<p>sabaray, has your D decided on her major yet? I remember that was a decision that was pending. S1 just hung out at home over spring break and left on Friday to visit his brother for the week-end.</p>
<p>We went to the Banff film festival showing in our area last night and really enjoyed the film “Fining Farley” about a family’s five-month journey across Canada with a two-year old and a dog, mostly in a canoe. This film won both the People’s Choice Award and Grand Prize and was well worth both. You can see snippets on Google.</p>
<p>If she has decided, she has not shared that information with me. I am trying hard to stay out of it. I think the problem is that she is interested in so many different things and is good at so many things she really could do almost anything. I suspect she will need to begin the process soon- she was very vague with me on the timeline for applications which given past experience leads me to believe it is sooner rather than later. I think she just doesn’t want me nagging her about it. </p>
<p>She had quite the adventure over break and I am anxious to hear about it. Yesterday she called to let me know she had arrived at JFK- but their plane to Reagan was cancelled. Try to rebook 20 kids on another flight when flights were being cancelled right and left due to weather? Didn’t happen. Taxi to Penn Station. Trains delayed due to overhead wires falling on the tracks. Train finally leaves and arrives in D.C. Two metro trains and a shuttle later, finally back to the car parked at Reagan and headed back to grounds (at 9 a.m. this morning). Over 24 hours of stressful travel as their flight left Trinidad at 7:05 yesterday morning. But it sounds like she had a great time. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow. </p>
<p>Film sounds great, Analyst. I’m going to check into it.</p>
<p>Eggson arrived home for break yesterday. First thing he did was plug in the electric guitar and wail away.</p>
<p>It looks like we are becoming Hotel Egg for the week. GF will stay here tonight on her way to catch train. Later in the week we will have relatives (including my 21-year-old nephew) who are also on break. Also DH has offered to bbq a “mess o ribs” for Eggson’s birthday celebration with friends. House of boys guaranteed.</p>
<p>All this hustle and bustle will make up for those quiet nights over the past 2 months!</p>
<p>Wow, sounds like a real travel ordeal. Glad she is on her final leg of the journey. Meant to say Finding Farley as the name of the film.</p>
<p>With a major, you can pick almost anything you want so that makes the decision difficult because there are so many options. With that first job, you have to find somebody willing to pick you back. In S1’s case, he could end up going in one of three very different career directions depending on who gives him an offer. I guess it is even worse for liberal arts majors. They can end up doing almost anything after graduation. The randomness of the process is a little scary. I ended up in a career that wasn’t a great fit, just because that is where I found my first job. I don’t want that to happen for S1. I would rather he work at some international resort bartending than see him end up in a cubicle somewhere. The waiting is just so hard. We didn’t have this decision stuff for either of our kids for college. Two applications for S1, in at both before Thanksgiving and one application for S1, in by September.</p>
<p>S has gone back to school from break. The house is back to just the 2 of us and the dog. Sounds quiet but currently I’m welcoming it. Somehow it was my fault that he didn’t remember his haircut yesterday and had to gasp go to a different place today before heading back to school. He has never until today had anyone else cut his hair other than the person that was supposed to cut it yesterday. She started cutting his hair when she was 6 months old. At 21 I do expect him to figure out his own schedule. :)</p>
<p>After seeing the national news this evening I’m just glad they made it back at all. D reported it was terrible turbulence over the Atlantic and was nightmarish as they began their approach to JFK. Delta offers this nifty feature that shows the plane’s progress and route- at one point the plane had turned around and appeared to be headed out to sea. Thankfully that was of a short duration. </p>
<p>My mother worked herself into a tizzy over the travel situation; but I thought, what is there that I can do? My brief moment of panic was receiving a text that they were looking for buses when I thought they were taking the train. Thankfully they had seats on the train but were working every possible option. They sat from 9 pm to 4 am on the train before it even left- the corridor reopened at 12:30 am with two of four tracks operational. This will be one trip she never forgets, if only for the return trip adventure! </p>
<p>I haven’t really talked to her yet- H is out of town but has spoken to her a few times and she called my mother today to reassure her that she was safely back in the dorm and all was well. That’s why young people go on these adventures and not their parents!</p>
<p>Eggson applied to be an RA next year as most of this year’s RAs were sophomores. It turns out that most of them signed up for another year and the kids in son’s class were shut out. </p>
<p>Oh well… he still has time to sign up for soph housing with roommate of choice. He has chosen his suitemate over current roommate which apparently is a bit awkward at this time.</p>
<p>Any other roommate/dorm for next year drama out there?</p>
<p>I see others have travel sagas to report.
Am here to report #theoryson’s
Grandma and Grandpa got him to the airport at 6 this morning. He caught the 20 minute flight to Philly at 8 am. He is still there. He has had 3 canceled flights (one due to mechanical, the next due to Logan having outages, the last due to weather.)
