BUMegan's Blog : St. Louis

travel season has begun!

BUMegan — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 01:59:00 GMT

I'm sitting at my parents house, listening to them talk to my uncle about growing tomatoes. HA!

Life (outside of this boring conversation! hehe) is going pretty well. I'm in my fourth travel season, which kinda blows my mind. I've been up in Chicago for a little over a month and have been LOVING my life so far. My travel started last week in St. Louis, so I've been with my parents for the past week and a half. It's been nice to hang out, eat great food and NOT stay in a hotel. And now, with my job changing to a regional rep, I won't have that same level of hotel burnout I usually experience around week five. ;)

I have to admit (as I'm sure I've mentioned previously) that one of my favorite parts of my job is travel. I LOVE getting to meet students, work with guidance counselors and talk about Butler. Although I'm a little under the weather, I've really enjoyed my visits so far-my schedule is much more complicated than years previous, but it seems to be working out ok. I'm actually REALLY excited to start my travel in Chicago, as I'm hoping that my students will appreciate my new position! My hope is to become a very accessible resource for students and their families-so many schools were able to offer that to their students before, and now Butler can be included in that list. :)

The one thing to get used to-is working from home! I didn't know if I could ever get used to it. Slowly but surely, I'm adjusting. I LOVE not having a commute, and I think I've set up a pretty nice home office. The rest of my apartment is coming along slowly, but it's cool to have my own place and to decorate how I like. Hopefully everything will be in place soon, and I can finally and fully be settled.

Applications have been slowly but steadily coming through the office, and I've been getting some questions from students about the process. Please keep the questions coming! If you need anything at any point, please don't hesitate to let myself or any other counselor know. That's our job! :)

Good luck with everything and bring on the fall!

and so starts a crazy month....

BUMegan — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 15:18:00 GMT

2009 started SO much better than 2008, and for that, I am VERY glad. I am not a fan of New Years eve, as I think people make a really big deal about it, and everything is WAYYYY overpriced. Kinda like this other holiday in February that I'm also not fond of...HA! Anyway, I hung out with a friend who also doesn't like to celebrate and the best part of the night was that we missed the ball drop. We were talking about something, and realized three minutes after the fact that it was 2009. I loved it!! :)

Work started back for me last Monday, but I actually made the trip to St. Louis instead. We had an event for all admitted students at the Renaissance Hotel by the airport and it went SO AMAZINGLY WELL. Everyone seemed really excited about Butler and asked a ton of great questions. I was VERY excited, because I'm from St. Louis and I really want to see it succeed as a strong recruiting area for Butler. Thankfully no one seemed to REALLY mind the heat....being that the room we were in felt like a sauna. I know I was red-cheeked and I was trying REALLY hard not to think about how hot it was. They had turned on the heat and must have turned it to like 80. crazy. Other than that, everything went amazingly well and I was very happy!

We had our next event for admitted students on the 8th, this time at a basketball game here on campus. Again, the event went really well AND we beat Wright State! We have two more events like that coming up, on the 22nd and the 24th. I hope anyone who can go, will make the trip down to campus. Both of the upcoming games should be pretty good...soo....

Butler (as I'm sure many of you read in other blogs) had it's recruitment last weekend. I was very excited to go back to my house and help the current members out with recruitment and the last evening, which is usually when alumni can help. I had a blast, and the girls that are in the house now are amazing! They were very excited about their new members, which made me happy for them. I LOVE getting to go and help them-being in a sorority was one of my best experiences here, and I'm glad I can give back:)

So far these past couple of weeks have been crazy. We have another application deadline today, the 15th, and I've been making a lot of phone calls to students. It's also the start of planning spring travel, which seems crazy to think about when the weather is as crazy as it is, at -1 degrees!!!! Hopefully everyone is staying warm, wherever you are!!

Well that's all...back to reading files. If anyone has questions, please let me know! :)

is it really my third travel season?!

BUMegan — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 22:11:00 GMT

So, I really can't believe this is my third travel season...I'm sitting in my hotel room, thinking about how just how much has changed from my first travel season to my third. I'm currently in Chicago, and have done about a week of travel. I love it here (well, minus the traffic and construction...but what are you going to do?!) and have been really pleased with how my college fairs and visits to high schools have been going.

