9 & 5 Are ZTA Numbers, But NOT My ZTA Hours

Well, I made it. And after my first 25 hours of training in the past two days I can honestly still say that the very same email I sent to Ms. Ensor following my interview I would be proud to scream from the rooftop of IO for the whole world to hear. Actually, going through with that would probably get tied to my chair in the conference room. The 14 days we are spending in Indianapolis are intended to deprogram each of us from everything we thought we knew about ZTA and teach us how to teach and the material ZTA provides us to share with the chapters we will be visiting (NO, I still do not know which chapters those might be, anxiously waiting).

Now you know how I went on and on about how much I love my TLC sisters, well.. about that.. hahaha kidding. The more and more I learn about each of them and where they come from the more I see what it is that makes our relationships with one another so strong. I am rooming with Sharon and Ali which works out perfect because we are all really really laid back. This is Sharon's second year traveling so she has served as a wonderful source of information and guidance. 

The more and more time we spend learning about the operation and integration of chapters and their programming the more I find myself questioning the ZTA collegiate experience I had. I know this is probably not something that you might expect to hear out of someone who has decided to explore a career in Greek Life, but again the more conversations I have with the women I am working with the more we discover that each of us have chapter envy of one another in some form or fashion. It is actually more of a curiosity of the different sisterhoods each of us experienced. 

I am not going to get too much into what it is we are learning in this post because for most it will be really boring to non Greeks reading it. I will cover interesting topics later in the week if I don't get too burned out. I don't exactly get a whole lot of time to not spend thinking about ZTA. But whats new about that, right?  

I will be posting pictures after tomorrow probably and a little bit on the small battles I am facing with my own personal leadership style/ crown color (for you ZTAs out there). AND of course a HUGE post just as soon as I get my first travel schedule. Oh wait, and after I creepily search and learn everything there is to know about the chapters I visit. CANT WAIT!! 

Warmly. (thanks Janelle, for the cute sign off)

Also, the hotel we are staying in is super nice and convenient. And just as I knew I would, I am in LOVE with INDY. Beautiful city and weather. IO ain't bad looking either.   

Up, Up and Away

As I sit with my family on a typical night at the Baker House, trying to agree on a meal for dinner... I am so hungry that I am about to make my own grilled cheese sandwich... if they don't hurry up and figure this out.

I am sure while traveling there will be many things I long for, crave and miss. Here are some I am sure will rise above the rest.

My Family: If you have ever met my parents and younger brother you know we are a loud and mouthy bunch. For the most part we are very laid back and all share similar interests. Shopping (for anything, groceries, clothes, SHOES, home decor), Music (Susan's taste is not quite the same, damn feminist can't take a joke), Movies (again Susan will watch them refuses to laugh at any joke where a female is the target), and laying by the pool. Jeff and I are pretty much the same person, while Justin and Susan are our full of emotion and feelings counterparts. Our house hold is run by our pets and we do the best to treat them like they are members of the family.

Speaking of Pets, Paisley: my one-year-old Vally Bulldog (English Bulldog, mixed with a Boxer) is going to be the hardest to leave behind. I am very very fortunate that my parents have agreed to keep her for the next year while I am on the road. She has adapted to having a back yard and her big, much older, brother Bock (seen above). She makes my heart smile. Everyone that has ever met her knows that she is not the most well behaved animal but she has a whole lot of loveand kisses to share. And anyone who has seen the two of us together knows that I let do just about what ever she wants, including lay in my lap and kiss my face. I know she will be well taken care of and I know she is going to grow up and change so munch in the next year and I just hope remembers how to love and cuddle with her mom (me) when I get back.

Friends and Gamma Tau Sisters: I have a handful of friends that I have vowed to call in every spare minute I can steal. In between gossip filled phone calls I will have the following picture displayed on the outside covers of my planner while I am on the road. These women have served as my support system and my biggest cheerleaders and I charge into my new big girl LIFE.

Big XII football: I am a huge sports nut and have developed a true interest in NCAA football while in college. My specifically for teams in the Big XII, which now has 10 teams? Anyways, for the past three years I have been an avid daily College Football Live watcher, I record Saturday's College Game Day presentation (yeah, it comes on at 9am and sometimes after a long night out 9am comes a little too early). I am sure it has stemmed from my parents investment in the Texas Longhorns, and Tech's impressive tradition of handing out upsets. I will miss attending games and often I assume my schedule and regional TV contracts will keep me from watching games during the season. And my job will definitely keep me away from tailgating and fraternizing.

