Scary Budget Cuts for AZ and ASU

ASU is facing massive budget cuts in lieu of the current economic turmoil. Senate Appropriations Chair Russell Pearce and House Appropriations Chair John Kavanagh have specifically singled out education as the outlet required to cut the most from their budget as we move forward.

Makes perfect sense, right?! Cut public education...genius!

ASU has already taken a $37 million cut and is expected to cut another $70 million in the next 5 months, not to mention that another $155 million cut is proposed for FY10.

A few things ASU President Michael M. Crow believes would occur if the budget cuts take place are:

Layoff thousands more employees (ASU has already eliminated a total of 500 staff positions and 200 faculty associate positions)

Have a massive furlough of all remaining employees for two weeks or longer

Increase tuition and fees (replacing the cuts by raising tuition alone would require a tuition rate

of almost $11,000 for Arizona residents)

Close academic programs

Close a campus or possibly two

Insane!!!...read more about it at: asu budget cuts

I'm an ESFP... what are you?

For fun's sake, take the Myers-Briggs personality assessment to see what your personality type is.

I am Extroverted
Sensing
Feeling
Perceiving

Here are some of my traits:

Live in the present moment
Are stimulated and excited by new experiences
Practical and realistic
Warmly interested in people
Know how to have a good time, and how to make things fun for others
Independent and resourceful
Spontaneous - seldom plan ahead
Hate structure and routine
Dislike theory and long written explanations
Feel special bond with children and animals
Strongly developed aesthetic appreciation for things
Great people skills

Go see if your description fits you to a tee... I know mine does!

Kenya Roll Call.... Obama? Present.

Newborns everywhere are being named after America's newest First Family....

Obama Babies

"The number one food I miss is a meat pie" ~Geoff Ogilvy

If you've never had an Aussie Pie (and I would bet 95% of the people I know have not) I fervently urge that you do!

I was introduced to this flaky pastry's goodness while visiting Australia this past December. Good news for you-you don't have to cross the international dateline to sample this delicacy!

Current Scottsdale resident, native Aussie, and PGA Tour star Geoff Ogilvy has brought his continent's equivalent to a hot dog or hamburger to American soil with the hopes of pleasing palates of Australians and Americans alike.

The Scottsdale location is in the McDowell Mountain Business Park, or visit http://www.mojopies.com/ for other locations and information.

Better yet, come out to the FBR Open January 26 - February 1, 2009 and enjoy a meat-filled pastry with your beer while witnessing the wild ruckus on the par-3, #16.

Loads of fun, I guarantee!

The Greatest Job on Earth... No, Really....

So I just got back from my two week holiday in Australia (well, I got back about 12 days ago, but this is the first time I am blogging since I've returned to the states).

Australia was phenomenal. My friend Ashley and I had the time of our lives and will definitely be life long friends, as we bonded during the trip in more ways than I can count. :)

But I'm not writing to discuss my trip, as that would take a substantial amount of time that I don't have right now to dedicate to blogging about Australia.

INSTEAD, I wanted to alert anyone looking for the greatest job on earth (which, I believe, is most everyone I know) to this amazing opportunity.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,479747,00.html

Why am I sharing this tidbit instead of hogging it to myself you ask? Believe it or not, i won't be applying for this job... But if any of my friends landed this gig, you'd better believe I'd be there to visit!

Happy Application Process! :)

The Not-so-daily Bailey

Hi. Remember me?

I guess it has been quite some time since I last blogged. My title doesn't adequately reflect what occurs here at this cyberspace address...and for that, I do apologize. Rest assured - my lack of commitment to this blog is not due to laziness or apathy, but more so due to the fact that I've had a lot on my plate lately. A LOT.

For starters, I flew to Chicago on election night to cover the Obama rally for ASU. It was my intent to track down, meet, and interview Obama so that I could report back to the Cronkite school on this epic night in history. Sadly.... my efforts failed. I did, however, talk to a lot of other interesting people, got some great interviews and pictures, was able to experience an incredible night in history first-hand, and had a blast visiting the windy city for the first time!