I spent two weeks in St. Louis, and had a GREAT time. I got to stay with my parents, who are now empty nesters! It was a good two weeks, but it went by VERY quickly. The fairs, visits and everything was awesome. I already know the area, but I feel like I have a better handle on everything than I did last year!

My first week in Chicago also went well. I had three fairs and was able to see all the people I travel with/hang out with-it was SO, SO, SO good to see everyone! Its funny how close you get to people you only see three months out of the year, but yet I love all these people like we all went to school together or something. Chicago is such an interesting territory to have because everyone is up here so long, you can't help but become good friends with other college reps. I'm just lucky I've met some AMAZING reps. I love travel, and love spending time up here. Chicago is definitely one of my favorite cities. It also helps that one of my best friends lives up here, and I get to see her this week!!!!!! (Can you tell I've had an overabundance of coffee?? That's what happens when you travel a lot...at least for me;)

This week is a little quieter than last, but I'm actually up here for two weeks straight. I have a fair on Saturday, so I'll just stay here over the weekend. Any suggestions as to what I could do?? Please feel free to leave me a message:)

Its good to see our new bloggers up and running-I'm very impressed with the group that Brad put together. I've been reading some of their stuff, and it's exciting to see, especially as an alumna of Butler. Keep up the good work! (It's also good to get to read Jerry's blog. I miss him AND ALL of the other counselors:)

I know I said this last fall, but if any current applicants have questions-PLEASE don't hesitate to let me know. I'd be more than happy to answer your questions!

Finally-since it's surprisingly colder up here than when I left, a quote about my favorite season:

I've never known anyone yet who doesn't suffer a certain restlessness when autumn rolls around... We're all eight years old again and anything is possible.
-- Sue Grafton

Bittersweet October. The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter.
-- Carol Bishop Hipps

on the road again...

BUMegan — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:26:00 GMT

I haven't been so good at updating this thing...my once a week rule has turned into once every two weeks...at most...WHOOPS....

I do have a good excuse though...this time;) I am planning travel again! I honestly can't believe I am going into my THIRD travel season. It seems so crazy that I've been doing this for over two years. I'm VERY excited though, because I finally have a good handle on my suburbs in Chicago, and obviously love getting to go home to St. Louis for two weeks. I'm a very lucky girl when it comes to travel territories. It will be good to see all the other counselor friends I've made in the St. Louis/Chicago areas. I just can't believe it starts next week! I'll be going home on Saturday for two weeks, with fairs and visits to a lot of great schools. After that, its up to Chicago for 5 weeks. I'll be sure to keep you posted of ALL my travel adventures. :)

I feel like a lot has happened since I last posted. I turned 25 (gulp) and actually had a REALLY amazing birthday. My sister and I didn't do a lot for it, but it was a great birthday, one of the best I've had. ;) We also, last weekend, moved my little sister Caitlin to Butler. It was VERY surreal, to walk around Schwitzer and get everything from the van unloaded and moved in. It made me feel old! She seems to be doing ok, and for that I'm grateful. I definitely had a period of transition here, which I wasn't prepared for experiencing. I was homesick, and not truly comfortable until October. I wish someone could warn students moving to college that it's like for a lot of people. It would have been nice to know I wasn't the only one. (which I definitely wasn't!!!!) However, Cait is very adaptable and hopefully is enjoying herself. I love it here, and I only hope the same for her. :) All three of us have been teasing my parents, however, about their new "empty nesters" status. I was honestly more worried about them! Thankfully, they seem to be doing ok, and keeping busy. They both seem really excited about me staying with them for two weeks, and I must admit, it'll be nice to be a "temporary" only child. HA!

I think the thing I am most excited for during my trip to St. Louis is getting a new computer. Unfortunately, the laptop I've had since sophomore year of college died. Because Butler offers discount programs through Apple and Dell, I've decided to get a MacBook. I've never owned an Apple computer before, but have used them throughout school. Obviously, I'm expecting a period of transition to understand everything, but I'm really excited. I've always wanted to get one, and I finally am. Dad and I are going sometime during the two-week period I'm in town, so I'll FINALLY have a computer at home again. It's been rough...and shows me just how dependent I am on it!

Other than that, life has been pretty amazing as a 25 year-old. I had a great weekend with my sisters and friends, and it was a perfect way to culminate the end of summer and end of my normal life for the year. ;) APPARENTLY, BUJerry has decided he wants his blog to be read more than mine, which I think is hilarious, being that I don't REALLY know who reads this to begin with. I definitely appreciate anyone who does, and it makes me happy to know that someone could be enjoying the blog entries I come up with and write. HAHAHA Anyway, good luck to BUJerry on his quest. I would say I hope it works, but I like people reading MY blog....so read both?! HA!

