<p>parent56 - The $200 rental for micro-fridge is a combination microwave and refrigerator unit. Yes, it is really expensive. But DS may be flying into Boston (possibly by himself, since we are attending the July orientation). Truly no easy way to even doing the logistics of buying/transporting/giveaway. If my husband goes too he will be renting a car to visit relatives. That would make purchase of appliances (and other stuff) more feasible.</p>
<p>OK, I lied… I read thru the last 10 pages or so.</p>
<p>Momlive, I don’t want this to sound harsh but I think we’re all missing the point here. I think your SON should call his roommate and say, “I think these are the things we need for the room, do you agree? And if yes, how should we split them up?” I think you and your DH and the roommate’s parents should stay OUT of it. Your son will have to live in the room with the kid, not you or your DH. It’s his problem, let him deal with it. He’ll be the one dealing with it in college. </p>
<p>And to whoever gave the link for the dorm pictures, that was priceless. A SLIDE? I showed it to DS (a rising college senior) and pointed out that the girls had arranged their beds where one girl’s head was next to the other one’s feet. And he said, “Who cares? They have a SLIDE. And that’s awesome.”</p>
<p>GSharp, I just returned from a day at the Grove and Farmers Market. I thought that anyone who visits LA should visit. It’s an awesome outdoor mall and very close to Pink’s, I believe.</p>
<p>AP SCORES IN THE HOUSE!!! 5 on Art History and English…yay!!!</p>
<p>YDS, congrats on your DS’s job! Great news!</p>
<p>Not drinking anymore, but I guess a virtual glass of champagne would be ok…</p>
<p>Hello new thread! I was indeed traveling, for a week in beautiful (but Internet-less) Tibet. And now I’m off for another two days of vacation, in just a few minutes. China is kind of exhausting. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>I told myself I would get less addicted to CC after picking a school, but since THAT happened back in February, my willpower is clearly lacking. :D</p>
<p>AP scores are out on Swarthmore’s new student website: I’m pretty happy with my scores, which aren’t absolutely stellar but are representative of my skill mastery, I think.</p>
<p>I did some VERY brief skimming of the 30+ pages I missed while I was gone, so if anyone has anything particular to say to me, please PM it. Without further ado, I shall introduce myself to the thread at large, as I see we’ve had some lurkers join in:</p>
<p>Hiya! I’m Keilexandra, aka Keix and/or Keil. I live in DE and will be going to Swarthmore in the fall, a measly 40 minutes away. My parents are much happier that I never had the choice of Pomona or Carleton, the other two favorites–I applied EDII and was accepted in February. I’m also kind of a college research freak, with future interests in library science, linguistics, English lit, computer science, and philosophy.</p>
<p>And now I have to go catch the bus!</p>
<p>Thanks for all the tips, I’ve learned a lot from this thread! Need advice re mattress pad and topper. Should I get a mattress pad and a topper or what? Living so far away have no idea…and some suggestions on good ones( not too steep) Whats the difference between mattress pads and covers? We don’t use these things at home!</p>
<p>$200 a yr rental seems high - our school doesn’t offer rentals but for some reason, UGA keeps sending son stuff (even though he wrote them and told him he had accepted elsewhere) and they offer a microwave/refrigerator unit for $119 yr (which I thought was high).</p>
<p>Yes -we have tried the ‘let the boys work it out.’ Apparently, the other kid isn’t contributing much to the conversation. I’ve even asked him when he’s been at our house. I’m not sure what’s is going on except that maybe he knows his parents aren’t likely to want to buy anything.</p>
<p>Great advice from everyone. Think we will try a combination of approaches - get son to approach other kid one more time. If that doesn’t work, if son confirms that roomie also wants refrigerator, microwave, etc. then will either have husband call or just supply them ourselves. It would be nice if the other kid’s parents furnished some of the ‘joint’ items but I’m not going to sweat it. I see no reason not to have a refrigerator in the room. It’s pretty much standard equipment in most dorms we visited. Some schools even furnish them for free.</p>
<p>Tango91…we’ve had both (foam mattress topper) and a filled pad. Both are comfy. I prefer the pads because it’s securely attached to the bed. Also, the foam toppers sometimes get crumbly. OTOH, the really comfy mattress pads tend to be more expensive. Covers generally don’t have much cushioning.</p>
<p>good morning!! coffee is ready…help yourself</p>
<p>sons room will have a full size fridge in the kitchen but he still plans to take his mini fridge to put in the bedroom…gee wouldnt want to strain himself getting up and walking to get a coke while laying on his bed LOL</p>
<p>YDS, I loved your cocktail story! I love cocktail hour, even if you just have club soda or lemonade it’s kind of a nice ritual. We don’t do it every night, but often. I put out little nibbles and we usually open a bottle of wine. If we are going out with friends we usually meet at someones house first and have drinks. I am a decorator and I love drinks tables and carts. I’d put one in every house I do if I could, because it is sophisticated! We have a wet bar in the family room, and I also have a small drinks cabinet in there as well. I also have a “rafriachissoir” cabinet stand in my dining room. It is basically a little french table for serving wine. It has a well for ice. It isn’t very practical but very pretty! My H never drinks too much but he is very into wine. He buys it and stores it in his large wine fridges in the basement.</p>
<p>Good morning. 
