Class of '81 website restored

Our 25th reunion website is back up and running. Visit us here - http://www.carleton1981.com/ - until we get the link restored to the college's class website page.

Old Class Website is Defunct

It looks like the Class of 1981's 25th Reunion website finally went defunct. Life got busy and we missed the renewal notice for our domain name and someone else snatched it up. Looks like someone affiliated with the University of Phoenix or other online education site. So apologies to anyone looking for our old website. In the meantime we're going to link this blog site to the Carleton class website page until we get a new site up and running in advance of our 30th reunion in 2011. Stay tuned.

BTW, our reunion picture site is still up and running at http://carleton81reunion.shutterfly.com/action/

Reunion 2007: 25th Reunion for the Class of '82

Looks like Reunion 2007 is going to be another big event. We had a great time last year at our 25th, so we wish the Class of '82 well on their upcoming 25th. 216 members are registered so far. Our class of '81 even has three members registered to attend this year. I attended the last reunion of the class of '82 in 2002 and had a great time, but unfortunately work prevents me from attending this year.

The Class of 1982 now has their own Bio Book and they have 84 profiles out there. Catch up with your friends from the Class of '82 through their Bio Book, and maybe even consider attending the reunion to see some of them. Our own 1981 Bio Book with 58 profiles is still out there for everyone to view. Existing profiles can be edited, but I don't think you can still add new ones.

Best wishes for a great Reunion this year!

What's new with the Class of '81?

It's been quiet recently with the Class of '81. Anything going on with anybody that you'd like to see posted on our class website, or anything about Carleton that you'd like to discuss or get more information on? Let me know if you have any ideas and I'll try to get them on to the '81 website.

I've been checking in periodically on the Class of '82's online Bio Book. Like ours, there was an initial flurry of entries, and then it slacked off, with a new entry added here and there. I think it's the greatest idea and way to keep up with classmates, but it kind of seems only about 10-15% of class members fill them out. What's up with that? Are some of us just more gung-ho about Carleton than others, or is everyone really just too busy? Personally I like the ones that are more expressive and creative or more detailed, but even the ones with the single word or short phrase responses are good to read to remember certain classmates.

It also seems that once Reunion is past, if any of our class members log in to the '81 Bio Book, existing profiles can be edited, but new ones can't be created. But no one is making any updates anymore. I'm guessing that we will have new questionaires and profiles for our next reunion.

Anyway, just checking in....emails and blog posts are always welcome.

Jeff Stewart '81

Carls in Recovery - New Email Listserv

I was inspired at Reunion 2006 to get more involved with the extended Carleton community in the area of recovery. So after some discussion with the campus Wellness Center and getting things set up through the college mailing list service, I've initiated a new email discussion list with the following description:

This discussion list is intended for support of Carleton alumni and current students who are in recovery from alcoholism, addictions of any nature, codependency, other types of dysfunction, and those who are seeking recovery and want support, advice or encouragement from Carls in recovery who have "been there." The idea for this group came to mind from a Breakfast Discussion Group at Reunion 2006 on "Recovery After Carleton: Overcoming Addiction, Codependency and Family Dysfunction". It is intended to be as confidential as possible. You may wish to configure your e-mail settings with first name only or an anonymous user ID. Founded 10/12/2006.

If you are in recovery yourself, or close to someone in recovery, feel free to subscribe to the list at https://lists.carleton.edu/info/carls-in-recovery

Reunion Reflections - Part 2

Well, all good intentions got shot to heck when I got home from Reunion. Aside from getting the Shutterfly site up and running with Reunion photos uploaded by several classmates, I haven't had much time to blog or do significant updates to our class website. Work took over my life for the summer as our first SAP ERP software implementation Go-live date was August 27 in Clinton, Tennessee. We made it, but not without lots of very long days and weekend work. My only vacation days all summer were for the reunion, and my family didn't even get to spend those days with me. But I am finally finding a bit of free time to work on our site and focus on other things besides work.

So far, I have added this blog page to our class website (at www.carleton81.com for those of you reading this from the Blogger site). This is a new feature that our website provider made available in April. It will allow more of a one-stop class website with blogging included, instead of having to click between two separate websites.

Reunion is almost three months past, but I've enjoyed some of the follow-up that has taken place, at least for me. I've stayed in touch with at least a couple classmates, I've been listening to the Knights CD (which is my very first) that I bought at the bookstore during Reunion , and I've been developing some ideas already for our next reunion in 2011. I have recently had a couple of those famous recurring Carleton dreams where it's the middle of the semester and I suddenly realize that I haven't done any of the reading or can't find my classroom. I was hoping those dreams would go away after getting back to campus in June, but alas, I still wake up sometimes thinking that I never actually graduated. (And I know from talking with a few of my classmates that I'm not the only one to have such dreams.)

Aa always, this blog is open to your contributions. If you'd like to add a blog post, send it to me at jstewart@carleton81.com. Hopefully it won't be so long in between blog updates from now on.

