a few days there. Tucson is really cool (and really hot). I spent the weekend there for the College Swimming Coaches conference.
As far as swimming goes, I picked up some things we will definitely be using in the future, and I am excited for that.
Outside of the conference, I managed to pack a lot of things into the few days I was there.
Thursday night I drove through the desert mountains on Gates Pass road which is a nice scenic drive. From there I saw stadium lights, so I drove toward them, and ended up at an Arizona-Arizona State baseball game, which was a lot of fun.
Friday I spent some time looking around Tucson, it is nice- no tall buildings, no big lights, very friendly, and it has a much laid back feel to it. I also went to the Tucson Museum of Art, being an Art major, I of course enjoyed that.
Saturday was a little dicey. I decided to go hiking in Rabino Canyon. It was absolutely beautiful, but what I meant to be a short, hour or two hike, turned into a five hour adventure. I saw plenty of lizards, snakes, and great views (no mountain lions though- when I got to the park, they gave a sheet of paper warning of mountain lion attacks and how to protect yourself if being attacked- that was a little scary). To make a long story short; do not go hiking by yourself; when you are in the middle of the Arizona desert- make sure you have plenty of water; and if you have a map- it is probably a good idea to look at it once in a while. Anyway, my legs and feet have never hurt so much in my life, it still hurts to walk, but I survived.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Oswego is beautiful...

At times, it is hard to appreciate what is simple and right in front of you, when you spend all your time thinking about the complexities of where you've been and the unknown of where you will end up.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

OSS&D on that Facebook thing

We have created a Facebook page for Oswego State Swimming and Diving. Check it out; be friends with us...you know you want to.
My first year here is just about over. I survived. You all survived. I enjoyed it; I guess that makes it a good first year. Thanks!
I get to be an usher Saturday at graduation (both of them). That will be the first college graduation I have been to, and I graduated from here, and my brother graduated from here. I missed my grad school graduation also. Where was I? Coaching at club swim meets...of course. I will be honest, I loved coaching club, but I am not going to miss getting up at 4:30 every morning this summer for practice. You, on the other hand, should. It is good for you.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

130 days to first practice of 2008-2009 season

That is really just an estimate since I have not set an exact date for our first practice yet. But it is never too early to start getting in shape for next season. We are going to need everyone to commit to improving themselves this off season. I hope we are all on the same page with our expectations, hopes and goals for Oswego State Swimming in the future.
Congratulations to our 7 seniors. We are of course going to miss you all greatly and we are thankful for your years of commitment to the Laker swimming and diving program. Good luck as you continue on with your education or as you jump into the "real" world.
As many of you know, we have a fairly large class of first year athletes joining us next year (last count- 14 women and 13 men). I am looking forward to next season and to seeing what this class will bring to our program and to how our current team will improve.
This is my first post, and as I figure this all out, there will hopefully be more to come...
I hope everyone will keep in touch and stay safe this summer. Enjoy!