Vacation starts in 7.5 hours. Get me through this day! YDS, I’ll be thinking of your “older man’s” parents when my happy hour starts promptly at 5:00. ;)</p>
<p>BengalMom, Congrats on Son’s job!! </p>
<p>MomLive, I think Lafalum makes a great suggestion about letting the boys handle it. </p>
<p>Laf, welcome back. I hope my family is stilling taking vacations together when both kids are in college.</p>
<p>have a great vacation DB!!</p>
<p>wow, the student loan business must be hurting…</p>
<p>just opened an email received on the 7th from my oldest son’s student loan service… saying payment was deliquent and they would be contacting cosigner and could be sent to collections!!!. i went to website to check if somehow the payment hadnt posted…it had (2 days prior to the email) so i just called… yes it shows paid however it didnt post until the 7th even though shows paid on the 5th ( i admit it was due on the sunday ) but with holiday forgot to pay online prior to 5pm so it flipped to next business day … response was it was late!! so threatened with adverse credit report because they didnt post until 2 days later
should note i always pay more than due amount and on time so not like it was a chronic situation</p>
<p>tango, a mattress pad is a cotton pad that’s designed to protect the mattress itself from stains. They used to be very thin, and had elastic bands that went around the corners of the mattress to hold the pad on. Nowadays they’ve gotten thicker, some with a lot of polyfill in them, to provide a soft cushion for sleeping. Some people like even more thickness and padding, so they put a topper on. The topper can be made of regular foam, usually in an egg crate design, or can be made of feathers, memory foam, etc. This site will give you an idea of the various ones: [Mattress</a> Toppers](<a href=“http://www.consumersearch.com/mattress-toppers]Mattress”>http://www.consumersearch.com/mattress-toppers)</p>
<p>Bear in mind that the toppers (as opposed to the pads) will make the bed very thick, so the fitted sheet has to be able to fit over it all. How did we ever manage to sleep in college without these things? :rolleyes:</p>
<p>RobD, I love Life is Good stuff! It just makes me happy, and I was thrilled to find an entire store of it in the Mall of America! My H has a coffee mug with a snowman playing air guitar with a snow shovel. I’m glad you get to use the tire cover – I saw one of those about 3 days ago.</p>
<p>RE cocktail hour, or wine with dinner–I’ve always thought this was for people who didn’t have to go out afterwards, running the kids here and there, or to Walmart for a forgotten piece of posterboard! ;)</p>
<p>But now that I have an empty nest, maybe I will join the rest of ya’ll in that custom. Though it will probably just put me to sleep.</p>
<p>(Have to add that I often come back from an evening meeting or rehearsal to find my DH has been enjoying a brandy or Scotch…must be nice.) :D</p>
<p>Good morning! </p>
<p>Gsharp- Anyone who can quote David Allan Coe is a friend of mine! I saw him a few times while was in college in Virginia. I sing along with him in the car- and look crazy to all around me- but who cares- It’s David Allan Coe!</p>
<p>Morning all! Happy TGIF for those who need it!</p>
<p>Thanks for the coffee parent56!</p>
<p>Vacay wishes and safe journey to those leaving :)</p>
<p>GSharp: Enjoy the time in LA with your dear daughters. Sounds like D1 will have you busy! And give a shout out to Jethro if you see him. ;)</p>
<p>Keil: Welcome back and enjoy your next few days of vacation.</p>
<p>DougBetsey: All the best on your vacation. Here’s to many “good” family memories at the beach.</p>
<p>Lafalum: Welcome back! Hope the rest of your vacation was good, despite the sunglasses being lost. And all the best to your DH (and you) with his job situation.</p>
<p>2education: Hope your DH is okay and that the doctors provide some definitive news. Sending good, healing thoughts.</p>
<p>RobD: Sorry to hear about your tire theft. Hope the “Life is Good” cover makes the new one worth it and more theft-deterring. I’ve seen a couple of those recently and they always make me smile.</p>
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<p>Somehow we did! And we got through it just fine. And no microwaves either!</p>
<p>With D, she will coordinate with her roommate re: the microwave and mini fridge situation. And I’m assuming she’ll let us know when she’s got it figured out. :)</p>
<p>Wishing all a great day and a relaxing weekend. </p>
<p>Stay 
</p>
<p> Good morning, and many thanks for your supportive words yesterday! 
</p>
<p>Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend.</p>
<p>Keil, I knew you’d pop in! Glad you are having a wonderful summer…the travelling sounds exciting!!</p>
<p>Lafalum and 2education, Hope everything works out with your respective husbands.</p>
<p>Congrats to all high-scoring APers!</p>
<p>I’ll have to skip the cocktails (alcohol just doesn’t agree with me). Point me in the direction of the appetizers…I’m a total foodie!</p>
<p>Howdy y’all! (How do you like that southern NYC accent!)</p>
<p>I just went off on my husband and I feel pretty lousy right now. I apologized and he was wrong, but I was psycho. </p>
<p>I’m hoping that D’s potential roommate won’t offer to share the cost of the big items. This may shock you (I know, I know), but I’m something of a control freak, so I wouldn’t be sorry to have paid and then have a greater measure of “say” in what happens to those things. Like coming down to pick her up for a trip home and cleaning out the fridge just because I could. You know, I really don’t wonder why my D is difficult.</p>
<p>
I’m a wishful thinking drinker. I love the idea of it, but get falling-down drunk after one drink.</p>
<p>Boy, zm. You’re soundin’ might wound-up this morning. When I get like that the family calls me “Taz.” As in the Tasmanian devil from the old Loony Tunes. Good thing it’s Friday, huh? ;)</p>