Texas: The greatest state in the country!! I can only imagine the things I will experience and many landscapes I will see during the time I travel. But I have also traveled enough already to know that the state pride that the people of Texas breed into their children from the Texas flag onesie, to our 7th grade Texas History classes there is just something about a Texas Girl that you wont find anywhere else in the south. Where else in the country can you go to in state school 9 hours away from your hometown. Because of all the time I have spent traveling this great state by car I have a huge appreciation for the beautiful gift we call TEXAS.

Driving/Freedom/Sense of Direction: Since our consultant fly from campus to campus the majority of the time we will be driven my chapter members and advisors. If I need to run an errand or want late night ice cream I will be limited by who is available to run me around. I also will be new to every surrounding I am put in, having my sense of direction thrown off is something I am going to have to get comfortable with.

My Life In 68lbs Or Less

After literally months of list making and reminder post-its I finally began the process of packing up my life for the next three months. Ever since I was 8 years old I spent a week of my summer at various summer camps. The registration packets would come in during late February and as soon as it was mailed off it took everything I had not to start packing immediately. This was the same situation. The Monday after I was offered the job I spent my whole day in class and at work writing down all the things I thought I was going to need. Then weeks later when I was able to sit down and pick the brain of a current TLC even more was added to the list. I refrained from actually touching and sorting any of my clothes until late May when I was moving into my parents' house. Since my wardrobe didn't fit all in one closet I went ahead and separated clothes I considered appropriate and easy to pack from the rest of everything else. So my "TLC" clothes and other items have been in my family's guest room for the past couple of months piling up.

Over the past weekend my parents were away on vacation and I was left to keep an eye on my brother and tend to the puppies. This left open the perfect opportunity to begin the process of packing.

In the past three days I have plucked "unnecessary" items from the pile, till finally it looked like a manageable/packable amount of clothing. And sure enough by 11pm last night the next three months of my life was packed up in two pieces of luggage. The grand total of which comes to... 67.7lbs. 41.0 for my checked bag and 26.7 for my carry on.

Now the following list is more for me to keep inventory of the things I am beginning my travels with incase my luggage gets lost or I misplace something. I know I have over looked something (TLCs reading this, help me out if you catch something). And I am sure that this list will give me a laugh come December when I have this whole traveling thing down, but for now HERE IT IS.

Tennis Shoes

6 Socks

Black Heals

Crown TOMS

White Ritual Shoes

Shower Flip Flops

Gold Flats

Tory Ballet Flats

Camisole Tops (white & black)

Swim Suit

Leggings

Getting Ready Dress (a swim cover up, that I wear when I am doing my hair and make up)

Towel Wrap

Purple Summer Scarf- incase I end up at KState ;)

3 Sleeping Shorts

4 Sleeping T-shirts

Rain Jacket

Fleece

7 ZTA T-shirts

5 Sports Bras

4 Bras

10 Underwear

5 Solid V-Neck Shirts

3 Cardigans

4 Nicer Blouses

3 Nike Shorts

3 Sweatpants

5 Summer Skirts

2 Jeans (I know crazy, I plan on having my mom mail me more once it gets cooler)

White Ritual Dresses

Black Pref Dress

Black Romper

Turquoise Sun Dress

Floral Dress

Khaki Pencil Skirt

Navy Linen Pants

In a gallon sized bag separate from all other clothes in carry on:

Khaki Shorts

White V-Neck T-Shirt

Extra Bra

Cardigan

Full Size Shampoo, Conditioner and Body Wash

Travel Size of the same to keep in my carry on, incase of lost bag.

Normal Toiletries For the Most Part

Nail Kit

ZTA Magnet Name Tags

Wrinkle Releaser

Dryer Sheets

Hair Dryer (full size did not fit, I am going to buy a travel dryer)

Straightener

Wash Cloths

Pillow Cases

Ready Set Recruit

Stationary

Kindle

Chargers to Everything

Camera

Flip Video Camera

Receipt Wallet

Surge Protector (found an awesome really small one)

Clip Board

Planner (with pictures of my friends and puppy)

I am sure there are a million things in between I have over looked. I will update as I go : )

Light Reading

Okay so being out of school now for 2+ months has severely decreased my overall attention span. After receiving my TLC package I was so pumped to learn as much as I could about the year ahead of me. However, I was so completely "out of shape" when it came to retaining anything I was attempting to read. Then that lead me to believe that if I just got through Convention my head would be a little more clear and I would be able to spend my 10 days off at least skimming the material. Well, with only 7 days left till I leave I can't imagine that I round up the motivation to open the cover.

