Goodbye Oregon, Hello San Francisco, and Aloha Hawaii

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Unfortunately, I had to say goodbye to Oregon this year. Though I have been recruiting and reading applications for the state since I have been at Johns Hopkins, my territory has grown in size and it was time to pass it along. Thankfully, Zak Harris, our new counseling staff colleague, volunteered to take Oregon and is excited to work with prospective students and families in the region.

Although I was sad to lose Oregon, I was happy to gain the city of San Francisco. While I have been reading for California for over four years now, I have been the recruiter for the entire state except for the cities and surrounding suburbs of Los Angeles and San Francisco. As this territory grew and Amy Brokl, the other California representative, gained responsibilities with our Alumni Volunteer Network, she had to pass along one of the cities. As it turns out, San Francisco is now mine, and Amy still has Los Angeles.

So, for my final trip this year, I tackled Northern California and Hawaii (yes, I got to go to Hawaii for work!) I began my on-the-road adventure in San Francisco. With this being a new city for me, it was great to see schools; learn about their curriculum; and meet counselors, interested students, and prospective applicants. While parking at times was a beast—road cleanings, hour restrictions, and tow away curbs—it was well worth it. I got to visit schools like The Bay School of San Francisco, where no AP classes are offered, and Lowell High School, a fantastic public school that one of our very own tour guides, Glennis Markison, attended.

I then headed north to Marin Country for a day. Having never been to this area either, it was really helpful to visit schools like Redwood High School and Marin Academy. After my quick tour there, I headed into the Palo Alto area for two days. Here, I visited places like Menlo School and Cupertino High School. In the end, while doing all of these high school visits, I also managed to do three Explore Hopkins Presentations—Oakland, Los Altos, and San Francisco—and a junior night program at Los Altos High School. Whew, it was a busy week.

Finally, I was on a plane and headed south to Hawaii! Not only was this my first time recruiting on the island, but it was also my first time visiting. The students I met on this trip were very interesting, and I even met a few who are going to be applying Early Decision! Through high school visits, an Explore Hopkins program, and interviews, I was able to gain a better understanding of what life is like living off of the mainland. I learned about popular after school activities such as paddling (I think Hawaii might be the only state that has paddling teams!) and air riflery, about how the choice of dance may not be ballet or hip hop, but rather hula, and about authentic Hawaiian cuisine.

While in Hawaii, I was also able to spread the word about some of the awesome programs at Hopkins. I have found over the years that, as you travel farther away from Baltimore, more and more stereotypes exist about what it is like to be a student at the university. For example, when I asked people in Honolulu what our most popular major at Hopkins was, almost all responded with “biology” or “premed.” When I told them that in fact we do not have a premed major or minor, many were surprised. So, I was happy to spread the word about our great environmental engineering major and our popular Writing Seminars major. Many students were not aware that we had a top-notch History of Art program and that internships were available right at the Baltimore Museum of Art (located on our campus!) and Walters Art Museum. It was extremely productive to let prospective students know about all the opportunities available to them at Johns Hopkins.

As you can see, this trip was a success—I got to visit new schools, spread the word about Hopkins, and learn about the students coming from my territory. Now, I feel like I am ready to read.

Bring on the applications!

Something Old, Something New

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Beautiful San Diego

While I would love to spend an entire month making my way throughout the southern part of the state, the reality is I don’t have that much time to travel. During the fall, I need to balance my schedule between off-campus recruitment, on-campus information sessions, Open Houses, coordinating tours and tour guides, organizing student workers and interns, working with ROTC, writing blogs, and reading Early Decision files!

Old Town

So, how do I pick where I am going to do presentations? How do I decide which high schools I will visit? Do I like your school better if I choose to visit it instead of a school in the town next door? Here are the answers to these questions:

Explore Hopkins Presentations:
Each year, I try to hit major cities in my territories. Since I can’t stop at all of the high schools in the area, a city is generally a good center point. For example, when I did my Explore Hopkins in Irvine, I had students coming from Long Beach, Newport Beach, Corona, Anaheim, and even a student from Los Angeles who could not make the regional presentation there! For my program in San Diego, I had students from Carlsbad, Encinitas, and Poway.

Balboa Park

These presentations are a great way to meet a large amount of students whose high schools I could not visit, or even students whose high schools I did visit, but they could not get out of class. Also, if parents have questions about the university, this is the best time for them to come and learn more. If you take a look at our Admissions Office as a whole, we have really done a great job of increasing the amount of Explore Hopkins conducted on the road. When I started at Johns Hopkins a little over five years ago, we offered presentations in only a few locations, and this year we are holding 35 across the nation, and two internationally. As you can see, we are really excited about meeting as many students as we can!

High School Visits:
On average, an admissions counselor at Johns Hopkins stops at four or five high schools in one day. It is a delicate balance of managing the schedules of different schools, making sure you leave enough travel time in between, crossing your fingers that you don’t hit traffic, arriving on time, finding parking, signing in at the high school, and then navigating your way through the hall ways to find either college counseling or the college and career center—whew, that tires me out just thinking about it!

Now, to the tricky part: picking high schools to visit. As counselors plan their travel during the summer, they will create a schedule that includes visits to schools they have been to in the past, and stops at new high schools they have never been able to visit. For example, this year, while in southern California, I decided to take my first trip out to Temecula. One of our dedicated alums, Mark Margolin, has been raving about the schools in this area and the students he has met through our alumni interview process. As I have seen an increase in applications from this region, I thought it might be a good time to add it to my schedule. So, I started my day at Murrieta Valley High School and then proceeded to go to Vista Murrieta High School, Chaparral High School, Great Oak High School, and Temecula Valley High School. In just one day, I met over 50 students and saw five new schools.

There are also some schools in the San Diego / La Jolla area that I traditionally try to visit. I like to put schools on a rotation, so that I have appointments at schools where we usually see a lot of applicants, and others where we see few applicants.  Since many students from the West Coast do not get a chance to visit the university before applying, I like to spread the word about what Johns Hopkins has to offer.

Seals on the rocks

As you can see, a lot goes into planning our travel. Don’t worry! If we can’t visit your school, it doesn’t mean we don’t like you; there are a lot of ways to learn more about Johns Hopkins online and you can always contact your regional counselor. We try to make the most of our time on the road, and hope you all can learn a little more about what might make Johns Hopkins the best fit for you.

Blue Jay or Blue Devil?