Like always, if you have questions, let me know. I'd be happy to help!!

summer breeze...makes me feel fine....

BUMegan — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 18:00:00 GMT

I am MUCH better at keeping up with this thing during the school year. I'm blaming it on the nice weather in Indy (FINALLY!) and wanting to be outside all the time! I just hope that's a good enough excuse;)

Life has been crazy hectic, but good. My main responsibility as of late has been to get out the June e-newsletter, which I hope everyone who received it liked it! Incoming freshmen students-if there are things you like (or don't like) about it, please let me know! My email address is morourke@butler.edu. I am definitely looking for suggestions for the upcoming months, and even beyond that. I would very much appreciate the suggestions:)

My sister Erin and I just got back from St. Louis, where we spent the weekend with my family for Caitlin's graduation party. It was a great weekend-super busy and crazy, but it was good to see family and friends AND meet some of Caitlin's friends. The party was all day Saturday, and I think our whole family spent ALL day Sunday recuperating. Erin, Dad and I watched The Departed, which is a GREAT movie. Pretty violent and really long, but overall a very good movie. I also got to see a good friend perform at The Muny, an outdoor theater in St. Louis. He was one of the leads in High School Musical, and he was AWESOME. He played Ryan (for those who know!) and he seriously did SUCH a great job. :) I'm so proud of him!!

Erin and I also tried a new sushi restaurant (well, the restaurant isn't new, but we've never tried it before:) It's called Wasabi on 82nd, and it was SO good. I love getting to try new restaurants (non-chains, for all of you who might not know yet!! :) and finding new sushi restaurants is especially a big deal. We finally have another place to go!

Work has been really good, if not a little quiet as of late. We've had some visitors to campus, and I've been working a lot with the Alumni Office on some projects. It's good, because as an alumna of Butler, I have a vested interest in what happens here. I love this place and I love being able to give back in SOME way here. The nice thing about the summertime is that we all have projects or charges we are given (the counselors, I mean) and we have time in these months to get a lot of stuff done in regards to whatever our project is. My two major projects are working with the Alumni Office and working on the admitted student newsletter. (hence why the feedback is so important:)

This week will be busy-I've been house sitting for two weeks, but they'll be back this weekend. My sister and I are also going to Chicago for the weekend for a wedding-two of our friends from Butler are getting married in Naperville! I'm so excited, because we'll get to see them and a bunch of friends that I haven't seen in awhile. Tonight is dinner with my good friend Jamie, and hopefully we'll be trying a new place. I'll keep you posted!

Finally-I am SO excited to visit the IMA (Indianapolis Museum of Art) this summer, because the owner of the Colts has given them a chance to put something on display-Jack Kerouac's manuscript of "On the Road." It's handwritten, on ONE sheet of paper. I really can not wait to go see it. I love this city and what it has to offer. Its one of my favorite things about Indy-how much there is to do here, and how much I still have left to discover. I'll keep you posted!

Hope everyone is enjoying their summers! I know I am-have a great Fourth of July weekend everyone!

road trips, weddings and black dresses:) It's the start of summer!

BUMegan — Wed, 21 May 2008 13:59:00 GMT

We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments. But great moments often catch us unaware-- beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one. --unknown

I don't know where I saw that quote, but I decided it's a quote kind of day and thought it would be good to start my blog entry!! :) Life has been really good lately.I finally feel like I've gotten caught up, have regained my life in Indy. It's weird, because I spend so much time in Chicago and now St. Louis that it takes me SO long to get everything under control and get my life back together. That's definitely what this past week has been for me, and I'm sure I'll use the weekend for that as well. Being productive is a REALLY good feeling. :)

This past weekend was really, really good. A good friend from home, Mary, got married on Friday night in St. Louis. She looked SO BEAUTIFUL and the wedding location was just amazing. They had their wedding and reception at the Coronado Ballroom which is just such a pretty place for any kind of event. I had been shopping ALL day to try and find a dress. It took FOREVER! I just really needed a black dress and those apparently aren't as easy to find as I thought! I did, however, find one at Macy's, which will serve as the dress I wear to the rest of the weddings I'm going to this summer. :) After the wedding, Erin and I met up with some friends at Llewellyn's Pub, which is an awesome little pub and restaurant just down the street from the Coronado Ballroom. My parents got back that Saturday from a trip to Las Vegas and I spent the rest of the weekend with them and my little sister Caitlin. All in all, it was an AMAZING weekend!!