Cheers/Jeff

Reunion Reflections - Part 1

Hi everyone,

I hope all of you had as great a time at Reunion as I did. I’m still flying high from it, although I walked back into a whirlwind of work. I felt like I was really away on a vacation with old friends, the kind of vacation where you are just comfortable relaxing and enjoying life with everyone. Lots of committed classmates put lots of time into making this reunion as great as it was. Needless to say, I myself am ready to help with the next reunion in 2011. How about you?

It was also a very motivating reunion for me personally. I renewed my Wellstone Action membership today after attending the Saturday forum and film showing. I’ve already got a bunch of ideas brewing for next reunion for a couple of different discussion forums. Since we have the class website as a communication vehicle, I’ll be putting some of the thoughts down over the next few weeks as I get time.

I plan to start a section on the Reunion page called "Reflections from our 25th Reunion", but I would like it to be a collaborative section with a lot of you contributing. Please e-mail me with any thoughts, funny stories, reflections, etc. and I will get them posted. We could also use more contributions for the Wellstone Legacy page, which I believe more of you could write based on attendance at the Wellstone forum and film viewing. Even though I didn’t take any classes from Paul, I now feel that I have been impacted myself by his legacy and may post something myself.

I also took an idea from the Class of '91's website and created a Shutterfly site to which you can add any reunion photos you'd like to share. The site is located at http://carleton81reunion.shutterfly.com I didn't take any pictures myself, but hope that some of you will post the ones you took. Feel free to post any photos that you'd like to add to the album I created, or create a new album in the collection. (To add your pictures to an existing album in the Collection, just click the album name and then click the 'Add your pictures' button. You do have to do the free sign-up with Shutterfly in order to add to the collection, but it's very easy.)

Last but not least, I would like to post the texts of the talks by Wes Sundquist, Karl Scholz and David Gramit if I can obtain them electronically, as well as my own talk from my Saturday morning discussion on recovery from addictions, etc. Nicky may also have some content to post from the Wellstone forum. If any of you have other ideas or information to post from reunion, please e-mail me.

Friday and Saturday evenings were especially great with the music performances by Drew Miller’s band, Jim Pacala and Carrie Gerendasy, Charlie Pydych's band with added company including Bob Tipping and Bob El-Hai, and just sitting on the Burton lawn into the wee hours of Sunday morning listening to Carrie, Drew, Bob et. al. playing some of the purest folk music possible. Thank you for some very special memories to bring back home and carry me on to the next reunion.

Looking forward to hearing from many of you. I hope all of you had safe trips back home and were able to get back into the swing of things after a great weekend.

Regards,

Jeff

Reunion Breakfast Discussions - Next Saturday 8:00 a.m.

For anyone reading this that will be attending the Carleton Reunion next weekend, I thought I would put in a plug for the Saturday morning "Carleton Conversations: intergenerational breakfast discussions" that take place from 8:00 - 9:30. I led one of several different discussions at Reunion 2001, and I am planning to do so again at this reunion. There is a good variety of discussion tables and topics to pick from, so everyone should be able to find something that peaks interest. It is also a great place to meet and interact with members of other classes and share knowledge, wisdom and inspiration. Last time it was held in Great Hall, a place which I always enjoy - lots of memories there, including a concert by Harry Chapin with Carls just sitting on the floor all around him , and another with an Indian sitarist playing ragas.

This year I will be giving a talk and leading discussion on the topic of "Recovery After Carleton: Overcoming Addiction, Codependency and Family Dysfunction". It will start with some personal testimony of my own recovery and leadership in a volunteer-based Celebrate Recovery program, then lead into some questions for general discussion.

If you are going to be at reunion, join us for breakfast at 8:00 and participate in this or one of the other alumni discussion groups. They are casual in nature, and people trickle in even if they get up late.

Learn something new at Reunion

One of the cool things about Carleton reunions is that you can always learn something new. They are not just about reminiscing and catching up with old friends, but they can also be opportunities to learn new things and expand your horizons. Back in 2001 at our 20th reunion, I took part in the bird walk in the Arb, something I had never done before. I found it fascinating and learned more about the Arb in a couple hours than I did in my whole four years at Carleton.

Another part of reunion is to join in the diverse array of planned activities with alumni from our class or other classes and perhaps expand your network of alumni with whom you share similar interests. One such opportunity at the upcoming 25th is to participate in an Aikido Class. Any reunion participants who also practice Aikido (a Japanese martial art) are welcome to join in an all-class training on Saturday afternoon. Contact Steve Carlson from the Class of 1991 for details by e-mailing him at steve.carlson@fandm.edu.

One week to go before advance registration closes. Get busy and register, and if you haven't done so already, create your profile in the online Bio Book for the Class of '81.

Cheers.

You Really Can't Come to Reunion?

If you really can't come to Reunion, I'm sure someone in our class who hasn't seen you in a long time would still love to hear from you and learn a little bit about what you've been doing in recent years. One way to tell people about yourself is to create an online bio book profile on the Carleton website. I've created a link and provided some instructions for creating your profile on the Bio Book page of our Class of '81 website.

