Living the life at a District Convention

I was out of the OWU environment and I enjoyed another stay in a hotel. This time, I was in the Marriott in Dublin right by the Tuttle Crossing shopping center. I had never been to Tuttle Crossing so seeing the area was a new experience for me. I arrived at the hotel around 5 pm last Friday and I stayed at the Marriott until Sunday afternoon.
The occasion you ask?? Well, I was at the Marriott in Dublin for the Ohio District Circle K District Convention. This year, Ohio Wesleyan had the distinct honor to host the District Convention. This meant that I was heavily involved in the program. I helped set up the beginning of the welcome program and I was elected a delegate for the most important House of Delegates, which decides what changes need to be addressed and voted through to take effect. I spent a good amount of the weekend looking at the changes in the District's structure for its events.
The rooms were comfortable but I did not get to see much of it because I was in the sessions for most of the day. I did not get much sleep while I was there; I was doing a service project one night and working on homework the other night. I woke up around 7 am each day to work out and to get breakfast on Saturday before the general session. I did not go to any of the workshops because I was catching up on work and looking at the items we were to discuss at the House of Delegates.
One of the favorite things I liked about Circle K District Convention besides the open interaction with people in other Ohio Circle K group was the Banquet Saturday night. There is such a sense of camaraderie between everyone and the food was excellent. The Banquet also had an awards ceremony to it- I loved seeing people earn their awards as I know that they worked hard to earn these awards. The keynote speaker, our own Megan Evans, was funny and inspirational at the podium, making for a most interesting speech. Afterwards, I headed up to the District Board's suite and chatted with the board and our International Sub-Region E representative, Christa Fry. I got to chug some hugs and below in one of the pictures is the start of a devastating trend of chugging sugary deliciousness. I finished off the night putting down 12 eight ounce hugs. By the end of my devastation, I was full and ready for bed (it was around 2 am when I finished).
I would like to thank Kristen Lear, our District Convention Chair, for enduring eighteen months of planning and getting everything ready for us in the Ohio District and for never wavering from your passion. You have done us all proud and I am happy to be your fellow OWU Circle K'er. You did your thing last week out there and made it look so easy. I cannot wait to work with you again.
Okay. The rest is explained through the pictures of the bottom of this page. Enjoy.




































From me to you, with ODCKI (Ohio District Circle K International) love,
Hasani Wheat
Class of '10

Midsemester Break- Friday

I forgot to mention this on the Thursday post but I went to the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company for dinner. The name was catchy so I made it my first choice for my dinner at the Mall of America. I had a shrimp combination of coconut shrimp, plain shrimp, popcorn shrimp, and tempura shrimp. I think I had a Sex On the Beach for my drink and I got this really cool souvenir cup to show my parents of my trip.






































On Friday, I left the Hilton earlier because I wanted to go to the casino Mystic Lake and I had to catch a shuttle to get there. The shuttle departed from the Mall of America so I need two shuttles to get to there I need to go. I had never been in a casino so I was excited, happy, and nervous all at the same time. The shuttle was about a twenty minute ride there so I got in a nap. Upon arrival, I knew that the casino was owned by Native Americans because of the signage. This trip has encouraged me to write a paper in part about the Native Americans and their recent success on gaming (Bingo, casinos) among other topics I have selected in my Race And Ethnicity (Sociology/Anthropology) class. Is this a way to support their tribes financially? Is Indian gaming a good way to acquire integration into the mainstream and suburban areas? I do not know the answer but I will research it and try to make a case out of it.











I entered Mystic Lake and the place was huge, filled with all types of slot machines, blackjack stations, and bingo areas. I should have taken pictures but I did not get a chance to get out what the policy was for picture taking in a casino (but you visualize especially if you have been to a casino). Looking at the front of the place upon arrival, I did not think it was going to be as big as it was. Then, I see a Valet Parking sign and I thought to myself, "Wow." The spacial area of Mystic Lake, just by looking at the parking lot and how it extended itself all over, was enormous. Just like the Mall of America, it took me an hour or two to orient myself with the casino. There were not that many signs (at least not at first sight in plain view) so I kept getting turned around. Eventually, I found the area where I needed to get my casino card and my points along with machines that you can turn in your receipt from playing slots and get your actual money. Once I figured the casino out enough to locate some areas that looked of interest to me, I started to experience the casino in its entirety (or at least I think I did, the casino was just so huge). I played on a couple of slots and stayed on there for a while, winning some valuable money in the process. I left with a gain so that was a plus that I did not expect. After playing the slots, I ventured out into the hotel area (yeah, Mystic Lake doubled as a casino and a hotel).



