<p>Happy anniversary Blue Iguana and Blue Dad!</p>
<p>And I am jealous of your meeting with 2education. I wish I could meet some or all of you.</p>
<p>*<em>♪♫</em>Happy 21 st Anniversary to Mr.& Mrs. Blue Iguana! <em>♪♫</em> *</p>
<p>Bajamm~Never say never :D</p>
<p>Hi OWM! <em>waves</em></p>
<p>Blue, I’m jealous of your upcoming visit! Have fun! I like being the driver for my kids and their friends.</p>
<p>Happy Anniversary, BI! Enjoy the visit and the drive.</p>
<p>Both of my girls will be home for the next few days. I’m looking forward to having a full nest again.</p>
<p>Everyone please cross your fingers for my D - we had been prepared for her theatre schedule to reduce the time she could spend with us at Thanksgiving, but last night she was told she might not be able to come home at all because of constant rehearsals with no absences allowed. I do hope she (and the other OOS kids) can work something out today. If nothing else, we’re trying to find some kind of 4-day window when she could come, even if it isn’t the holiday. </p>
<p>I would be happy to say “Just stay out there and deal” or to go out again and have the holiday with her, but she really has been counting on this time to see her BF, and I sympathize. I also think it’s not good policy for a program that wants to increase OOS students to make it impossible for them to go home on University breaks. When she started there, she knew she’d have the same kind responsibilities and time pressures as athletes and others do, but I do think this is extreme.</p>
<p>Love the Nerf update, OWM!! Gooooo, humans!</p>
<p>Finally got some email exchange going with DS (typically terse, but welcome). Unfortunately some of the news was not so good–he told me that a HS friend’s mom had had a stroke, and then, yesterday, I saw on Facebook that she’d passed away. Very sad–a lovely, funny lady, and my heart is just breaking for her daughter, who’s still in HS.</p>
<p>DS did report that “we are all watching Lion King” on DS’s monitor, so it sounds like he’s got some social contacts made, and his classes are “fine.” Not a lot of information, but I’ll take it.</p>
<p>Ugh, Emmy, how frustrating for your D. I hope she can work something out, but if not do you think her BF would be able to go there to visit her? I hope you’ll get a chance to visit with her sometime as well!</p>
<p>CHS – so sorry to hear about your son’s friend’s mom! what a tragedy :(</p>
<p>BI - Happy Anniversary 
(We hit 21 also over the summer)</p>
<p>
Gosh EmmyBet, that is bad! I was going to offer to have her come to my house as we’re do-able via a bus, but then remembered that I’m not doing Thanksgiving this year, it’s going to be at my SIL’s house. I agree about not taking the OOS students into consideration. At my daughters undergrad, where the vast majority are OOS, they get off right before Thanksgiving and then come back right after New Years. I hope that the kids that are stuck there can come up with a fun alternative. Any way that the BF can go out and see her some weekend soon?</p>
<p>Congratulations to BlueIguana and mathmomvt! We hit 32 years this spring. We never would have thought, 32 years ago and still in law school, that we’d someday be practicing civil rights law together in a home office, with a wonderful daughter in a great college. Life is good.</p>
<p>Speaking of law school, the ABA Journal has a new article on the law school post-graduation employment statistics scam. Important reading for any parent with a possible future lawyer in the family. Here’s the link, and a link to the Law School Transparency project article which has more details:<br>
[Divorcing</a> Law Grads, Stressed Over $190K in Debt, Victims of ‘Education Hoax’ - News - ABA Journal](<a href=“Divorcing Law Grads, Stressed Over $190K in Debt, Victims of ‘Education Hoax’”>Divorcing Law Grads, Stressed Over $190K in Debt, Victims of ‘Education Hoax’) </p>
<p>[Law</a> School Transparency](<a href=“Archive | Law School Transparency”>Archive | Law School Transparency)</p>
<p>OWM - Zombies sounds cool!
