<p>Today must be the day for news! Ds called and talked a long time. It was wonderful. Sounds like he’s got it all under control, except he still doesn’t have a work-study job. Argh. I told him that money is coming out of his pocket if he doesn’t get one.</p>
<p>Still, everything else is great. It was so nice to talk for an extended time, rather than rely on texts.</p>
<p>DDHM, come work off some of that energy at my house!</p>
<p>My ds is also taking Calculus even tho he took ap calcuas. His hs teacher was less than stellar!</p>
<p>I am not sure what my DD issues are. she has lots of things she wants to do…and then at the end of the day/night she complains she did not do enough…I think this may be her version of “dumping”…??? I have to learn to make myself a cup of tea, and hold on to the boat/rollercoaster…whatever…this is going to have a lot of ups-and-downs!—did I tell any of you that I hate rollercoasters!!!</p>
<p>We finally heard from DSb yesterday-- a real conversation via skype, and so today I sent his care package. It’s really kind of crazy to pay $34.75 to ship underwear and home made cookies, but that’s ok. He told us that his “limiting factor on doing laundry was underwear.” Luckily he really likes his multivariable calculus professor. He has a LOT of work in there. He said that at least half of the class had already taken the class before either in hs or at a college while in hs, but that is the highest level class that the school will let anyone start in for math. Those kids for whom this is review said that they cover in one lecture what they took a month to do in hs! The good thing is that it is a freshman only section of multivariable calc. He likes all of his classes and is making friends. He’s even found study buddies which he never did in hs, so I’m really happy about that! Within the first week he had been to a concert, a football game and a picnic. This weekend he signed up for a free excursion to visit the school’s marine biology lab. It’s three hours away. I honestly think he did it for the free food, but they bus them there, tour the lab and feed them! </p>
<p>The whole time we talked to him he kept enthusiastically saying, “can you believe that I’m really in college?!” It was very cute. It was as if he needed to pinch himself to believe that it is real and it is now. We couldn’t ask for a better transition. He’s happy, he’s making friends and he loves his classes and teachers. </p>
<p>One thing that we didn’t realize was that we had overestimated the meal plan. We were surprised to learn that he only gets two meals a day and and only one on the weekend. I think he was hungry and stressing out about how his budget was going to cover the cost of food. Needless to say we are rethinking how much additional money he will need in addition to his meal plan.</p>
<p>In the care package today (which by the way, I realized too late that I forgot one line on the address, so I’ll let you know if it actually arrives!!!) I sent chocolate chip cookies, new underwear, new and old shorts, small carpet, note cards that he forgot the first time, gummi bears, oatmeal packets, batteries, an extra set of sheets, two new ties and a bar of soap in a carrier.</p>
<p>A word about XL sheets. I was at Walmart today and they were on clearance. I was told that they only get them in August for the start of college. It’s not something they carry all year round. They were awful quality, but they were on clearance for $8 for an entire set. I got him the zebra print. He’s going to think I’m loosing it!</p>
<p>11 more days until DSa launches. He is bored and depressed. It is truly awful being the last one left! He sees his brother and all of his friends on FB living and loving their new lives, and he feels stuck. Not too much longer…</p>
<p>And one nice update from DPc-- she’s adjusting to the US just fine. It was a little overwhelming at first. She told me that she was originally in a chemistry lecture class with 150 students. She really didn’t want to be in such a big class, so she opted for the 8:00 am class where there were only 40 students. I thought that was very smart and very mature of her! </p>
<p>And btw, I hate Snapchat. I am too slow to read it and comprehend the photo!</p>
<p>D was given a check by the cashiers office yesterday and texted me after 8pm asking how she buys her book with that.</p>
<p>I’ve cashed an out of state check before, but who’s ever cashed a check from another state… at 8pm…smh</p>
<p>My D has an app on her iphone to take pics of her checks for deposit to her account. Works great! No bank or atm needed to be available.</p>
<p>Hello hi Mira Bs zzppiuilk</p>
<p>I could never get that app to work! I don’t know if my phone takes crappie photos or what.</p>
<p>Student goes into labor, dies in dorm room. Prayers to this young girl’s family.
