Fresh 35 Does Work Son

Alright, so I've been in Arizona for a touch over three weeks now. You may or may not be wondering what I have been doing with my abundant free time and if your not, than you're a jerk entitled to your own opinion (even if its the wrong one...).

When I haven't been getting beat in racquetball or training for Pat's Run, which is a 4.2 mile run held in Tempe on April 16, 2010 to raise money for the Tillman Foundation, I've been spending most of my days in the living room. Its rather depressing that I'm here in this new, beautiful climate and haven't really taken the time to explore it very much. I have, however, met up with a high school friend on the other side of town so I've at least seen more of the city since the previous post. Additionally, I went to an Arizona Cardinals football game this past Sunday, which proved to be an event and not because of the football either. Suffice it to say one of our tailgaters got a little out of hand in the pregame festivities and was kicked out of the stadium before he could reach his seats - fortunately for me and one of the other guys in our group, we were a few steps behind and therefore were not associated with him and stayed to watch the game. In my defense, I'm broke as hell and I paid a scalper for my ticket, I wasn't about to miss out on my first NFL game experience, with one of my favorite teams no less, because some guy couldn't control himself at the tailgate.

So, if you take out the work outs, racquetball and a few weekend activities thus far, I've had a fair amount of free time on my hands. A high priority has obviously been to find a job and I went out in search of work after I got settled. Tired of retail and other operations that, in no way, have anything to do with my degree, I concluded that those would be a last resort option. I stopped in at a few golf courses to inquire about pro shop help since the busy season for Arizona golf courses is now upon us (snow birds and all...). I also asked at the racquetball facilities we've been frequenting and a new gym is opening near the house so I checked with them as well.

Before moving out here, I sent out emails and checked in with some people I've met through networking and other stops in life. One such connection was my current roommate who had a friend working for the Cardinals ticket sales staff. As luck would have it, she was leaving the position soon but before she did, she was kind enough to pass on my resume. I attempted to make contact with all the local contacts I had been given prior to leaving Iowa at this point as well. I wasn't having much success getting a hold of anyone and the pro shop idea didn't seem to be gaining any traction when I finally received a call from the Cardinals organization. The gentleman on the other end, Ron, wanted to know if I was still interested in talking to him about the ticket sales position. Of course I said yes, even though I wasn't entirely sure what the position was all about. Before I moved, I was basically looking for an in any way I could get it, so if that meant sending my resume along to the Cards ticket operations without really knowing what, if any, opportunities were available, I was all for it. Ron and I scheduled a time for an interview and I was happy to finally have a lead.

The next week I interviewed with Ron and learned more about the position - seeking out prospective clientele, placing calls to potential customers, etc. The interview was pretty standard (where do you see yourself in 5 years, strengths, weaknesses, and so on) and we ended the conversation with a plan to have a decision by the end of the week. Friday came and Ron asked if I was still interested. I was and we moved forward in the process. I was to fill out some paper work so they could run a background check on me. After sending that information back over I had to wait until Tuesday the following week to officially be extended an offer which I received while in the weight room at the Chicago White Sox spring training facility.

I accepted and will begin working with the Arizona Cardinals ticket sales staff on November 30th. It somehow seems oddly appropriate that after years of endless planning and a resume comprised primarily of intercollegiate athletics experience that I would find my first job in a field I have no experience with, in an industry I always considered secondary to where I wanted to work, and all after I moved over a thousand miles away on a whim. Funny how life works sometimes.

This is the start of a new chapter to be certain, but certainly not the end of the book or this Act in the show for that matter. This is Fresh 35: An Intern's Foray Into the Business of Intercollegiate Athletics. Intercollegiate, not professional. We're making progress team, but we aren't there yet. Clearly this opportunity will provide me with the opportunity to be a little more selective in new opportunities while gaining some valuable experience in a field that is absolutely critical to the success of any athletic organization - professional, intercollegiate or otherwise. As I stated in my interview with Ron, in order to reach my goal of one day becoming a senior administrator, I find it crucial that I experience as many aspects to athletics that I can so whenever I'm calling the shots, I can draw from personal experience and will be able to relate to problems and concerns from whoever is working that position then by saying, I've been there, I understand, lets work together to find a solution.

I was asked after my round of unsuccessful interviews this summer if I had learned anything from the experience. I wasn't sure at the time, but the more I thought about it, the more I began to think the variety of my experiences were crippling, rather than enhancing my chances with these employers. In every case, it was always the same reason they chose another. "This person had more experience in sports information." or "He had more graphic design experience." I began to think maybe I should have focused in on one area rather than trying to broaden my experience, which was frustrating to think. It wasn't until that I remembered my long term goals and aspirations that I again became confident in my professional and educational choices. Variety and broad horizons enhance rather than detract in almost every aspect of life in my opinion and its because I still feel strongly about that fact, I know, while this is a great step for me personally, it is only a means to an end.

