<p>YDS: Sounds like really good timing and karma with the gift! I’m sure she was thrilled! 
Hope your allergies improve…Here’s to a good night’s rest.</p>
<p>Thanks. Unfortunately, I drank lots of caffeine to stay awake for the drive home, so I’m a little wired right now.</p>
<p>And, yes, his resourcefulness never ceases to amaze me. Thankfully, he’d never worn the shirt! I forgot to mention that before; didn’t want y’all to think he was regifting used stuff. :)</p>
<p>We had an infestation of houseflies this morning. Truly revolting. Dozens of them on all the kitchen and dining room windows. We were swatting them like mad when dh suggested opening the kitchen door. Most of them were happy to escape to the great outdoors. I sure hope we don’t get a new batch tomorrow.</p>
<p>I have to pick up doctor forms tomorrow and my kid needs to remember to send a photo for his ID in the next few days. No intention of dorm shopping before next week.</p>
<p>ACM, if that $7k for the frat is annual, it virtually has to include housing and/or a meal plan.</p>
<p>Lafalum84…some fraternities REALLY are that expensive. (Like acm and SWTCAT said, a part of this $ goes to cover the costs of the parties and all that they entail.) Here’s a table of the costs of UT’s frats. Notice that some of these amounts are not even for the full semester.</p>
<p>[Office</a> of the Dean of Students - Greek Life and Intercultural Education - Joining an Organization - Organization Table](<a href=“http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/glie/join_table.php?council=ifc]Office”>http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/glie/join_table.php?council=ifc)</p>
<p>Lafalum: the alumni don’t need to be alumni of the same school, just the sorority. So a Delta Delta Delta who graduated from University of Tennessee could write the rec for a girl rushing at University of Alabama (or any other school for that matter.) Although D has not done this since she decided not to take part in recruitment, she was told that she could contact the Nashville area Panhellenic Council and they would help her find alumni for any sorority she didn’t have a contact for. She would have sent them her resume etc. and asked for a rec. Or at least that’s my understanding of the process.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the <3 on the ‘staycation’ whine…I’m fine now!!! The not packing and un packing bright side definitely helped me refocus!</p>
<p>Rhodes has a strong Greek presence, but they are very laid back and relaxed about it. DD is planning to rush, but is going to ‘see how it goes’. There are no LORs required- so that makes it a little easier. UT’s Greek system is wayyyyy out there! Very different.</p>
<p>We’re still in the list making mode about dorm room furnishing. We’re waiting on roommate assignment to ‘coordinate’, so for now, just the basic- the toiletries stuff!</p>
<p>S’s frat manages to hold parties, sponsor intramural teams, and even give scholarships to brothers with strong GPA’s for about $500/semester in dues. (They also collect housing fees and meal plan fees for those who live in the house and/or eat on their meal plan, both of which are cheaper than the college’s housing and meal plans). I understand their costs are typical for frats at S’s LAC. I cannot fathom what a fraternity would be doing with $7k/year in dues. If you have 50 members in your frat, $500 in dues = $25,000/semester, that seems sufficient for several parties to say the least. (I’m not sure if S had to pay extra to attend the off-site formal sit-down dinner they hold each semester, and I know he had to pay to purchase any fraternity clothing he wanted). </p>
<p>And I still say getting letters of recommendation to join a sorority is beyond the pale. Some random alumnae is supposed to write you a letter based on your resume? It’s a social organization, for heaven’s sake. Bizarre. And the TWO photos, including a full-body shot? No fatties allowed, I guess?</p>
<p>Geez, no wonder Greeks have such an awful reputation in some areas. Greeks at my alma mater (S’s school) aren’t like that at all.</p>
<p>
Swarthmore tends to go with the flat-fee approach. For example, room and board are the same cost across-the-board–you can pick among three different meal plans with equal cost–and most campus activities are free (student activities fee included in tuition). I prefer this because it emphasizes a sense of equality for FA vs. full-pay students. For the same reason, I am ethically bothered by Dartmouth’s entirely a la carte dining plan–I can easily see a poor international student trying to save money on food by half-starving him/herself.</p>
