My entrance into the real world...

Shhh... do you hear that?  Listen carefully...
That my friends, is the sound of success.  It sounds a lot like this...

As you have probably guessed by watching that, I'll be graduating in a mere week and a half from today.  Wow.  What an amazing time I have had in college.  I've been so blessed by the friends and fellowship that I have had here at UNC. 
Hmmm... feels like time to reminisce about some of my favorite moments...

Oh Boy... my first college roommates.  These were the good old days.  We took this picture, blew it up, and put it on our window in Lawrenson Hall.  We were going for sort of a calvin klein ad...

Ah yes... my first facial hair grown... the neckbeard.

This was one of me and Shannon's first pictures together.  College sweethearts! Two years strong!

Me and my pals at relay for life.  A great event and some great shorts!

My first wedding ever!  College is a wonderful time for weddings!

My time at college wasn't only a great opportunity for meeting new friends.  Here's a picture of me having a great time with my brother James.  Our time at UNC helped us become better friends and brothers. 















Man!  So many great memories. 

If I could leave a piece of advice before I depart it would be this... When you come to college, get involved.  Through getting involved at UNC Christian Challenge, I met some of my very best friends and my beautiful girlfriend Shannon.  Don't miss out on some great adventures.  When you live in the residence halls at UNC, branch out and go to events.  Join a club.  You definitely will not regret it.

Well I hope that you have enjoyed my blogs.  I wish you the best of luck in the future and I hope your experience at UNC will be even better than mine was!



Signing out, for the last time,

RAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR,

Danny Everett

Having Pursuits Outside

Well my faithful readers,
Another week another 7 dollars.  I hope you have all had a wonderful week and haven't been too anxiously waiting for my next blog post... but if you were, it's gonna be okay.  I'm here now. 

I want to tell you about a wonderful opportunity that you could have as a student at the UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN COLORADO.  If you are a student here, you can get free gear from our outdoor pursuits program. 

SAY WHAT?  Yeah.  It's true... not even lying.  Just visit the UNC Gear Shop and you can check out a myriad of different items. 

We're talking bikes, helmets, compasses, tents, cooksets, climbling shoes, kayaks, canoes, mountain bikes, show shoes, snowboards, ect. 
WAIT... HOLD UP... PUMP THE BRAKES... ERRRRRRRRRRRR.  Danny, did you just say... compasses? 
Yeah.  I did.  Anyone in the mood for an old fashioned nautical expedition? 


Anywho, the reason I bring this up is because me and Shannon (my girlfriend) celebrated our two year anniversary on Monday.  It was splendid.  First I took her here for Afternoon Tea...

Anyone care for Tea or cucumber sandwiches? 

Then we went to the cheesecake factory.  It was really great.  We shared this together.


Last of all, I brought Shannon to the park where we had our first date.  It's called Bittersweet Park.  If I haven't mentioned before how awesome the Greeley Parks and Rec department is, it's awesome.

When we arrived, it was dark outside.   I had my friends Austin and Tom waiting there, and with them, was a free Canoe procured at the UNC gear shop.  They walked us down to the lake, pushed us off in our canoe, and then we just paddled to the middle and enjoyed each other's company.  Thanks to the UNC gear shop, our two year anniversary was utterly enchanting.  I would highly recommend it... just make sure you have your Greeley Boating Permit (acquired for free). 



For your viewing pleasure... a sunset at Bittersweet Park...



RRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWRRRRRRRRRRRR

Danny
(Brother bear)

The Art of Becoming a Bear

Well my faithful readers, it's official.  Spring is in the air.  You know what that means don't you?  Summer is right around the corner, breathing over your shoulder like Brainy used to over Helga Pataki's. 

With the approach of Summer of course, comes Graduation. Graduation from UNC is happening on May 5th and I will be one of the students walking.  Woot.  Anyways, I thought this would be a good opportunity for me to impart some wisdom and knowledge on those graduating not from college, but from High School.  I want to give you some helpful tips on making the transition from High School to college, specifically UNC.  With my help, who knows?  I could help you go from totally drab to totally fab.  From totally blah to totally Yah!  I could be your Michael Caine to your Sandra Bullock.  Well... lets get to it.

