Fall Break = No Break

As the afternoon grew long on Wednesday, it was as if tumbleweed began to blow through campus and the sound of crickets became deafening. It was even worse today as things were eerily quiet on campus and Friday may be even more solemn yet. Why? Fall break, of course. Upon the completion of the last classes on Wednesday, the students were on the road and heading to their respective homes to get a little of mom’s cooking, free laundry service and of course, a little rest and relaxation.

If you see a student on campus during fall break, then chances are he or she is a student athlete or holds down a campus job that requires their presence. Like the aforementioned, there’s no break in the action for this pooch either. In fact, since I last posted things have continued to stay quite busy, but I suppose that’s to be expected when your bulldog costume mascots come up missing and you’re all that’s left to carry the mascot duties.

More than anything else, it seems like I’ve been doing quite a few photo shoots lately. I had fall photo shoot to do for the university that is being used for some Thanksgiving cards. That one was a lot of fun because I got to run through the leaves, bite at the leaves and even eat some! Here are some pics from that shoot…

I also did a shoot this week for some students who are making a calendar to sell as a part of a “real business” class. I say good luck to them and hopefully they can use my image to do well.

Speaking of students, I got to mingle with some College of Education majors on Monday evening for a Global Opportunities event they were having on campus. They all got to find out about opportunities abroad and eat ethnic food while I got to walk around, get some free loving, beg for food and pose for pictures. Below is a picture of me with some of the COE majors who are also student athletes.

Oh, about those student athletes, in addition to a great season for our fall sports, our men’s basketball team is set to begin practice for the 2008-09 season in a matter of hours and they were one of the subjects in a athletic department fundraising dinner I attended last night at Hinkle Fieldhouse with keynote speakers Gene Keady and Brad Stevens.

That’s right, long-time Purdue University men’s basketball coach, Gene Keady, was in the house last night and gave a great talk about his years of coaching and how our Butler Bulldogs are fun to watch as well as a team to get behind because they do things the right way: the Butler Way.

Coach Keady said that former Michigan State coach, Jud Heathcoat always told him that he was perfect for Purdue because he looked like a “Boilermaker.” But, we think there may just be a little “Bulldog” in Gene as well. You decide…

I’m going to be real honest, after cocktail hour dinner was served, Coach Stevens and Coach Keady began their remarks and I studied the back of my eyelids. No disrespect gentlemen, but it was a long day for this old dog.

Tomorrow I’m filling in for our missing mascot, the costume version, and heading to the south side for an appearance at Clinton Young Elementary School. They are having an assembly for some of their students regarding a program they have to get students interested and excited about one day attending college. They’ve adopted Butler University since it is close and I’m going to serve as the special surprise portion of the event. Imagine how surprised all the kids will be when I come strolling in. I love that stuff!

The best part about being me is that more often than not, I put a smile on someone’s face. Whether it is a student, faculty or staff, a fan, or just somebody in the car next to me at a stoplight, I can usually evoke a smile or even a laugh from folks. Imagine having the ability to lift spirits like that…I think it’s one of the defining characteristics of the bulldog breed.

So if you want to really smile and laugh, make plans to come to campus on Saturday, Oct. 25th at 10 a.m. for the ninth annual Bulldog Beauty Contest. We’ve got 55 dogs signed up so far with the overwhelming majority of those dogs being bulldogs. So you can just imagine how much fun this event is going to be! My dad has been cooking up some good stuff for this year’s Bulldog Beauty Contest so I think I may do a special post on it next week to fill you in. Good stuff.

I wish everyone a great fall weekend this weekend and may the Bulldogs take down the Valpo Crusaders in the Hoosier Helmet Game!

Go Dawgs!

Blue II

Checking in with the Parents

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am spending the weekend with my Grandma and Grandpa Kaltenmark in Wabash, Ind. You see, my parents get into this Indy 500 thing...in addition to working at Butler University, my dad also works on a part-time basis for Vision Racing, so he's really busy on race day and my mom, well, she's busy tailgating and watching the race, so that kind of leaves me out. That's okay, grandma and grandpa have come to my rescue once again.

I skipped town with the grandparents on Friday so I decided to check in yesterday and send my parents an email to let them know what I had been up to while in Wabash. My grandpa helped me get the message below all typed up and sent...


Dear Mom & Dad,

I just want you to know that things are fine here at Grandma’s house. These old folks don’t play with me as much as I would like, but they try to make me happy from time to time. I am not confined to the living room, but I spend most of my time there.

Grandpa took me to the hardware store this morning so I could meet Chris Kramer’s (Purdue University) grandpa. People there were really impressed with me. One lady walked in and said, “That’s the dog I see on TV all the time.” She called me a movie star. A teenaged girl who works there said I was so ugly that I was cute. I don’t know where she got the ugly part.

Grandma & Papa went to some senior open houses this afternoon. One of his football players asked Papa if he had baby-sat for me recently. Papa said that I was at his house at that very moment. I wonder if some of those football guys will come see me later. I liked going to their practices with grandpa back in the fall.

I have a new trick I like to pull on Grandpa. I acted like I need to go potty. When we get outside I head straight for his car. Grandma thinks I’m homesick and miss my Mommy.

By the way my barking gets an immediate response from people around here. It is easy to get their attention and get what ever I want.

Hope you’re enjoying your time at the track. I’ll be watching the race tomorrow in hopes I can see you.

I’ll be home Monday morning.

Love,

Blue

So as you can see, staying with the grandparents is definitely all it's cracked up to be...treats, attention, car rides and getting really spoiled. It's a nice break from the normal routine.

I hope you will join me in watching the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500 today. It airs live on ABC at 1 p.m. (ET) and it should be a great show. Remember to cheer on our driver, Ed Carpenter, driver of the No. 20 Menards/Vision Racing car...it's bright yellow and easy to spot. He'll start 10th in his 5th Indy 500. Ed is a 2003 Butler grad and a good friend. Go Bulldog (Ed)!

Ladies and Gentlemen, START YOUR ENGINES!

Blue II