<p>applicannot, I obviously know you’re female, and I’m glad that you ‘see the light’ of dresses and skirts! :D</p>
<p>jc40, I am just now done with (modified) school uniforms and my mother is glad as well–it didn’t stop me from shopping, but instead required me to have 1.5 wardrobes instead of 1. Khakis, skirts, and solid-colored shirts for the uniform, then “regular” clothes for weekends and changing when I get home from school. Since the uniform polos fit rather poorly, I’m glad to be free, too. :rolleyes: That said, I probably spend $250 annually on clothes, and I really LIKE shopping.</p>
<p>On drinking–I tried three sips of a “local” distillation in Tibet, at a dinner. The second and third sips failed to convince me that my first (negative) impression of the first was wrong. I just don’t like the taste of alcohol, nor coffee… working slowly on tea, like a proper Asian.</p>
<p>On age/gender–I’ve never been mistaken for anything but female (I think I’m too wordy!) but perhaps for the same reason, people always think I’m 5-10 years older than my actual age. The gap is shrinking as I get older physically, since I first ‘joined’ the Internet around age 10 and was seriously participating on forums soon after.</p>
<p>P.S. I need tech consultation! I’m absolutely no-questions-asked set on PC, but am debating whether to get a new laptop for college. Currently I’m on a Dell Vostro 1500, Vista 15.7", a few years old but system still fast, with a protruding battery that offers great battery life but makes the thing heavy. Should I replace with a 14" Win7 model (most likely with <<4 hours heavy use on the battery) before heading off to college, or wait a year and see? I also plan to buy a laptop sleeve no matter what, so I need to know what size to get, and to have time to ‘acclimate’ to a new laptop if necessary.</p>
<p>All of this Greek talk makes me happy that I choose a college with the Greek system. I know the good ol’ neighbor Cornell has Greek life and where most parties are held but I am not into the whole scene. </p>
<p>Anyway I realized how much shopping I really need to get done. One of my friends bought one of this bags at BB&B where they give you a laundry bag, bed spread, sheets, etc in one thing. It was for a really good price too. I might go do some starter shopping tomorrow (mainly since I saw Staples has their sale and I am an office supply fiend). </p>
<p>About six weeks to go for me :eek: and :D</p>
<p>Keilexandra, will you be carrying it around with you a lot? If your laptop is working fine and you don’t mind carrying the extra weight you could see how it goes and then maybe get a new laptop next. It really is personal preference in that situation. It would be a smaller screen, a lighter load, and smaller battery life. </p>
<p>EDIT: OH! I wanted to add on the uniform thing too! I have worn uniforms for 12 years and I will miss them because I was able to throw them on in the morning without worrying about what to wear. Of course I needed a non-school approved jacket which would make me rush. Through elementary school it was light blue spring jumpers and then skirts in middle school with a dark plaid to distinguish from lower grades during the winter. High school was really ugly khaki pants, skirts (which made the whole female population of my school get in trouble for due to people wearing them too short and being able to see what is underneath), and a polo. Polos were green for underclassmen and then seniors got to pick their color. Ours was PURPLE! and we all loved it. It made the boys cringe at first though. Blazers and white oxfords were for the winter. I will not miss the blazers at all. </p>
<p>I am not much of a dress person. I got some cute ones for Italy/Greece which will be mostly summer/who-knows-because-Ithaca-is-like-an-eight-ball-always-changing-its-mind-on-the-weather. I am more of a jeans and t-shirt but my mom is trying to get me into a more dressy mode. If I am in the studio all day filming something I should be able to wear my sweatshirt 
I do need some winterish clothes (mainly a new jacket). I hate clothes shopping but am in love with online shopping. So much easier but than must deal with the whole does-it-fit thing which is hard. </p>
<p>And I am sorry for how long this is, haha.</p>
<p>Lafalum, I checked with my friend, the huge amount does not include room and board. W&M’s fraternity system seems a lot more simple, maybe 25% go Greek? S will check it out but since he will be rowing that may be enough social life for him. His GF joined a sorority at Richmond, it didn’t seem too onerous.</p>
<p>Good Morning Everyone!!