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I thought a great blog topic this week would be a reflection on week one of my fall travel.  This trip has been a whirlwind tour of North Carolina, including college fairs, Explore Hopkins presentations, and high school visits in Charlotte, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Cary, Durham, and Raleigh. I met hundreds of prospective students, parents, and guidance counselors, and the same questions kept popping up:

“Why should I go Johns Hopkins when I have so many schools in my own backyard? Why should I pick Johns Hopkins over Duke, UNC, or NC State?”

Blue Jay or Blue Devil?

Now, this wasn’t the first time I have heard questions like this. A few years ago I recruited in Texas, which has an abundance of colleges and universities. Currently, I am the California counselor where University of California schools, the Claremont-McKenna schools, and Stanford are all great options. So, why would you leave home? Why travel hours by plane to attend Johns Hopkins? In some cases, why would you pass up in-state tuition?

In my opinion here’s why: 

1. Experience Something New—While I know this may be the most obvious, it’s true. College is a time for learning, growing, and exploring. It is a time to try something new, go somewhere you’ve never been, put yourself out there to see what you can do.
2. Small Size—For a university, the undergraduate population at Johns Hopkins is small. With about 4,900 undergraduates, opportunities are abundant for all, whether it is in the classroom, in the community, or in the city, there are ways to get involved and make a difference.
3. Location—One of the things I love most about Hopkins is its location. Even though we are a city school located in the Charles Village neighborhood of Baltimore, our campus has a very traditional feel. With 140 acres of green grass and brick pathways, many know that Hopkins is the place for them as soon as they step onto campus. It really is beautiful! In addition, by being in a city, students have access to everything Baltimore has to offer—great dining (trust me, this is an extremely important to college students), museums (the Baltimore Museum of Art is right on campus), the Inner Harbor, internships and jobs, the National Aquarium, the Science Center, and Camden Yards (students can get Orioles tickets for just $8). Oh, and did I mention we are just 45 minutes from Washington DC, 1.5 hours from Philadelphia, and 3 hours from New York City?
4. Research Opportunities—Johns Hopkins is America’s first research institution. We encourage students to go beyond the classroom to learn through hands on experiences, exploration, and discovery. With about 70 percent of our undergraduates participating in research, this is not something that is only done at the graduate level. Did you know that since 1979, Johns Hopkins has won more federal research and development funding than any other university? At Hopkins, you can create your own project, join on with a faculty member, conduct research at another Hopkins institution, or do research abroad. The opportunities are endless! Some examples: one of our students worked with faculty members to improve surgery for osteoporosis patients and won the 2010 Wharton Business Plan Competition, another student is learning how to remove common drugs and chemicals from our water supply, another student investigated the history of guitar music, and another traveled to Israel to study the countries defense forces. Just think, you could be like these students one day.
5. One Johns Hopkins—While as an undergraduate you will be a member of either our Kreiger School of Arts and Sciences or our Whiting School of Engineering, you will also have access to other Johns Hopkins Institutions. Want to take lessons from distinguished faculty at the Peabody Music Conservatory? Interested in taking classes at the Bloomberg School of Public Health? Excited about conducting research projects at our School of Medicine or School of Nursing? Want to learn about national security through work with organizations at the Applied Physics Laboratory? What about a 5-year BA/MA program with our School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C.? You can do all of this at our university!
6. Faculty/Student Relationship—With 96% of classes taught by faculty members, there are a lot of opportunities for students to interact with professors. Hopkins undergraduates have to chance to work closely with faculty members at the top of their fields. Current faculty include three Nobel Prize Winners, published professors,  a Kennedy Center Honors Winner, seven MacArthur Fellows, ten National Academy of Engineering Members, and 45 American Academy of Arts and Science Fellows … and this is just to name a few!
7. Involvement in Community—At Hopkins we believe that giving back to the community is of the utmost importance. As our first president Daniel Coit Gilman stated, it is the goal of Johns Hopkins scholars to spread knowledge to the world. Whether through academia or volunteer work, Hopkins students are enthusiastic about giving back. From the Baltimore Tutorial Project (Baltimore City’s largest 1 on 1 tutorial program which is run by Hopkins students), to the 4K for Cancer (students bike ride cross country to raise money for cancer), to the President’s Day of Service (where over 1,000 students participated in 35 local community service projects), Hopkins students are looking to make a difference.
8. Campus Activities—What students do outside of the classroom is just as important to them as what they do inside the classroom. In fact, one of the great things about Hopkins students is how involved they are in campus activities, the city of Baltimore, and world organizations. With over 360 clubs and organizations on campus, we have it all: performing arts groups, community service organizations, student publications, fraternities and sororities, cultural and ethnic groups, club, intramural, and varsity sports. If it turns out we don’t have something you are interested in doing, it is easy to start your own group on campus.

As you can see, I think the answer is clear. Why be a Blue Devil when you can be a Blue Jay?

Upcoming Travel Season by Mark Butt

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Editor’s Note: For this entry, Admissions_Daniel and Admissions_Shannon have asked their Admissions colleague Mark Butt to discuss his upcoming (and quite hectic) fall travel schedule. If you are in New Jersey, Delaware, Florida, Germany, or Southern France you may get the chance to meet Mark.

Travel season is always an exciting time of year. It takes a lot of preparation and time to create a new schedule that is conducive to as many university goals and initiatives as possible. Of course, this is not a free-for-all, as there are two serious constraints placed on us admissions officers – time and money. In fact, I would assume for almost any industry, those are the most popular constraints placed on people.

Each admissions officer has a region that he or she manages and nurtures. For me, I have New Jersey and Delaware domestically and I am one of three admissions officers who have an international region as well. Traditionally, I spend a full week in New Jersey and I conduct a combination of high school visits and evening programs. Many of our Hopkins alumni attend local college fairs in my region throughout the year. Our alumni serve as an incredible resource for meeting and speaking with prospective students and families. They attend college fairs nationally and internationally for us.

Johns Hopkins University

My travel season this year is a little different than in the past but still has some consistency with previous years. I will be conducting 10 Explore Hopkins programs nation-wide. These programs are regional presentations open to students, families and guidance counselors and can serve as a great introduction for the university. I speak for about an hour on Johns Hopkins University, who we are as an institution, and then about the admissions process and financial aid. This year, I have five in the state of New Jersey, and all are happening the week of September 19. I also have one in Delaware the following week in New Castle County. These programs can attract anywhere from 80 to 200 people (including parents). I try to plan them at convenient times (avoiding PSAT dates, Giants games in NJ on Monday nights) so that people can attend at a time that works best for their families.

