<p>Hi all</p>
<p>DS will be living in Veronica and wants to bring a bike. Can anyone tell me what options he has? Can it be brought into the apartment (assuming his roommate is ok with that)? Or does it need to be kept outside--and if so, are there racks? </p>
<p>In general, do many students have bikes?</p>
<p>He can bring the bike into the apartment if his roommate is okay with it, but I don't think Veronica has an elevator, which might make it difficult to do regularly. In the winter, most people I know stored their bikes in their rooms or in bike rooms if available, but when they were more usable they kept them outside.</p>
<p>Bike theft is a significant problem - I wouldn't suggest bringing anything very nice, and I would definitely recommend a U-lock that has a guarantee of replacing the bike. There is an organization in Pittsburgh that will let you have an old bike for free if you do some maintenance on it to get it back into working shape and then volunteer for several hours. I know a few people who have done that and been happy. <a href="http://www.freeridepgh.org/%5B/url%5D">http://www.freeridepgh.org/</a></p>
<p>I did Free Ride. I did not find bike theft to be a problem because my bike was worth about $6, so yeah... I locked it up with a chain and padlock that I got for free at Home Depot because I found a $10 bill on the ground. Oh, and I only brought my bike inside over winter break and left it outside the rest of the year. In retrospect, I regret this because it got really rusty - but even less steal-worthy!</p>
<p>If you're into folk punk at all, you should try to meet some people at Free Ride because they're cool people.</p>
<p>EDIT: It took me about 5 days (20 hours) to build my bike and work off the volunteer hours as a total novice. I could probably build a bike in 2 days now with the experience I gained, and volunteering is fun!</p>
<p>Thanks very much, KrazyKow and cmonyuk</p>
<p>I also heard u can pay them $50 and save the volunteer work if u don't have time for it.</p>
<p>Also, most people I know don't have bikes. Public transportation is free for CMU students, so most don't find a need for it.</p>
<p>1) New house</p>
<p>2) Moorewood</p>
<p>I was assigned a resnik double suite...but i was reading the housing website and resnik suites are 5-person
Does anyone know how the lay-out of resnik suites?</p>
<p>lol the layout shouldn't matter because you should feel like you won the lottery. People never get into resnik.</p>
<p>As for layout. They're on the housing website:
<a href="http://www.housing.cmu.edu/buildings/resnik/%5B/url%5D">http://www.housing.cmu.edu/buildings/resnik/</a></p>
<p>Whoa... you got in to Resnik? That's really lucky....</p>
<p>Resnik has 5-ppl suites on the top floor I think, but for the most part, they're doubles. </p>
<p>Hey! You get A/C and easy access to all campus buildings. And food right downstairs. Taste of India is pretty good and a nice stop when you're on the Freshmen meal plan. That is, if you like Indian food.</p>
<p>There's also a starbuck-ish cafe down there. Serves meals too. I don't care for their coffee though.</p>
<p>hahah yea i know i got a good dorm but i want info for when i go dorm shopping.