Blue - Happy anniversary!!</p>
<p>Emmybet - Are there students in the same boat as her that can celebrate together? Or maybe someone local will bring her home with them? Ds is done with finals by 12/18 so there’s really not much more time between turkey day and break, I kind of wish he would just stay there (but then again, he drives me nuts and you, OTOH seem to like your dd!!) Right now, he’s supposed to take a “red-eye” bus to NYC, arriving around 7 am and then hang out in NYC before taking the train out here. Returning is supposed to be with another local student who’s taking his car back with him. </p>
<p>I saw the “trouble w/ adjustment” thread and almost felt like jumping on the bandwagon about not having any inkling of grades. At least in my town, we have an online gradebook and attendance book so I have at my fingertips all the info about whether they got to class on time, handed in that assignment and what grade they got on that quiz. Now, the radio silence is unnerving. It’s ok, I’ll get used to it, but it is an adjustment. He only knows his test grades and they provide, shall we say, lots of room for improvement.</p>
<p>One comment he made yesterday got me - he said “Why are people mean? Is that maturity? I just don’t get it” He’s getting that feeling from profs (got berated in front of the class by a prof who later apologized for overreacting) and from upperclassmen who he said are “perverted.” So while he says he “loves it here” and he has friends, he has to put up with alot of jerks from all angles - it’s alot like HS in that way and I suppose the “read world.” And it’s ok he says, “I can deal with it” but I don’t want him to deal with it, you know? I don’t know whether it is an “adjustment” or a bad fit. I know you guys don’t know either, and transferring is always an option although it hasn’t been raised as a question - just my worrying mind. Oh well, we’ll see how this goes. My only comments to him were to bring up the positive profs, his advisor who seems great, maybe suggest he chose honors classes for next semester and maybe hope that higher level courses will get you into better experiences. While I know he was probably just unloading, why is it that I still have to stew on this for days - when I consciously know that it is prob nothing?</p>
<p>“read” = “real”</p>
<p>And Emmy - she can come join us for thanksgiving if all else fails (I’m sure she’d love to meet her cyber “siblings”) - we’re a train or bus ride out of nyc. I make a mean pumpkin pie and my turkey is legendary.</p>
<p>Ok, I offered for EB’s D to come here, but I think we are coming to your house AK!</p>
<p>D has had a few of those berating people on campus- thank goodness none were her profs. For the most part she considers them “nutjobs” and lets it slide right off. She is not liking her interdisciplinary bluegrass music/writing/American culture class much, though, for those kinds of reasons. “Meanness” is coming out in smug, pretentious statements about how could she not know who (insert name of an obscure but known to aficionados artist here) is. For D it lessens her enjoyment of the class she had most wanted to take when she saw her schedule. Some people are just jerks.</p>
<p>**47 days to Thanksgiving break **</p>
<p>(Based on kids touching down at home on the Wednesday before TG. Some kids may get the full week and will land at home sooner.)</p>
<p>Thanks for the well wishes everyone! :)</p>
<p>Amanda, can we have a retreat at your house to learn how to cook said legendary turkey? I can’t manage one. Plus, we always go to my SILs so I don’t get much practice. I’ll bring treats!! Pretty please.</p>
<p>We are enjoying incredibly beautiful weather here. Working from home today with the windows open and a warm breeze blowing through. I’ll remember this fondly when we are experiencing our anticipated extremely snowy and cold winter.</p>
<p>I am heading out shortly to mail D an oversized envelope with some Halloween window stickers and a few other small miscellaneous holiday items. Halloween is not my favorite holiday - don’t know why - but D really enjoys it and I know she will love getting something in the mail. At her school all the student mailboxes are clustered together in the commons building and when I visited her, she checked it (hopefully) every day. People just don’t send things by mail that much anymore and I know she communicates with her friends almost exclusively electronically, but I would love to see her light up when she sees that she has a little package! Well I won’t actually see her, but I can visualize it! I pick her up at the airport a week from today for fall break (four-day weekend) and am so excited!<br>
EmmyBet - I cannot imagine D going that long without coming home, at least for a short break. You’re right about how this kind of thing goes against their stated goal of becoming less of a local school. It’s also just plain thoughtless. I hope you can work something out.