During travel season my days are very long; I get up early in the morning and often have four or five high school visits a day and often an Explore Hopkins program from 7-9 p.m. Email is usually on triage mode and emergency only situations during my travel seasons. My school visits are are planned in advance so that I can be at the school at a convenient time for the students to meet with me. I also try to plan the visits such that they make sense geographically – meaning that I “don’t drive in circles”. I try to make sure that I can follow a route that makes sense and is the most efficient time-wise for me. I remember when I first started in admissions, I had literally driven by one high school FOUR times and never had it on my visit schedule for some reason – total n00b move! I kept passing the school over and over and in fact it was taunting me! I did a visit the next year.

Florida Travel

New this year are a few things. I have a guidance counselor breakfast in Delaware which is where I do a mini-presentation for guidance counselors over breakfast. I talk about updates about the university and our most recent facts and figures and answer questions from the guidance counselors. I have never done one of these before but some other members of our admissions officers do these programs. I can meet many guidance counselors in a short amount of time and I think that’s great – it’s important that they stay up-to-date on what’s happening at Hopkins so that they can properly advise their students. This is a great venue to do so. Secondly, I will be conducting the travel in Florida this year. I have four Explore Hopkins programs happening there in Tampa, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Miami/Dade County. These will all be happening the week of October 10. I will also be doing some college fairs there and also school visits. I will spend about eight days total in Florida, seven days in New Jersey and three days in Delaware. I’m very excited about my travel to Florida, as there are some amazing students. I also have friends that work in Florida that I haven’t seen in a long time so I am looking forward to reconnecting with them.

International Travel

So, it’s going to be a very busy fall but man I am excited. When people say “I don’t ever want a desk job,” I know exactly how they feel. I love the excitement of going new places and trying new things – learning cultures, languages, foods, schooling systems, etc. I love being a life-long learner and I feel the admissions profession is very conducive to those with inquisitive minds. I love representing Hopkins and, more than ever, I love meeting prospective high school students who are eager to pursue higher education. Hopefully, I will see some of you on the road if you’re in Germany, New Jersey, Delaware or Florida. Wish me luck!

Explore Hopkins From Afar

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In the next few weeks, my colleagues and I will be packing our bags and hitting the road. Fall recruitment travel season is upon us and there is a good chance a member of the Admissions staff will be coming to a location near you. Throughout the fall, the Admissions staff will hold Explore Hopkins programs in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. With the masterful assistance of our event planner extraordinaire, Cheryl Janowsky, the Admissions counselors are prepared to visit 37 locations and host our amazing “road show.” Our programs feature presentations by Admissions staff (and occasionally recent alumni) and provide information about the university, the admissions process, and financial aid. These events are the perfect chance for people who want to Explore Hopkins but can’t make it to Baltimore.

With the help of my student intern, JHU_Mandy, we have put together a Google map that details the location of all of our off-campus recruitment events. The first event is September 12 in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the final event will be held on November 4 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Space is limited at these events so we require reservations. Full program details including date, time, exact location, and the online R.S.V.P. forms can be found here: http://apply.jhu.edu/visit/explorehopkins.html.

View JHU Admissions Off-Campus Events Fall 2010 in a larger map

As you review the map you will notice a few additional sites marked with red pin-points. In addition to our Explore Hopkins program, we will also be participating in two Group Travel programs. Dean Latting will be traveling to four locations in Texas with representatives from Davidson College, Swarthmore College, and Wesleyan University in mid-September. That same week, I will join colleagues from Northwestern University, University of California, Berkeley, and University of Virginia for programs in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. Full details on these group travel programs can be found here: http://apply.jhu.edu/visit/grouptravel.html.

As we prepare to come to your “neck of the woods,” my colleagues and I are looking for suggestions of what to do when we are in your hometowns. So if we are coming to your city, let us know where you suggest we eat and also what should we do / where should we visit during our free time (which is unfortunately sparse). Use the blog comments section to share your suggestions. I know I am always looking forward to restaurant suggestions in New England, and my colleagues will enjoy hearing from you.

We look forward to seeing you this fall and helping you Explore Hopkins.

Whew!

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Over the last two and a half months I have felt like the Energizer Bunny – I just keep going and going andgoing and going. Every evening I would go to bed thinking there is no way I still have fuel in my tank, yet every morning I would wake up (typically around 5:00 a.m.) and my battery light was fully charged. Since the start of the fall semester in early September, I have been consistently working 15-16 hour days non-stop. From September 1st through the end of October I had one day off and I slept 20 out of 24 hours. Hence the title of this post … WHEW!

I write this not as a complaint or to ask for sympathy, but rather as a confirmation of my prediction of a few blogs ago when I wrote that September and October would be the busiest months of my professional career. As I finally have a chance to reflect, I can honestly say that though I constantly had that running on empty feeling, I also remained completely and utterly passionate about my profession. Though I hope I never have to put myself through two such months again, I can say in retrospect it was worth it … for the most part.

What was the biggest struggle during this time you ask? Simple answer: not being with my best friend Soze (yes my dog) as he was on vacation with my family in Florida. Soze and I have been inseparable for the last 8 years, so to be without him for more than two months was difficult. We re-connected a couple of weeks ago, and well let’s just say we are back to our old routine (such as, he snores louder than me and takes up most of the bed).

As my busy schedule commenced I was ambitious in thinking that I would maintain an active journal and get to blog frequently. However, when each day ended and it was time to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard, my mouth opened wide into a huge yawn and my eyelids slowly closed. I learned quickly that I had to set priorities, to survive the workload and travel, and unfortunately the blog suffered in the end.

However, one thing that I did regularly was snap pictures. So as a re-cap of the last few months I share this collection of pretty random photos. Enjoy.

Make sure to check back Friday for the return of Friday Favorites and then early next week for the start of a series of application-related entries.

A SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER TO REMEMBER

Early September: Move-in and Orientation for the Class of 2013. Pictures are of actual move-in day to start the week and of the Job and Student Activities fair that end Orientation week.

One of my favorite events during Orientation week is the Class Photo. It takes a while to get everyone in place, but in the end the result is awesome.
Don’t forget to check out our Orientation re-cap Video Blog entrytoo.