A shoutout to the little sister who graduated last Monday. Her graduation was at the Blanche Touhill Center in St. Louis. It's an absolutely gorgeous venue and was perfect for Caitlin's graduating class. Congrats to her, and to all of our 2008 graduates!

Tomorrow is our staff retreat and I'm really excited about what we get to do. Our staff is going to the Speedway and hanging out for the day there. We have a suite, which should be pretty cool-I've only been to the Speedway once before, so I'm hoping tomorrow is fun!

Other than that-we have an Early Registration on Friday, which I finally get to go to-I've only been in town for one other Early Reg, and I hate missing them and not getting to see my students. Friday's weather looks promising, so I hope the nice weather and sunshine stick around for at least the rest of the week. ;)

One final thing-please let Brad or me know if you like the updates of what the Blogger's are doing on our main page. (go.butler.edu/cs) It's a new thing Brad's been trying and testing out through Twitter, and he wants to see if people like that. So let me know!

That's it for now-hope everyone is well. Good luck with the rest of school, finals etc. Here's to a great summer 2008:)

The sun'll come out...tomorrow....(is it spring yet?!)

BUMegan — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 15:12:00 GMT

A little sleepy today....It's gray and overcast and definitely a GREAT day for a nap. Its just TOO bad that I can't take one!

So how much did you love the weather yesterday?! I was in St. Louis yesterday, and it was absolutely BEAUTIFUL there. Sunny and warm, it reminded me of how much I love spring, and how I can't wait for warmer weather! The trip to St. Louis was definitely an abbreviated one, as I had to work on Saturday giving presentations and talking to families. Each Admission Counselor works two Saturdays a semester, and this was one of mine. Erin and I got home and hung out with my parents before eating an amazing homecooked meal (can't beat mom's cooking!!!) and heading to Incarnate (my alma mater!) to see Caitlin in Annie. She was one of the main orphans, the one that says "Oh my goodness!" if anyone is familiar. She was BRILLIANT. She also had a tap solo, which was really cool to see. I always forget just HOW talented my little sister is, and she so proved (AGAIN!) that she can hold her own on stage. The show was a little long, but I really, really liked it. Incarnate has definitely stepped up their shows in the past few years and it's obviously worked, as this year they sold out!!

I got to do a little bit of travel in the end of February and went with Tara to a college fair in Chicago. It was SO, SO good to see Troy, Mike, Justin, Dan and Jae. It definitely got me itching for spring travel, which starts next week. The fair was at St. Ignatius, which is an absolutely beautiful school in downtown Chicago over by UIC. Tara and I got there kinda early, so we just hung out and walked around before an amazing dinner and a pretty busy fair. Can't wait for the rest of my travel, which is partially in March and a lot of April. It's nice because I get to meet so many of the students I'll be working with in the fall!

Last week, the Alumni Office hosted a Young Alumni event before the basketball game against Wright State. SO FUN! They had food and drinks and I got to catch up with some friends I hadn't seen in awhile and had a really good conversation with Tyler.(twice!!) The game was awesome, and it was good to see us beat Wright State in one of the last games of the season. Erin and I stayed to watch the seniors cut down the nets, and heard the announcement of home court advantage and a first-round bye. Definitely a great game to have attended, and I am very excited to see what will happen for the team in these coming weeks!

Other than that, this week promises to be pretty quiet. We've been getting a lot of random questions in the forums about housing, meal plans and the like. If you need ANYTHING or have other questions, please let me know. Hope everyone has a good week!!

Thanksgiving break...I wanna go back!

BUMegan — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 14:48:00 GMT

The Monday after a break is always rough. For some reason, today is ESPECIALLY rough for me. Not sure why, but I am super tired today. Erin and I drove back to Indy yesterday after a wonderful break at home. We were home from Wednesday until Sunday, and the break was MUCH needed.