With that, I'm off to get beat in more racquetball...

More later

Fresh 35 Soaks Up the Sun

I have reached the valley of the sun. The trip was a long but successful journey starting Tuesday morning when I said my "fare thee wells" to my parents and headed off to see what was in store for me.

It didn't take long for that smile to fade...trust me

The drive from home to Estes Park, Colorado took 13 hours if you count the time change. The car was filled with clothes, a computer, a few odds and end, a cooler with food and drink and an increasing feeling of boredom.

The reason I chose to leave at 7am and drive through colorado was so I could see the sunset behind the mountains. First of all I have never seen a mountain range in person before and coupling that with a sunset is a sure fire way to pump some energy into a long, drawn out drive, among other things. Unfortunately, the weather had other ideas and cloud cover prevented me from seeing the rockies until the following morning. So, I, in fact, did think the rocky mountains should be a lot rockier than this...damn you John Denver!

Damn you cloud cover!

Even though I didn't see the mountains on my approach, it wasn't long until I was in them, driving through a twisting canyon in a light snow. After 12 hours of driving I was ready to be done with this leg of the trip, but all the sharp turns and lack of light kept me on my toes as I slowly, but surely, made my way into Estes Park.

I met a friend from college at the Stanley Hotel where she was working behind the bar. I ordered a beer and a burger and started to wind down. We caught up over my dinner and I even socialized with the locals a little bit. One of them suggested that I take the southern route the next day because I-70 through colorado had a few closings on Tuesday. I had thought by the time I leave late Wednesday morning, the roads through the mountain should be clear enough to drive through since the weather Wednesday was supposed to be much more favorable. We decided to keep an eye on the situation and I would make a decision the following morning.

During the process of catching up with my friend, I inquired about the Stanley Hotel and was surprised to find it had such a famous back story. Apparently, Stephen King stayed there for a brief time and the hotel became the inspiration for this book The Shining. I read through a pamphlet about the hotel and Mr. King wasn't the only famous guest at the Stanley, there was a list dedicated to celebrities who stayed there.

The Stanley Hotel pamphlet

The trip had finally started catching up to me and my friend was nice enough to let me crash at her place while she was still working. I headed to her place with every intention of waiting for her to get back before going to bed, but it wasnt happening and I passed out as soon as my head hit the pillow.

The next morning we got breakfast at a small, local diner and said our goodbyes. After investigating the road conditions that morning, I figured it would take longer, but would in all likelihood be safer. The new route took me south through colorado into new mexico, where I'd eventually head west into arizona. The southern route was about 100 miles longer but all I had to do was drive, so its not like I was in any real hurry.

After breakfast and before I hit the road, I stopped at a safeway to grab a couple sandwiches to throw in the cooler for lunch and dinner. I finally got a good look at some of the mountain peaks in the parking lot...

Some cloud cover but it was beautiful to me

This portion of the trip was easily the best. I drove out of the mountains and into Boulder, Denver, and Fort Collins, smiling all the while at the majestic scenes out of my window. I am thoroughly convinced that I would love to live in colorado now that I've seen it with my own eyes. Words simply don't do it justice.

Driving out of Estes Park

The rest of the trip through CO, NM and AZ was rather uneventful. I saw a grass fire in New Mexico and was actually really surprised and how gorgeous NM was. The sun set as I was nearing the NM, AZ border which somewhat made up for not seeing the sun set the previous day, though I'm sure the sun setting over the few mountains in NM had nothing on the Rockies, but it was cool all the same.

Perhaps the worst part of the trip was when I reached into my cooler for a sandwich and found that the ice from the previous day had melted even though it had spent the night in below freezing temperatures which left my sandwiches water logged. If it wasn't that, it was that I had to drive through the state of Arizona in the dark which wasn't difficult, but I would have loved to see how it compared with CO and NM.

I finally arrived at my destination roughly 15 hours later which sets the entire time behind the wheel at 28 hours. Turns out that extra 100 miles made a difference. I was glad to have finally arrived and showed my appreciation by passing out on the couch. I never knew sitting behind the wheel of a car for so long could make you so tired.

Now its me and Biasotti, the basketball manager who I worked under back in college, living together and doin our thing. We play racquetball, work out at the white sox training facility and have a few tv series we're starting to get into - Boardwalk Empire anyone? The weather out here is fantastic, the scenery is gorgeous and the town is new. What a phenomenal place to live.

The road through my neighborhood to the house

Now my search for a job begins, but that's a post for another time.

More Later