Cory's Blog

            The title does not lie: I had a lot of fun and had a few firsts this weekend up north of the border. Sounds pretty great, eh? (Sorry for the horribly failed Canada joke there) Well, I must be honest; I did not go that far north. When I say I went north of the border, I am just talking about north of the North/South Carolina state line. In any case, my roommates Nick (09’) and Morgan (09), Nick’s girlfriend Melisa (09’) and her roomie Kathryn (09’) packed it up and took it North for a weekend of good times and a big summer party at Nick’s house in Hickory, North Carolina.

            We arrived at Nick’s house late Friday night to the open arms of his mother, father, brother Vince, and new kitten “Trogdor.” Despite the excitement of arriving, the whole crew was quite tired from a week of work, and in Melisa’s case, work on top of intense studying for her upcoming MCAT exam, so it was quick to bed to rest up for a long day Saturday.

            Nick had to spend a few hours working in the pharmacy Saturday morning, but he didn’t miss much as us tired folks slept until 11! At 11 though, it was up and at ‘em and to work for us as Nick’s mother had us moving tables from the nearby neighbors houses, getting out the lawn games, and doing some water balloon prep (more on this later) to get ready for the early evening affair. After some good work, it was off to a quick lunch to recharge for the final afternoon preparations.

            Now, you must understand, this was no small get-to-gether. I am talking about 50 of Nick’s family’s friends and family, with many small children to keep entertained. What did we have in store for everybody? Well, we had good grub (I am talking about some lip smacking barbeque), great games (wiffle ball, Frisbee, beach volleyball, water balloon madness), and, of course, great company.

            Once the majority of the guests arrived, we put the water balloons to good use in a good ol’fashioned water balloon toss. Morgan and I ended up in third, which was a moot point because once the last pair had won, it was all out water balloon war! I personally didn’t see the little tyke that soaked the rear of my shirt, but it was all in great fun and it was a blast!

            As the night wore on, we played some glow in the dark Frisbee and I observed my first firefly ever! The sight of the lit up bug was quite entertaining to me, but not as entertaining as the game of Balderdash that the USC Crew played later that evening (which I just so happened to win). This was also my first game of Balderdash ever! I’ll tell you what; I was having a blast and getting some great “firsts” in too!

            Unfortunately, Sunday came and with our clothes wet from water balloons and bellies full of barbecue, it was time to make the drive back home to USC. However, there was one more first to be had before we arrived back on campus. We had to get a special “North Carolina” treat. I am talking about Cherry-Lemon Sundrop of course! Before heading across state lines, we stopped and Nick and Melisa each grabbed a case, while a twenty ounce bottle did the delicious trick for me.

            Alas, it was back to the workweek, but after a fantastic weekend with great times and even better friends, not to mention a few firsts thrown in there, I was more than ready to tackle any tasks orientation had in store for me this week.

            I hope y’all are having as much fun this summer as I am! Now do me a favor and have fun, get a few “firsts”, and take care!

Posted by Cory at 10:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            It appears as though I have earned myself a new nickname in my first two weeks here at orientation. It started about a week and a half ago when the dining services employees started calling me the “drill sergeant.” Within the last few days however, it has been shortened to “Sarge.”

            Now, I am sure you are wondering why I, fun loving easy going Cory, got to be nicknamed the “Sarge”. The answer is pretty simple: my job entails making sure the orientation day runs smoothly, and to make this happen, I have to make sure everyone is where they need to be and that everything works, down to the smallest detail.

            My most “drill sergeant-esque” moments occur during the morning when students are walking from the Koger Center up Greene Street to the Russell House. I make sure that all the incoming freshmen are keeping up with their orientation leader by encouraging them to keep up. How do I encourage them? Well, I typically go with phrases such as “Hustle!”, “Keep up, because we’re not coming back for ya!”, and my personal favorite “We don’t lollygag here at USC!” Keep in mind, please, that I am saying this in all good fun with a smile on my face. The intent is not to intimidate, but just to get their attention and keep em’ moving. Trust me; it is all in good fun!