Wednesday was dinner with the family and going out with friends from home. The group of friends from home has been around a really long time, and we refer to ourselves as the Lifers. I got to see Amy on Wednesday night, as we went out to celebrate being home and Thanksgiving. Thursday was family all day, and it was nice to get to see Mom's side of the family. Thankfully, we host dinner and it's really nice not to have to worry about going anywhere. Friday was a night out-we went to an Irish pub in St. Louis called McGurk's (I know...I know...I can't help it!!) and met up with a bunch of friends from home. It was really, really good to see all of them, especially Ryan, Brian and Peter. I'm grateful they made it out to visit, because I hadn't seen any of them in quite awhile. Overall, it was a really good night. I got to see most of the Lifers, and there was a band on Friday that played for awhile-love Irish music! (Justin, Amy, Ryan, Brian, Erica, Peter, Julie and Lis-Friday night was amazing. Thanks:)

Friday morning was also shopping for my dad and me. The TV at our apartment in Indy no longer works, so Dad and I braved the ridiculous amount of people Friday to find a good deal on a TV. I have to give props to Dad, because he's the one who ended up finding the one we ended up buying. It's AMAZING. I'll be sure to post pictures of it later. When we got home, the family ate breakfast and the girls went shopping for the afternoon. All in all-Friday was my favorite day of break.

Saturday was a lazy day, which I definitely wanted (and probably needed!!). Caitlin, my little sister (the baby of the family) is a really, REALLY big fan of Christmas and all that it entails. She decided that the family should decorate for Christmas after she got back from work on Saturday. Now, according to my mom, because it was her last Christmas before college, we should acquiesce with her wishes and put up the tree and decorate. So, a majority of Saturday was spent in the living room, putting the tree up (yep, we have a fake one) and decorating the entire house. That night, Erin, Caitlin and I went to go see a movie together. Erin REALLY wanted to see Enchanted, and Caitlin had said that or Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, so we decided on Enchanted. It is a really, really cute movie, for anyone interested. Very much a girl movie, and very sweet and romantic, but funny too and overall a movie I really enjoyed. Go see it!!

Overall, it was really good to be home. My family is very close, and I really love getting to spend time with them. (We generally have a really good time together, soo...) Now it's back to reading applications and concentrating on work. I think that after such a good weekend, though, it shouldn't be too bad of week. I hope anyone reading enjoyed their break as much as I did, and that you are refreshed for the rest of the semester.

To end-I just want to say how thankful I am for my family and friends and people I work with. The holidays, if nothing else, show me how lucky I truly am, and how blessed I am to have such wonderful people in my life. So thanks to all of you ;)

closer I am to fine....

BUMegan — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

October 25, 2007.....8 days left of my fall travel season. At this point, sitting at my parent's house in St. Louis I am READY to be done. It seems like I've lived six lives since I wrote last, and I'm not sure as to what I can specifically attribute that to...regardless life has been very, very good. I'm very happy (if sleep deprived!!) with how life has been going these past few weeks. Life is at a good point right now. :)

I am finishing up a week in St. Louis and will be heading back to Indy on Saturday. I took my first trip to Evansville for our reception, which seemed to go pretty well. We had about 40-50 people (students and families) come to The Jungle, a coffee shop/restaurant in downtown Evansville. Hopefully the students that attended had a good time-I think it was pretty informative and I'm glad I got to go and see all that downtown Evansville has to offer! (Right Aaron and Stephanie?!) Quick shout out to the students I took in the van with me-Ashley, Nate, Lissa and Andrea-you all rock! Nate, thanks for the CDs on the way home...I definitely needed them!

My last three fairs went really well-the Chicago fair at the Navy Pier (yes, I definitely make a penny after stopping to get coffee. It's awesome ;) was busy almost the entire time, the St. Louis fair at SLU was very good as was the fair the next night at St. Louis Community College-Meramec. I was pretty ready though, on Monday night, to be finished. Some counselors and I went out to Bar Louie for a bite to eat and a drink after the fair, to celebrate. That was a nice feeling!

To any Blues Brothers fans-I FINALLY saw the movie last week for the first time. I figured since I travel to Chicago so much, I might as well see a movie that's filmed in the Windy City. I must say it's a great movie-VERY funny, and I really like the music too. I finally feel like a real life/almost resident of Chicago....as much as I can be!

Gavin Wally (The Garmin GPS) is working out REALLY well. It's probably one of the best purchases I've made in a really long time. I keep finding new things I can use it for and it is definitely convenient to have in Chicago.

