Parents of the HS Class of 2012 - New beginnings - Page 144

Northernwoods · 09-24-2012, 03:19 PM

We couldn't talk S into going out for pizza on Friday. He thought he'd be eating lots of pizza over this week. Both Malnati's and Giordanos were on my list.

We went to Flat Top Grill for Mongolian stirfry which we all enjoyed. I'm hoping we can make it to one of the pizza places over Parent's Weekend.

musicohana · 09-24-2012, 03:49 PM

The U of Chicago FB page posted move in pictures yesterday. At least one thread on CC this summer discussed where to get fold up hand carts. No need at some of the U of C dorms - they had ENORMOUS orange rolling bins!

amtc · 09-24-2012, 06:20 PM

SteveC and Northernwoods - having "alone time" or "down time" is one of the biggest problems for Freshman. It's a very hard thing to find in a dorm no matter what school you go to. I warned my younger daughter about this but it didn't help, she had an overload last weekend. I'm not sure what you can do about it. The kids do seem to survive though!

2016BarnardMom · 09-24-2012, 09:39 PM

My D mentioned one day, after I sent a text at 2 pm, that she had just woken up. I asked what her roommate thought of that and she said "She just woke up too". Ok then, good fit!

Then she mentioned that she has been Skyping with friends from home. I said "You haven't Skyped with me yet!" in a teasing voice. She said "Well, I pretty Skype in the middle of the night. I'm nocturnal now." She has always been nocturnal, but now she's actually able to sleep in too. Her earliest class on MW is 11:40 and her earliest on TTh is 2:40! Nocturnal kid.

mihcal1 · 09-24-2012, 09:55 PM

Dang, SteveC, you're making me HUNGRY!

My D reports that her roommate is very sweet. D was worried beforehand because roommate's FB page was almost 100% Korean script. Roommie does go out with Korean friends sometimes, and doesn't include my D, but it hasn't been an issue. D appreciates some alone-time, and there are still plenty of times when they do hang out or go for meals together.

I don't get much news from my D, but this past weekend we had my D's best HS friend's parents over for dinner, and they reported (via their D) lots of happy news.

GeminiMom · 09-24-2012, 10:03 PM

Steve C -- We were in the first wave at Lou Malnati's for lunch on Friday. By the time we left, the wait was 40 minutes.

My daughter could also benefit from some time that is not scheduled. Hopefully they will get a break before classes start.

GeminiMom · 09-24-2012, 10:05 PM

Oops, forgot jmnva06 -- I will share your daughter's Whovian wisdom with my kids.

oldfort · 09-24-2012, 10:16 PM

^^See if your D could get invited to a Korean meal sometimes.

I am going up to D2's school for business this Fri. H went down to Chinatown to get her favorite food for me to bring up. I offered to take some of her friends out to eat. We started with 2, now we are up to 6, so her list of friends is growing.

Creekland · 09-25-2012, 06:13 AM

Thanks for the General Mom update. I can't imagine why neighbormom wouldn't want her as a FB friend.

(Actually, my mind can come up with several potential future updates on here if she had allowed it!)

In reality, I hope she's toning down a bit and I hope her son (kids) can develop a life of their own without feeling her lashes.

We found out (via FB) that middle son aced his Bio test. I can breathe a little better today! He has tests in Chem and BCS this week, but I'm less worried about those (perhaps naively) since he loves those profs.

Less than 2 weeks till our visit!

seiclan · 09-25-2012, 07:45 AM

Checking in but not much to post since DS doesn't communicate much to me. He says he's fine. He is not that into Facebook so I can't get info there. His last FB posting was 2 weeks ago, boasting that he got the fudge I had sent him. He has emailed me a few times this week but not to share any college info ( just to further discuss the new TV we are getting for the rec room...since he plays Xbox there he wants us th get one with minimal lag and a good refresh rate...huh?). I am concerned that one of his emails was time/dated 4 AM!!

He has always been nocturnal and now most of his classes start after 11AM. I had many issues with his sleep/study habits in high school and it is very tough for me to not say something about the 4am email. But, I believe that he needs to find his new balance himself and I am trying to let this bird test his wings....

