Wednesday morning we left to travel north to Albany for a SUNYHA meeting. (you don't need to know what that stands for, you just need to know that clearly the most important people involved in the SUNY system were there because I was invited :-p kidding, kidding---it's a meeting of the masterminds behind the Res. Life programs in the SUNY system and I tagged along..with Janelle and Ashley..because we are new) Anyway, it was a great, first outside of SUNY Cortland 'professional experience' and I will share a few of the highlights with you as I sit here to reflect.
I received the agenda earlier in the week and took a peak at it, but really I just opened it long enough for it to print out and then be tucked away in my fabulous padfolio. On the ride up, we were filled on what to expect. It seemed pretty straightforward to me and it was..both days were. But the thing I took away from the meeting that was perhaps most beneficial for me was presented in the first meeting. On Wednesday we had a 3 hour session on assessment (basically assessing the success of ANYTHING by using different tools to measure them, etc--I won't get all technical) BUT the reason I bring this up is because when I worked at Ithaca College I worked on a project that was assessment based and I learned A LOT. It was great to see how some institutions rely on the data collected in this somewhat complex process. What was even better was how the emphasis related to what I had researched and learned about at various graduate programs I visited and/or interviewed with, specifically UCONN. The conversation was long- the activity was a tad over my head, but what I got out of it was the realization that I really want to pursue my Master's in Higher Ed./Student Affairs. I've played with the idea of taking some time off and then continuing my education here at Cortland and receiving my Master's in Community Health. But even though the taking some time off part of that will remain true, I know that my passion lies in getting my Master's in Higher Ed. so when the time is right I feel that is what is in my best interest. Now the question is whether I will pursue it at the institutions I have already researched and/or interviewed at, or look into some other programs. One of the most sought after attributes in applicants for these programs is experience. So once I get some experience, I am going to see what school has the program that is right for me. Only time will tell...
That's all fun and incredibly interesting for my dedicated followers to read, but the next story will be even better I promise!
After getting through the meeting on Wednesday we all went back to the hotel to check into our rooms. Being newbies and all, we didn't realize the benefits of taking advantage of what the state of New York had to offer in terms of accommodations and Janelle, Ashley, and I roomed together. We had the option to ride solo, but we took one for the team because we know times are tough right now :-p I think we make pretty good roommates- but I already have trouble sleeping in hotels so I didn't get much sleep. Anyway, after taking some time to relax we all went out to dinner. I hate to take the credit for finding one of the best restaurants in the world, but I had a great idea of finding a hibachi style restaurant so we could relax, have fun, and eat some good food! Janelle was in charge of finding restaurants- I simply made a suggestion when we were googling and guess where we ended up.... HERE---> http://www.hanaalbany.com/#/home
For those of you that are not familiar with these restaurants, basically you have a sushi bar, a restaurant menu with different choices (still mostly Asian cuisine) and then, THEN there's the hibachi grill creations! AKA you sit in front of a grill and watch the Japanese chef make your meal in front of you...this is what mine looked like when all was said and done...
It's basically lo mein noodles, veggies, chicken, and filet mignon cooked on an open grill right.in.front.of.your.eyes. I chose this combination but believeeeeee me, there are many to choose from! Here's a picture of the grill and the chef...and my noodles!
BUT believe it or not, I still haven't gotten to the best part of the story. So, brace yourself because here it comes....I tried 5 different foods in one sitting! For those of you that don't know me very well, I do.not. like seafood. I am on the hunt to find some that I like, but I NEVER eat it. Oh, but first- I ordered something, just to order it, because I wanted to try something new that didn't have a scary name and that I thought I would enjoy so I ordered chicken tempura. Here's a picture ...
To me, they tasted like chicken fingers, so even though I was satisfied with the fact that I liked them, it wasn't really something "new" just something familiar with a new name. Moving on... after I finished my appetizer someone said I should try one of their sushi delicacies. YUCK! I kindly denied the offer until I saw the little orange fish eggs resting on top of one of the rice filled seaweed rolls. I was curious. VERY CURIOUS. and even though I swore it just could not happen..I could not like RAW seafood because I don't even like cooked seafood I went out on a limb and tried a fork full (aka the tip of the fork- but enough for me to taste them) The verdict: tasteless!!!!!! The only draw to those little lifeless things is the pop they make in your mouth when you bite them. Disgusting? Kinda. Interesting? Absolutely! I am still questioning whether I will have minnows in my belly, but I am glad I stepped out and tried them because they weren't nearly as scary as I thought they would be. Here's me trying the fish eggs- not the most flattering shot, but a keeper nonetheless...
So that was number 2. Number 3- lobster. Two words can sum up that experience...NEVER AGAIN! I do not like lobster. Okay, that was easy. Number 4- scallops. After experiencing the lobster's nasty after taste, I was hesitant to explore anymore under the sea creatures. But peer pressure got the best of me and the scallop was next in line. After convincing Janelle that she didn't need to feed it to me because everyone was watching and would probably ask questions, I grabbed the fork boldly and took a bite. A little better than the lobster, but certainly not something I would order on my own. Fail. To round out the samples, I bit into a juicy little shrimp. I've had shrimp. I can tolerate it. So it wasn't a NEW food per say, rather something to explore once more before turning to my usual excuse of not liking seafood because even though I don't prefer shrimp, I can eat it if I have to.
Honestly, I had THE BEST time eating at this restaurant. Our waitress was awesome, the chefs (is there a plural name for a chef?) were awesome, and the food was unbelievable. We were there almost 3 hours just enjoying good company and having fun. The meeting was a great experience, but enjoying the company of some colleagues outside of the office was by far one of the best parts that I will take away from my first profession adventure. I look forward to many more opportunities like this one. So, whether you're workin' hard, or hardly workin' just remember to have fun along the way!
No comments:
Post a Comment