I heard one of our transfer admissions counselors tell a story recently.  She was talking on the phone with a prospective transfer student, when all of a sudden she heard the familiar sound of water quickly being swooshed down a porcelain bowl.  That's right, the prospective student flushed the toilet right on the phone with her!  So, here's Tip #1:  Don't answer a phone call from your future college until after you are done wit yo biznaz.  And definitely don't be the one to place the call if you're in the bathroom.  It just gives off a really stinky first impression... (pun intended).

Okay... here's another tip.  Working in the admissions office on a day to day basis, I have the opportunity and privilege to work with a lot of different people.  As part of that, a lot of personal information passes by my eyes, including email addresses.  Okay... with that, here comes Tip #2: When contacting your college of choice it's a good idea to have a professional email address.  hotandsassy123@yahoo.com is probably not the best choice... nor is texascheer4eva@gmail.com, nor puppyskullcrusher7@hotmail.com.  Instead, try something like 2cool4skool@gmail.com.  Playing hard to get is always good.  (jk 5000).

Speaking of first impressions, it is critical that if you are going to be living on campus, you make a good first impression with your new roommate right away.  Tip #3: One of the best ways to build up a good rapport with new people is to become a prankster, or a practical jokester.  For example, maybe your roommate goes out for a night.  This is a perfect opportunity to surprise them when they get back.  Here's a fine idea... set up a bucket of molasses above their door so when they walk in it plops on their head.  Then, while they're trying to get the bucket off their head, sneak up behind them and hit them with a feather pillow until it implodes and the feathers stick all over them.  This one is a classic and is sure to help the two of you become fast friends!  Heck, it worked in the parent trap!  Note: some of these jokes might only work in the movies, including the one I just mentioned.  Do not actually attempt. 


Listen folks, here's my number one tip for a successful time in college.  Get involved!  This is how you will meet people and make friends that you could have for the rest of your life... and that's no joke!  If you follow this advice, your transition from High School to college could be just as smooth as Zack Morris' from Bayside High to California University!


Sincerely,
Danny

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

The Hunchback of Gunter Hall

The following story is based on real events:



If you have ever wandered around campus, you have probably noticed it's exquisite beauty.  From the cutting edge recreation center, all the way to the aged elegance of Snyder Hall, our campus is certainly easy on the eyes; and no building more so than Gunter Hall.  Gunter Hall was built in 1928, the same year that  Ignacy Moscicki became president of Poland.  Gunter Hall is three stories tall, and is the building that houses our School of Natural and Health sciences.  Before that, it's original purpose was our gymnasium.  On the west side of Gunter hall is the Gunter Bell tower, a staggering four-five stories tall.

Legend has it, during a basketball game in 1936, a cheerleader spontaneously went into labor and gave birth to a hideous baby boy.  The game was so exciting, people barely even noticed!  It probably looked something like this...

The cheerleader didn't want to get kicked off the squad for the incident, so she took the baby and dropped it off on the stairs of Roudebush Cottage.  At that time, Roudebush Cottage was a home economics laboratory.  All women who attended the college had to take a home economics class before graduating... these were different times.  Anyway, a home economics professor, Mildred Burns, found the baby in the morning and decided that she would let students raise him as part of her class.  She named him Reuben, which means, found on a doorstep and turned into a teaching tool.  Reuben lived in the cottage until the tender age of 3.  At that time, Mildred decided he was old enough to start work, so she stuck him in the Gunter Bell Tower to be the keeper of the bells.  Oh how Reuben loved to ring those bells.  He figured out how to play the Westminster Sequence all on his own.  Reuben lived until 2005.  He died of a bad Hernia while ringing the bells.  That's probably how he would've wanted to go out... Today there is no more Hunchback ringing the bells.  Just a recording played out over campus every quarter hour.  But to remember Reuben, you can download the Gunter Bells as a free ringtone here...

Okay... so none of that is true.  But the Gunter Bells do have a really neat history actually.  Check that out here!

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWRRRRRRRRRR!

