Safety and Housing

There have been many issues surrounding safety in the UWM area. I live about four blocks from campus and I have always felt safe. However, lately, its been questionable. Two weeks ago I was getting ready to leave my apartment before class around 12 (Noon) and a woman was robbed in broad daylight right outside my apartment. There have even been countless incidents on campus as well. I even heard that the UWM police is hiring a police officer just to look for suspicious people around the campus area. Other safety concerns that have come to my attention in the last couple weeks have involved the safety of pedestrians crossing the street, people on bikes and mopeds, etc. One of my good friends from high school, Jake, was hit by a car on April 4th over by MSOE while he was driving his moped. The driver of the car ran a red light and hit Jake. Jake was not wearing a helmet. He remains in the ICU at Froedtert hospital with head trauma. He still hasn't woke up. I remember hearing of a couple other accidents recently involving pedestrians in Milwaukee.
So my question this week is what do you think of safety around campus and even in Milwaukee? Do you feel safe? Are there precautions that you take to insure your safety? Do you walk alone or with someone? What do you think this means for the future of UWM and the campus area? If you were coming here as a freshman, would you live in the new freshmen residence hall on the outskirts of the Riverwest area?

Another topic that many are faced with this time of year is housing. I know I have been in the search process for a couple of weeks now. Any success stories out there? Good landlords or companies? Advice for price?

Coming to an end...

In less than a month, we will have graduated from college. Wow. Does that blow anyone else's mind? I can remember graduating high school like it was yesterday and thought that that was a big deal. I don't know about everyone else, but for me, it's funny to look back at your time in high school and think about what a great and more simple time that was. And now that I am graduating college, I know that in the months and years to come, I'll look back at my time here at UWM and wish it never ended. I think I've pretty much had the typical college experience. All the connotations and asscoations behind what it means to be in 'college' (i.e. the freedom, the partying, the new friends, etc.) I think I have experienced. As I freshman, I came to UWM with the mentality that I wanted to focus all my efforts on school and then I would have time for recreation. So far, that philosophy has worked great for me. I've maintained a decent GPA and always put school first, but once that was done, it was time for whatever I wanted to do. Granted, I never had a job while school was in session and I'll be in debt with my student loans until I am 75 years old, but I wouldn't have done it any other way.

Which brings me to my discussion points; how would you rate your college experience in the time that you've been here? Was college everything you thought it was going to be? Is there anything you wish you would have done differently? Obviously, four years of school is a lot to discuss, so overall what did you think of your college experience, is what I am getting at. I hope it was as enjoyable as mine. Fire away, kids.

P.S. Sorry this is late, I originally signed up for next week but forgot I agreed to post a week earlier!

For some reason I feel like this week I have some sort of responsibility to post about the Imus scandal and encourage some intelligent conversation about whether or not people feel his firing was justified, and what relevance it has for our society and culture as a whole, or whether or not we should even waste so much time talking about him when we there are so many more important and more pressing issues happening in and around Iraq right now (I've decided the answer to that question is no so now that I've at least acknowledged it, and put in my two cents, I'm deciding to post on something lighter and completely non-controversial so here it goes):
Perhaps it's a bit obvious, but I am someone who LOVES to eat. I love to cook, but more than that I love to go out to eat. In July, I'm moving to Madison for law school and I can already feel a little separation anxiety from Milwaukee. I still have a couple months here, but I feel like I haven't done all the things I wanted to do in Milwaukee and more importantly, I feel like I haven't eaten at all the restaurants I wanted to eat at. I have a small list of restaurants to try before I leave including the new Bayou restaurant on Humboldt, Melting Pot in Brookfield, and Vucciria on Brady Street (before it closed). Theoretically, I have plenty of opportunities to try any of places on my list, but whenever it comes time to decide where to go out to eat, I always find myself at the Cheesecake Factory and I've been told it's time to expand my horizons.
So for graduation, I have several family members coming to town and I have to find somewhere for all of us to eat. A few of them are from Chicago, and have access to a ton of restaurants so I'm trying to figure out somewhere unique to Milwaukee for all of us to go. Basically, I'm trying to avoid big chain restaurants (like Cheesecake). So anyway (I think this post is long enough now), I was wondering what are your favorite Milwaukee restaurants and where, if anywhere, are you all planning to go for graduation?
Also, since I put my two cents in about Imus, feel free to leave yours as well if you feel the need.
Hope you all had a good weekend, see you Thursday!

