Da' Cubs

Well april is nearing and the flowers are blooming, and that could only mean one thing..........thats right, break out the wood and head to the ball park.  Major League Baseball starts up in a matter of days, and I couldn't be more excited.  Although this generally means a 5% grade drop in most of my classes, i wouldn't trade it for anything.  there is something about sitting outside, beer in hand, sun in your eyes and friends by your side that really gets to me.  I believe it all started with my father.  Growing up in Illinois, he has been a life long cubs fan, and has attended an astounding number of games at wrigley field throughout his years.  As a kid i always enjoyed driving up to chicago with my glove on my hand the whole ride, sure that this was going to be the day that i caught a Sammy Sosa home run in the bleachers.  Since then things have changed, and so has the cubs roster, but the feeling i get every time I walk into that ball park is still the same, euphoria.  

I don't have to be at a ballpark to enjoy the game.  Listening to them on the radio or watching them on television is always a blast as well.  Lets face it, unless you have the absolute best seats in the stadium, you aren't going to get much of a better view than watching the game in hd from the comfort of your living room. Cubs play the most day games out of any team in the major leagues, and while I much prefer to watch a game in the middle of the day, this does pose several problems when it comes to attending class.  It is so hard to become motivated to go to class when there is a full count in a tie ball game in the middle of the 5th inning.  This is something that i am going to have become better at if I plan on graduating at the end of this semester.  This goes along with becoming a better leader for myself.  I have to become more self motivated if I plan on working in the sales industry, seeing as will most likely not be in an office many days of the week, and my boss will rely on me to generate sales and leads in my own time.  I have to start practicing now if I plan on being successful somewhere down the line.

Tower Building

Tower building was one of the most unique activities I have engaged in so far in my career at Purdue.  It was not only a fun way to interact with our fellow classmates and group members, but also a nice change up from the normal everyday lectures that seem to put most of us asleep throughout the week.

Although I thought my group, team wicked awesome, built BY FAR the best tower during our class time, I understand that not everyone could be winners.  Our groups was not the tallest or widest, but I really thought it showed the personalities of everyone in our group.  each member had several different items that described their personality or social lives to a T. We were then able to combine all of these items into a relatively tall tower that was pleasing to the eyes.  The group that one was the human tower.  Although I thought it was a very unique way of showing how everyone in their group is needed for them to succeed, i believe that it broke one of the guidelines that we were supposed to have followed, which was that it had to be able to stand alone.  When it was all said and done it was not about winners and losers, but rather if we had fun and came together to collaborate, which we all did.   

Test

The dreaded CSR 309 Test......wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be.

Coming into the test all I heard were horror stories from students of previous years.  Many of them told me not to study, "Impossible to pass," "not meant to be taken seriously," and "stupid".  I was the foolish kid who decided to listen to them and go into the test blind.  I mean sure I read most of the book, but simply reading a 400 page book does not allow me to call on all of the specific components of leadership (since there were plenty of them mentioned in the book).  With that said I believe that I will at least gain some partial credit on a lot of my answers, besides the two that I did not answer at all.  Had I studied and really gone back over the basic points the book made, I would not only have passed the test, but probably could have received a low B, and I am talking about minimal study.  I was only able to recall 3 of the 5 components of leadership, something that could have easily been memorized ten minutes before the test.  So, a lesson to be learned through this blog.....don't listen to everything your friends tell you because they are probably wrong!

Peace Out  

Blogging Is Totally Sweet

Hello Fellow CSR 309ers,

I am Nate Marine, and this is the first time I have ever had to write a blog! I like to eat a lot of food and drink a lot kool-aide, I feel that it contributes to my happy demeanor. If any of you have any specific suggestions of Kool-aide flavors I should try, let me know.

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