</p>
<p>D and I had a blast at “American Idiot.” You’re brought into the world of youthful rage, apathy and confusion, expressed through Green Day’s music. If you don’t like loud music (or cursing), this might not be the show for you. But what’s great is that after watching all that sex, drugs, and punk stuff, you walk away really appreciating your kids! It’s a high energy performance with a feel-good ending.</p>
<p>austinmtmom: Thanks for the heads-up on John Gallagher, Jr. He is oh so talented…and a nice person, too?! I feel like I have inside information! Hope your D crosses paths with him in the future.</p>
<p>mathmom: eek!</p>
<p>Latest update: D and her roommate are both pink girly-girl types.:rolleyes:</p>
<p>Okay, time to catch up on this thread…I am still back on refrigerators!</p>
<p>Have a good day. xo</p>
<p>Viva Spain!</p>
<p>The expenses to be in a frat/sorority are considerable. Not so much the dues but the parties, events, clothes, fundraisers, etc. Most fraternities host a number of formal events per year as well as weekend away events. A good friend who’s son was in a frat at UA last year said it was costing them about $500 a month in expenses (he wasn’t living or eating in the frat house).</p>
<p>Lafalum84: My son will be at Univ. of SC this fall, so we have gotten a lot of info on Greek life there. I’m pretty sure the sororities don’t host summer events - they have much stricter guidelines than the fraternities (fraternities aren’t all that competitive) . As a I said upthread - the question about LORs and being from out of state came up when we were touring and the sisters from TriDelta that were giving the tour said it was not a problem…that a current sister who wanted you in the sorority could do a LOR for you. Half the sisters that were there that day were from out of state. I’m sure there are sororities with much stricter rules but they didn’t seem to think it was a big deal. OTOH, some schools (like UA) take their Greek system much more seriously than other schools and have a larger # of rushees to contend with so it might be a much more formal process. I known about a half-dozen girls that have gone to UA from our school in the last few years and all of them have gotten into sororities. The thing to keep in mind is being in a frat or sorority is very time-consuming and expensive, so a lot of people who rush chose not to join anyway.</p>
<p>One thing I have heard from kids who have recently been in fraternities (not sure about sororities) from a variety of schools - is if your son has a car and joins a fraternity -he will be required to drive his frat brothers around to parties, etc. as a pledge. I know several people who will not be allowing their sons to take a car freshman year for this reason. My son said a former classmate told him this weekend that last year as a pledge at SC he spent $2,000 in gas driving around his frat brothers. Just thought I would give people a head’s up on that.</p>
<p>Fortunately, neither one of my kids have any desire to be in frat/sorority.</p>
<p>Good Morning!</p>
<p>psychmom, glad you enjoyed American Idiot. I’m a Green Day fan. My son gave me their last CD for Christmas (and then downloaded it to his ipod).</p>
<p>My son is not planning to go greek.</p>
<p>BUandBC82, As a Green Day fan, you would love this show! It’s done in a rock opera type of style.</p>
<p>My college was big on Greek life, so even though I had no idea what sororities and frats were all about, I ended up getting caught up in the “rush” and pledged a sorority. Two years later, I found myself busy with other stuff and wanted out…turns out that’s NOT a good thing! I remember having that solemn talk with my Big Sister…looking back, I probably should have just stayed, but I insisted on leaving and was “deactivated.” Nothing is ever simple with me!</p>
<p>My D, who has a completely different personality from her mom, has zero interest in going Greek…good thing she picked a non-Greek school!</p>
<p>My head is still reeling from all this information about Greek life in places where it’s taken very seriously. Glad that will not be our experience.</p>
<p>Hoping for a quiet week here. S made it up in time for work as usual, beginning of his fifth week. He’s starting to ask how soon he can quit. Not yet, anyways. D should hear in a day or two if her internship will work out. Fingers crossed.</p>
<p>Wishing a good week for all.</p>
<p>psychmom…walmart.com has PINK fridges!!!</p>
<p>Morning.</p>
<p>With the World Cup over, I fear I’ll have to bite the bullet and start dorm shopping.</p>
<p>parent56: These girls would love a pink fridge pet…I’ll have to check it out! The roommate has this whole Disney fantasy thing going on, while my D remains loyal to Hello Kitty. Nothing like taking a step towards independence and maturity!:rolleyes:</p>
<p>YDS: Best part of the game (besides the goal) was learning why Puyol keeps his hair long! The worst was that kick to the chest by one of the Dutch players…ouch.</p>