the most wonderful (and heartbreaking) moments of my life

My most fulfilling memory as a young lad involved my magical summer with my pet horse Sparky. Sparky and I would gallop through the Northern Wisconsin countryside while admiring the wonders of nature. Me and Sparks would even eat our meals together. The steady diet of carrots and hay kept my visions strong and my bowel movements regular. As I would ride my horsey, I felt the pangs of joy reach up through my loins. It was a feeling I would not feel again until my sexual awakening six years later.
Sadly, the Sparky's food bill was too out of control for our modest farmland budget. It tore my heart to shreds when my evil step-dad took away my little pony to be ground up into glue and hot dogs. I cried for three straight weeks up until my sixteenth birthday, where I was given a rocking horse that filled the gaping void missing from my empty heart.

What wondrous animal moments have all you people had?

Opening Day...

I hope this isn't too late but I got completely caught up in work...I have the "honor" of working at Friday's Front Row at Miller Park and you guessed it, I'm on my way to work the season opener for the Brewers. It is going to be absolute chaos and I am completely envious of all of the people that get to enjoy the weather and get wasted with all of their friends. In addtion to my bartending job at Miller Park I also work at an office in Brookfield. So, where do you all work? Do you work? And if you are at the game, make sure to come in and see me!

April Fools!!!!!!!!

Given the day, and the sport of the holiday, I wanted to be as festive as possible. I got to talking with some friends last night about past April Fool's jokes and pranks they have pulled before. Some were the typical Saran wrap on the toilet seat and Vaseline on the phone receiver, but others were pretty scandalous. Sadly, I have never pulled one, nor pulled one on anyone else I know either. So that is why I wanted to post this weeks question for you to answer. What is the best prank (April Fool's day or not....) that you got pulled on you, or that you pulled on someone else. Go on....how scandalous were you???

30 seconds that you love

hey everyone sorry for the delay. i got caught up in SB then it came to an end so fast i completely forgot about posting... so here i am a day late and a dollar short..
i am a advertising major as i imagine many of you are (or some). the query i have for everyone is , was there ever a commercial that you saw that you were just like wow that is awesome? or one that stuck with you for a long time? i have been a commercial guy for a while. i enjoy watching new commercials or creative ones. I also love old ads for example i and i truly think I'm alone on this, loved those miller lite "dick" ads. I'm not being vulgar but if you remember they ran a campaign that was created by a guy named Dick. the one i remember was of loggers in their cabin and are being attacked by a giant beaver on a dirt bike. he rides in and eats down their house and rides away like a giant beaver outlaw.
aside from the genius geico ads the commercial that has stuck with me for the longest time is one by MTV (when they mildly sucked not like they do now). it was a sweeper or promo commercial for MTV itself that aired probably 13-15 years ago. the synopsis goes as this
its a first person view of someone eating a plate of food at a seedy diner. the hand is holding a fork and is getting some peas. from across the counter you hear someone blowing their nose real loud. the first person view focuses on the man blowing his nose who turns out to be the cook. he then pulls the hanker chief from his nose and looks at it. the cook in a very excited tone says "oh sweet i made an MTV logo" he turns to look at the camera and then asks "wanna see?" since the person he ask is that of the first person you cant see a reaction but the time is filled with silence. the cooks face goes from smiling to a mad look the then shouts very loud "WELL I DIDN'T WANT TO SHOW YOU ANYWAYS" then storms back into the kitchen.
it may be a little gross however that ad has stuck with me for years. i couldn't find the ad anywhere so i pulled this from memory so the details may be a little off but the main point is there.
so my question is what is your favorite commercial of all time? old or new, lame or funny. don't be shy.