Two months in Cincinnati

Well, I have finished my fifth week of classes at Xavier and all is going well.
From principles and management of sport to finances, budgeting and accounting to media relations, I am neck deep in education right now.

No, it is not all bad.

A couple Wednesdays ago, my finance class professor took us on a field trip to Cinergy Field, the home of the Reds. Our professor is the Controller for the Reds. He is the guy who budgets the money to pay for things like Griffey and Barry Larkin's huge salaries. It is neat to hear his stories about the inner-workings.

Let me tell you two things I observed from the field trip:
1. The new Reds stadium to open in 2003 is going to be a thousand times better than this 30-year-old cookie-cutter hole of a stadium.

2. Ken Griffey Jr.!! Griffey had a sore hamstring and did not play the day we went to the stadium, which was great because he was not in the dugout. He was in the hall behind the dugouts where we were. He was talking to about 20 kids who were all sitting around him. I was about 10 feet from him, and that is as close as I got. He was doing some special talk to the kids they all had Pepsi shirts on. I did yell, "What's up Griffey!" to him, and he waved back and said, "what's up guys."
Well, we made it back to Chattanooga the weekend of Sept. 15-17, and had a great time with some of my family, friends and fraternity brothers. I also caught some of the Chattanooga Mocs football game - the 72-17 bashing of Mississippi Valley State. We will be back in town Homecoming weekend, Oct. 13-15.

Stacy is doing great at her new job at the University of Cincinnati Foundation. The building she works in, University Hall, is quite awesome. Her office facilities are very nice. The UC campus is undergoing some really large building projects, which add to the impressive campus.

My Thursday night professor, Betsy Ross, who works for ESPN, called class off last Thursday. She stayed at the ESPN studios to help cover the Olympics. She has been doing updates in the morning before the hourly SportsCenter.

So last Thursday, Stacy and I am went to XU campus for the dedication and blessing of the new 10,250-seat Cintas Center. Remember, Xavier is a private, Jesuit campus, so the President is a "Father." Father Hoff blessed the arena and unveiled the new Musketeer statue outside of the arena. The Musketeer is about nine feet tall carrying a sword and pointing toward campus. By the way, our nickname is Musketeers. If you were wondering, and I did, other Jesuit campuses include, Marquette, Georgetown, St. Joseph's, Boston College, St. Louis, Loyola, Santa Clara and about 21 more.

Now that I am pretty set in my classes and know what I can handle, I am starting to look for a job that will continue to help with my personal and professional experiences.

My birthday was last week so it was a time for gifts, including Pottery Barn delights, the new, very awesome Jimi Hendrix four-CD box set, some DVDs I wanted and some Ivy League gear my mom, step dad and sister got for me on their trip to the New England states.

Stacy and I are both trying to get involved with our respective Greek alumni groups here in Cincinnati. Stacy's, Sigma Kappa, is said to have one of its strongest alumni groups here. My alumni chapter here with Sigma Chi is deep-rooted in tradition as our first chapter was founded up the road in Oxford in 1855.

We are also hooking up with the University of Tennessee National Alumni Association Chapter up here. The chapter is watching the UT-LSU football game at a local sports bar this Saturday. The best thing about this is the sports bar is about ½ mile from our apartment. Sorry, we could not get the UTC-Wofford game on pay per view, though I would love it!

It is supposed to be sunny and mid-60s through the weekend. Well, thanks to everyone for keeping up with me and keeping in touch.