<p>Have fun and enjoy your vacation Slummom. Don’t forget the margarita’s and the hair color.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Please tell us where you’re going so we can envy you.</p>
<p>2 weeks?! How do you do it? I don’t care where you’re going, I already envy you!</p>
<p>Graduation is tonight! D and her friends went to rehearsal this morning, out to breakfast and then back here to finish a tie-dye project. They all modeled their caps, arguing over who looked worst. Our school seems to be tassel crazy–D & her BFF both have 5 different tassels. Their caps won’t stay level on their heads, but look very jaunty!</p>
<p>All night grad party tonight. I’m heading to school in a few minutes to drop off some stuff and attend to a few last minute details. The decorating committee, who have been awful to work with all year, did an amazing job transforming the cafeteria. You can’t even tell you’re in the school! </p>
<p>I keep forgetting to buy waterproof mascara!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That’s what my husband said they had at his HS…a tassel for each organization.</p>
<p>I don’t know if WPI has such a huge contingent of P’s on CC as much as WPI attracts kids like ours and we are the type who join threads like this one. I bet there are a lot of parents of students of Yale, and the like, on CC, just not here on this thread worrying about how their absent minded, hopefully not hygenically challenged, boys will fare at college LOL</p>
<p>Update, we managed to find a deal on S’s (newly) chosen computer through WPI!!! Yea! Now we have it down to less than 2K including the tax (also includes LoJack, and some other peripherals - so the computer is actually a pretty good deal.) He will order the 64 bit, but then, if need be, install the 32 bit in its place and reinstall the 64 when appropriate (though his research says most of the software WPI will provide for his use - or most that <em>he</em> would use will run on the configuration he has.)</p>
<p>We (H&I) still say he needs much less and in fact most everything he will be running will not even be using half of the space, memory and power that he will have. We also said he will HAVE to make this last all 4 years (while we were willing to revisit laptop purchase after a year or two if he went with the basic needs computer.)</p>
<p>At any rate, it is a reasonable compromise, although he is now wondering where he is going to come up with any extra spending money now that he will spend his bonus on the computer</p>
<p>Everything is a trade off - this he will learn.</p>
<p>Congrats to those who get to see their kids toss their caps this weekend.</p>
<p>Have a great summer SLUMOM</p>
<p>CBBBlinker - <em>Stuff</em> happens</p>
<h1>TM - He can spend a little bit less then buy a new one after 2 years. The one in 2 years will be cheaper and will be at least twice faster than the one he is going to buy this year. After 2 years he probably needs a faster computer with new HW/SW technology to work with his upper division classes.</h1>
<p>yep
we know this and have been through it with him ad nauseum. He insists that what he is building will not be outdated in 2 years. So he will either live and learn or will prove us wrong - those are the only 2 possibilities. 
At least we have it down to a more reasonable price. - he learned something there too, how to “shop around” - a great life-skill</p>
<p>Meanwhile I am procrastinating from cleaning my house. A pile of people are coming over tomorrow to see the puppies. I guess I know where S’s leave-it-to-the-last-minute gene came from.</p>
<h1>theorymom, Dragonlady, CBBBlinker & Fireflyscout (haven’t seen Skithesteeps on this board…)</h1>
<p>Looking forward to hearing about your WPI freshmen next year. When we were in Boston last month, we went on a WPI tour with S (even though he still has 3 years to college), I was hoping it would help him to get motivated to work towards getting in for their gaming program. Luckily he liked it and seems interested in going there. After telling me for years the wanted to be a game designer he said he was ‘undecided’ when asked about majors! He did like the engineering department especially after hearing about the ‘fire lab’… hopefully it will motivate him to get his act together and actually do the work he is capable of! So I for one will be following along. </p>
<p>DD & DS could not be more different in approach to school so I know that the next few years will be nothing like what we’ve gone through getting DD to her h.s. graduation!</p>
<p>Have been online all day building D2’s new computer. Wow…the discounts from schools on Dells/ Macs/ and software is wonderful! Also checked out Delluniversity dot com for more deals. Didn’t realize the colleges gave free virus protection! Every little bit helps!