From there, I saw a lot of reserved areas in the building for meetings and a huge bingo hall. Across from the bingo hall, I saw places where I could get food. I was starving so I went and ordered a burger and waffle fries. I am realizing that I am falling in love with Mystic Lake and gambling does not seem so bad as long as I control my urges. I think I stayed at Mystic Lake from the noon time until the departure of my shuttle at 5 pm. I immediately wanted to go back in and stayed for another five or six hours but I knew that I had to get back.






I was eyeing the theatres but most of the movies I wanted to see had already started. I ventured around and eventually stopped at the putt-putt area. I needed to kill time before crashing for the night back at the Hilton so I played 18 holes of putt-putt. I am still relatively new with putt-putt (I only tried it twice before) so I struggled with the first couple of holes. I found my groove around hole 5 and it carried me until hole 14. Some of the holes were difficult and have to do it with two or three shots to make par made it even more difficult. I made most of the shots within par or one off. My final 18 hole score was okay and it did kill a ton of time.
I had one last drink (Hynotiq) at the Corona restaurant before boarding the shuttle back to the Hilton. Back at my hotel room, I realized that I had not eaten dinner. I went to the local Sports Bar and had some ribs to finish me off for the day. I was starting to get sad because Saturday was my last day in the area but I went asleep satisfied with how the trip was going.

Stayed tuned for the final Saturday and Sunday (combined) portion of my adventure during Mid-Semester Break.








Exploring new things within reach,
Hasani Wheat
Class of '10

Homecoming Weekend 2008

Yeah!! The title says it all. Plus, I got my camera to start working again after letting it dry out and buying a new 4GB memory card and new batteries. I am one happy camper. Sorry this took so long but I got caught in the hustle and bustle of life at OWU. The mid-terms and the term papers and the long practices for Opera Staging, oh my! Alas, Homecoming was come and gone but I thought this Homecoming was the best one- even better than my freshman year because it was new and refreshing.

The quick rundown-

Friday-7:30 a.m.- I am helping out with parking in the Beeghly library lot with other student leaders. I am getting paid by OWU Admissions to do this and since I love this school and I am a generous, community-oriented person, I helped out by sticking it out in the freezing cold day until 10:00 a.m. I did not realize this until the night before but I also have a mid-term in my Civil Rights and Liberties class at 10:00 a.m.- the same day as the Inauguration. Oh, bummer. Well, at least I know that I passed the mid-term as I recently saw my mid-term report of a "P." Hooray for surviving round one. Now on to round two.

11:00 a.m.- After the exam, guess what I did? I went right back to work. I needed to take my mind off school work and focus on the special day. This is the one and only chance to see a live inauguration (at least as a student right now). This time, I was stationed in the back of Hamilton-Williams Campus Center. Most of the cars parked were Board of Trustees only- students had to park in Selby or Kroger. I know that many students are turned away from their regular parking slots.

Noon- I quickly changed my Rock 16 shirt for a Choral Art Polo for practice since I was one of many to sing in the Inauguration of Rock Jones. Practice went off without too much of a hassle. I enjoyed working with the brass section and the 70 person chorus.

1:00 p.m.- Back to work, this time located directly in back of Beeghly. Nearly any cars were inquiring about the parking because most of the guests, trustees, alumni, and other important people are already inside buildings for their meetings. More peaceful than the other two locations. I stayed there until 3:00 p.m. roughly.

3:00 p.m.- Call for Choral Art. Everyone looked nice in their polos. This was BIG exposure for us.

3:30 p.m.- On stage with the platform party surrounding Rock Jones. The Inauguration was about 2 hours long filled with sentimental speeches and interesting stories of success and how to reach it in due time. Choral Art sung in the middle of the program and near the end of the program. I was somewhat beaten into the ground by the end of Inauguration since I was already up for 8+ hours and most of it was endured in the sun.