He is on his way to a hotel and I am waiting for a call so I can let his van know when to pick him up tomorrow. He’ll miss his first day of classes. Hope he has the wherewithall to get any material that was handed out first day (he hates to make waves) Not good day for the poor kiddo</p>
<p>Yikes, #theorymom! Is there a train that goes from Philadelphia to Worcester?</p>
<p>S looked up his grades - 1 A, 2 Cs. It’s an improvement over the previous term, but he still needs to step it up. Much as I’d love to go up there and give him some Mom motivation, this is something he needs to do himself.</p>
<p>no clue as to S’s grades this term, tho he did promise to look them up tomorrow and let me know. Philly is a good long way from Worcester. He is all set for tonight, so long as he gets himself up tomorrow and catches his plane. He is safely ensconsed in a hotel for the night. Learning experience and also what it means to be at a long distance school. There will be more of these days I am sure, air travel being what it is these days.
Glad FFson did better this term. I swear, they take such tough courses!</p>
<p>D and a group of kids from the Outing Club are driving from NH to Southern Utah to go camping in the Canyonlands for spring break. I looked up the forecast for Canyonlands–snow today, but 2 sunny days in the next 10 days with temps in the high 40s and low 50s. Temps at night are below freezing. </p>
<p>Call me wimpy, but I would definitely sign up for a hotel room…</p>
<p>The travel stories make me so glad not to have to travel for work anymore. I used to fly three to four days a week and it was a nightmare. Our airline system is completely broken.</p>
<p>I love the idea of the canyonlands trip but agree that I am getting soft as well and find hotel rooms are a nice alternative to the tent and hard ground, not to mention freezing temps and rain. </p>
<p>eggmom, sorry to hear that the RA slot didn’t work out. S2 will be in a house off campus next year with two of his friends. Somebody else did all the work of finding it. I think he is consuming more house than he should, but it’s his money. We pay as if he is in the dorm regardless of what housing he chooses. S1 went through the same learning curve with a pricey place the first year he lived off campus and a dirt cheap place this year.</p>
<p>I think D has a relatively affordable place - when I calculate it out it is actually pretty close to grounds living. We also won’t be burdened by the requiring “dining” (and I use that term loosely) plan. I’ve followed POIH’s thread on budgeting with interest. I was starting to feel that I was an overly indulgent parent but after reading what POIH’s D “gets by on” I think I may be falling into the thrifty category. Apartment is definitely not one of the palaces others seem to go for, just one roomie and one bathroom but they each have their own bedroom which was a non-negotiable from my standpoint. </p>
<p>We did chat a bit online yesterday and it seems she has settled on majors to apply for as it seems they apply this week. For a bit there was some discussion of civil which I just could not see her being happy with for the long run. Now she’s thinking a “build your own” major which would allow her to combine several interests; BME; ChemE with a biotech concentration and Systems as another possibility. Not sure how they’ll be ranked in the end but I have to say I’m relieved. </p>
<p>Hope all the kiddos get where they need to be. Can’t believe this weather!</p>
<p>Great post, DTE. I do so like to be in control and the past six months or so have been such a reinforcement of the randomness of it all. With my friend’s H1N1 death last fall, D’s 30 year old dance teacher’s serious health issues, and many other things, I guess the mental challenge is to accept the randomness without becoming fatalistic.</p>
<p>sabaray, sounds like a great combination major (and I would also be heaving a sigh of relief on taking a pass on the civil engineering idea if she has the talent and interests in these other directions). </p>
<p>I find the threads on finances are always interesting from an intellectual point of view, but we are so far from mainstream that we can’t add anything useful to the discussions. H and I both experienced extreme poverty as children (on welfare for one, homeless for awhile for the other) and that imprint is deep. As a result, we are compulsive savers. Both of our kids have been trained to be compulsive savers. Whenever that cycle of fear is finally broken and I don’t know how many generations it will take, somebody is going to inherit a lot of money.</p>
<p>i was watching Bonnie Hunt. Sir Ken Robinson was on talking about education, and kids who learn differently. he has written a book I believe called the element or (s) She said it helped her immensly. My kids have always done well academically,and on tests, but I have a hard time with it as I know there are all forms of intelligence not just one. My H is a very smart man but really can fix anything. My friends 'husband thinks he isnt smart because he didnt do well in school. He is dyslexic and is an amzingly hardworking business man who can build anything, I am going to look into this book to see what it says. It could be interesting.</p>
<p>My D is all set for housing, applied for RA didinto get it and has applied for jobs and internships but states she doesnt have much hope as they dont give much to freshmen. I feel bad she is pretty dynamic and would be an asset. But I guess its good prep for the job market later in life.</p>