Mid-September: Got to enjoy a specia
l weekend on the Homewood Campus celebrating the installation of Ron Daniels as Hopkins President. There was the special Fun Run, the installation ceremony, and then the reception afterward where I got to be with friends (Jameel and Sarah) and check out an amazing cake. Yum!

End of September: NACAC Conference invades Baltimore. It was one amazing week of events both on-campus and at the Convention Center in downtown Baltimore. As you can see, Crab hats and designs were the cool thing. Thanks to Jessica, Josh, Lauren, and Mandy for representing Hopkins Interactive so well during our educational session on blogging, and making me look good (well despite the hat).

Early October: My fall travel begins in New England. I picked up an awesome rental car (Chevy Traverse) and made sure to add the JHU sticker so I remembered what car I was driving. What a way to start my travels, at St. George’s in Newport, Rhode Island — an amazing view. I also had to take a picture of the most important thing to an admissions counselor on the road … where is the visitor parking lot???

October: When on the road for two and a half weeks straight your home/office becomes a hotel room and the back of your car … a view of that madness.

Mid-October: The aftermath of travel … tons of work to catch-up on and you keep finding hotel room keys everywhere you look for a few days.

October 15th: Not the best picture, but this is of snow falling in Connecticut … on October 15th. What the heck!!! Mother Nature’s cruel sense of humor?

End of October: Once I returned from travel I was able to take a few days off and head down to Florida to see my family. The highlight was spending Halloween with my niece Lilly and nephew Cooper.

The End: My two favorite pictures of the last couple of months — Jameel and I acting as Baltimore Police Detectives (we watch The Wire too much) & members of the JHU Admissions Counseling staff partying at the NACAC Conference social.

10,064 miles in 43 days (Part Four)

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With the start of Thanksgiving week on the horizon I must say that I am thankful there is no travel on my horizon. I am thankful that I will not be on an airplane again for a while, and my next long drive isn’t until the end of next month when I head down to Florida to spend the holidays with my family. All the travel I have done over the last few months has worn me out … and yes I know that I really shouldn’t complain that much because just last week I was in the warm and beautiful Bahamas — much different than the early winter we are having right now in Baltimore.

I am also thankful that I will be finishing up my re-cap of my fall travels. I hope you have enjoyed these entries and gained a bit more insight into the life of an actual Admissions counselor. So if you haven’t read Part One, Part Two, and Part Three you should go back and do so. If you are all caught up, then enjoy this final trip down recruitment travel memory lane …

Saturday, October 11 (traveled 406 miles in a new rental)
On the road again … I must be on the road again. This morning I picked up a nice large Trailblazer from National Car Rental at BWI Airport and began the trek once again to New England. The XM Satellite Radio kept me company on the way up as I enjoyed a lot of 80s and 90s alternative music. I do enjoy the flashbacks I get whenever the Cure, or the Smiths, or Depeche Mode, or XTC, or etc. comes on the radio. In fact, only the Killers nowadays compares for me to these past tunes.

I arrived back at the Doubletree in Waltham, checked in, and relaxed after an easy drive. Despite only having one real day of rest in the last few weeks, I am ready for this week of travel. Why? Because it is Group Travel and therefore I will not be alone.

This is my fourth year of doing group travel and the last three years have been tremendous. My first experience with traveling with other schools was in the Midwest, when I joined up with representatives from Cornell, Rice, and UVa. Then two years ago we moved the program to New England and replaced Cornell with Northwestern. Last year, the same group of JHU, Northwestern, Rice, and UVa repeated the New England trip. We have changed things up a bit this year replacing Rice with the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. Everything starts tomorrow so I am going to go enjoy new episodes of Dexter and Entourage and then sleep.

Sunday, October 12 (traveled 147 miles by rental SUV)
Maggie, my GPS system if you forgot, and I got into the rental SUV and headed to Manchester Airport in New Hampshire to pick-up two of my three traveling partners. After the hour drive I met up with Shep Shanley from Northwestern University and Bob Patterson from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. Shep and I have known each other for the past three years, whereas this one my first time meeting Bob. We headed back to Waltham, took our mid-afternoon naps (always need sleep) and then headed to the lobby around 5:30pm to meet up with the 4th traveler, Jeannine LaLonde from the University of Virginia. I met Jeannine for the first time last year but this is our first time traveling together. Some of you may know Jeannine from the Notes from Peabody: The UVA Application Processblog. It will be fun to travel with another Admissions blogger.

With all four of us together, we headed north to Wakefield, MA and the Sheraton Colonial Hotel for our first joint college information session of the week. The group travel program format is a simple one: 5 minute introduction and explanation why the four schools are traveling together (we like each other); 10-12 minute presentations by each school (well we try to keep it to 10-12 minutes); joint Q&A about the admissions process; and we end with the chance for attendees to connect with each individual school at separate college-fair like tables. These programs are great because in 90 minutes you can learn about four fantastic institutions.

Night number one was tremendous. We packed the hotel ballroom and had to squeeze an extra 100 chairs into the room. I am pretty sure we broke the fire code with the standing room only crowd. It was so busy that I really don’t remember much except being beat when we got back to the hotel.

Monday, October 13 (traveled 32 miles by rental SUV)
I love Christopher Columbus and it has nothing to do with his exploring. Columbus and the work he did back in 1492 is the reason why I am so well rested today. With the national holiday, we had nothing to do until the evening when we traveled the 16 miles south to Dedham, MA and Noble and Greenough School. Here we were hosting our second Boston metro area group information evening and though not the same turnout as Sunday night, things went quite well. The audience did not have many questions, but that wasn’t a problem because the stage lights were over-powering and I was glad to get off stage. Actually though my mini-presentation I think went very well … I can tell when all my jokes get a response. (And yes I count a response as either a laugh or a groan.) The day ended with my watching Chuck, Heroes, and Prison Break through my SlingBox … but that also means that the extra rest may be ruined when my alarm clock goes off at 5:30am tomorrow.

Tuesday, October 14 (traveled 46 miles by rental SUV)
Up early this morning so I could join 50 other people for breakfast. Huh? Well, group travel isn’t just about evening information sessions for prospective students and their parents. We also hold early morning counselor breakfasts so we can connect and update area high school guidance and college counselors. The Boston counselor breakfast is always the largest and this one did not disappoint. My fellow travelers and I shared wet eggs, good bacon and sausage, and some juice and coffee while chatting about the major issues facing the world of college admissions this year. Obviously, as expected the economy and financial aid were the main topic of conversation.