- Brother Bear

A Blast from the Past

People say we can learn a lot from the past.  I can almost guarantee that if a history teacher asks why history is important to his or her class, a student will raise their hand and say,
"I got my hands up, they're playing my song, the butterflies fly away, noddin' my head like yeah, movin my hips like yeah."  And then they'll say, "so history doesn't repeat itself."

I bring this to your attention to bring you on a magical journey.  Better than both Wishbone and the Magic School Bus combined.  Take ahold of my cyber hand and come with me to the past; to my favorite section of the UNC website: Then and Now.  <-- Click on that link!

The first set of photo's compares a soriority event from 1907 to one in 2011.  The one from 1907 is so thought provoking.  I wonder what the woman in the top left of the picture was thinking.  Her name was most likely Mildred.  I bet she's thinking about the strapping young lad driving the horse drawn buggy.  His name was probably Deshawn.  I wonder why he has a fishing rod... 

Then my attention is drawn to the next picture... The Office of the President circa 1920's.  I think about the woman in the wire brim glasses in the corner.  I wonder if she ever imagines going to the location in the picture to her right.  What is that mystical, far off place... Sri Lanka? Narnia?  Detroit?  Is that man in the picture an ancestor of Vanilla Ice? 

Lastly, I contemplate the picture of the summer grounds crew of 1912...
Is the man 3rd from the left intentionally cross-eyed?  Why do so many of these men have mustaches?  Did they serve some sort of purpose lost to the yesteryear?  Was the man holding the hoe in the middle of the photo one of the first rastafarians?  We can only speculate...



Well everyone, I hope you enjoyed this quick glimpse to the good old days of UNC, or should I say... The State Normal School?

It's time to make your own history! 

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Danny

The Real UNC

Whether or not you've ever been to Northern Colorado, you've probably heard of UNC.  Be careful though, if you overhear someone talking about UNC they might not actually be talking about our wonderful institution nestled here in the lovely agricultural town of Greeley, Colorado.  They might be talking about our bitterest and much less well known rival: The University of North Carolina. 
I'd like to use this public forum to compare the two in a fair and unbiased way.
First... we're way better.
But seriously folks, lets take a look at the numbers. 

North Carolina opened up it's doors in 1795.  It claims the title for oldest public university in America.  Sounds a little too old to me... who wants to read a 200 year old textbook?
On the contrary, UNC was established in 1889 almost 100 years later.  That means we are a lot more cutting edge...

North Carolina has almost 30,000 students.  That's more then can fit in our entire football stadium 4 1/2 times over. 
UNC on the other hand, offers a quaint student population of just over 12,000.  What a refreshing number.   Some folks would say it's a Goldilocks school... not too small, not too big, but just hot enough.

North Carolina is spread out over 729 acres.  Scholars say it could take years to cross that distance! (they were referring to a desert tortoise, but that's almost irrelevant)
Right near the base of the Rockies, UNC is only spread out across 250 acres.  Only a healthy 15 minute walk!

Lastly, does North Carolina even have any famous alumni?  Picking three names randomly off of their notable alumni list, all I came up with were three random guys: Michael Jordan, Andy Griffith, and James Polk... Who?

Do you know who used to go to our school?  Connie Willis.  That's right... Connie Willis: Science Fiction writer.  I shouldn't even have to mentioned James A. Michener and Vincent Jackson.

So... there you have it folks.  It's up to you.  Which UNC would you rather go to?
Me... I chose the real one. 

RAWWWWWWWWWWWWWRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR 

Danny Everett

Where Everybody Knows Your Name

Hello everybody.

Today I would like to write about a very serious topic to me... food.

I take food even more seriously than I do personal hygene.  So if you're wondering about some of the best places to eat in Greeley, there's no better place to start then google. 

...Then me. 

That's right, I know all the best places to eat.  From $1.50 a Scoop and Up Chinese Food to Top Buffet, from J.B.'s Drive-in to Chili Thai, from Pho Duoy to Aspen Leaf froyo, and from George's Gyros to McDonalds, I know all about the local places up here. 

One of my favorite places to eat is D.P. Dough.  It's right across the street from my house.  D.P. Dough specializes in one thing: calzones.  They are so awesome.  And the best part is... it's all fat-free!  sort of.