I cannot help but worry about this kid. He just doesn't share (like my girls do) and "inquiring minds want to know"! OTOH, there is a part of me that prefers to not ride his 18 year old roller coaster...maybe it's better this way?

amtc · 09-25-2012, 09:34 AM

"...maybe it's better this way?"

I tell myself that every day!

momsings · 09-25-2012, 09:53 AM

seiclan and amtc--I am in the same camp as you. It is a challenge, not knowing the day to day tidbits. I do know that S is very happy and wants/needs a break from us. Really, I do think it is a good thing. We are close, AND he is a private person in many respects, and always has been. He is not a huge communicator by phone, text, or email even with his friends but is a delight in person!

Mutti2012 · 09-25-2012, 10:16 AM

Have any UChicago parents posted yet? I think we’re the last to move in our kids!

Back from three intense but wonderful days at UChicago. Stunning weather, a very smoothly run move-in, just enough programming for parents; I’m really very impressed with how the event was planned. We were able to pack S in four rolling duffels for the flight: 2 clothes, 1 linens, 1 “stuff”. So easy, and Southwest takes it all for free. Saturday afternoon we hit Target and BBB for a handful of bulky things (mirror, desk lamp, alarm clock) and that was that. Sunday morning we picked up our Zipcar, loaded it up, got in and out of car line in about 20 minutes, and the waiting football players (healthy young guys, but oh so small for football

) loaded all the stuff into huge orange bins. S got his first choice dorm, a beautiful (to me) three year old building on the south end of campus. Roommate was already in the room and all set up. If this kid is as lovely and considerate as he seemed to us, the two of them will have very smooth sailing. UChicago has an old established “house” system, so there is great social support which makes parents very happy. In addition to being the last school to start, they have possibly the longest Orientation as well: 8 days, which seems like overkill. I was overwhelmed just reading S’ O-handbook. Yesterday, kids and parents had separate sessions in the morning and then regrouped in the afternoon. The school tradition is a big gathering in Rockefeller “Chapel” (I use quotes because the chapel is a good-sized cathedral) after which all the parents and kids walk through campus behind bagpipers to one of the main gates through which the kids pass as upperclassmen cheer them on while parent remain behind. Very dramatic; the three of us were fairly silent during the march, just holding each other. But it makes for an effective end to move-in as the kids move on and the parents disband.

I don’t expect to hear from S too much but will definitely be employing the “random friendly texting” strategy suggested here. One month to parents’ weekend…..

fredricksdottir · 09-25-2012, 10:28 AM

Another UChicago parent here! S has been in Chicago for a couple of weeks now with varsity, so he had time to acclimatize and meet some people. He moved out of Max P and into his dorm for the year on the 18th and seems to have been making friends ever since. I think that most of the varsity athletes and some of the international students came early so he knows many of them. He still hasn't got his room set up much but he has had 4 hours of practice a day before classes start and then the team traveled to Indiana for a tournament so he really hasn't had much time. He is in a single in an older dorm so no roommate issues and he was able to get to bed at 10:30 last night so obviously the floor can't be too noisy. I gather that they went out for pizza last night and then did a mini scav hunt to get photos of buildings after we left him at Hull gate.
Funny, he said goodbye well before the gate (being demonstrative might not be too cool!) but the freshmen were encouraged by older students waving signs and shouting to "give their parents a hug" so when he spotted us he came back and gave us big hugs. We let him have some space and he went up to the gate with some friends.
I hope that he really has a good time and learns a lot!

ELKyes · 09-25-2012, 10:44 AM

Hello all!!! Haven't checked in here since my S left for school mid-august. Nice to hear all your familiar voices. We go down for parents weekend this weekend, and I am excited to see DS and to have a little time a way with my hubby.

Things so far seem pretty good. He is making friends, loving the city, says classes are good, but doesn't seem overly enthusiastic about them. He chalks that up to freshman year. But sad to say he is also having some room mate issues. I am trying to remain very philosophical, mostly seems like dopey stuff. So I am hoping that they remain cordial, and get through the year. My son says they have nothing in common, music, sports etc. I had high hopes that they were going to get along great........

This is all part of the learning curve right?......