Muhlenberg Fall '08

<p>Well, my D was accepted late as a transfer student (She was accepted so recently that we don’t even know where she will be dormed, just that she will get housing!) and she is sooooo excited for school to begin. This is such a change from her last school, which never really felt right to her. She will matriculate as a Junior, but will take a few sophmore classes in the major because she felt so dissatisfied with her past classes at her original school.</p>

<p>So perhaps she will be in some classes with the kids of some of the cc posters. Everyone seems so kind (and excited) here, I am sure it will be a wonderful few years for her!!!</p>

<p>Have a good year to all Muhlenberg students (and parents) and good luck to all perspective families! (Actually, good year to ALL families, Muhlenberg or no!) :)</p>

<p>Congrats to your D, snoggie! Muhlenberg is such a wonderful school. I am sure she will be very happy there.</p>

<p>Snoggie glad to hear that your D will be at the 'berg soon. That is very exciting news. Feel free to ask any questions.</p>

<p>Thanks for the welcome... I was wondering if you know how accessible public transportation is for holidays...Are there lots of buses to NYC? (My D could take a train from there!) I know there is a ride board...</p>

<p>Buses are very easy. You can take either Bieber or Transbridge Line. My D much prefers Bieber, as it makes fewer stops. The bus stop is near Dorney Park, and Shuttle Steve ( the campus transportation guy) will take you to the bus stop with advance notice. If you are not aware, you can pay a nominal fee to have access to Shuttle Steve all semester. He runs (there are actually a few of them) a few weekdays, and on weekends to the mall, to the grocery store, or anywhere else within a close range you might need to go. At holidays he send out an email a couple of weeks in advance asking that you arrange your transportation ahead of time.
BTW, Bieber goes right into the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Transbridge takes you to Newark Airport, and you change there to a Airtrain or another bus.</p>

<p>snoggie... where did your daughter end up being assigned to for housing? How did you guys like move-in day? Isn't President Helm an awesome speaker?</p>

<p>I may have seen you on campus; I moved D2 in on Friday. She is able to get a special waiver for move-in/move-outs, etc. due to our living so far away. She had her stuff in storage since the end of July, and could only deliver it on Friday.</p>

<p>Speaking of Helm, he had a very interesting article in the Morning Call (Allentown's daily newspaper) on Friday regarding to call to dialogue about lowering the drinking age. It was very thought-provoking, whether you agree with it or not. Here's the link:
Talking</a> about drinking age isn't a surrender -- themorningcall.com</p>

<p>Ahh, Teri, I didn't know you'd be there on Friday, we could have met in person! Oh well, maybe on parents weekend.</p>

<p>brownsugar - it was an afterthought for me. Initially our plans were to arrive in Allentown Friday night and move her in on Saturday. Then we found out we couldn't get the storage place to deliver her stuff on Saturday so she had to move in on Friday. Once we got her dorm key (1PM), we were busting our chops until Friday night to get everything set up. The storage guys arrived just before 3PM (and it was worth EVERY penny as she is on the third floor, with no elevator in her dorm!) so we dug right in. By the time I got back to my dorm Friday night, I was exhausted (and smelly, too).</p>

<p>I think we'll be there Parent's Weekend; at least I have the hotel reservations; haven't made flight arrangements yet, but we may end up driving.</p>

<p>teriwitt,</p>

<p>My D is in Martin Luther. Move in day (Saturday)was great, but we didn't stay for convocation... had a teen at home and needed to go to a wake as well... :(</p>

<p>She has been at Muhlenberg since Saturday and has already had better experiences than at her old school... It is a pleasure to hear her voice. She was accepted as a Junior but will have to take some Fresh/Soph classes as well, like beginning Italian!!!</p>

<p>Can you give me some info on Parents weekend? At her old school, we went the first year, but it was so crowded and not what she was interested in that her second year we went the weekend AFTER Parents Weekend!!!</p>

<p>We are all so happy to be part of the Muhlenberg Family...</p>

<p>Teri- I can beat your move in story. We arrived late on Saturday with the intention of moving stuff from the storage place on Sunday. Both D and I overslept on Sunday as I had been sick with a fever for two days and we were still on Cali time...got to said storage place filled rental car with one load, moved it into The Village- (it is awesome) took roomies to lunch and went back for a second load. The storage place had closed, so Monday morning before D's first class and my flight home we ended up making two more trips to storage place. I met D after her class, helped her put a few things away, and cooked a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches for her and roomie...then went to airport to wait for delayed flight to Atlanta, where connection was cancelled, and stayed overnight in a hotel courtesy of Delta Airlines.</p>

<p>Made it home today.</p>

<p>Snoggie- I went to Parent's Weekend the first year, and didn't go last year. I think I like campus better a little less busy, and since we are not sports minded, and the main stage show is the follwoing weekend too, just wenta week later for a more intimate experience. So glad to hear your D is having fun. If your D is singing in the college chorus, or chamber singers, the candlelight carols is very nice. It is in December, in the chapel and quite magical.</p>

<p>anothermomwq - we must not have used the same facility because we had access to D's unit 24 hours/day. There was a code given to us upon rental that allowed us in the gate after office hours.</p>

<p>And having been in Allentown for moving while sick, I can totally say I empathize with you! My disastrous flight back was delayed, but at least I wasn't stranded in some off-the-track city.</p>

<p>Did you hear about the FAA computer glitch today? Sounds like one we experienced last summer when we went for orientation. I'll bet there are a LOT of people stranded in airports tonight. By the way, we paid $95 for the storage people to deliver her stuff... like I said, worth every penny.</p>

