AIESEC Madison 2008 Spring Retreat

An info session tonight in a room packed full of new faces and full of awesome stories made my heart fill my chest and put a smile on my face. Getting on the same page with people, and remembering all the love-has made tonight very refreshing. Together, I know we'll get there- baby steps.

For all you Madison @ers at heart- take a look at what you've created.

Shout out to Jeff for capturing the weekend on film...

Idea #1 (i'll show you mine, if you show me yours)

It's not mine, but she's got an idea.

Problem -GMM

Round Robin Style- There would be say 6 (how ever many gmms) faci pairs that pick one session, that they want to do for running a sweet ass GMM. They design it, grow it, storke it, and make it their baby. These 6 faci pairs go off into different rooms into Grainger. The membership then does it round robin style. Let me explain, Say if i were in group DREAM TEAM and went to (names irrelevant) Molly and Summer's Session on communication and active listening (session name irrelavnt). The next week the DREAM TEAM would move down the hall to another awesomely prepared gmm created by another faci pair, maybe two people who just got back from traineships. Molly and Summer would be running their same session week #2 to another group of people, lets say the CHANGE AGENTS (i'm cheesy) at the same time that the DREAM TEAM is in a session called THE TRAINEESHIP POWER HOUR. Molly and Summer would get some awesome experience of perfecting an awesomely run session and would be ready to bring that awesome ass session to Roks and National conferences around the f'n nation. Members would be experiencing 6 weeks of well thought and really prepared and practiced useful sessions and meeting and connecting with that same group of people all through out the semester. While faci's are getting some great skills in planing, running, and delivering sessions (not to mention tons of other beautiful things that come along with that).WE could get creative how we design those groups, mixing up and combining all parts of the LC to see some awesome dynamic.

Someone show me another idea, Now.

deep breaths

Like a beacon of light while surrounded by darkness, the big blue hookah sits in my room with a pile of other treasures.

Learning and Growing

This is the coolest thing I've seen nomadlife do thus far- and I couldn't be happier. Everyone's feelings and ideas couldn't be stronger and one post led to reactions, which led to posts, which led to more comments, which led to more posts. It was and is a thing of beauty :)

If you're anything like me, you haven't gotten jack shit of homework done since sometime last week and these sudden explosion of blogs has made it hard for you to not check nomadlife every ten minutes. Your sleep has been compromised because you simply can't stop thinking, your meetings are going hours after scheduled end times, and your 'study dates' have resulted no progression of the pile of reading staring you down every time you look at a syllabus becuase you simply cant' stop talking about what we are on the verge of.

I got an email this morning from my friend Kathrin, whos not an aiesecer, and who spent time reading the posts and the comments- and was pretty intrigued by everything and gave a lot of awesome feedback from an outside perspective. She used @ correctly and LC means Local Community kathrin :) My favorite part reminded me of some comment somewhere saying something like, it may take a long time to perfect a good idea, but once it is perfected it can be repeated rather quickly. Her take on it was "What to do when support and the want for active participation in @ grows?? See: Madison

It makes me smile to see people, in the LC and out, interested in seeing us succeed.

A lot of big things are on the horizon and I feel great to be here on the front line, even if here means its -35 out today and my face feels like its being cut in half by the wind.

My thoughts will continue to be expressed... but maybe on smaller scales at the moment... but i'm looking forward to the real life conversations where we can start covering some ground by staying focused on one issue at a time.

Can we innovate where it counts?

Another successfully run, LC retreat has come to an end- and some interesting things went down and many of the mixed feelings I had after the first GMM of the semester have faded when I saw what our LC has morphed into. There was high energy, engaged members (especially new members), and a lot of people were taking ownership in sessions that were lasting...mm i think one hit 5 hours? I was especially impressed with the, what i thought to be, high level of critical thinking by members in matters that i know i wasn't able to speak knowledgeably about after only one semester in aiesec. I think this is a testament to how our LC has considerably increased the integration of newer members in the past 3 years with regards to both decision making of the LC and with simply the thought of our structure and strategies.

With this, I was also extremely surprised to be faced with what i felt to be a divided LC on our future vision on what we are actually working for our LC to look like. I left the group in May thinking we all were ready to tackle a major goal of committing to growth, sustainable healthy growth, of the size of our membership while maintaining and ensuring the quality of the experience and our members. To me, a proposal of recruiting a number that would lead to an actually shrinking of the LC- a shared proposal by more than one at the retreat- seems to be two steps in the wrong direction, and gives very mixed messages to newer members on how we actually plan on carrying out our mission.