Following the breakfast, we piled into the Trailblazer and drove one hour southto Providence, our second stop for the week. Since we had the afternoon off, Jeannine and I (both former college students in Providence) showed off a bit of the city to Shep and Bob. We ended up at my favorite restaurant in all of Providence, Hemenway’s, and I got to enjoy some excellent seafood. That is another reason I love group travel — good meals with company. Most travel is average meals alone … you can see why this is an improvement.

With full stomachs we all headed into the meeting room in the evening and held a session with about 150 or so peeps from Rhode Island. This was our third of five evening sessions, and this was the best to date — well as it pertains to timing. None of us went overtime … which has been a bit of an issue early on. A nice dinner, more seafood – yeah, finished a great day.

Wednesday, October 15 (traveled 144 miles by rental SUV)
Wednesday is always the longest day during group travel. Is that why they call it hump day? Since it was a long day I really didn’t write down much. I do know the day started with a small counselor breakfast in Providence followed by a drive to Norwalk, CT. Jeannine once again found a great place for lunch and then the requisite nap followed. The evening continued with another wonderful event at Darien High School. The only note I did write down, but can’t remember why is … “New England people are so nice.”

Thursday, October 16 (traveled 97 miles by rental SUV)
Day two in Connecticut and this started with another interesting counselor breakfast. Once again, many questions about financial aid and the economy — these aren’t easy questions to answer because no one knows what is going to happen. We just have to wait to see what happens with this global economic rollercoaster and whether it is going to be like the modern day roller coasters (short with steep climbs and drops) or more like the olden day coasters (long with many twists and very rickety).

Once again I didn’t write much in my journal except:

- Drove to Farmington, CT
- Jeannine is three for three on finding good lunch restaurants
- I love naps.
- Simsbury High School hosts final program … all good.
- Dinner and debate

Sorry these journal entries aren’t as exciting as before, but I’ve been caught up in the wonderful company I am keeping during this trip.

Friday, October 17 (traveled 339 miles by rental SUV)
And it all comes to an end. Following our fourth (and second largest) counselor breakfast we all went our separate ways. Shep on his way back to Chicago, Jeannine back to Charlottesville, Bob back to Chapel Hill, and me back on the road to Baltimore. Simply put, year four of the group travel experience is an absolute success with an A grade.

The drive back to Baltimore was uneventful aside from the fact that I came to the realization that my recruitment travel is done for 2008. Whew!

And oh yeah … I now know who I am going to vote for. On the way home I listened to XM’s special POTUS ’08 radio station and got to listen to two of the debates and some other great interviews.

Saturday, October 18 (traveled 12 miles by my SUV)
So what would you want to do after 7 days on the road? Well I never had the chance to answer that question … the answer was set for me already = Fall 2008 Natural Science and Engineering Johns Hopkins University’s Open House. After a week of travel connecting with over 1000 people and 100 counselors, I get to spend a full day on campus entertaining over 800 visitors. I’ll let the pictures tell the story of the day:

Sunday, October 19 (did I even wake up?)
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! (My second day of rest … finally.)

Monday, October 20 – Friday, October 24 (traveled 72 miles by my SUV – once again back and forth to the office)
Another busy work week. Wrapping-up my travels … preparing for the next Open House … lots of Engineering work … Hopkins Interactive work … and training on our new application reading season. The week flew by with me only remembering one thing — I need more sleep.

Saturday, October 25 (traveled 12 miles by my SUV)
Open House #2 – just like last Saturday except the weather was horrible and there was less people visiting.

Sunday, October 26 (traveled 478 miles by my SUV)
So after traveling three out of five weeks, and working pretty much non-stop during those two off weeks, you would agree with me by saying one would have to be crazy to get back on the road and drive nearly 500 miles. Right? Well that is just what I did. Why you ask?

I drove from Baltimore to Florence, SC to meet up with my parents and more importantly to get Soze back. Yes, after 8 plus hours of driving I arrived at the Days Inn in Florence and re-connected with my little buddy. This was the longest we had not been together since I got him at 9 weeks old. And the greeting … well he jumped right into my arms and that is a lot for a 65 lb. dog.

Monday, October 27 (traveled 478 miles by my SUV)
What goes South must go back up North — and that is what Soze and I did today. Soze is back but that doesn’t mean my crazy schedule is done yet.

Tuesday, October 28 – Friday, October 31 (traveled 60 miles by my SUV)
Another crazy week at work. I did by the end of the week get organized and that is a good thing.

Saturday, November 1 (traveled 12 miles by my SUV)
So November is here … and where am I … yup at the office hosting our Saturday visitors’ session. After the busiest September and October in my life I had to ring the new month in by working. Thankfully, I am done …

10,064 miles
43 days (only 2 days of rest)

Priceless???

10,064 miles in 43 days (Part Three)

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Greetings once again. It is Sunday, November 16 and here I sit in another airport. I am blogging because there really is nothing else to do as I sit out a three-hour flight delay after an enjoyable five-day personal vacation. I must really be getting over this fear of flying. This time there was an easy reason to get on an airplane – to fly to the Bahamas (Paradise Island exactly) and celebrate my father’s birthday with my whole family and my niece Lilly. Plus, flying was much more comfortable as I got to sit-in first class (thanks American Express Membership Rewards).

So here I type away waiting to board my fourth flight in just over a month. I could be stressed … I could be frustrated over the long delay … but instead I am relaxed after spending a relaxing few days in the epitome of Paradise. Now I fly back to the states, prepared for cold weather, and ready to start reading Early Decision applications. But before that, I want to continue my fall travel journal with Part Three. (Part one can be found here and Part Two is here.) Enjoy….

Monday, September 29 (traveled 106 miles by rental car)

I am beyond tired. The flight back from Seattle last night went quite well and I was able to control my nerves pretty much the entire time. I returned to cold and wet weather in Boston, and then experienced a nightmare commute to my hotel in Dedham (what should have taken 30 minutes took nearly 2 hours). To top off the day there was a hysterical crying baby in the room next to mine, and I had to suffer all night as the paper-thin walls did not keep out the wailing. Thankfully, mother and child checked out this morning.

Today was O.K. though as I visited four high schools around the Boston area again. My planning of this day was not the best as I started west of Boston in Needham then south of Boston in Braintree and then north of Boston in Topsifled. A lot of driving and with my lack of sleep I really can’t remember much. Tomorrow is another day, and I am now going to enjoy a mid-day nap, then some quality TV (Chuck, Heroes, Prison Break) with room service and then a good night’s rest (I hope).

