02-02-2017, 12:34 PM
Good afternoon folks
I know it has been quite a while since I popped up in these parts. Life has been slowing down and allowing more free time so that I can get back to some of the simple pleasures I enjoy. I have discovered that I still have a workbench and 80% of my tools are still there. I found that all my paints are dried up and the brushes that were not “borrowed” by other family members are stiff and now only useful for dry brushing. I will get into details of the resurrection of my modeling space as it progresses.
It will probably take several posts to tell the tales of what caused the big interruption of my modeling time. I can quickly sum it up as kids, college, pets, home, and health. The biggest time eater was the kids and the college search. Luckily both kids did extremely well academically. They both graduated in the top 10% of their high school classes. Considering that their high school is now has the highest enrollment in Pennsylvania (over 4000) that was an accomplishment. My daughter graduated with 845 and my son with over 900. A side note: Both of their graduation ceremonies were held at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby. This is the same Tower Theater that I saw many of rock shows such as Jethro Tull. David Bowie even recorded a live album there called “Live at the Tower Theater.”
Now my daughter kicked off the odyssey and sent it down its twisting path first when she decided that she wanted to play volleyball in college. At that moment my modeling time was doomed. Quickly she decided Division 1 was not for her as she wanted to be a student athlete not the other way around. The Division 2 schools locally were a quick turnoff as most them were either concerned about football or basketball and women’s volleyball was only offered to help the schools meet Title IX compliance. That left Division 3. In Division 3 there are no athletic scholarships and you get in based on your academics. So toward the end of her sophomore year the contacting of coaches and colleges began. At first it was slow and one sided. As she progressed through junior year the pace began to pick up. Coaches and Admissions Councilors took notice of her grades. At Division 3 if you are a good player and have high grades you are gold. Some Division 2 schools and a couple of Division 1 schools even jumped into the mix. I became a full time recruiting coordinator and scheduler. Junior year was spent playing high school and club volleyball and visiting campuses and meeting coaches. We scheduled our vacation around recruiting. Once trip involved traveling to New England and visiting 6 schools and doing the normal tourist things. We traveled from New England to Virginia and western Pennsylvania and New York. By the beginning of senior year it was becoming a little overwhelming. Coaches calling almost every night. Emails from Coaches, and Admissions coming constantly. Finally she began applying to schools. Again being a Division 3 recruit meant doing more than the norm. She applied to 14 schools and accepted to all. After the initial merit scholarship offers she narrowed it down to 2 local schools, 3 in north Jersey, 1 in Vermont, and 1 in New York State. Next came the overnights. However, she only got to do one because after that one the Offer came. She did the one overnight and really liked the school and the volleyball team. While she was arranging the next two overnights (one involving a train trip to Vermont) the school she overnighted at came back with their merit scholarship package. She was accepted into the not only the school but the Honors Program as well. This meant 100% tuition, room and board. Search done. She is now in her junior year, 5 times Dean’s List, Setter for the volleyball team, and also a member of the school’s NCAA Women’s Bowling team. She traveled to Berlin as part of the Honors Program (no additional costs), and will be going to Peru this year. She was sports editor for the school newspaper for two years. As a setter she is currently ranked 4th in career assists for the school. She needs 845 assists to become the all-time leader. Since freshman year she played in every match except for 4 this season she missed due to a concussion.
I think that is enough for now. Next time it will be just when you think you get your free time back or “I am not going to play sports in college. On second thought maybe playing Men’s Tennis might be cool.”
I hope everybody has a good day.
I know it has been quite a while since I popped up in these parts. Life has been slowing down and allowing more free time so that I can get back to some of the simple pleasures I enjoy. I have discovered that I still have a workbench and 80% of my tools are still there. I found that all my paints are dried up and the brushes that were not “borrowed” by other family members are stiff and now only useful for dry brushing. I will get into details of the resurrection of my modeling space as it progresses.
It will probably take several posts to tell the tales of what caused the big interruption of my modeling time. I can quickly sum it up as kids, college, pets, home, and health. The biggest time eater was the kids and the college search. Luckily both kids did extremely well academically. They both graduated in the top 10% of their high school classes. Considering that their high school is now has the highest enrollment in Pennsylvania (over 4000) that was an accomplishment. My daughter graduated with 845 and my son with over 900. A side note: Both of their graduation ceremonies were held at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby. This is the same Tower Theater that I saw many of rock shows such as Jethro Tull. David Bowie even recorded a live album there called “Live at the Tower Theater.”
Now my daughter kicked off the odyssey and sent it down its twisting path first when she decided that she wanted to play volleyball in college. At that moment my modeling time was doomed. Quickly she decided Division 1 was not for her as she wanted to be a student athlete not the other way around. The Division 2 schools locally were a quick turnoff as most them were either concerned about football or basketball and women’s volleyball was only offered to help the schools meet Title IX compliance. That left Division 3. In Division 3 there are no athletic scholarships and you get in based on your academics. So toward the end of her sophomore year the contacting of coaches and colleges began. At first it was slow and one sided. As she progressed through junior year the pace began to pick up. Coaches and Admissions Councilors took notice of her grades. At Division 3 if you are a good player and have high grades you are gold. Some Division 2 schools and a couple of Division 1 schools even jumped into the mix. I became a full time recruiting coordinator and scheduler. Junior year was spent playing high school and club volleyball and visiting campuses and meeting coaches. We scheduled our vacation around recruiting. Once trip involved traveling to New England and visiting 6 schools and doing the normal tourist things. We traveled from New England to Virginia and western Pennsylvania and New York. By the beginning of senior year it was becoming a little overwhelming. Coaches calling almost every night. Emails from Coaches, and Admissions coming constantly. Finally she began applying to schools. Again being a Division 3 recruit meant doing more than the norm. She applied to 14 schools and accepted to all. After the initial merit scholarship offers she narrowed it down to 2 local schools, 3 in north Jersey, 1 in Vermont, and 1 in New York State. Next came the overnights. However, she only got to do one because after that one the Offer came. She did the one overnight and really liked the school and the volleyball team. While she was arranging the next two overnights (one involving a train trip to Vermont) the school she overnighted at came back with their merit scholarship package. She was accepted into the not only the school but the Honors Program as well. This meant 100% tuition, room and board. Search done. She is now in her junior year, 5 times Dean’s List, Setter for the volleyball team, and also a member of the school’s NCAA Women’s Bowling team. She traveled to Berlin as part of the Honors Program (no additional costs), and will be going to Peru this year. She was sports editor for the school newspaper for two years. As a setter she is currently ranked 4th in career assists for the school. She needs 845 assists to become the all-time leader. Since freshman year she played in every match except for 4 this season she missed due to a concussion.
I think that is enough for now. Next time it will be just when you think you get your free time back or “I am not going to play sports in college. On second thought maybe playing Men’s Tennis might be cool.”
I hope everybody has a good day.
Tom
Silence is golden but Duct tape is silver
Ridley Keystone & Mountain Railroad
My Rail Images Gallery
Silence is golden but Duct tape is silver
Ridley Keystone & Mountain Railroad
My Rail Images Gallery