Blogs Home  Home  About

Category: Current Events
 
Posted Wednesday, April 02, 2008 by Mark Krupinski

some quick hit thoughts on a wednesday afternoon:

- i hope all of the students are enjoying their break between quarters.  we have been incredibly busy as we prepare to welcome another group of new students to the campus here in fargo.  don't forget to confirm your schedule so that you receive your books in a timely fashion!

- i found this new band that i love.  they are called attack in black.  unfortunately, their records are only available as imports right now, so they are wicked expensive.  maybe i'll splurge one of these days.

- one of my best friends is working as a roadie for a band.  he has been out on the road now for the better part of the last 6 weeks.  he's been all over the southern and western parts of the country so far and is heading towards the northeast now.  i must say i am jealous at times.  i would love to travel right now.  i could really use a vacation.

- speaking of vacations... i tried to convince my brother (who lives in seattle) to meet me in denver next week for the ncaa frozen four hockey championship.  i have been a huge notre dame fan for as long as i can remember (mostly of the football team) and they are going to the national semi-finals for the first time in school history.  my brother is a big fan of the university of north dakota hockey team and they are also in the semi-finals.  how crazy would a notre dame vs. north dakota national championship be?  but his inlaws are coming to seattle from kentucky, so our dream of attending the frozen four will be on hold for another year.

- we bought a webcam and microphone so that we can start broadcasting live from the campus.  perhaps we will do a regular broadcast of some kind.  any suggestions for content?  we also will be doing a series of "frequently asked questions" and we need to know which questions you'd most like answered... so let us know!

- my least favorite thing about living alone: doing the dishes. 

- my son is coming to visit this weekend and i'm very excited!  i get to see him every other weekend, but sometimes the days in between his visits seem to last forever.  i still need to get the apartment straightened up a bit before his arrival... see the previous point about dishes.

- we start a new quarter on monday and it will be my first full quarter since i've been in this position.  let me know what i can do better... i'm here to help!
Posted Tuesday, February 05, 2008 by Mark Krupinski
There are a few things that drive me nuts when i go to my favorite coffee shop. People that feel they are a part of any conversations going on around them. People that play music on their laptops without using headphones.

And a new one tonight…. people that have conversations over speaker phone.  It may be a bit late, but here is some 2007 in review:

Top 5 books I read in 2007:

5. A grief observed – C.S. Lewis

4. Boundaries - Cloud and Townsend

3. Velvet Elvis - Rob Bell

2. (Tie) Through Painted Deserts - Donald Miller; In the Name of Jesus - Henri Nouwen (books I re-read in 2007)

1. They like Jesus but not the Church - Dan Kimball

I would love to read more, but I don’t often have the patience or the attention span for it. Last year I made a list of 7 or so books that I hoped to read in 2007, but I only finished one off of that list. I started 2 or 3 others, but never finished. So I don’t think I’ll get over zealous and post a list this year, but I am planning to read more.

Punk Monk, Starving Jesus, and Pilgrim at Tinker Creek are at the top of my list.

Look them up if you’d like to know more.

Top CDs I discovered in 2007:

5. Temptation, come my way - the Showdown

4. Cold as the clay - Greg Graffin

3. How to live with a curse – Stavesacre

2. Apologies to the Queen Mary - Wolf Parade

1. Plague Park - Handsome Furs

I would venture to say that Handsome Furs was the crown jewel of music in 2007 for me. Their show at the Aquarium would top any list of shows I saw last year and if I could make a list of songs for 2007, there could easily be 2 or 3 of their songs on the list.  Other songs that might make that list: “Count down our days” - Fembots; “North American Scum” - LCD sound system; and “hosanna” - Psalters.

Top 5 things I’ll remember most about 2007

5.  Quick to Fall, Chapters & Verses, and War on Earth disappear - it is incredibly sad to me that we went from having three fairly hard working, visible, Christian bands in the local scene, to having virtually no Christian bands.  The formation of a new super group out of members of these bands hastened their demise.  Say what you will about whether those bands would have broken up anyhow.  That may be true.  However, there is a gross lack of a Christian presence from the stages of the local venues in town right now.  And the members of the afore mentioned super group, have yet to appear at any shows that they themselves have not played at.  Apparently, ministry means forgetting where you came from and disappearing from the community that supported you.

