the beginning

So as some of you may know, I'm leaving for London in a week.  My phone will technically work while I'm over there, but it's extremely expensive, so I won't be using it.  I still wanted a way to keep in touch with people from here and share some of my experiences while over there (besides Facebook).  Also, I've been thinking for awhile that something like a blog could actually be a fun and relaxing activity, so what a better time than now to give it a try?  There will be lots of great things to talk about in the coming weeks, as if there aren't already a lot of things to talk about now.  

Recent updates:

--Thursday, June 4th, I officially became a member of a fraternity.  The Alpha Kappa Psi Professional Business Fraternity, Kappa Chapter, to be exact.  Who saw this one coming?  I sure didn't.  It's non-housed, and co-ed, and is a professional fraternity, vs a social fraternity, of which the majority of greek life are on college campuses.  That makes us sound snooty, yet it is nothing but a technical distinction in their official title's.  I was elected early in the pledge process to be the President of our pledge class, which was both a great honor and experience.  The entire process was quite the experience, and completely different than any expectations I orignally had for it.  I'd love to tell you more about it sometime.

--Thursday, June 4th (earlier in the day), I was crowned the TTh 2:00-2:50 UOregon Tennis 1 Men's Class Tournament Champion, and received the gold medal award of TWO unopened cans of new tennis balls.  I learned a lot about tennis in this class and hope to play a lot over the summer--its a sport I see myself really getting in to.  Not to mention its a lot of fun, a challenge, a great workout, and the best conditions are out in the sun.  If you play or want to play, let's play this summer!

--A couple of weeks ago, I filled out and submitted the first part of the application to become a TOMS Shoes Vagabond for Fall 2009.  This may not mean much to you right now, but it will shortly.  TOMS Shoes is a young company founded upon a revolutionary prinicple known as one-to-one.  This one-to-one business concept is being used by TOMS in such that for every pair of shoes they sell, they give a pair to a child in need.  Most of the 150,000 shoes they have given so far have gone to South America, Ethiopia, and recently, Haiti, with estimates of 300,000 new pairs given away in 2009 alone.  Being a "Vagabond" is essentially a type of internship, where you are on a small team and plan out an eight-week road trip to a region of the country and visit high schools and colleges in the area, spreading the word.  Sounds like a ton of fun to me, and could definitely be a worthwhile break from school.  I first heard about TOMS from a friend who interned at their headquarters last fall and had an amazing time.  This company sounds like a real winner and I would love the challenge and opportunity to work with them.  The second part of the application involves making a 5-minute video of oneself, answering a few questions they have, and showing them a little bit more of who you are.  I'm excited to start working on it at the end of this week before I leave for London.

Here's a picture of some TOMS Shoes:  

Well I've probably taken enough of your time for now.  So far, day 1, this blog has been fun.

AT out.