<p>No, no. Dads simply become "God" Only MOMs can become Goddesses.</p>
<p>Thanks for the link, over30. Now I can go "lurk" over the at the archives! It does seem to me that more people (adults and students) posted last year; I could be wrong, though.</p>
<p>Well, this Dad has been away visiting D at the college's family weekend. But I confess that I've not found this new format as inviting to post in. Using the "New Messages" feature under the old system, I can scan first lines of posts and see where I wanted to jump in. Now I have to jump into threads blind.</p>
<p>However, those who have commented on the 10x ratio of lurkers to posters is correct, that's the way most message boards are and have been, at least since I was reading Usenet boards back in 198x. I have such a drive towards self-expression that not posting is almost unthinkable to me. However, I've directed several people towards this forum who said the information was very good but they were too shy to post themselves.</p>
<p>I had to reregister because we've changed emails. Oh well. New kid, new registration!</p>
<p>Hi, Thedad. Glad you are back. Hope to read about your first Parent's weekend and how the D is doing.</p>
<p>I found the new format daunting at first as well. But I love the New Posts feature that allows me to get a quick look at what is going on, and find that I am going on more forums that way. I was pretty much limiting myself to the Parent's Forum for a while.</p>
<p>Hi, Jamimom. I've put a couple of posts in the Smith topic about Parents Weekend. It was a great experience and we found our D as much in her natural habitat as the smaller squirrels that scamper around campus. It was a slower visit than in the past and TheMom and I got to see the art museum while D was studying. Sitting in on both Math and Latin classes was interesting...both were very reassuring in their caliber and I amazed myself by following all the math up until about the last 10 minutes, where I think jetlag finally undermined my concentration and I lost track of "zero" in a set....
Aside from the obligatory shopping, this for a proper winter coat, we also drove up to the top of Mount Holyoke, the mountain...and "gorgeous" is just such an insufficient word for the task. It was hard saying goodbye to D but not as hard as at drop-off and she'll be home in a month for Thanksgiving...this year the only year we will so indulge her.</p>
<p>D's only real complaint about college: I don't have as much time on weekends to relax as I thought I would.</p>
<p>She's taking 20 units, but the two 2's are "soft", dance and music, but still they absorb time. Friday night appears to be her only real "break" time and she is active in the chapel service late Sunday afternoons. Other than that...read read read read. And make decisions about what you're not going to get done.</p>
<p>TheDad,</p>
<p>Glad to see that all is well at Smith. Our SoCal girl (who will experience NE winters for the first time this year) hasn't bought a winter coat yet. Maybe she is waiting for her dad to show up for Parents Weekend next weekend so that he'll pick up the tab. . .</p>
<p>Ellemenope, part of it with my D was that she wanted to get a sense of exactly what kind of coat she wanted. Having never had such here--and what there is available here in SoCal not necessarily being appropriate--I think she was prudent to wait. Even if it just so happened that we picked up the tab while visiting. </p>
<p>From other things, I can tell that she has learned the value of a dollar in a way that she never had before. She's earning dollars on one hand via work study, and even traveling by bus on Fall break opened her eyes to how fast expenses can accumulate.</p>
<p>TheDad--I know what you mean by "winter" clothes available in SoCal not necessarily being appropriate. I never knew that flannel-lined Levis existed!</p>
<p>Ellemenope:</p>
<p>My S sometimes wears a flannel-lined khaki, but then, he has a 20-minutes walk to school. I've never seen female students wear flannel-lined jeans. However, there are plenty of silk long johns available through mail catalogs that should do the trick, even for someone from Socal.</p>
<p>Silk long johns? When I think of long johns, I think of the one piece body suits with the button back end flap. I've lived in SoCal too long.</p>
<p>There are silk tank tops, too. And they're washable. I just received a WinterSilks catalog that's full of such items.</p>
<p>Another lurker who has starting to judiciously post from time to time. A hearty thanks to all the regular posters who keep me entertained. Now that D. is a freshman and h. and I are empty nesters, I rationalize keeping up with c.c. because I work with college students . . . . but am probably just addicted like so many on this forum.</p>
<p>Hi,
I don't get what's wrong with "lurking." Does everybody have to talk, all the time? Wouldn't that be annoying? Isn't it best if people just pipe up when they actually have something to say? I'm hanging out at collegeconfidential because it's driving me crazy, wanting my kid to get what he wants, and there's nothing I can do about it right now. He will just have to - FINISH HIS ESSAYS HIMSELF. It's totally lame and bogus for us parents to wade in there with our pencils. Let them be themselves, I'm sure the admissions people know a parent-written or edited essay when they see one. But with homework due every day, essays keep getting postponed, and as a non-procrastinator I find this very distressing - he wants to apply early early so it needs to be done by November 15. So to prevent myself from nagging and stressing him - I lurk here.</p>