NE/WYO

Last weekend I had the pleasure of driving across the midwest and seeing the beautiful landscape of Wyoming. The best thing about it was the trip was virutally free. The only thing I had to pay for was my own food.


What was this trip for you ask?

The Nebraska/Wyoming Regional conference for Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society.

I got an email from the Iowa Regional Coordinator, Nancy. The NE/WYO region invited her to come speak at their conference so she decided to invite a few more people to tag along with her. More like 8 people but who's counting? All 9 of us piled ourselves and our luggage into an 8 passenger van. Yeah do the math 9 people + 8 passenger van + all of our stuff for a weekend = cramped! Nancy had the brilliant idea of putting a baby crib mattress in the back for someone to sit on and we would rotate who would sit back there. Rotate my ass. I was stuck in the back for 10 hours of the 12 hour ride out there. I was not alone most of the time. We had a few hefty passengers so the seats were quite cramped trying to fit 3 people to a seat. Luckily on the way back home I didn't have to sit in the back at all. I even got to ride shotgun with Nancy for part of the ride. It was my job to talk to Nancy to keep her awake and alert. However after sitting there for at least two hours my head began to bob and I was out like a light. To explain this I guess I better tell you what I did in Wyoming that made me so freaking tired that I fell asleep in the van (its rare that I fall asleep in vehicles).
Last friday we left at 4 o'clock in the morning so we would have time to make stops and we had to pick up a few people along the way. We were on the road for over a good 12 hours on Friday. We checked into the hotel and had time to shower or rest before going to the community college where the conference was being held. Nancy was the guest speaker on Friday night so it was mandatory that we attend the first general session.
Dinner was provided for us and was catered by Texas Roadhouse. I, being a person who cannot digest red meat very well, was not happy with the only choice of meat being steak. I did however; eat the vegetable, potato and the dinner rolls so don't worry I didn't go hungry.
Saturday was full of break-out sessions. These small break-out sessions are designed to be informational and engage you in an activity so you learn the information without realizing it. At least that's what the Iowa believes they are supposed to be like. I didn't attend other break-out sessions because the ones that we were doing had the information that I wanted to know. I didn't really care about the other topics because I either wasn't interested or it didn't apply to me. Saturday was also full of weird looks and whispers from the NE/WYO region members. Nancy can be quite the character so she got alot of funny looks on Friday during her speech. On saturday the whole Iowa region was given funny looks because we all chose to wear halloween headbands that Nancy bought us at the Dollar Store when we stopped for lunch.
Iowa region is known for shaking things up and for being the loudest region at International. We were louder than Texas and they had twice as many people. We're all about having a good time and showing our Phi Theta Kappa spirit, something that not many people from the NE/WYO region possess. We had to show them how it's done.
Let's get back to the point. I hopped in a van with 8 other people, drove across the midwest, did a little sightseeing along the way, wore a hilarious halloween headband, went for an adventure in the Dollar Tree in Cheyenne, Wyoming; decorated the van with smiley face and Power Rangers window clings, crashed a wedding reception in downtown Cheyenne,
went bowling,
sang karaoke at a Relay for Life event
and got my picture taken with a girl dressed up as Lady Gaga.
I had a crazy Saturday night in Cheyenne, Wyoming. We got back to the hotel around 2 o'clock and got up at 5 to make the trip back to Iowa. Now I know that if part of our trip is on Sunday I should take Monday off from work and possibly get my homework from class so I can stay home and sleep. I fell asleep during chemistry, called into work to say that I was picking up my paycheck then leaving, and dozed off during my spanish quiz. There is no rest for the weary because the next day I had to speak at the Induction ceremony for my chapter. I was given the task of writing a speech about why new inductees should get involved and what being involved in Phi Theta Kappa means to me. My speech rocked! My grandpa has video but if he ever gets it to me in a format that I can use I will post it. I was also installed as a chapter officer. I assumed my duties as co-president for my chapter in May of this year. Hopefully at our next chapter meeting on Tuesday I see alot of new faces and people who are eager to get involved. It really is a great experience and it has really changed my life.
Next weekend I will be in Carroll, Iowa for the Iowa Regional conference. This conference is being held on Thursday, Friday and Saturday so I will have Sunday to recover.
I have lots more pics but Blogger won't let me upload them to this post. I will do a separate photo post when I have time. I am currently running low so if someone has some spare time they would like to give me it would be greatly appreciated!