<p>Zim, very good news. We used to live in SoHo. One of my favorite neighborhoods in the city. It is on a more human scale than much of New York. ShawSon was actually born when we did (though he doesn’t enjoy going into New York or any city these days). </p>
<p>Serendipity does strike, as it did in your case. I was stuck in London last week and my hotel would not have room in a couple of days. I received a call from a friend/colleague who lives in the same town as I do. He was stuck in London and thought that I as a super-experienced traveler, might have an idea for how to get out. He, however, called a friend who has a penthouse flat on the Thames and we were able to stay there. It made being trapped in London much nicer. I did in fact help him get out a day or two sooner (on my flight) and they moved him up from coach to business class to sit next to me.</p>
<p>We got home Wednesday night. For better and for worse, I am flying back there on Monday morning.</p>
<p>Zim, that’s a great location. Enjoy your trip.</p>
<p>S2 called H yesterday and said students are required to be out of the dorm by 5:00 pm on the day of their last exam, rather than at the end of exam week as we had thought. In other words, if your last exam is on Wednesday you have to be out on Wednesday (and they said they have each student’s schedule). That makes no sense to me. How are we supposed to get there with a car to get his stuff mid-week? He said he will take care of it so I assume the upper classmen with houses just pile freshman and all their stuff on the floor or something for a few days.</p>
<p>Oh, I hear you. D’s school requires that they be out of the dorm 24 hours after their last exam/paper due and that’s means she is out on Wednesday. And this is in an urban school where almost no students have cars. H & I are taking the day off of work to move her out.
I hear this is very common policy now, but I don’t remember it being like this when I went to college.</p>
<p>Welcome home, shawbridge. Serendipity indeed - how nice for you and your friend to have a great place to stay, and great that you could help him get home. Given what we here know of your travel experience, I had no doubt that you would come through this in fine shape.</p>
<p>TheAnalyst and FallGirl - I’ve never heard of such an individual rule about getting out of the dorms! If that is becoming a trend it hasn’t reached D’s school yet - she has to be out at noon on the Saturday of exam week. Her exams/final papers are at the beginning of the week so she has some breathing room for packing/storing her stuff.</p>
<p>I hope someone will mention why they are so strict on getting out of the dorms. I remember that you could leave at the end of exam week and always wondered what hanging around for a few days would be like (I always got end-of-week exam times somehow).</p>
<p>What do they do if you’re not out - fine you?</p>
<p>I have no idea. I asked D and she didn’t know either. Most of the students at her school are out of state and they have a lot of international students. It must be impossible for some kids.</p>
<p>My guess is they have those rooms rented–perhaps to an Elderhostel for a week or two until the summer sessions start–and need to get the cleaning crew in ASAP where they don’t have to clean, paint, and repair a few thousand rooms in a single day. It just seems like they would have a rental option for students who have no-place to go. In addition, they really didn’t make that policy very clear. We get weekly emails to parents on lots and lots of stuff and that wasn’t even mentioned!</p>
<p>They might also have sports camps coming in. I know our kids used to go to camps at William and Mary and University of Richmond in the summer months, although those didn’t start in May since the kids are still in school at the high school level.</p>
<p>D reports that she has 24 hours after her last exam to be out of her dorm. Last exam ends at 5 pm Thursday- so I’m taking Friday off to get her stuff. She leaves for the beach on Saturday so I’m thinking she should find somewhere to stay Friday night instead of coming home and having to drive her back Saturday morning. Never a dull moment, that’s for sure. I’m headed down this weekend to start collecting some things. She has another job interview this Thursday so hopefully that one will pan out.</p>
<p>Is this common? Other than a couple of emails last fall about swine flu and the occasional request for a donation, I have heard absolutely nothing from D’s school all year.</p>
<p>Big news at our house last night. D1 called from Florida and is officially engaged! She is very excited and said she had no clue. Now that D2 will be settled at transfer school it looks like my time will be spent planning a wedding. Better start working on that diet too! ;)</p>
<p>PRJ, we receive pretty regular communications from D’s school- both the specific college, a daily bulletin (which we signed up for) and regular communications from many other divisions. They do a pretty good job at keeping parents aware of the big picture- but we don’t receive much in the way of “be out of the dorm by” information. I think they count on the kids to get their ducks in a row there.</p>
<p>NM, what wonderful news. Congrats and enjoy the wedding planning. I’m very jealous.</p>
<p>PRJ, we never heard much from S1’s school (and he is at the same school at Sabaray’s daughter so must have missed the right sign-ups!). S2’s school has a man in charge of the freshman engineering students who has been teaching there forever (42 years I think eh said–he is in his 70s). He writes these very long weekly emails with lots of encouraging stories in them, as well as things it is helpful for parents to know. I don’t think we will keep getting those next year.</p>
<p>NM - Congratulations to your D!!! Wow… time sure flies. Did the fiance not ask Dad for the daughter’s hand in marriage? Yes, I am kind of old fashioned that way because really, would we have any say. As it is, however, they are merely looking for a new apartment and we seemed to have no problem with them living together. I guess thinking about paying for a wedding is not something I’d be up for for at least a few more years. Yikes.</p>
<p>Congrats, NM, and welcome back Shawbridge, and kudos Zim! Now lets capitalize on your good mojo:
Now repeat after me: the universe will share its bounty with McSon, who is writing an exam at 1:30 today wherein he intends to reinvent himself as someone who knows how to study historical sequential information…as he is teetering on the brink of KEEPING his music scholarship, which will make the McFamily very happy ;)</p>
<p>Moda…yes, boyfriend did ask H for permission. He drove up here (31/2 hr drive) to talk with H about a month ago. Said he wanted to ask her to marry him, that he was having a ring designed but wasn’t sure about the timing. H was impressed that he had paid attention to what D1 was saying when she was in a wedding this year and showed some people what kind if ring she liked. He tore out the picture of the ring, went to a jeweler and had a wax mold made and then picked out the diamond. It really is beautiful. D1 wants an August '11 wedding date. We shall see what the church has available.</p>
<p>Oooh, that’s a long time from now. I always say that if you have two months to plan a wedding, it takes two months; if you have two years to plan a wedding, it takes two years. Is D1 going to be a calm, rational bride, or the opposite?</p>