5:30 p.m.- All campus party with EVERYONE!!!! This was crazy and I loved every minute of it. There was food from different countries and all of it was good. I was in ecstasy listening to the Owtsiders and Gospel Lyres perform. I hung out with my friends and I was living life to its fullest. I was beyond blessed to be a student at Ohio Wesleyan University. I hung out with people until 7:30 p.m. when I realized the surrounding darkness and left the Jaywalk area.

7:40 p.m.- People headed over to the men's soccer game, which we won by 1-0. I was stoked and so was the packed stadium of soccer fans. This was a huge sense of pride in our school. Everyone got a huge boost from the win.

9:30 p.m.- I headed over to the Hill for the festivities of the Bonfire, sponsored by the Student Homecoming Organization. The cover band was nice and there was a nice crowd. I was exhausted by 10:00 p.m. and since my house was nearby, I ran to the nearest door, entered my room, removed my shoes, and lied down.

Midnight- Miraculously, I awoke at midnight on Saturday and celebrated Homecoming with younger alumni at the one and only, the Backstretch. Seeing all of the people who graduated brought back memories of an easier time for me. I miss the experiences of freshmen year. I want that year back again to be perfectly honest.

Saturday- 11:00 p.m.

SUBA (Student Union on Black Awareness) hosted its annual brunch in Welch Hall. I was honored with an academic achievement reward. I also got to hear from prominent alumni such as Greg Moore and Aaron Granger. I was inspired by their drive to become something greater than their selves and to incorporate that drive into who they are. I like the brunch a lot. I can't wait until wait year for the next annual brunch. I thrive to very high aim for academics.
1:00 p.m.- I went to the Volleyball game first to support the ladies. I know a couple of them and since their game was on the day and same time as the anticipated Homecoming football, I decided to give them my support. I stayed until the time of Coronation for Homecoming King, Queen, Prince, and Princess. At the football game, I hung out with my friends as we cheered on our friends who made the court. I was thrilled when House of Black Culture members moderator Delmar Flourney and newest number David Burke won king and prince, respectively. That was a nice feeling. Oh, OWU won their first game. I wonder why it is at Homecoming that we always win?
3:30 p.m.- I went back to Phi Delta Theta to help host a reception for Phil Roos, class of '60. This reception was in conjunction with our House Tours that we give every Homecoming. House tours and the reception went without a hitch and this gave me an extended opportunity to acquaint myself with Phi Delta Theta alumni.
6:00 p.m.- I caught the tail end of Rafiki Wa Afrika's mini fest. I heard the dancing was good and the program overall was well planned. The food I tried was good too. In my spare minutes, I went to the Cave, talked with a couple of students and alumni about myself and life at Ohio Wesleyan in general. I really wanted to stay longer than I couldn't because of Opera. This event is in conjunction with the festivities that was planned for the Student Union on Black Awareness 40th Anniversary. I was unhappy that I would not attend a good portion of the events that was planned. But I still got to be on a panel that Thursday night and give my opinion about the importance of SUBA on campus and what it means to me.
7:00 p.m.- Opera!! Cendrillion!! We fixed up parts of our staging for our performance which will be held in Jemison Hall in Sanborn on November 7, 8, and 9 at 8:00 p.m., 8:00 p.m., and 2:00 p.m., respectively. I am starting to feel my character in this and in Riders to the Sea (anyone familiar with Bartley in Riders?) We had a three hour rehearsal so I was spent after the rehearsal was over.
11:00 p.m.- Backstretch. I needed to reconnoiter with more alumni and older current students after my rest. When the Backstretch is packed, there is no better place to be in Delaware, OH. You have my guarantee on that. The atmosphere was absolutely amazing.

Sunday-Culture Fest
Culture Fest 2008 was a blast. I had an excellent time looking at all of the talents. I love the diversity of this campus and Culture Fest reaffirmed one of the main reason why I am here at Ohio Wesleyan. From Rafiki Wa Afrika's performance, which is always a highlight of Culture Fest to many solo performances to the mini-party that Sangam throws at the very end where the food was served, Culture Fest capped all of the wonderful festivities for Homecoming 2008. If you went to Homecoming, I hope you had a splendid time. If you missed out, you need to head up to Ohio Wesleyan for these events. I cannot say anymore about how great Homecoming 2008 was in every aspect.





Enjoying the evolution of Ohio Wesleyan University through the presidency of Dr. Rock Jones,
Hasani Wheat
Class of '10