Enjoy the weekend all!</p>
<p>Maybe we need a registry of 2015 parents who’d be happy to host a stranded 2015 student. Or a registry of stranded 2015 students who’d love some good pumpkin pie, and won’t be able to go home for T-day. Or a registry of 2015 parents happy to host other 2015 parents. </p>
<p>Was it FlMathMom who said to buy tix home now for winter break because prices are going up? It’s not just prices, it can sometimes be that seats on flights which don’t have a layover at Midway are disappearing. D1’s last final is on the afternoon of Dec 22, which really limited choices. It is a little intimidating to see websites trumpeting “only 1 seat left at this price”. :eek: I’d held off on choosing a flight because I figured that her class schedule might be in flux, and I wanted to be sure about her finals schedule. Next year, it’ll be easier for her to buy a flight longer in advance for less $.</p>
<p>OMG, I have it all pictured…it will be like “case study” at AKs house, you can see what I am dealing with here with ds and his Tom Sawyer-ness and the korean crazy anti-social dd1. And dd2 running around with her OCD putting every fork exactly 1/2" from the left of the plate…and then there’s dd3 who is really bubbly and funny and laughing constantly (considered the prize for putting up with #1-3). Add to that two small dogs wrestling and well, what could be more thanksgiving than that. If my sister and her brood come, that will just add to the fun. (my niece is on her 5th yr BA because she needed a couple courses to get a second minor - in greek - to add to her (wait for it…) major in Medieval studies.) You are all more than welcome to come to my house.</p>
<p>Turkey is all about the brining and then putting butter/rosemary/garlic under the skin. Makes all the difference - oh and the cooking - I found putting it at high heat for first 1/2 hr and then low and steady, makes it soooooooooo much more juicy.</p>
<p>Hey emmybet
I did not want to make this comment initially but after reading a few responses to your post about your D not being able to make it home I just want to say the International students like my D will have some company if some of the local guys do not go home for some reason. And I am sure they will have loads of fun at the campus. Try not to feel too sad about it.</p>
<p>Oh EB I hope she can get home! If not anialways makes a good point-there may be lots of kids to celebrate with.</p>
<p>But…after hearing about AK’s holiday she may rather go there-I know I want to be there!</p>
<p>My son is coming home this weekend-he wants to try and stick to once every three weeks at least for now. It’s good because he can see his grandparents-my dad is hanging in there and I am so pleased he can get in to see him, my mother, and my MIL-maybe after than he can have some time for the rest of us. :)</p>
<p>He is really working very hard and the first grades aren’t what he is used to. I went on ratemyprofessor to check out the one class he has his lowest grade in (one paper so far) and which he is constantly complaining about-well constantly is too stong a word but he hates it. He said give me a math or science class any day over this philosophy stuff! Well judging by this profs reviews he is as boring and as hard a grader as he says-so at least he is probably being accurate in his assessment. He isn’t stressed over the grades because he wants to be first-he knows that isn’t happening-except he has to keep a 3.0 for his scholarship and he is already worrying about that. I think he will be just fine but a visit home is coming at the right time for the family and I think for him (no doubt for the dog!).</p>
<p>Bluejr’s roommate is not going home for T’giving and we wouldn’t THINK of not having him here!! I think in the event that your kids can’t make the trip home (for whatever reason), if they want to leave campus with another student they only need to put the word out that they aren’t going home…invitations usually come, at least that’s our experience both as a parent and an UG. Bluedad went to school about 20hrs from home and flying wasn’t an option. He was always adopted by someone at T’giving! </p>
<p>Amanda, I’m afraid you’ll have to be more specific then that my friend (regarding the turkey…I get the family chaos picture ). Are there actual directions for this or are you one of those 'Oh, I just do it kinda cooks? Usually those are the best, but no one else can replicate because a recipe is not followed, nor can it be written down. Don’t get me wrong, my SIL’s is good. I’d just like to make my own once in a while and not totally stink at it!</p>