<p>Big10Padre and jckazoo – thank you very much for all the very helpful input! Good point about waiting until D connects with her roommate (thinking it will be late next week), as that will hopefully clarify what is wanted/needed. On the warning call thing, yeah, I already received two…although I want to know what is going on, I do not need to hear about a tornado at 2AM – not like I can do anything about it!</p>
<p>I agree on the fax thing…will go for a simple copy/print/scan all-in-one if D and roommate want one. May try to sneak a small phone in as a backup for lengthy power outages. </p>
<p>I appreciated the discussion of how to best stay in touch. When I was a student, we did once/week calls and it worked well. Like most things about college these days, sounds like things have not changed much in 25 years (which is a good thing!). </p>
<p>For microwave/fridge, since we are OOS, we’re expecting to go down the rental path unless roommate is local and has one, to ease the end-of-year storage hassle. Would do the same w/futon if a rental were available. I am concerned that buying a fridge/microwave/futon will cause a new headache for end-of-year storage, etc. If anyone knows of an end-of-year moving/storage company in Iowa City for OOS students, please let me know. I know there are storage companies, but I’d rather not deal with a UHaul just for a futon. Or maybe a minivan/larger rental SUV would do the trick? I guess D can also try to sell a futon if needed.</p>
<p>Thanks again for all the very helpful input!</p>