Member integration seemed to be the deciding factor for many people on why we can't increase the number of people we are bringing in. With only 4 our of 55 new members dropping out last semester, and the fact that the remainder of our new recruits were in this room having strategy conversations one semester later, shows an integration and vested interest of members in the LC. Also, with almost the entire room willing and wanting to be a buddy next semester- to me it seems that our LC is sitting at an awesome and exciting place right now ready and able to move forward- not backward, and not stand still to wait for something to happen in the future.

So what is holding people back? The discussion then moved to the lack of 'work' for members to do and the functionality (or lack there of) of the LC :The higher the number, the less work for people to do and the ability of the LC to function decreases. To me, this should not be seen as a problem, but rather the exciting part~ an LC of 85 strong and motivated members to figure out how we can arrange our organization to function with 125, 150, 175, 200+ people. To a group that prides itself on innovation, I would think this (awesome) problem would be taken on as the next challenge we should come together and overcome and power through together.

We preach to our peers to break down barriers and comfort zones and to experience things you never thought you could handle before. We go to countries and live in places that most of our friends and family think we are crazy for doing, but when it comes to the home front, I'm very disappointed to see this powerful message has become only words. If we do not push ourselves to imagine ourselves as an organization making strides forward at all times- what are we doing? I don't think we can pride ourselves as being innovative and actually wanting to work towards our mission if we close ourselves into a box of thought to imagine AIESEC in only the way you have come to love it. We can keep what we love and also move forward towards the overall Dream- If only we come together and be willing to figure out how to tangibly Do It.

6th semester and left brats early

familiar faces were scarce and it was the strangest thing I've experienced since being back. I felt off and out of place and didn't know who to talk to or what about.

The battle of the first day of class eve.

4am

sara: [wakes up] man. Its warm in here.

katy: [wakes up] yeah.

silence

SNAP.

katy: [ half in her head, half outloud] We got one.

sara: [half asleep]...huuh...?......

katy: nothing.



Morning body count, 3 dead mice.


we won the battle, the war wages on...

kyle the hitman

As the screams and shrieks ran through the house, kyle rolled up his sleeves and drop kicked the baby mouse out the back door as it summer-saulted through the air and did a swan dive into the snow.

with 1 mouse down and 15 traps strategically placed, with every creek of walking through our house feels as though a land mine is going to go off.

Ladies and gentlement, we are at mouse war....

of mice and gilman

we called in for reinforcements. Kyle is now here and we have a mad house of mice and screaming people.

The little fucker just ran into beccas room!

There is peanut butter on the floor!!

MAY DAY MAY DAY!

we're not in kansas anymore

Yep, its official. It's weird to be in Madison. I hadn't left the cozy warm apartment since Saturday night when I arrived until I went out in the snow storm today to go to my work meeting. A few things have changed at the desk 1) I now work at Witte which means no Overnights like last year at Ogg 2) Overnight shifts are now paid overtime. Great. Walking down to the meeting I noticed that Pipe fitter has moved, down the block and to the opposite side of the street and that the new Lucky Apartments across from Ogg are now huge and are a dominating presence on Johnson street. When I walked down the street I half expected to know every person I passed, or at least to recognize them. I then remembered that there are over 40,000 people on this campus- not at all like the gated Laguna beach campus holding 2,000 at USFQ which i was getting used to. I didn't see anyone i knew today. Something else felt very different when I was walking past familiar apartments, houses, bars and restaurants. Practically every familiar place didn't seem as familiar anymore. Faces popped into my head of people it seems should be living there or people I'd like to call to come over and hang out or grab coffee or go to Med Cafe or laundry mats i would normally pop my head into to say hi; but those people just aren't here. The Madison I've become comfortable with has changed- or maybe I have. Who knows anymore, really.

jump in bed and cover up your head

It's -6 out with a -25 or so wind chill advisory. My new room is toasty warm. I watched movies and ate soft foods with maren, sara, and becca.

Back in Madison and it feels pretty dang sweet.

...It may be the vicodin.

buck up? i can't...

I thought i'd get my teeth pulled, go home, sleep for like 5 hours then have my mom drive me up to madison and watch movies for a couple of days.