Another way to say hi to your classmates and update us on what's new is to send a note to The Voice for inclusion in the Class Notes section of the next issue. You can now send notes online by clicking on the Class Notes link in the lower lefthand corner of The Voice page on the Carleton website (but you will need your alumni ID and password). Otherwise just send in your update by mail to The Voice. Deadline for the next issue is June 1. (To protect the privacy of its alumni, Carleton does not publish the Class Notes online.)

Finally, if you would like more space to say what you'd really like to say to your classmates, post a comment here by clicking on the Comments link below, or email me with whatever you'd like posted here or on our main website where I'll be creating a section for class member updates after Reunion.

23 days left until Reunion. Can't wait to arrive again in Northfield, just like I first did way back when in 1975 when I first visited the campus........

Staying Connected Through the Alumni Email Listserv

If you miss those late night dorm lounge discussions, or if you crave some intelligent discussion about current events, or if you have a longing to reminisce about anything Carleton-related, or if you have a question about anything and want to seek out some expert advice from your fellow Carls, then the Carleton Alumni Email Listserv is a great way to stay connected with Carleton. The subscriber list includes Carleton alumni from at least as far back as the class of 1958 all the way up to the most recent graduating classes. The discussions get quite lively at times, the tone is always civil, and the variety of topics can be amazing sometimes.

To subscribe, click on https://lists.carleton.edu/info/alumni You can choose to get individual e-mails or sign up for the digest format. If you want to skip over certain topics, just remind yourself that you can always delete e-mails, but the discussions can get quite addicting sometimes. I have learned so much about so many different topics over the past few years, and I especially enjoy the interchange with members of classes from before and after ours. (The Class of '81 could use some additional members on the list to bring some perspective from our era at Carleton.)

So sign up and be prepared to soak up the discussion, jump in anytime with your thoughts, opinions or expert knowledge. And who knows, maybe you will end up meeting one of the listserv members from another class at Reunion with whom you debated the war in Iraq or from whom you learned some Carleton history that you never knew about before or who gave you some great career advice.

It's Easy! How to "Post" or "Comment" on a Blog

If you're new to blogs, I thought it might be helpful to offer a quick explanation on "posting" or "commenting" on a blog. The following explanation is plagiarized from a post by Arah from the Class of '91's blog from which the idea for this blog sprung..... (Thanks, Arah, and the Class of '91!)

Here's the lowdown on posting to this blog: What you're reading right now is a "post." Currently I am the only official "poster," but I'm hoping that several more Class of '81 members will get involved. All it takes is me (the blog creator) sending a Blogger email invite to you, and a little willingness on your part to follow the few Blogger steps to get yourself registered to post. To any classmates reading this, especially those on the Reunion committee, let me know if you're interested and I'll get you set up (e-mail to me).

The other somewhat less involved and visible way to get something on the site is to add a "comment" to a post. The blog is set up so that anyone on the web can do this - no login is necessary. After each posting, you should see at the bottom to the right a little line that says something like "0 comments". You click on it, then type away to your heart's content. Once you've typed up your comment, you sign it by either entering your Blogger ID if you have one, or you may find it simplest to choose "Other" or "Anonymous" for your identity. There's no need to log in via Blogger to leave a comment to a posting, and with "Anonymous" you'd need to put your name in the comment if you want anyone from our class to know it was you who posted the comment. Also, if you do choose "Other", you don't need to post a URL if you don't have a web page.

Cool? Be sure and e-mail to me if you have more questions.

Reunion attendance

I'm curious why some classmates never come to Reunion, and what it would take to get them to come. I know I had entirely different feelings about attending the first couple of reunions than I do now, when many of the college memories that I wanted to forget were still fresh, or there was still the memory of certain cliques or fears of fitting in. Now I enjoy coming and just being my own person and experiencing much of the college experience, especially the opportunity to interact with classes of different generations, both younger and older.

If you've thought about coming to Reunion but have decided not to, add a comment to this post, or e-mail me if you'd like to write more and post it as part of our class blog. I'm also curious about why more classmates are not creating profiles for the online Bio Book.

I added a link to Planet Carleton which I just found out about as I was perusing the Class of '91's blog, which I credit for giving me the idea to create this blog. Plant Carleton is a web network of other Carleton-related blogs. I'm not a big blog reader, but it is interesting to surf and see the variety of blogs out there, especially from some of the newly-admitted students, current students and recent graduates. They help to bring back some of the same impressions that I had in earlier Carleton years.

Something like 38 more days until Reunion......

Welcome to the Class of '81 Blog

Fellow 1981 classmates: This blog has been created for us, to be a class of '81 blog. Anyone interested can get registered as a team member to post blogs, attach links, upload photos, etc. It will be linked to our main class website at www.carleton81.com, but this will be more of an open forum for anyone from the class to post anytime. It's my first attempt at blogging, so feel free to offer suggestions anytime. Register to get a Blogger User ID, then e-mail to me if you would like to get added as a blog team member.

Reunion is coming soon, so this will be a good place to post anything at all related to Reunion, before during and after......