SL2012: Training Week Day 1

Good evening from Talledega, Alabama! Training Week is fully underway as over one hundred staff members have converged on a local conference center for six days of learning about our purpose as a Student Life staff, meeting our teammates, sweating in the Alabama heat, and worshipping Christ together.

I arrived in Birmingham nearly two weeks ago to begin audio engineer training. To say I wasn't overwhelmed initally would be a lie, as I am in charge of equipment worth more than I care to think about. During those two weeks, we rehearsed in the Student Life warehouse with our full setup of lighting, sound, and video.

Today, all the other staff members arrived, and I met my team of twenty-three teammates (Go Big Orange), including a college student from Kenya here to speak about his experiences with a ministry that supported him physically and spiritually. He's a great guy, and I really look forward to getting to know him better. As far as I can tell, each person on our team is awesome. This summer is going to be great.

This morning, we met at the Student Life offices in Birmingham and enjoyed a barbecue lunch together, then we loaded into our vans and trucks and headed for Talladega. After about an hour drive (during which the college student from Africa told our driver, "You drive like a Kenyan,"), we met together as a staff as the president of Student Life shared several goals for the staff. Then, we met as a team for the first time and went over team goals. After dinner, we began load-in in the worship center and finished about five hours later. I hope to have pictures tomorrow.

Another very busy day is in store tomorrow. I'm so excited to see how God will move in each of our staff members and in students' and adults' lives. Pray that we would solely focus on Christ and seek to glorify Him above everything else.

Tech Project: BSU BASIC Training 2011

BASIC Training is perhaps the most tech-intensive event of the year at the Mississippi State BSU. I usually spend months in preparation for this two-day event for new freshmen and transfer students, dreaming ideas, carrying out those ideas, perfecting those ideas...only for those ideas to malfunction spectacularly twelve hours before the event begins.

This past year, I wanted to brand all graphics and videos to reflect the theme, "Survivor." Our logo was given to me in late spring:

Going off of the tropical, bright theme, I created pre/post-show announcement slides:
(Tech specs: 1280x720, created in GIMP, font: Cartonsix NC Medium, grunge background by struckdumb)

New category!

Since I do nothing else with my time, I'm going to start displaying photos of select projects I'm working on with BSU, Pinelake, and other places. Don't expect much.

Oh, and I'll use the label "tech project" for your easy navigation. Look for some of my favorite previous projects soon!

Ways My Job Interview Could Have Gone Horribly Wrong

I recently participated in a job interview for a summer opportunity. I got the job (which I will certainly blog about soon), but the night before the interview, Cody and I began brainstorming reasons the interview could go tragically awry. Thankfully, none of these disasters happened, but if you're soon interviewing for a job, take extra measures to ensure that these do not occur.

• Cyanide-laden candy – In an effort to gauge willpower and resistance to temptation, the interviewers could have placed a dish of cyanide-laden candy in front of me. If I partook of the confections, then I would surely die, making me a poor match for the position.
• Loss of tongular control – While explaining to the interviewers my qualifications to fill the position, I would slowly become incomprehensible. If I could not talk, I would be a poor match for the position. (Also, tongular is apparently not a word. Consider the word coined.)
• Wet pants – Bladder control problems would render me unfit for the position.
• Uncontrollable gas – Flatulence problems would not necessarily disqualify me from the position, but would look poorly on my gastrointestinal prowess. Thus, I did not dine on cuisine from Captain D's the night prior to the interview.
• Being arrested by the Alaska State Troopers – We discussed the implications of me being arrested during the interview but decided it would be far more interesting if I were arrested by the Alaska State Troopers for some wildlife offense, like killing a bear with my hands without a license. Improper killing methods are frowned upon in the workplace.
• Smoking – Considering that this interview was with a Christian organization held in a Christian campus organization building, smoking would be discouraged. If I pulled out a pack of Newport Menthol Golds and inquired of my interviewers if they had a light, chances are I would not receive the position. (I think smoking is a filthy habit, by the way. There are cooler ways to die, like spontaneous combustion.)
• Divulging incredibly personal information – If my responses to the question, "What qualifies you to be in this position?" included information about the circumstances surrounding my birth (I was a premie!), how I cry when I watch Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, my slight bout of scoliosis, or my incredible amounts of foot hair, I would likely not be awarded a job with this organization.
• Annoying magic tricks – If my response to "What are your hobbies?" somehow involved a playing card behind the ear of my interviewer, I might not get the job.
• Surprise interviewers – "Instead of performing a normal interview, we are going to step aside and let Louie Giglio/Madonna/Tony La Russa/Moses/Judge Judy/Hillary Clinton/Vladimir Putin interview you."
• Live stream of interview on website – "To help keep us all accountable, we are going to place a live feed of this interview on our website. Our statistics show that over 7,000 people are currently watching. We will have a 'People's Choice' portion of the interview in which viewers will interactively vote on each response you provide to our questions."
• Series of tasks – "We're tired of normal sit-down interviews. Since we're a cutting edge Christian organization, we're going to take you behind the building where an obstacle course is located. You have three minutes to complete it. Your time starts now."
• Bad board games – If I was required to play board games with the interviewers, I might not get the job. I'm particularly unskilled at Twister.

Font Failure: James' Biochemistry Class

Today's Comic Sans snafu comes from my friend James' biochemistry class. Why would you use a childish, comic book font to take attendance? Well, it's quite obvious: the professor desires to go back to the simpler things in life – being eight years old, watching Looney Tunes, and reading comic books. The rigor and stress of being immersed in the world of academia has finally caught up to this teacher, and this is a subtle cry for help.

If you're the teacher that created this tear-jerking PowerPoint presentation, please know that there is help! You're among friends in a no-judgment zone.

Font Failure: WCBI

We have our first offender of 2012! This dubious distinction is awarded to WCBI for using Comic Sans in their Birthday Bash suite of graphics.

Though, yes, Comic Sans could be used for childish applications, an 82-year-old woman was featured in this segment. You better believe that she wasn't feeling youthful and comical this morning.

White Flag

We raise our white flag
We surrender all to You
All to You
We raise our white flag
The war is over
Love has come
Your love has won

– "White Flag" by Chris Tomlin

This song symbolizes everything that has happened in my life over the past week at Passion 2012. While it would likely take a week of writing to adequately describe what's happened, God has moved in me like never before.

I pray this becomes the new normal in my life.