4.  The collapse of I-35 - probably had such an impact because of memory and proximity.  That bridge was right by the U of M where I went my first year of college.  i remember walking across it.  Walking near it.  Driving over it.  I’ll never forget that night at work when one of the admissions reps came to the front desk and said that a bridge in Minneapolis collapsed and then seeing the pictures as they came across the news feeds on the web.  A surreal sight that, at least for me, outweighs other major news events for this past year.

3.  Sports news becomes tabloid news - being a big sports fan, this was one of the craziest years in my memories.  An NBA ref gets caught gambling on games.  Baseball’s steroid era won’t go away.  And one of the biggest names in the NFL, or the sports world in general, gets sentenced to 23 months in jail because of dog fighting.  David Beckham comes to America.  Spy Gate.  Travis Henry sets the record for most illegitimate children with different mothers while being wrongly accused of testing positive for marijuana.  By the way, they actually played some games too.

2.  Relocation, almost – a major happening during this past year, I nearly moved to Minneapolis.  I applied for a numerous jobs in the Twin Cities, had one major possibility come along.  But ultimately, I would not be making the move just yet.  My friend Mark Van S, his wife Amy, and their church community were incredibly generous and helpful for me.  I would still be open to joining them in their home if that’s the direction life takes me.  Who knows?

1.  Fatherhood - Gunnar was born on March 12.  My paternity was confirmed on May 1.  While this has been the most difficult and the most emotionally taxing year of my life, I wouldn’t trade him for the world.  He took his first steps recently and is growing faster than I ever could have imagined.  My weekends with him make everything worthwhile.
Posted Tuesday, February 05, 2008 by Mark Krupinski

For those wondering, Gunnar’s surgery went very well this morning.

We were only at the surgery center for about an hour and a half. It was a quick procedure and he did really well. He has been a bit fussy the rest of the day as a result of coming out of the anesthesia. They said he would feel like he’d had too much to drink and that the room would seem like its spinning. He hadn’t eaten anything since the night before but we couldn’t give him a full bottle right away because the doctor didn’t want him to get nauseous. He did finally get some food and then fell asleep on my chest for about an hour. He’s been in a better mood since, but you can tell he is a little uncomfortable and irritated still. All in all, I’m glad we got the procedure done and know this will improve life for him. Thank you so much to everyone that prayed for him and Jinae and I today. Please continue to do so.

I’ll be back in Fargo tomorrow morning.

The other update is with regard to something I did with a portion of my Christmas / birthday money. I got the beginnings of a tattoo on my upper right arm. Eventually it will look like the stained glass piece that you see at the top of this page.

Keep in mind this picture was taken in a mirror so it’s reversed. 
Posted Tuesday, February 05, 2008 by Mark Krupinski

The news finally came.  I got a new job. 

It’s not so much a new job, but it’s not so much a true promotion either. I’ll be staying at the same school and the same campus I’m at right now. But the position itself will be a big change.  I will be working with students taking online courses, tracking academic progress and attendance, dealing with questions and concerns about classes, and mediating and helping to resolve student/professor conflict.  I’ll no longer be working with student accounts and I’ll no longer be at the front desk answering phones.  In fact, the nature of the job will allow me to work a fair amount from home if I choose.  The flexibility with my schedule will be great and should help improve my weekends when I go to get Gunnar.

But beyond those improvements, perhaps the greatest luxury it brings is something I’ve been hoping and praying for:  stability.  This job has potential to be a long term job for me.  I can really see myself loving it.   I’ll be staying in Fargo for the foreseeable future now.  Feels good to have a place.

Gunnar will be getting tubes in his ears on Wednesday morning.  I’m not that worried, just a little nervous so far.  I’ll update sometime after his surgery to let everyone know how he is doing.