Suites have their own bathroom right? so im guessing 2 rooms with 2 people each joined by a bathroom?</p>
<p>double suite is just as you said. 2 rooms, 2 people joined by 1 bathroom. I think they get a common area as well...</p>
<p>anyone staying in Donner?</p>
<p>Im at donner</p>
<p>I'm finding things out bit by bit about the apartment. He's in Terrace, and there's a "4" after that so does that mean he's in a medium-sized apartment?</p>
<p>I was told they have tile floor (not vinyl) in the bathroom and kitchen. Outdated shag carpet in the bedroom/living room with no padding left under the carpet (it's probably dried up and deteriorated). Plaster walls. Electric heat in the kitchen and radiator heat in the other rooms. A/C in the summer/early fall. Blinds on the windows (are they wood, plastic, or metal?)--does anyone bother putting up curtains or valances? How many windows are there? I'm assuming the bathtub/shower is not fiberglass (all one piece) and that they provide a shower curtain liner and not the curtain part. Does the mirror have a medicine cabinet behind it ( my guess is "no.")? Do you know the dimensions of the closets? One in the hall and one in the bedroom. Do most roommates each take a closet or do they use the hall closet for winter coats, etc. and split the bedroom closet? Is there a sofa, and should we plan on using a sofa "throw" on it? We were told to provide our own cleaning supplies except a vacuum. Is the kitchen sink porcelain or stainless steel and is it a double sink or single? Is there a cabinet under the sink to store cleaning supplies? We were also told not to use anything on walls to put things up except that putty-type stuff. </p>
<p>We purchased the plastic "risers" from Linens 'N Things for the bed--were told we have to make an electronic request online to have the beds "de-bunked." We also bought two "slim" underbed storage trays on wheels, and one jumbo underbed storage bag (for sweaters,etc.) Was wondering if he'll need those stackable storage bins with the drawers (3 to a set) and which size (the square or rectangular ones)...?</p>
<p>Also wondering if a bike is an absolute must for getting to campus (CFA building most of the time).</p>
<p>My S would like to have one place in his room/apt. where he could lock valuables. What do most students do, purchase "foot lockers"? Safes? He wants something that can't be carried away easily. </p>
<p>I know these are alot of questions, but we just want to get all the stuff ahead of time and not be bothered with running around looking for things at Target when we come out there--we're arriving on the 17th and will be leaving on the 19th and want to focus our energy on enjoying Pgh. and setting up his computer with the COMCAST cable modem they are providing. We have a 4 hour drive out and 4 hour drive back and are bringing the younger S along, too.</p>
<p>Thanks for any advice and words of wisdom. I want to avoid having to mail out "care packages" all year, too!</p>
<p>If you know the room number, then look at the floor plans; I'm guessing he has a -4 room: <a href="http://www.housing.cmu.edu/buildings/londonterrace/%5B/url%5D">http://www.housing.cmu.edu/buildings/londonterrace/</a></p>
<p>In general, one bedroom apartments have sofas, I think, and efficiencies don't. If you're not sure which he has, you can figure it out from the price and rate sheet on the housing site.</p>
<p>Bike is by no means a must, and will be mostly useless when it's snowy. It'll be at most a 15 minute walk to campus. Some students do like to have bikes, though and really like them.</p>
<p>I've never purchased anything to lock my valuables in and I've never had any problems; I don't know anyone who has had anything stolen other than video games and consoles that were left in the lounge on the floor for over a month, but avoiding that is common sense. Just lock the door the apartment, and don't leave valuables sitting out in the open and there shouldn't be a problem. Of course, if he feels more safe with some sort of locker, get one, but I wouldn't by any means consider it necessary.</p>
<p>Please get a laptop lock and use it! My son's roommate had a laptop stolen from his desk at Morewood last year when the suitemates left the hallway door open even though the room door was closed. My son's computer had the lock; only his backpack was taken. Not good but could have been much worse. Even an IPod on the nighttable was not stolen.</p>
<p>In typical "barn door" action, the housing office installed room door locks after the theft.</p>
<p>Other than that I would recommend small valuables be put out of sight. My guess is the majority of thefts are grab and run; anything to make it less available will help.</p>
<p>There are older message threads over in the Parent Cafe about how to secure things in dorm rooms.</p>
<p>IBM-Lenova has a registry for newly purchased computers. I imagine other companies likewise has a registry that will flag stolen computers.</p>
<p>Tying up some lose ends as I pack! :)</p>
<p>Frosh DS is assigned to Veronica. Because of some comments daveydee wrote ---e.g. "We were told to provide our own cleaning supplies except a vacuum...We were also told not to use anything on walls to put things up except that putty-type stuff"---I am wondering if I missed a mailing or email with info about that kind of stuff. </p>
<p>Prob'ly my only specific question* at this point is if there is definitely a CMU- supplied shower curtain (I know in previous posts it sounds as if there usually is) or if we should bring a curtain and rings. </p>
<p>*But I'd also like to still see the info from mailing or email if there was one.</p>
<p>TIA</p>
<p>My friends in Cathedral Mansions (not exactly a cathedral or mansions :p) were provided rings and a shower liner last year. A curtain is pretty, but unnecessary.</p>
<p>They provide rings but they are metal and tend to rust; I had a great time taking down the curtain at the end of last year in my daughters place, so this year I already have a pkg of $1.19 plastic rings from Target to replace them.</p>