Thanks for motivating me #TM!!!</p>
<p>I am very jealous CBB!</p>
<p>Checking in; have been working a lot. S2 graduated, had out of town family here for a week from Wisconsin, successful party at the country club, H took him to orientation at WVU since I had to work (he aced the calculus placement) and got his class schedule and is now at beach week. He should be home tomorrow–although haven’t talked to him since Tuesday.</p>
<p>S1 finally got his Visa on Thursday and leaves for Brazil next Friday. Very stressful process on the visa but done is done. He found a place to live with a grad student from Michigan who is already there and got a 2-BR on the beach. Nice and cheap sublet. He met this kid last year in Brazil so knows him and they get along well. S1 is working washing table clothes with a lot of immigrant labor right now and getting very good with his Spanish and feels very confident with his Portuguese. Used it at the Embassy to cajole the folks successfully on a rush turnaround for the visa. Application delayed by swine flu problem with admission officer at the university he will be attending. I wish I had the ability to be so convinced that all will work out that S1 assumes. He never worried for a minute.</p>
<p>Am starting to look at laptops now. Not yet sure about how much to get since S2 probably won’t use a computer for much. Bought him an alarm clock/IPod radio for grad that was a huge hit and takes care of the ITunes thing with better speakers than laptop offers.</p>
<p>“I don’t know if WPI has such a huge contingent of P’s on CC as much as WPI attracts kids like ours and we are the type who join threads like this one. I bet there are a lot of parents of students of Yale, and the like, on CC, just not here on this thread worrying about how their absent minded, hopefully not hygenically challenged, boys will fare at college LOL”</p>
<p>Amen.</p>
<p>btw, can someone explain to me how to “quote” a previous post in my post? thanks.</p>
<p>at the beginning of the quote, put the word quote in brackets. at the end put a bracket then a / then the word quote then close brackets</p>
<p>[ quote ] just remove the spaces and it should work [ / quote ]</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I am more of a visual learner. OK… younger D did the dishes tonight. However, I can’t figure out why she has never known not to use palmolive in the dishwasher. While I am a fan of bubbles, this was ridiculous.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>thanks, now I get it.</p>
<p>Graduation was tonight! Luckily, the weather held out and it was sunny with a nice breeze outside. </p>
<p>I didn’t think I’d cry but tears started as soon as they played Pomp and Circumstance upon entrance!!!</p>
<p>Party tomorrow!!</p>
<p>I don’t know why I didn’t cry at graduation. Shed plenty of them since, and mostly when I was putting together the “ode to son” and daughter made a slide show of his life. She used all his school pictures from preschool and had them spin into one another. It was pretty cool actually and absolutely a tear jerker. Maybe it was the music?</p>
<p>Congratulations, JSM. Hope the party goes well.</p>
<p>We must be in the home stretch now - NJ and NY public school graduations should all finish up this coming week, no? </p>
<p>Haircoloring and margarita mix for all.</p>
<p>I’ve been meaning to pass this on but son got some fairly creative and thoughtful gifts for graduation. Someone gave him a gift certificate to the “best pizza joint” on campus. And he also got two gift cards to the college bookstore. I already mentioned the monogrammed towels but he also got a small lockbox which at first my 70’s brain thought stash box but inside was a check as well. Good ideas I thought I would pass on.</p>
<p>I give grads a “dorm tool box” packed with hammer, screwdrivers (both kinds), tape measure, duct tape, box cutter, and some random things I pick out that seem right for each kid. It has always been a big hit and some have mentioned carrying it on to their first apartment.</p>
<p>Graduation is over! Our small barbecue the afternoon before (just visiting family members and ds’s gf) went well. Ds was recognized during the graduation ceremony as “____ ____ aka Future President” (?!), as being in the group with the highest GPA (excepting the val and sal), as being one of the 5 outstanding academy school-within-a-school graduates, and as one of the 15 students chosen to receive a special school medallion (another piece of bling!) for contributions to the school community over four years. </p>
<p>But get this…They forgot the presentation of colors and the National Anthem! The NJROTC was ready and waiting, and the madrigal group were upfront ready to sing the National Anthem. Then no one introduced them and they never got to do their thing! How embarrassing! </p>
<p>Son’s gf moves out of state early tomorrow morning, so I expect a traumatic parting scene later today. Tomorrow s starts a telemarketing job. He’s part-time this week, until they decide if they want to keep him on. I wonder if he’ll last?</p>