Ready Set Recruit is a thick three inch binder that holds all the answers to pulling off a textbook recruitment. Exercises, conversation topics, theme idea, ect. Having never served as President, recruitment chair, membership or new member educator I was never really required or called upon to refer to it.

Pledged- Okay so before I even went through recruitment back in the day (06) there was a book published called Pledged and it followed the sorority membership of four different girls in two different chapters on an unnamed campus (its be speculated that it was SMU). I started reading it because it often has Greeks on the defensive and I kind of felt like I needed to know what I might be up against. That doesn't even sound right, but never the less I wanted to be in the know about what was out there. This is probably totally inappropriate but I have the same approach to Greeks vs. "GDIs" as I do Republicans vs. Democrats. I can sit and argue both sides all day long. I have been witness to and even played a role in some very very stereotypical Greek Life behavior. Just as I identify with different parties platforms on various issues. Either way I am about half way through the book and having been so busy catching up on sleep recently I have not been able to make any progress since I have been at home. I plan on putting a big dent in it tomorrow while I lay out by the pool. (P.S. why am I self conscious as I sit in the car wash waiting room with my pledged book and know all the little socialite mommies sitting around me think that I am a future PNM preparing myself for rush)

Blogs, now not only have I started two blogs in the past two months but I have starting following several blogs pertaining to Greek Life, mostly speakers and those involved with improving issues Greeks and college students are faced with. I have learned a lot so far and even gone so far as to comment (big mistake, but I just got so riled up I just couldn't keep my mouth shut). I am learning a lot about the issues being discussed and even more about how to maintain and write a blog.

Articles- I have started getting a whole new wave of articles forwarded to me from friends and family members. Some I read, others the titles are enough to make me hit the delete button.

Now other materials I have not been able to put down. Suggested packing lists, to do lists and emails from IO.

Now all of this reading and preparing is leading up to the training that will take place one week from today at ZTA's International Office in Indianapolis. All 18 of us will meet for two weeks to learn every possible task, job and position we might be assigned to take on or teach while on the road. I can't wait for this experience for many reasons, the most of which being getting to see all of my TLC sisters for two whole weeks, and also to learn the many many many things I was never taught at all or correctly while in my chapter.

It is going to be a great adventure. Now if I can only get to reading!!

Cheers!

Convention 2010: Experience the Sisterhood

This being my second convention I felt pretty confident that I had packed all the right things and knew what to expect in terms of the overall structure. Tradition is a big part of Greek life and I couldn't imagine that my second experience would be all that different from the first. I was WRONG, but in a really great way. When I attended in 2008 I found a deeper connection to the "Lifetime of Sisterhood" which was in fact the theme of our general meetings. And as the ladies of ZTA always do, we were presented with a new initiative, "Experience the Sisterhood". That is exactly what we did for 6 glorious days, and when I say days I mean 6am-1am days! Now this week was only a taste of the AMAZING experiences I have been assured will ensue throughout my time on the road (many of the alumnae we had the pleasure of working with were past TLCs).

The countdown to convention began in early April when myself and the other 16 TLC received our very first email from IO "detailing" what was go come in the month ahead. We weren't exactly prepared for what our volunteer services at convention would be, but we had a date and a list of names. July 6th would be the day ZTA brought together 17 wonderfully talented leaders from across the country. We immediately bonded and began telling stories. There was an instant kindred sisterhood between each of us. By the time I arrived back a the hotel from airport duty with Robyn and Sami, my wonderful roommate Lexie had found all my luggage and had it all laid out for me on my bed with a cute note!! Just what I needed as I was rushed to make it to our first TLC task, the parade of National Council. (See Picture Below).

It was obvious, as we joyfully put on these ridiculous outfits, that there was a common thread linking all of us. Not necessarily insanity, more of an overwhelming love to do what ever we can for ZTA. This thread is what will keep us all connected as we set off in a million different directions at the beginning of August.

For most of us this was the first trip out of the house for our new luggage and our first attempts at packing for the unpredictable and impossible. I can only speak for myself but the luggage held up GREAT and the packing could be improved upon, but this next time around I plan on spending two to three days packing everything just right. My organization, or lack there of, as the week went on was less than impressive. I am going to have to find a better system to keep my items in my suitcase more organized and out of the way while on the road. I think a little extra time in the mornings and running with a little more sleep each day might just improve that situation.

The business of the convention consisted of a new presentation of the next phase of My Sister My Responsibly, election of a new National Council, Performance of the Epsilon Step Team, and Special Guest DJ Scrilla and his new ZTA rap. All part of the wonderful experience that is the sisterhood of ZTA.