I hope your month of May has started off well. For those of us who work in higher education, the beginning of this month is always extremely busy so best wishes to all my colleagues and counterparts. Let’s get started with the rundown.

Her Unicorn – Sidney wanted to find Sloan a stuffed animal (or “lovey” as Sid calls them) to hold and bring her comfort when she wakes up at night. After cycling through a couple choices, Sloan recently found her new friend. It is not a teddy bear nor a rabbit; it is a unicorn. For those who are familiar with the brand Jellycat, you probably have an idea on why Sloan sided with the mythical creature. Jellycat products are soft and cuddly, a step above your regular stuffed animal. When we present our daughter with her unicorn she will grasp it and bring it to her chest. A permanent resident in Sloan’s crib, we are sure she is enjoying pleasant unicorn dreams at night.

Sloan sure enjoys her jellycat stuffed unicorn.

That’s a Wrap – Yesterday, we had our last #CCUfamily filming of the year. It marked the 92nd interview that Geoff and I gave over the course of the 2017-18 academic calendar. It was a pleasure to meet 92 different CCU students and develop quality, in-depth profiles on each one. What started out as a pitch I presented when I interviewed here, #CCUfamily has transformed from an “amateurish” feature to a polished production. I have Geoff and his team to thank for the added firepower. With this year now in the books, our social media program has profiled over 300 students with this campaign.

Major props to Geoff Insch for all he has done to make #CCUfamily a truly awesome campaign.

The Worst of the Worst – I have written a blog post on my top 5 favorite sodas before. However, I have not tackled the topic of my top 5 least favorite sodas. If I was to write this blog post, I would put Caffeine Free Diet Coke at the top spot. We recently had a supply at our house thanks to Sidney. With the grocery store sold out of her Diet Dr. Pepper, she opted for CFDC (awful acronym, huh?). When I was little, I remember taking a sip of the stuff from a can that was sitting out in the sun. It tasted no better than a chemical. At that point, I told myself never again.

Seriously…what is this? Please don’t tell me it is soda.

Allergies – South Carolina is one of the worst states in the country for allergies. When I moved here, that didn’t concern me. I am now changing my tune. As someone who has never suffered from allergies, that changed this week when I experienced the relentless misery of grass and tree pollen. I thought I was immune but my watery eyes and runny nose suggested differently. After taking some medication and benefitting from a drop in the daily pollen levels, I felt much better today. But man, I was pretty miserable earlier this week.

From the Archives – I thought we would re-visit a couple blog posts I wrote on this date. Two years ago I highlighted the carnival game I was always a sucker for growing up. In fact, I was so addicted to it that my brother and I would set up our own version of the game in my parents’ basement (sorry, you have to follow the link to find out the game). On May 3, 2015, I wrote one of my more popular Don’t Blink blog posts of all-time. I gave my honest opinion of the pros and cons of living in Myrtle Beach. This post still receives up to hundreds of views per day and I constantly get emails from people asking my opinion on whether they should move to the area or not.

Living in Myrtle Beach is awesome, but it has its pros and cons just like any other place.

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Congratulations to all the Coastal Carolina students graduating this weekend. I look forward to working the commencement ceremonies and watching several students I know cross the stage. Don’t Blink.