<p>Fridge dilemma - when we renovated our kitchen last year, we replaced all our appliances. They were white, 14 years old, but worked perfectly. The guys on the construction crew were more than happy to take them. I know the store I bought new appliances from would also have taken them, but I didn’t want them in landfill. Perhaps there are people in your neighborhood/church group/kid’s sports team etc that is about to renovate and is looking for a home for their fridge. My friend is a decorator and she tells me people are always looking for places/people to give appliances and furniture to. You can also try scratch and dent sales if it is going in the garage.</p>
<p>Hey fogfog what a great idea!</p>
<p>Hmmm…with my luck, teenagers in the neighborhood would take the beer and leave the fridge behind.</p>
<p>EAO said
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<p>so donating it won’t work in this case…since its dead…</p>
<p>Ohionmom–I guess the trick is to put it out for the trash guys after the kids have left for school for the day :D</p>
<p>Sorry, a bit OT, but offering the six-pack reminded me…</p>
<p>The day we got married, we showed up to the church and there was a work crew very loudly digging down to the gas lines in the front yard…We about died!! The groomsman very quickly got a CASE of beer and several pizzas, and asked them to knock off work for about an hour. :eek: It seemed like the end of the world at the time, but the pictures with the backhoe are PRICELESS!!</p>
<p>Our office fridge just died. The sensible thing for TPTB would be to pay for a new super-energy-saving fridge because that would be cheaper (once energy costs are factored in) than having the employees buy a cheap-as-possible non-efficient one. But who ever said that TPTB would be sensible? :mad:</p>
<p>Our local government’s TPTB actually is sensible when it comes to getting rid of big trash. You call them up and say that you have a big junker sofa or mattress or whatever. Then they haul it away at no extra charge. Not a problem if you don’t abuse it by using the service too frequently. </p>
<p>I’ve been having some interesting conversations with D1 as she considers what major to pursue. One thing that’s frustrating for her is trying to figure out how to squeeze the major requirements into her schedule, because there are other things on campus she’d like to take advantage of like study abroad and a year-long time-sucking non-major course which delves deeply into a single international issue. Are the rest of y’all finding that your students are following paths they laid out in high school? Or are they switching tracks?</p>
<p>fogfog: I guess timing is everything!</p>
<p>BI: Love your groomsman’s quick thinking!</p>
<p>SlitheyTove - My D has already changed her major for next semester. She worked for two years to get into arch programs, shadowed them, etc…and 8 weeks into it decided that she was not going to continue with it…she did well in it also. As long as she doesn’t blow her finals she will have a decent GPA. But at the end of the day, she couldn’t see herself doing it…she is now a business major and very relieved.</p>
<p>Our trash guys take big stuff for a $25 charge. Have you called the people that normally do your trash to see if they will take it for an extra fee?</p>
<p>We have used 1-800-GOT-Junk…we got rid of a few appliances and an old hot water heater. They hauled it away and it wasn’t crazy expensive.</p>
<p>Blue–LOVE that story!</p>
<p>D1 started in Mechanical Engineering. She has officially declared her major as Industrial Engineering, which I agree is a better fit for her. She came with me grocery shopping for Thanksgiving and started to organize the food in the shopping cart so that it would fit better. Yes, Industrial Engineering will suit her well.</p>
<p>This weekend is the annual high school TV/ radio station telethon that the kids run to support the local newspaper Christmas charity. D1 was very active in the station during her HS years, and hosted the telethon in her junior and senior year. She was planning on coming home to help this weekend, but she has a chorus concert tomorrow evening and finals next week. She said that she will try to catch it on the streaming webcast. </p>
<p>D2 (a freshman at the HS) is also involved in the event, as are H and I. This is the first year in about 4 that I opted to stay home for opening night and catch it on TV. H will be giving a speech representing the school committee. I will be there all day tomorrow and i am in charge of the auction pick up on Sunday. Last year, the kids raised over $32,000 for the charity during the weekend telethon. They are really a great group of kids.</p>
<p>Hey all!! So jealous of all of you who are ahead enough of the curve to be posting! I’m barely treading water, so many things to do, celebrations, etc.- headed out to one in about 20 minutes, yikes!!! S1 is home, so glad to have him in the house again, Yalie will be home next Wed.- he’s in the midst of finals. Decorations are up, shopping is 3/4 done, cooking/baking in full swing…</p>
<p>I would love to re-visit the sleepover question and second career question after the first of the year, I hope everyone will be in the mood to discuss again.</p>
<p>Blah, I have to go- Have a great weekend everyone!!</p>