Well i did get my teeth pulled and i've been laying in bed looking at the ceiling for ...mm 5 hours now... in paaain. I was actually counting down the minutes till i could take my next painkiller and actually had to jump the gun on it.

My mom then offered to read out loud to me the dalai lama's views on suffering. i declined.

Madison is being put on hold while i eat ice cream and whimper for a day or two.

getting reacquainted with bucky.

There's not much more to say other than my time lounging around my parents house has come to an end, I'm getting my wisdom teeth yanked in T-2 hours, and I'll be cozy warm in my bed by dinner time on Gilman, in a house i believe once known to a few nomads-and maybe another? Not sure, it was before my time.

my little pony

my mom: Look at my new pony hair purse!
me: (horrified) They kill ponies to make purses?


Although I was half being sarcastic, my mom and I actually stopped and thought about it and tried to find an answer online as to what is 'pony hair'- as they make bags, purses, shoes, hair do-da's all from pony hair.

no cigar.

bueller? bueller?

nice.

I think my 17 year old sister recruited someone for AIESEC Madison for next year.

crazy? or finally sane...

I read a line somewhere recently that said something like, it's only when you go through the realization that your days on earth are numbered that you truly begin to live each day to its fullest. Something along the lines of this has happened to me in the recent past. Basic thoughts that i've know my whole life, such as- no one lives forever... have all of a sudden been put in bold italics and underlined in my head. Things that never seemed important to me, or things that I have thought could wait have suddenly changed on my priority list. I realized I've never seen my 10 year old cousin play basket ball...and his team is amazing, so I've heard. He travels all over and even got to go to Disney world with his team. I don't think i even had a reason for not going. So i went on Saturday and he was amazing. I also see my goddaughter and other cousins only a couple of times a year, and they live in Milwaukee. Needless to say i bought some art projects and took the drive up today and spent the afternoon getting schooled in Wii by a six year old. It was great.

* * *

A few months back, in the middle of a venting rant about a person...I was told, this conversation is not worth taking up yours or my time right now.

And it was simple and true.

The more i think about it, the more that simple concept seems can be applied to so many things- while the opposite can be so true as well.

example:
Me complaining that my sister used up the gas in our car. - Not worth my time to fight about.
Me never seeing my cousins.- TOTALLY worth my time to do something about.


I can't stop reading and my thoughts have never been so weird in my life. Thats all.

Add it to your list- the top half.

I took a day descansa from 100 years of solitude to start and finish The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne.

It's a about a nine year old boy and a fence. It is not for nine year olds.

I recommend it highly... a quick one day (if you have nothing else to do like me) read.

My First Madison New Years

I'll probably grow old with my three best friends, which would be fantastic.

One of my new year plans is to read more. I absolutely love reading, but rarely do it. So its January third and I have #1 of the new year checked off my list. Go me. I read it in one sitting...and I recommend it to anyone and everyone. A Lifetime of Secrets by Frank Warren. Turns out Frank is a pretty clever guy, and blogs. He started the blog as a community art project where people would send in their secrets to him and he would post it. The idea is, that by reading someones secret you'll see apart of yourself in some of them and reflect on them...or the secret might change your view point on something. Well the site was a hit, and now he has multiple editions of his post secret book out.

The Forward will give you chills and possibly put a tear in your eye, and you'll be probably left thinking twice about your relationship with your siblings. The book goes on, arranging secrets by age so you can see common threads in people, how common themes change and/or stick with you as you grow old.

I laughed and cried, and was left in deep thought after a few of them, as some hit me so close to home about things that have been circling in my mind for the past couple of months.

chuchaki.

It was one of those events that you weren't sure what hit you... mirroring times like these that make you laugh and cry a little, for various reasons. I rang in the new year and a best friends 21st all with the same glorious countdown. The only severe slap in the face was when i could not sing to any of the songs being played. All my friends were busting moves and shouting lyrics to songs i've never heard. Solja boy? what?? I felt like i was just woken up from a comma. Oh well, at least I'm awake.

Well anywho, New Years was a two day event, and Brats reminded us on the 1st when we came in decked out in new years (round 2) attire, that new years eve was laaast night.

Thanks.

And of course it wouldn't be an evening of baffalo wings and beer pitchers without running into an aiesecer.

Happy new year all. Happy new year.,