That's about all that I have...except for one last thing. The students I met with Evanston deserve props for the most entertaining visit this fall. They were funny, outgoing, asked a lot of questions and were just really awesome in general. So if any of you are reading this, thanks for keeping me entertained and loving my job!

Hope everyone has a good weekend--HOPEFULLY it's not raining (as I feel like it's been a constant barrage of bad weather recently) and we get some sun. You can't beat Butler during the fall, so I hope I can get back to campus before it's too late and I miss my favorite season!

Please let me know if you have questions-more than happy to help, especially at this time of year. Catch y'all later!

a Garmin, some sushi and a kia optima-week 2 in the Chi

BUMegan — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 19:39:00 GMT

Week 2 in Chicago...

Is WAY better than last week! I actually was in the office yesterday for our BU101 and it was so, so good to see everyone. The event went really well and people seemed to enjoy it, minus the extremely hot weather. I was able to grab lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, Naked Chopstix (sushi bar, SO GOOD!!) and got one of my favorite rolls, the Maui Roll. If you are ever in Indy and want good sushi (and LIKE sushi!) definitely head there. Also, the most exciting news-I GOT MY GARMIN!!! It's amazing. I am definitely in love with how convenient my life is now up here. I never have to worry about getting lost, it reroutes my directions, tells me what time I'll get there, and speaks with an Australian accent. (You get to choose, and I figure that mine has to be a boy, don't you think?)

Only 2 fairs this week, one for District 211 and one at the Illinois Math and Science Academy. It's just SO nice to have some time off-I can work out, hang out and get some stuff done here at the hotel. My friend Troy and I were talking about how much better travel year 2 is as compared to year 1. Now that I know people up here, traveling with them and hanging out with them makes life so much easier. :) Shout out to all those counselors, especially Troy, Justin, Katie, Brian, Mike, Lamar and everybody else-you all are the best. I'm a lucky girl!!

This past weekend went REALLY fast-we had an SAT test that I had to work, and I went to a college fair in Cincinnati on Sunday afternoon. It was a crazy fair! I definitely wasn't expecting the amount of people, but I was happy with the turnout. Thank you to anyone who stopped by that day-it made my day go so much faster (and much better!)

Same goes for the students I met with last week-I had SO many wonderful visits and met so many awesome students. You all were wonderful to talk to, and is definitely a main reason I enjoy what I do so much. To my students at Barrington and Marian Central Catholic, specifically-you all were AWESOME!!! Thank you for such good and entertaining visits. :)

On a side note- to my friends back home in St. Louis (LIFERS!), I miss you all so much. Glad this email thing seems to work out for us so well. And congrats to Miss Mary, who I hear is now engaged?! Crazy.

Glad to know there are some people that read this, or at least look at it. I brought a camera this time around, so expect some pictures in the near future! Have a good week all, and please let me know if anyone needs anything!!

Travelin woman, yes I am...(gotta love Bob Seger:)

BUMegan — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 01:57:00 GMT

Life has been CRAZY recently! I finished my first week in St. Louis and it was a blast. I got home (Indy home) on Sunday, went to see Klint and Charlie (thanks for dinner, by the way!!), went to bed, went into work until noon and left for Chicago. Thanks to Aaron (Mooney, another admission counselor) (THANKS AARON:) who jinxed me, I drove to Chicago in a PT CRUISER. Yes, I was cruising in style (haha, no pun intended) up to Chicago. I wish I took pictures. Trust me, if you've ever wondered what it feels like to drive a PT Cruiser, or even ride in one, think about driving in a toaster. I feel like that's a pretty accurate description. I was even convinced that my car smelled like bread. (Ok, I could be acting slightly dramatic, but you get the picture, right?) No offense to my PT cruising friends, but I was just not a fan of it. The counselors I met up with in Chicago thought it was HILARIOUS (of course) and are still teasing me about it. Hopefully my next trip up I get an even more entertaining car. I'll keep you posted.

My trip to Chicago went really well. I met up with a good friend from another school, and we ended up going to dinner across the street from Maine East with another good friend and his grandparents. SO CUTE! We are all Admission Counselors, all travel Chicago and we met on the road last fall. It's nice to be able to travel with people you know and have grown close to-life seems a little easier knowing you have those people to see when you return. :) Dinner was at this little place in a strip mall-I love getting to discover new restaurants that way. I never would have thought to stop, but the food was good and I had a really good time catching up with Troy and Brian and getting to meet Brian's grandparents. They were so cute!