<a href=“http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/05/us/south-carolina-childbirth-death/index.html[/url]”>College student goes into labor, dies in Benedict College dorm room - CNN;
<p>Good morning! </p>
<p>Greekmana:I am too slow for Snapchat too. I tried taking a screen shot, but I got all nervous and wasn’t fast enough for that either. Maybe with practice I will get better. Also, S2 went to a late-starting school and the last few weeks when everyone went away were really hard. </p>
<p>All communication from S3 is very positive. He likes his classes. He switched Calculus classes. He passed AB but is starting over because the second semester of Calculus is supposed to be a beast, so he figured he didn’t want to go straight into that. He is joining a fraternity. They had “Wine Wednesday” and he met some cute sorority girls. The only small glitch is that after introducing himself via email, his “faculty mentor” doesn’t think they are a match and suggested he try and get a different mentor. This was unexpected. He sent an email to try and change and he hasn’t heard back. Hopefully it will get worked out. We got an mass email from the Dean that there have been 10 alcohol-related emergencies in the first week of school. That is kind of scary.</p>
<p>Uggh!! Second major communication last night and D has managed to lose her dorm room key within 5 days!! RA says its a $60 charge because they have to rekey room. Guess that’s good except I cannot imagine how someone could use key to get into her room since they only have a serial nbr on them. They would have to try every door in the school. It wasn’t stolen, she had it on a lanyard and the clasp on lanyard broke.</p>
<p>I am proud of myself and didn’t give in on the $60 ,told her she would have to pay out of her own savings. Did tell her to try lost and found but she says she knows she lost it at park and its not likely a student found it and turned it in.</p>
<p>Good news is there haven’t been any alcohol emergencies at her school that I know of :)</p>
<p>Coralbrook just gave me an idea for our next wave of care packages. They can bring it along next time they take a jog through the park.
[Bounty</a> Hunter Pinpointer : Metal Detectors | RadioShack.com](<a href=“RadioShack.com Official Site - America's Technology Store”>RadioShack.com Official Site - America's Technology Store)</p>
<p>DD finally (yeah! she gets the care package now) phoned in yesterday. She is alive, busy, and very happy. She did her first computer programming assignment. Double yeah! Finding lots of really nice friends, half of the kids on her floor seem to be refugees from California. [Although two of you indicate there are a few still there on the west coast, although not all appear sober. Let’s hope that is just unfortunate frosh orientation behavior.] </p>
<p>DS also decided to retake Calculus, even though he got a 5 on the BC. He wants to go into engineering and therefore be able to do Calculus blindfolded, with his calculator tied behind his back.</p>
<p>I thought I would pop back in & let you know DS is launched! It went well & we truly feel this is the perfect school for him. The one odd part is that all I feel is excitement & happiness for him. All my friends are crying & posting pictures of empty bedroom, but I am SO excited for him. Perhaps I am missing a certain mommy gene.</p>
<p>His roommate will not be his best friend, but they will be good roommates for each other. His roommates mother is another story! So not my cup of tea. Look honey, we are here because we all made the cut - I don’t care how many languages your kid speaks, how many awards he has won, his HS GPA, how many suits he owns or who made them. This school likes my boy so much they are covering his tuition while I am responsible for his room & board. So stick that on your awards wall! Ggggrrrrr</p>
<p>He has made friends, visited a frat house & hated it, switched some classes up, advocated for himself with success, joined clubs & has worked out the Metro lines. </p>
<p>We have heard bits & pieces from him. He is still holding onto his GF at home so I know he will be home at times! </p>
<p>What an amazing journey this has all been with his new journey beginning now.</p>
<p>Good luck to all!</p>
<p>tx5, did the prof say why they aren’t a match? That seems so weird.</p>
<p>I have a question… Maybe when we post about our students (which I am really enjoying reading) we can just remind each other what school they are attending - might be helpful (at least to this mom with memory loss!)</p>
<p>Anyway, my dd at USC (South Carolina) received her first care package from me and sent me a fabulous thank you text. I was with some old college friends at lunch and had to show them - they all teared up (none of them have college kids yet - one has a senior and is in the “pre weeping” stage!). We also got a long email from the honors college dean today - nice recap of the first two weeks. They do a nice job of trying to keep parents in the loop.</p>
<p>YDS: Professor is a math professor. S3 wants to major in Econ with math as a back-up. But they don’t always match you up with a professor from your major. Professor replied: “Someone more outgoing and interested in politics, sports, etc., would be more fun for you, and more helpful perhaps in your great dream!”. So I kind of think she was trying to be nice. But it has been 3 or 4 days and the people who assign the faculty mentors have not emailed him back. I have a feeling they think he wants a change, so I think he needs to make it clear that it was the professor who thinks they are not a match.</p>
<p>I don’t know why, but that just really bugs me. I’m sure I’ll get over it. :D</p>
<p>DH used a strategy (that at first I didn’t know about) to get DS to call home. Whenever DH felt that it had been too long since we had heard from DS (like, 2 days!), he would text him, “You should call your mom.” DS would obligingly call, and DH would jump on the extension. I was thrilled with how often DS was calling…took me a few days to figure out this was happening. Still, DS doesn’t seem to mind…</p>
<p>no major news is good news on this front! :)</p>
<p>EastGrad, your DH is a wise man. I reminded my guy that I expected him to check in with his mother and call both grandmothers every week or two. I figure I may only hear from him if he gets himself into a Warren Zevon situation, but second hand info is okay for now while he gets settled in.</p>