<p>Snoggie - with both our Ds, we attended Parent's Weekend their freshman years. Subsequent years for D1, we went a different weekend to avoid the hassles. This year is still up in the air, and we may wait to see if she gets cast in Oklahoma before we choose which weekend (the main stage musical goes for two weekends, and one of those is Parent's Weekend). However, in the meantime, I will not cancel those reservations until everything is finalilzed. And we really never participated in any of the events associated with Parent's Weekend (except with D1, we did always go to the football game - it was a much bigger deal at her school).</p>

<p>you know... I just did a quick look at calendars. D will be coming home for fall break (Charlie has asked her to accompany him to the Performing & Visual Arts College Fair held at Northwestern that weekend - it was the first place we ever met him). So she will be home for a long weekend October 8-12. Parent's Weekend is two weeks later, but the second weekend of the mainstage is three weeks later, so visits will be more spread out between fall break and Thanksgiving. We more than likely will go the first weekend in November, then. Again, depending on whether she's cast or not.</p>

<p>Great feedback from everyone... it is greatly appreciated!!! We are close enough to come for Oklahoma whether she is cast or not, so I think we will come that weekend and just stay. D used to be in Marching Band and there are regionals in Allentown the first weekend in November, so perhaps we will go then and watch her band compete as well...</p>

<p>Anothermom... oh my! I am soooo sorry you were so sick! :(</p>

<p>I hope you are feeling better!</p>

<p>Thanks- I feel much better now. And I do have a new appreciatition for California weather. When you are feverish and the weather is sticky it is not a nice combination.</p>

<p>Teri- I remember your sick travel story and know I could have felt much worse. At least on my way to Allentown when I felt my worst D was with me and actually mothered me a bit. That was nice to see.</p>

<p>D is also planning to come home for the long weekend in Oct- she wants to spend time with her best friend who was injured seriously in February. She is also planning an extended Thanksgiving, having already planned her absences for the semester to accomodate that.</p>

<p>But if she makes it into Oklahoma or a black box, I will try to make it back out there too. Probably not parent's weekend, but the following one when campus is a little quieter.</p>

<p>So I've been here for a week and it feels like forever! (but in a good way, not a bad way!) This is such a great school; thank you to everyone who suggested it. (: I'm glad I'm here, despite being super homesick for public transportation and Granny Smith apples...</p>

<p>anothermom - how is her friend doing? I think about her often, believe it or not. Is it hard for your D to be away from her?</p>

<p>ChellyBelly42 - glad to hear you've almost survived the first week. You can't find Granny Smiths? You need to get yourself to Wegmans!</p>

<p>People keep talking about Wegmans! I'd never heard of it before coming here... I'm excited to go. Oh, but they did have Granny Smiths in GQ today so I'm happy. (:</p>

<p>Thanks Teri- she is a true miracle...she has emerged from her coma, and is relearning so many of the things that we all take for granted. She is still in the hospital, and we are hoping that her insurance grants her another three weeks there because she has been making wonderful progress lately, doing more of her self care and getting stronger every day. Thank you for your kind thoughts. This has been the kind of thing I never thought would happen to someone I love, but she is proof that miraculous things happen, and we just keep thinking positive thoughts that her recovery will keep going.</p>

<p>It is tremendously hard on my D to be away from her. I think now, more than ever now that her friend is more interactive, and my D could really see her presence being helpful in therapy sessions and such. The nice thing is that my nephew who is also the friend's bf recently started school down here at USC so he is close now, instead of being up in the bay area where his family lives. I have been fortunate enough to be at the hospital nearly every day, and have seen so much improvement.</p>

<p>Chelly- If you can't get a ride to Wegman's you can go to the farmer's market for wonderful apples. It might not be open this weekend because of the fair, but next Thurs, Fri and Sat you should go...it's a short walk away and a fun place to meet some locals. And my D wears by the food stands there...she loves the bagels and sushi, believe it or not.</p>

<p>Grrr... we tried to go to the farmer's market last week when I was dropping D off, but yes, it was closed for the fair. I was so upset. I've still not been to it. </p>

<p>Wegmans... all I can say is four years ago I'd never heard of it either, until D1 began school at Syracuse. She raved about it from day one of her first visit. I soon got to shop there, and was thrilled when I found out there was one in Allentown, not too far from Muhlenberg. D2 and I had lunch/dinner there last Friday. I certainly wish we had something similar here in the Chicago area. Glad they had the Granny Smiths today in the GQ. Also, you'll get to know the garden room lady (whom I think supporters have created a facebook or myspace for)...she's such a sweetie (I believe Asian - not hard to figure out after a few days of eating there). If Granny Smiths are you fave, don't hesitate for a second to share this information with her. I'll bet she'd try to get some in.</p>

<p>anothermom - I'm so glad to hear of the progress D's friend is making. My, it has been a long haul, but I'm sure they're grateful for every moment of being with her, given the worst case scenario. Just a thought, would it be possible for your D to get a computer camera and program such as Skype to touch base with her friend from time to time? Of course, the friend would also have to have a computer available with camera capabilities, too. But it could be healing for both of them, and not feel as if they are separated by soooo many miles. I took note of your comment about them wanting to discharge her from the hospital; is she in a rehab unit? Is that what they want to discharge her from? Could she be appropriate for another level of in-patient rehab that is not affiliated with the hospital? I do hope they are able to take advantage of every possible day insurance grants her. Am glad to hear of such a positive recovery. In many ways, her recovery sounds very similar to what the young man (whose carepage link I sent to you) had to go through.</p>