Tuesday, September 30 (traveled 149 miles by rental car)

Today will go down as one of the worst days in the history of my travel. It started off well enough as I got to sleep in a bit and then had three very successful high school visits. Though I didn’t see many students – many had exams in their AP classes during the times I visited – I did have time to connect with some college counseling friends. I finished my visits at around 3pm in downtown Boston, grab some lunch, and then got on I-93 North headed up to Concord, NH.

As I left Boston I had four hours to complete the 55 minute drive, check into my hotel, take a nap, shower, and then make it to the St. Paul’s School Fall College Fair at 7:00pm. Well you know what they say about the best laid plans ….

Just as I crossed the MA / NH border on I-93 North a horrific car accident occurred less than 15 seconds in front of me. This is the worst car accident I have ever witnessed with my own eyes and later in the evening I learned that there was two tragic fatalities. The accident completely shut down the two-lane highway preventing any cars from moving for over two and a half hours. All of us on the road just shut off our engines, got out of our cars, sat on the roofs of our cars and chatted as the emergency response teams did their work. The whole experience was surreal, including the part of the conversation where we all thought what if we had been just 15 seconds earlier in our day.

Finally the state troopers assisted with turning all the cars around (over a 20 mile back-up) and after a detour I returned north to Concord. I arrived exactly at 7:30pm just as the first students were arriving for the college fair. No dinner, no nap, and no time to freshen up. The college fair went well, but obviously when I arrived at the hotel I wanted to take a shower and go to sleep to forget the whole day.

Wednesday, October 1 (traveled 231 miles by rental car)

I am dragging big time. Planning my busiest days this far into my travel was not the best idea but I really had no choice. After a rough night sleep I departed Concord for the one hour drive to Exeter, NH. Upon arrival I attended the Phillips Exeter Academy Spring College Fair where I chatted with a handful of students really interested in Hopkins. Though I only met about 20 students, I did get to catch up with some good friends on the College Counseling staff at Exeter and I know that come application time we will get 40+ applicants from the school.

Around noon I got back into the school and headed south for two high school visits. First, Newton South High School where I met 2 really nice girls and then to Prospect Hill Academy where I connected with over 20 students. The funny thing is I expected the larger group at Newton South, but was so happy with the students I chatted with at Prospect Hill. In fact. the questions I was asked during my hour at Prospect Hill were easily the best questions I have been asked by students throughout the whole trip. I am looking forward to reading those applications.

My busy day ended in Andover, MA as I attended the Phillips Academy – Andover College Fair. Just like with the Exeter Fair earlier in the day, the Andover Fair went well and I met with a great group of students and college counselor friends.

Unfortunately my day didn’t not end until a 90 minute drive to Providence. I arrived in Providence, the city that was my former home for four years in the 1990s, and fell asleep right after checking-in to my hotel.

Thursday, October 2 (traveled 178 miles by rental car)

You know what, I didn’t even realize it was October. Wow, this two weeks of travel has definitely messed with my comprehension of time and place. I am missing my home, my bed, Soze, and just normalcy. I typically feel like this on my last day of travel.

I did plan a great day of visits to end my trip, as I end in Rhode Island with four of my favorite schools. I started at Moses Brown and then proceeded to Wheeler School. Both schools neighbor Brown University’s campus in Providence and I am quite familiar with the schools because I lived so close to them when I attended Brown and some of my favorite current students at Hopkins attended these high schools. Oh yeah, as with many of the schools I visit, the college counselors are great friends of mine. My visit to Wheeler was especially interesting as I arrived just in time for a fire drill. Thankfully the weather was beautiful today.

The beautiful weather made my final two visits of the day even more special as I headed to the water and the Newport, RI area. Two more great visits, first to Portsmouth Abbey School and then to St. George’s School. I arrived early to St. George’s so I spent some time on the beach. What a way to finish with my high school visits — just check out the picture of the school’s campus.

At 3:00pm my recruitment trip was officially over and I got in the car (my second home???) and headed south back to Baltimore. I didn’t make it back home, but rather checked into a hotel in Fairfield County, CT. It was the smart thing to do rather than try to get back to Baltimore through NYC rush hour traffic.

Friday, October 3 (traveled 264 miles by rental car)

Homeward bound … finally! I arrived back in Baltimore around noon, stopped off at home, went to the post office to pick-up some mail, and then in the office to check-in. By mid-afternoon I could barely keep my eyes open, so I headed home and to the comforts of my bed.

Saturday, October 4 (traveled 12 miles in my Trailblazer)

No rest for the weary. Here I am in the office on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, just back from two weeks of hectic travel. It was lonely at home with out Soze — he is spending these two months with my family in Florida — so I decided to head into the office and catch-up on the tons of work I have to do. I wrote up a lot of my travel reports and realized that this past trip was quite successful. A little better planning of my visit days, and less traffic and I would have given the trip an A-grade. Instead, a solid B+.

Sunday, October 5 (traveled less than 100 steps)

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! Enough said.

Monday, October 6 through Friday. October 10 (traveled 72 miles by my car – pretty much back and forth to the office each day)

No journaling this week as I have been too busy at work catching up and preparing for my next trip. It was good to see my colleagues and really good to see the Hopkins Interactive students during our weekly meeting. I also got to catch-up on all my TiVo’ed shows, but it was sad because Soze wasn’t around to enjoy our favorite shows. Well it is Friday evening now and I just finished packing for my next trip. I hope I will survive, but it should be fun because I will not be alone.

To be continued:

Stay tuned for the final part (part IV) of my travel journal where I will talk about my next recruitment trip and reveal who I traveled with…

10,064 miles in 43 days (Part Two)

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Before I continue with the tales of my travel the last few months, I thought it imperative to share the big news of the day. On November 11, the Board of Trustees elected Ronald J. Daniels as the 14th president in Johns Hopkins University history. Daniels, the current Provost at the University of Pennsylvania and former Dean of Faculty at the University of Toronto Law School, will begin his service to the Hopkins community in March. Check-out the Web site created to announce the New President and don’t forget to celebrate President Brody’s years of service through the President’s Web site. Much more to come.

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Welcome back. If you have yet to read Part One of my re-cap of my fall recruitment travels, then click hereto start at the beginning. If you have already read that entry then lets continue. As a reminder, when last I left you, I was sitting nervously at Logan Airport preparing to board an Alaska Airlines 5+ hour flight to Seattle.