            I do have to lay down the law sometimes without joking too. Please take note all of you who may be coming, or who are even still in high school: it is very disrespectful to be on your phone talking and texting or joking around with the person sitting next to you when a teacher, professor, or other university official is talking. So, when I see this going on, I usually have a seat next to the student and let them know what I think. Again, I am not trying to be mean, but simply letting the student know what acceptable behavior is. If you could all do me a favor and please respect your teachers, parents, and others by putting the phone away for a few minutes and paying attention, trust me, it does not go unnoticed.

            Anyways, that is the story so far. I am now Cory the “Sarge”, and I am enjoying every minute of orientation. I hope that you folks are all having a swell summer, and I look forward to hopefully hearing from some of you with questions. Take care and behave!

Posted by Cory at 06:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

            After a week of afternoon thundershowers, I was ready to get out and find some sweet summer sunshine this past weekend! Since I was here in Columbia with a few of my orientation leader amigos, we decided to make a group trip down to the Broad River for the afternoon.

            The Broad River runs just alongside of Columbia and there is a great location right next our fantastic zoo (shameless plug of another fun activity in Columbia) to go and just lay out on the rocks. Yesterday, there were at least 50 other riverside patrons with their families, friends, and even a few dogs. Our crew just took the trek out across some stones and water to find some nice flat rocks to lie out on. Personally, I did keep the sunscreen and shirt on. Call me lame, but I burn at the drop of a hat, and it wasn’t worth a week of peeling skin and aloe vera to alleviate a burn just to get some pigmentation. I settled on reading the Sunday paper and people watching for the two and half hours we were there. When it got too hot, there was no problem as I could just jump right into the cool river water.

            Last year during orientation, I discovered another “funtastic” pastime to partake in at the Broad River. One of the most enjoyable afternoons I have spent in Columbia in the summertime was jumping in an inner tube upriver and floating down for a couple of hours. I just lazily floated down to where we had a car parked to take us back up to where we started. Hopefully I will get a chance to get a cheap four dollar inner tube from Wal-Mart and float it up before orientation is over.

            So there you have it, when the weather is hot and you need a cool place to hang out, the Broad River is only 10 minutes away from campus. I know that I will try and make it my business to get back out there on the rocks before my summertime here is up. If I don’t know though, I know that the weather will be hot enough when I get back for class in August! Take care and stay cool y’all!

Posted by Cory at 09:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by Cory at 10:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            Good directions can get you a long way in life, but bad directions can get you lost in a hurry. Over the last week or so, I have learned a lot about both giving and taking directions.

            Let’s start with my experience in giving directions: as I have mentioned in a previous blog, my work as an Orientation Team Leader allows me to delegate duties to the orientation leaders. A lot of this delegation involves giving detailed directions and instructions on everything from how to explain the nuances of parking to seating students at lunch. It is important to be able to give detailed directions that they can quickly and accurately follow so the day can flow smoothly. So far, I guess my directions must be pretty good because the days have been going well so far.

            Another time I give directions during orientation is typically to students and parents trying to find their way about campus. Now, when I first came here I thought I would never be able to find my way around, but just two short years later I find myself giving simple, yet effective directions dozens of times a day to the freshman students and their parents. It is important to empathize with those that haven’t been here before as simple landmarks such as the Russell House or the Horseshoe don’t have the same meaning as those crafty veterans of USC such as myself. As with the directions to the Orientation Leaders, the ones I have been giving to the “orientees” seem to be doing the trick.

