One of my earliest memories of good story telling was the Pixar short with the old man playing chess. It was such a simple story, but so playful and enjoyable to watch that it’s stayed with me to this day.

On top of that, there have been countless other short films that they’ve put out that are funny, energetic, and overall a pleasure to watch. And these are just the short films they put on before their main show! (Sad confession: I saw Wall-E four times in theaters.)

I was so pleased to see this article floating around my facebook newsfeed the other day.  Emma Coats, a “Story Artist” working at Pixar, tweeted a number of story writing tips that basically seemed like abbreviated examples of the courses that I have taken at Butler. I still enjoying getting an inside look to the creative process of others, especially those who have proved themselves successful.

Browsing my facebook at halftime, I can see Butler alumni are following the game from around the world. One is watching in Japan, and another is watching in between flights in Taiwan. That’s how us bulldogs do!

Bad grammar aside, it’s an exciting game, and at halftime we were up eight. I’m not confident to make assumptions, for as any Butler student knows, Butler never wins or loses a game by a wide margin. Especially during tournament time. It may be that their goal is to give everyone watching a heart attack.

Whatever their aim, I have made sure to make the “Smeathers” celebration a part of my routine. Whenever Butler makes a big three, all you have to do is put a goofy grin on your face, clap your hands, and throw up the three fingers. For a better instructional video, see this link.

For a combined 25 hours of driving, going to Tybee Island, Georgia was well worth it. We were a five minute walk from the beach, and a thirty minute drive from historic Savannah Georgia.

Some highlights include:

1) Learning that when you find a cheap hotel, you get what you pay for.

2) Learning how misleading pictures on a website can be.

3) Decide that it only takes good friends and a few games of euchre to get through disappointment.

4) Laying out on the beach, confident that I have plenty of Aloe back in the hotel room.

5) Eating at Bojangles, getting some chicken and sweet tea. Gotta love sweet tea.

It’s all about the food down there, and I didn’t skimp on that. My favorite moment was cooking a pasta dish with scallops, chili pepper and parsley. Absolutely delicious (in my opinion). So now I’m back at home, burned, relaxed, and wondering if I forgot my motivation in the hotel room…