Wednesday, September 24 continued…
Whew, I am glad that is all done. Here I am in the Red Lion Hotel in Seattle, WA with a beautiful view of the Space Needle. I have no idea what time it is because I am horrible with time zone changes, but I do know it is late. The last time I was out of the Eastern Time Zone was four years ago when I did some travel in the Midwest (Chicago, Detroit, and Cleveland).

I should be getting to bed, but before I forget the experience, I have to journal about my flight. Clearly since I am writing this right now I did actually survive the cross-country flight. However, there were a few moments when my anxiety rose to critical levels. Thankfully I was able to distract myself and calm down a bit — always be prepared. The 5 hour, 23 minute flight felt like 10 hours though. And since I would not get out of my chair for any reason, my bladder almost exploded. In the end though I do exaggerate a bit … it wasn’t that bad.

I understand that a fear of flying is a bit irrational, especially since I have never had a bad experience with turbulence or a really bad flight (knock on wood). But for me the fear does not just stem from the fear of crashing or fear of a hijacking or fear of some tragedy, though I do think of all those things while in the air. The main problem I have with flying is the inconvenience and lack of control. I think if I was flying the plane I would be better. It does boggle my mind though how small airplanes are and how they pack passengers and bags in as sardines. See I am not a small person and I understand a person of my size is going to be uncomfortable, however it amazes me that even normal sized people don’t fit comfortably anymore. Add to that the lack of amenities on board, and the seeming rudeness from the majority of flight attendants … and well let’s just say I will continue only to fly when it is an absolute necessity. Thankfully, I don’t have to worry about flying again until Sunday … oh darn it!

Thursday, September 25
After a good rest and adjustment to the three hour time difference, I am up and about and looking over the beauty of Seattle. The last time I was here in the Pacific Northwest was in 2000 when I was covering some recruitment travel for my colleague while working at American University. I had a great time then and fell in love with the city, despite the frequent rain and overcast skies. I remember expressing after that trip that if Seattle was on the eastern seaboard I would move there in a heartbeat. And now that I am back, that sentiment still holds.

My first reaction on my return to Seattle is how much the city has grown and is growing. I have counted already 7 major construction cranes working on sky rises in the downtown part of the city. As I walk the streets I am reminded by how clean the city is, how friendly the people are, and how there is still quite an alternative (grunge / punk?) youth that occupies the city. The weather is actually beautiful and is supposed to be for the whole weekend.

So what am I doing in Seattle? I am here to attend the four day National Association of College Admissions Counselors (NACAC) National Conference. This conference is the largest collection of admissions counselors, high school guidance counselors, independent college counselors, corporate vendors, and other parties connected to the world of higher education admissions. This is the seventh national conference I have attended, and you can read about my past experiences while in Pittsburgh a couple of years ago (click here). Well I best get to the Convention Center and check-in with today’s events.

… I’m back. A great first day of the conference. Actually, it was quite a relaxing day, as I took it easy and only attended one educational session and then my state and regional membership meeting. The educational session I attended was about recruiting at Engineering Schools (representatives from MIT, Rose-Hulman, and Cornell were panelists), and since I am the Engineering liaison at Hopkins I thought I should go and hear what was discussed. I had high hopes for the content of the session, yet in the end I learned very little and really was upset that the session turned more into promotion for the specific schools on the panel and not an open dialogue of key issues and ideas on how to connect with prospective engineering high school students. Oh well, strike one.

The state and regional membership meeting, PCACAC (Potomac and Chesapeake Association of College Admissions Counselors) specifically, was more enjoyable. It was fun to connect with others in the profession from colleges and universities as well as high schools throughout MD, DC, VA, and WV. The PCACAC leadership includes many national level leaders in our profession and networking with them can never hurt. Plus, PCACAC is all excited at this conference because next year (2009) the National Conference is coming to Baltimore … more on that later.

Friday, September 26
Today was a busy day. I returned to the hotel quite late in the evening, very tired with a strained voice, but overwhelmingly professionally developed from the day’s sessions and conversations. The day consisted of a number of educational sessions followed by the Counselors’ College Fair and then a lovely dinner with friends I haven’t seen in some time.

The sessions today were much more informative and I actually learned a lot. One session featured four current guidance / college counselors working at high schools across the country who all previously worked as college admissions counselors. The session was titled “If We Know Then What We Know Now” and the presentation included a top ten list of advice for today’s current college admissions counselors on how to interact with prospective students and guidance counselors. The list was so well put together, that I am going to have to type up my notes and share with all my colleagues when I get back to Baltimore. I also attended a session on the Education Conservancy that I will need to write more about in the future. It raised a lot of interesting questions about the state of college admissions today.

The day ended with the Counselors’ College Fair. Not your normal college fair … Imagine 400+ colleges and universities in alphabetical order lined up in an exhibit hall. Then imagine that the attendees of this fair are not high school students but rather 1000+ high school guidance / college counselors. The fair is a chance for high school counselors to meet with the admissions counselors and get updates and ask questions. As well, this is a time to talk about potential applicants and make contacts. This is always a highlight for me, but this year was even more exciting because we got these little scanners and could scan the ID badges of the counselors who were interested in receiving more materials. I let my colleague Amy field most of the questions, and I just played with the scanning machine as much as possible.

OK, off to hang with friends and have some good Seattle food and drinks.

Saturday, September 27
As I was walking to the Convention Center this morning I was reminded by what a unique event the National Conference has become. Nearly 5000 people invade a metropolitan city for four days to share stories, advice, and thoughts on our shared profession. The educational sessions are a great time to learn new skills or heed advice from one’s peers. The evenings are a great time to catch up with old friends and make new acquaintances. And the rest of the schedule enables for all kinds of professional development.

I also realized that at this conference I have been spending a lot of time learning more and more about how we can use new technologies to connect with the current generation of prospective college students. I spent a good amount of time walking the vendor exhibit halls to learn about all these new initiatives. I learned a lot about new social networking college admissions sites like Zinch.com and Cappex.com, and also checked out a lot of these new video college search sites like universitytv.com. A lot of things to think about in the coming year.

As I departed the convention center for the last time, I made sure to stop at the NACAC Baltimore booth to get a cool little crab sticker, check out the cool crab hats, and start networking for next year’s conference in my home city. This is going to be a ton of fun, and a great opportunity for us to show off the Homewood campus to thousands of college counselors.