Anyways, Greeley is just a great community.  There are tons of great places to hang out with friends and support a cool local scene.  It's not just cows like a lot of people think. 

So... know this.  If you come to UNC, you'll always have a place to hang out with friends.  I wrote a poem about it actually.  It's called, Where Everybody Knows Your Name:

Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got.
Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot.
Wouldn't you like to get away?
Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name,
and they're always glad you came.
You wanna be where you can see,
our troubles are all the same
You wanna be where everybody knows
Your name.
You wanna go where people know,
people are all the same,
You wanna go where everybody knows
your name.

Okay... that may be the theme song from cheers.

This is Danny, signing outtttttttt. 

Tragedy and Comfort

Hey everybody!  I hope you are having a great life!

I guess I should probably update all of you on UNC's got talent...

WE WON!!!  (JK 5000.  We came in 6th.) 

My friends Andrew, Shawn, and I performed the song Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley.  It was a super rendition.  Andrew and Shawn were incredibly talented... I was okay. 

I don't know quite how to write this next news, but it's such an important part about my life.

Shawn was in another band called the Kyle Hope Band.  It's a Christian Worship band.  The day after the contest, Shawn and the other members of the band got into a car accident on their way to California for a gig.  They were rear-ended on the highway.  Shawn sustained a serious head injury and passed away the next day after being taken off life-support. 

Man... it was tough.

Though there is a lot of pain that comes with Shawn's death, there's also hope.

Being involved in Christian Challenge, a campus ministry here at UNC, has really strengthed my faith over the past few years.  I know for sure, that Shawn is now in heaven, worshipping Jesus with all his heart.

There are a lot of Campus Ministries here at UNC.  They are so awesome!  I've met so many people through Challenge who will be lifelong friends.  College is a great time to figure out what you believe, and most people do whether they try to or not.  What people believe in college is most likely what they will believe for the rest of their lives.  It's what they will pass on to their children, to their grandchildren, to their great-grand children, and so on. 

I know it's considered Taboo to talk about religion, but I'm just so in love with Jesus.  I can't imagine how I would ever get through something like this without him, and UNC is such a great place to nurture and build up your faith. 

So when you are thinking about getting involved at UNC, consider joining Challenge or another campus ministry.  It's a great way to meet people and it will definitely change your life! 

http://www.uncchallenge.com/

Zoom, zoom, zoom, make my heart go boom boom, my supernova UNC.

Did you know, faithful readers, that our beautiful UNC Campus is spread across 250 acres!  That's

Ten Million, Eight Hundred, & NINETY THOUSAND SQUARE FEET!

Never fear though, if you are wondering how long it might take someone to walk across such a great expanse, it takes me, a fitness guru, about 15 to 20 minutes.  But if you aren't in Tim Tebow/ P90x shape like me, don't worry, there are other options...
1.)  Ride a bike
2.)  Rent a bike from our UNC Rec Center... for FREEEEEEEEEE.  Then ride it.
3.)  Ride a scooter, skateboard, or longboard.
4.)  If you happen to be very well to do, look into a Segway or perhaps a hovercraft.


My personal favorite method of transportation is the Ripstik!  Sleek, cool, and utterly awesome, for me it's the only way to get around... other than car and bus.

So you see my friends, 250 acres isn't so bad, just as long as you have a cool ride like me.

and this guy  ->

Rockin Around the UNC

Hey everybody!  I hope you had a great Christmas!  I know I did. 
This Christmas, I went out to San Diego to visit my family, and boy, oh boy was it beautiful.  On Christmas day, I found myself playing tennis.  Outside.  On Christmas.  Outside.  Wow.
Like I said, it was beautiful, though it saddens me to say, 80 degrees just doesn't really feel like Christmas. 

Needless to say, it was great returning to Greeley and seeing snow.  Winter is one of my favorite times of year around here, besides the frostbite of course.  Look below to see how beautiful it is...

So I say to the San Diegonites... um... San Diegoans... San Diegons
You can keep your 80 degree Christmas's, and your surfing Santa's, I'll take a white Christmas in Greeley anytime.