The fair at Maine East went well, it was just extremely hot. The gym wasn't air conditioned and I have never felt so gross. Seriously. I felt like a disaster and a half. (I'm really hoping though, that I didn't look it.) Regardless, there were a lot of great kids and families who attended so to those students-thanks for coming by! I love getting to talk with students and families and meet new people. Traveling for Butler is so much fun for me because that's all you are doing. Yes, it does get long and I do get tired, but I overall really enjoy it and have fun with it.

This morning I flew out of Chicago to St. Louis. My flight was at 6:45, so I got to the airport WAYYYY too early this morning. I've been feeling it all day. I am finally home, checking email, eating dinner and hanging out with the family. It's a quiet evening, and I am definitely ok with that!

Question for anyone reading-I am in the market for a GPS. Does anyone have any good recommendations? Just let me know!!

Finally, to CT who reads this :) Good to see you on Monday...hope you are doing well!!

A night off and some cowboys...

BUMegan — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 18:51:00 GMT

Let me just say how much I am loving travel in St. Louis! The students are great, the counselors are great, and living at home is WONDERFUL. It’s been a little weird to be back, and I’ve run into a lot of people I know or whom I know through someone else. Its crazy how many connections can be made simply but growing up in St. Louis! I had a night off last night-YIPPEE NO FAIR!! So I took my dad and we went to the movies. My mom and dad don’t like the same types of movies, but my dad and I do, so it made sense to go see a movie my mom wouldn’t-- 3:10 to Yuma. Now, I’m not a big fan of westerns, and hadn’t really been able to sit through one for as long as I can remember. But this movie is great. I mean truly, I was really impressed. Russell Crowe and Christian Bale have an awesome chemistry together (it seemed as though they really and truly liked each other) and the whole idea of the movie is entertaining. Guys on horseback, lots of gun-slinging and the idea of good vs. bad (no gray area here!) gave me a new found appreciation for Westerns. If you get the chance, go check it out. I will warn you though, it’s a little violent—it does, however, fit in with the plot and makes for a good action movie. And truly, who can resist Christian Bale and Russell Crowe sharing the screen?! Yes, yes I know...typical girl comment... *insert groans here*

Since I am traveling, it seems like a perfect time to mention to any students reading—please come say hi if you are interested in Butler! For students that want more information about Butler, this is the perfect time to visit and come say hi. That’s why we are out on the road for 4-8 weeks during the fall…to give you all information about our school! I promise that we are not mean, or intimidating. (I know that I’m DEFINITELY not!) We want to be able to help in any way we can, so stop by the Butler table or the admission counselor at your school. J That’s my plug for the day, now I’m off to finish emailing some students, dinner and a college fair. Catch y’all on the flip side!

Butler 101

BUMegan — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 23:38:00 GMT

We had our third Butler 101 today, and I have to admit that events are one of my favorite responsibilities as an Admission Counselor. I love our staff, love getting to meet new students and their families and being on campus. The weather today was absolutely GORGEOUS. We were so lucky that the sun was shining bright and it was a perfect fall day. It was a big crowd, probably 400 or so students and families so we held the event in Clowes Hall. A beautiful venue and the staff there is SO nice! Butler is really lucky to have access to Clowes and have the building on campus.

I was glad to have the BU101 for another reason as well-- getting to see our traveling counselors that have been out on the road! This is our travel time, a period of 4-8 weeks starting in mid-September where we are constantly on the road. High school visits, college fairs, receptions-- you name it, we do it all. It’s not the easiest lifestyle, being gone from family and friends, eating out, living in a hotel, but we manage and it makes the time getting back in November even sweeter. I start my travel tomorrow, Sunday and head to St. Louis. This is really exciting, as I am from St. Louis and get to stay with my family-- home cooked meals, HERE I COME! Nothing beats mom’s home cooked meals, so a week at home seems like somewhat of a luxury.

On a completely unrelated note—I just saw that Butler won the football game today against St. Joe’s, 11-8. We are 3 and 0!!!! I’m so excited for the team, glad that they’ve been able to accomplish such an awesome start to the beginning of their season. Congrats to them, as they’ve definitely earned it!

Next time you’ll hear from me, I’ll be on the road. Get ready for St. Louis/Chicago adventures ’07…. I know I can’t wait!!