Sunday, September 28 (3056 miles by plane; 29 miles be rental car)
Well here we go again. I am in the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport awaiting my return flight on Alaska Airlines to Boston, MA. My amazing adventures in Seattle have come to an end, and now I have to return to New England for another week of high schools visits and college fairs. Boy do I miss my own bed … and I really miss Soze too …plus the laundry is piling up.

The conference came to an end with the Conference Social last night at theExperience Music Project / Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame at the base of the Space Needle. The museum was amazing, the food was good, the drink was great, the karaoke corner was interesting, and the live band was quite good. Of all the Conference Socials I have ever attended, this was hands down the best that I remember (the one in Salt Lake City was good too but I don’t remember everything from that night).

In reflection, not only was the Conference Social excellent, the whole conference was exceptional. The city of Seattle was a great host, the logistics of everything worked so smoothly, and the sessions were pretty much all worthwhile. In my ten years, this was the second best professional development experience of my career — nothing will every top the Enrollment Management College Board program I attended at the University of Central Florida in 2001. It is great that the conference was such a success, however that puts the pressure on the host city in 2009 — BALTIMORE.

The planning will begin as soon as I return to my home city … but that won’t be until another week. First, I have return to the Eastern Time Zone and that means getting back up in the sky, so my anxiety levels are increasing. Fingers crossed …

To be continued…
Check back at the end of the week for Part Three and to see if I survived my second cross-country flight in five days.

10,064 miles in 43 days (Part One)

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Now that I am back from my blogging hiatus, I thought it would be interesting to fill you all in on what I was doing during my 43 day absence. Even though I was not posting to the Hopkins Insider blog during late September and throughout October, the blog was never out of my mind. In fact, during my travels (and tribulations), I was actually journaling on a regular basis with the main purpose to inform you all what the life of a busy Admissions Counselor on the road is like.

Since my “Hitting the Road” entry on September 20th and my return entry this past Sunday, I have been monumentally busy. When I wrote on the 20th, I was just embarking on the first leg of my travels for the fall.  Between then and November 2nd, I traveled 10,064 miles and I was home for only a third of the 43 days. And as you will read, even when I was home I was still quite the busy bee.

So let’s rewind the clocks, and let me open up my journal to share with you all the thoughts of an Admissions Counselor on the road while in the throes of a chaotic six weeks:

Saturday, September 20th (traveled 398 miles by rental car)
My three weeks of fall recruitment travel began as it has for the past eight years – me, a rental car, a case of Deer Park water, 2 suitcases, bins of recruitment materials, and a long drive on I-95 North.  My destination is a familiar one: the Doubletree Hotel Suites in Waltham, MA.  This hotel has in many ways become my base of operations during my travels in the Boston metro area.  The drive is a pleasant one, meaning it took me less than one hour on the Cross Bronx Expressway.  The foliage is just beginning.  The only downside of the trip is listening to my beloved Mets lose another miserable game.  (This will be my only reference to the Mets as I quickly became aware of their impending doom and found reasons to avoid their last games of the season).

Sunday, September 21st (traveled 23 miles by rental car)
My official travel begins as I host just over 200 people during my Boston Explore Hopkins program.  I have done many of these regional information sessions before (September 2007 entry), and once again the program was a success.  This was one of the largest crowds I’ve ever had, and I met a number of very unique prospective students. And many of my jokes worked … I hope. The success of another Explore Hopkins program has made me really think about hosting more of these programs in the future.  Stay tuned.

Monday, September 22nd (traveled 74 miles by rental car)
My first day of high schools visits. I visited four schools in the western Massachusetts suburbs of Boston. All four schools are places I have been multiple times before and I consider the guidance and college counselors to be good professional friends. The visits went quite well and just like yesterday, I met a number of great students where Hopkins is clearly not only a top choice for them but a good fit as well, based on what they are looking for in a school. I am reminded how much I enjoy recruiting in New England, because even though the students up here are a bit too savvy about the college search process, they do traditionally ask wonderful questions and know a bit about the school in advance. It is rare that I meet someone up in New England that calls us “John Hopkins,” well aside from the occasional archaic guidance counselor.

Tuesday, September 23rd (traveled 48 miles by rental car)
Between my four visits today I actually had some down time, so I can up with a list. Basically, I claim that the process of visiting high schools is the traveling salesman part of my job. So, with all due respect to Willy Loman, here is a the list that consists of my typical high school visit routine:

head out to next high school hoping not to be late, hoping not to get lost, and avoiding speeding ticketsThis has been pretty much the tale of my HSVs (short for high school visits — love those acronyms) for the past 8 years of my travels in New England.  This year though there is something new and wonderful that has helped me tremendously with that final bullet-point: MAGGIE.

Maggie is my Magellan GPS navigation unit and is competing to make the list of my 5 greatest loves (not counting people). The list currently includes my dog Soze (I miss you boy), TiVo, my HDTV, Slingbox, and my iPod touch. Maggie may be replacing one of those items soon.  She not only gets me to every one of my high school visits on time, she makes sure I never get lost, that I avoid Boston’s infamous traffic, and that I have someone to talk to in the car.  Actually she does all the talking and can be quite bossy at times.

Wednesday, September 24th (traveled 69 miles by rental car and 3056 miles by airplane)
Another set of four high school visits went well today, aside from not seeing any students at one school. That never bothers except when the counselor assures me there is a ton of students interested and begs me to come visit. Oh well … cross them off for next year.

I am currently sitting in Logan Airport preparing to board an airplane headed to Seattle, for the second leg of my travels. I am trying to keep my mind busy and distracted, as I am not someone who likes to fly. Actually, I loathe the idea of getting on an airplane. If I can drive the distance, I will. But I need to get to Seattle within the day, and I don’t think it is humanely possible to drive from Boston to Seattle within one day.

The flight should take about 5 hours and I have stock-piled my carry-on bag with as many distractions as possible. My iPod Touch is loaded with the entire second season of the Riches. I also have an eclectic games magazine with Sudoku puzzles, Crossword puzzles, and a collection of other Mensa style puzzles. I also have a cheesy James Patterson novel to read, or a more intense fictional book that takes place in Barcelona if I am in the mood for some heavier content. I just hope all that stuff can keep me distracted and help keep all the horrible thoughts and images that run through my mind when I am 30,000+ feet in the air. Fingers crossed … aaaaaahhhhh!

To be continued …
Check back on Tuesday for part two of the continuing tales of my Fall 2008 travels. Find out how the flight went and why I was headed to Seattle?