            However, anyone can simply give directions; it takes a real special person to actually be able to follow them. As for me, I am pretty good, except when it comes to driving directions. For some reason, I always seem to find myself lost and frustrated. Unfortunately, I think this lack of direction runs on my father’s side of the family, and I inherited the “lost driving” gene. This lack of directional ability was put to the test this weekend when I drove to Atlanta to see my Cubs take on the Atlanta Braves (let us not discuss the final score of said game). I printed out the directions from trusty Mapquest, and set out west to Atlanta. Despite the large and intimidating city driving, I found my way all the way to my hotel on my own! I was so proud of myself! I proved to myself that I can find my way as long as I have good directions to follow.

            The moral of this blog? Directions in life are pretty darn important, and you better be able to not only give them to people, but really be able to listen and follow them as well. While it may be a simple idea, it can get you a long way here at school. That’s all I got now. Take care!

Posted by Cory at 08:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

            I guess I never really have thought of myself as the “bossy” type, but me and the other three team leaders on staff here at orientation have had to be a little bossier to make sure everything runs smoothly. You see, last year my role during orientation was that of an orientation leader and as such I got to have more interaction with students.

            Coming into summer, this was the role I had become accustomed to. However, as I and the other team leaders trained this year’s orientation leaders, we have taken on a stronger leadership role in preparing the orientation leaders and helping to make sure the orientation day moves along smoothly. What does this mean for us? Basically we have less one on one time helping students because we work more behind the scenes throughout the day.

            Although we do work behind the scenes, we also have the natural instinct to try and do some of the work of the orientation leaders. However, our boss (who is, by the way, the Director of Orientation and Testing services here at USC) has had to tell us to step back and just make sure that the orientation leaders do the job because it is no longer our roles.

            The key word in our jobs when it comes to utilizing our staff is delegation. Even though delegating work may seem to be an easy task and a nice way to get out of working yourself, it is a delicate skill to make sure the staff is doing what needs to be done when it needs to be done and by the correct staff member at any given time.

            If anything, the first three days of orientation as team leader have started me on a track of learning crucial delegation, time management, and to some extent coaching skills for later in life. The first week here has been hectic, but fun as well, and I think everyday the orientation leaders, as well as myself learn something new about ourselves, the skills we need throughout life, and most importantly incoming students such as you loyal readers!

            Speaking of incomings students, I have had a blast getting to know a few of y’all who I have had the chance to interact with over the course of the week and I look forward to many more days of learning, growing, and meeting more of you exciting freshman! As for now, I need to get to bed because another early day beckons me tomorrow morning. Take care!

Posted by Cory at 10:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

            With a week of orientation training in the books, I was ready for a fun filled sunny weekend here on campus. Perhaps I could get a chance to see Carolina play its regional in the College Baseball World Series, maybe take a relaxing stroll down the river, or just sit on the horseshoe, read, and catch some rays. Unfortunately, Tropical
Storm Barry had other ideas. He decided to cover Columbia with a blanket of clouds, rain and wind. So my plans shifted, and by Sunday night, so had the clouds away from here luckily.

            This episode of nasty weather reminded me of how much weather here in Columbia can change on a dime, even in the summertime. Last week it was beautiful, sunny and in the 80’s, but by Friday night, ominous clouds, rain, and the winds of Tropical Storm Barry were hitting Columbia. A helpful hint is that as you come to orientation in the summer and school here in the fall, while it will still be quite warm and muggy, a rain jacket may not be a bad idea. I know that personally I carry an umbrella with my everyday to orientation even if the weather is sunny in the morning because thunderstorms have a way of developing in the afternoon and leaving by the nighttime. Just today, we had a fifteen minute torrential downpour that soaked the majority of our staff on our way to supper. Then, just like that, the clouds had shifted away and the sun was shining. This is a testament to how fast the weather can change here.

            Other than the rainstorms in the afternoon, Columbia in the summertime is a haven of hot sunshine with temperatures resting in the 90’s with heavy humidity during the day. I like the heat myself, but it’s important to remember to stay hydrated and keep the sunscreen smothered on. This advice goes for everyone, in and out of Columbia as summer heats up. Anyways, the weather report is over for now, as I must be going. Take Care!

Posted by Cory at 06:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)