<p>Slithey Tove, ShawD is definitely switching – from biology to nursing. ShawSon didn’t have a clear path when he went in. He was interested in constitutional law (probably a poor idea for a severely dyslexic kid, but he loves and is good at constructing arguments). He took a freshman seminar related to behavioral economics that shifted his direction – he asked the freshman seminar prof to be his advisor, he’s majoring in econ/math, he is doing research with his advisor and a psych professor, and all of his courses this year were/will be econ, math and psych. </p>
<p>Given high school education in the US, students only get introduced to a few subjects and often not that well. For example, because they are teaching to a test that rewards breadth but not depth, it might be hard for a typical AP bio course in HS to spark deep interest or cause people to understand studying biology might really be. So, switching directions (once) can be a sign of growth. Some kids will shift because of interest. Some kids will shift for vocational reasons.</p>
<p>Good morning from New Orleans! It “only” took 15 1/2 hours to get here, including gas stops. It took me 18 hours last time when my dad came with me. And, mapquest says it is 16 hours of drive time at the speed limit, not counting stops. I guess I have a lead foot or something.</p>
<p>I will see D’s Messiah performance and her solo at Wesley House tomorrow. I am still amazed that she can still sing like she does, she has had surgery on both lungs that I know affected her deep breathing.</p>
<p>I am also going to take a suitcase full of stuff home for her. She is not going to fly her second flight home, she is going to get off and stay off at her layover in Chicago so she can see her aunts for Christmas. If she checks luggage, then it would end up in KC, so I will take some home now and she’ll just do carry on. </p>
<p>I also brought her a new cheapy computer I got on sale for $300 and take her crashed computer home to see if Staples can fix.</p>
<p>Hopefully it will be a productive weekend and the computer works out to get her through the next week and a half of finals.</p>
<p>DS likely to stay in an area of study he initially thought he would, but he has told us clearly several times that he does not have to make up his mind about a major until next year and will not do so beforehand! He’s also clearing some requirements this year and, I think, waiting until he can dig into what truly interests him. We’ll see. Meanwhile, exam week ahead and then home on Fri!
Good luck to all these freshmen on their finals!</p>
<p>Can’t believe the first semester is almost over!</p>
<p>I spent a lovely day yesterday with D and 3 friends apartment hunting for next year,( sophmore yr) even more fun was they found a townhouse just off campus that they all liked and so signed a lease. Seems not time since we were shopping for dorm stuff and the fun begins again shopping for apartment stuff.</p>
<p>D still on track with Economics major- though she is also planning on completing her masters at the same time. She started with 59 credit hrs due to AP classes, so with some careful planning she should be able to do it.</p>
<p>Hope everyone’s students are finishing off a great first semester and will be safely home soon!</p>
<p>I know, I thought S would live in the dorm Soph year but he is looking for apts. Jeez he has a private room in a suite. Apart from a dw & w/d it’s perfect. I think it’s better he’s looking at apts though & doesn’t want to live in the fraternity house. But yes, I’m already thinking about what he will need now. You can rent furniture I guess except for the bed, so that is probably what we will do since it’s so far. I guess buying a mattress for the 3 years is better than 1 or two. Then you have to store it for the summer though, fun.</p>
<p>Bluejr was asked unless he was terribly unhappy in university housing to spend at least one more year on grounds. We didn’t feel dealing with a 12 month lease when he wouldn’t be there over the summer this year was wise. He and three other friends (including his current roommate) were very lucky to get a good lottery number and received their first choice of housing for next year…an apartment style dorm with a living area and kitchen. I am just glad I don’t have to outfit an apartment (yet). </p>
<p>Good luck to everyone making these decisions as well. There is no one ‘right’ answer as all our kids have different needs and situations.</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure my DS wants to stay in the dorms another year. At least, he hasn’t said anything about wanting to do something else, and when I asked when the housing lottery was, he didn’t say anything different then either.</p>
<p>It looks like he will be sticking with his original intended major. They don’t have to declare until the end of sophomore year, but he said he will declare at the end of Freshman year (if the hasn’t changed his mind at least) because he gets access to certain additional libraries once he’s a major, and he’ll have completed all the requirements by the end of next semester. He did explore another area he thought might be interesting, and “hates” it, and has really enjoyed both in-class and extra-curricular stuff related to his original intended major, so it seems like his original intent has been confirmed.</p>