From my experience in Chicago, I created a radio package that was used as part of a 20 minute election podcast my classmates and I created titled - Election 2008 ... Who Won and Why? (A link to that podcast is coming.....) My radio package was a first-person narrative about my journey to Chicago and what I found when I arrived - not a Presidential candidate, but a Rock Star!

My recent travels have taken me to the east coast a couple times... I attended the infamous Georgia/Florida football game held on neutral territory - Jacksonville, FL - and also went to the Penn State/Indiana game in State College. No, these events were not attended for journalistic or professional reasons, but rather, because I love college football. And well, I try to retain as normal a life as possible despite my spending 90% of my waking hours at the Cronk!

As if I don't have plenty on my plate with grad school and traveling, I have recently been named Editor of Avid Golfer Arizona magazine. Our first issue will come out late January-we are planning to debut it at the FBR Open (January 31 - February 3, 2009). For the first issue, I have six to eight pieces to write and edit, as well as editing other writers' works, and laying out the magazine. But it's not like I'll be working on it between now and early January (remember my two week Australia trip?!).... so, on top of the 20 assignments due for grad school in the next 3 weeks, I have another bundle of stories to compose by December 21. Oh Joy!

Luckily, I have a very intelligent, well-connected, reliable, and well-versed sidekick who has agreed to help me write articles for this first issue. That will most assuredly relieve some of my workload and much of my stress... and hopefully he will decide to stick around for many Avid Golfer issues after that...because I think I could get used to having him around!

Too much time has been spent writing this blog... there are bigger fish to fry. I'm off....

Australia Countdown!

It is official. In a mere 67 days, Ashley Holwell and I will be down-under-bound.

I can't recall what first struck my fancy about wanting to visit Australia (well, besides obvious reasons that I feel I don't have to blatantly list here), but for at least three years now Australia has been at the top of my list of places to travel.

While I have traveled elsewhere overseas in the past three years, it has taken me this long to take the plunge!

I attribute the delay to finding someone to go with...

Being that my father works for an airline, I am able to fly free on all US Airways domestic flights and receive large discounts on all other airlines. (Rough life - I know).

What is even MORE exciting about flying for free is that it also applies to international travel. All I have to pay on international flights is country tax (equating to about two or three hundred dollars round trip). Now if that doesn't sound like music to anyone's ears, I'd like to send you in for a tune-up.

So, the factor hindering me from heading west (or east? or south? or... heck, I guess I don't know which route my plane will take) has been finding one of my normal friends (and by normal, I mean someone who would have to shell out thousands of dollars on a plane ticket, alone, for the trip, which is...oh wait, all of my friends) who could afford to go with me.

Clearly, it is not sensical to go to Australia with one of my family members (who also can fly for next to nothing). London, perhaps. Switzerland, perhaps. Ireland or Scotland to play golf, most definitely. But not Australia.

So, low and behold, I have finally found a friend who is much like me in the sense that she is all about experiences and getting the most out of life that she can. Enter: Ashley Holwell.

Wait...I should clarify...I have other friends who love life and love living it and being ridiculous (enter Ashley Davis and Meredith Badali), but Ashley Holwell has the additional element of funding... and thus, she and I are embarking on what will most certainly be an EPIC experience.

In preparation for spending two weeks in December and January in Australia, I have stopped eating. Okay, I wish... that is the general plan but it hasn't gone into effect yet. Oh yeah, and I'm needing to do this thing called 'working out' which, since I sold my soul to Walter Cronkite at the end of August, I have not been able to do much of.

BUT, Ashley created a workout/eat healthy spreadsheet for us to track our food intake and calorie-burning activity! Wish me luck because who really wants to spend two weeks in Australia (during their summer) looking anything less-than-perfect...?!!?


.......67 days to EPIC-dom! :)