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Stanford Move-In Day - Printable Version

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Re: Stanford Move-In Day - teejers1 - 09-19-2014

I was local kid who just packed up the back of my dad's Honda with some stuff and drove over in the afternoon to Donner.

I didn't send in a frosh picture for the door, so my roommate (Walt, from Denver) and his mom - who had been there since the doors had opened - had no idea who the mystery roomie was.  As I was perusing the room assignment roster, I heard a woman complain "My son's roommate is from Palo Alto, and he isn't even here yet!"

I turned and said - "you might be looking for me."

She said:  "Are you, TJ?"

I said:  "Yes."

She then gave me a big, prolonged, hug, with a sigh.  I'll never know for sure, but I suspect there was great relief in learning that her son's roomie, TJ, was not some big, dumb jock (just a small, dumb, "regular" student).  Managed to maintain friendship with frosh dormmate after all these years (same for a group of Donnerites from back in the day), and some of our favorite reminiscences (?) are about his mom.  One near the top 'o list:  when I went to SFO to pick him up after Christmas break frosh year - back in the day when you could meet arriving passengers at the gate - he comes off the plane with . . . get ready for it . . . a warmed ham wrapped in foil.  I kid you not, that was his carry on.  When I met Walt at the gate, his first words were:  "do you want some ham?"

Don't know who was responsible for assigning roommates - think it was the RAs - but am very grateful for the decision they made to pair me with Walt.  I definitely got the better end of that deal.

Re: Stanford Move-In Day - Mick - 09-19-2014

I filled up my car on moving day, walked into the living room, said "Well, see you later," to my dad, who was watching a game on TV.  He said "Where are you going?"  I said, "to college.  Today's the move-in day."  He said "OK, well call me in a week," then returned his attention to the television...for which I was profoundly grateful.

I didn't accompany my sons to their first day of college, but I flew out to New Jersey with them to drop off their belongings before they took a weeklong bonding trip.  Other than that, I would mix in a dozen business trips over the course of their four years to have dinner and catch a few of their matches.

Re: Stanford Move-In Day - needle - 09-19-2014

My move-in day was humdrum, the bummer being that I had to take a SuperShuttle from SFO with grown-ups rather than classmates.

That was my experience, but much more vivid is my sister's experience moving into a big state school. Move-in day without much money can be pretty fraught with uncertainties, to say the least.

I was in elementary school and our family drove four hours or so to drop her off, only there wasn't money for a dorm so it was a matter of trying desperately to find her a slot in some affordable off-campus housing. (I think it might have been her second year, actually.)

Many tears were shed by pretty much everyone as it was a very time-consuming process circa 1990 or so to even make contact with potential roommates in those pre-cell phone, pre-Internet days.

It turned out to be a two-day ordeal that at one point seemed to be a lost cause, but she found a (barely) livable place and went on to earn her degree.

Re: Stanford Move-In Day - jacketree - 09-19-2014

Hey my dad was Walt (once) from Denver.  Yeah, don't think so.

The only thing I remember about moving in to the lovely Escondido Village was that I arrived too late to move in coming from L.A. (sleeping on a couch with GT friends) from San Diego (sleeping on the floor with HS friend) from Las Vegas (redacted) from Denver. I'm pretty sure I found the absolutely most cockroach ridden notel/motel on El Camino to spend my first night (of many, many, many) on the Peninsula.  Can't remember much noteworthy between pulling the linen out of the VW and starting classes.  A ton of ants in our apartment and a cool roommate from Kuwait, who worshiped Carlos Santana btw, but nothing stands out.

Moving to the ATL involved sending a trunk full of clothing and bedding ahead to the campus P.O. and hopping Delta to Hartsfield pre-MARTA stop, so I took a two-hour or so cruise through Atlanta on the Super Shuttle, landing at some hotel on 10th Street.  Walked to the P.O. the next morning and lugged my trunk to the dorm, where I proceeded to have three different roommates in two weeks while people moved around, ending up with a guy named Jay from Boston, who had a girlfriend, so I had in effect the room to myself.  Once my GI tract adjusted to all the dietary lard I was fine.

Parents never came with me.  No way Jacketrette would have done her move in day without us.  (Dad pretty much did all the moving. Third floor dorm room. I didn't have that much crap when I moved in; and yes she was informed of that factoid once or twice.)  Jacketree Junior would have done it without us, but it isn't every day you get to watch your kid inducted into the U.S. Navy, so he had to put up with not only parents and sister, but an assortment of grandparents, aunts and uncles who I guess really wanted to watch the Blue Angels.  Dropped him off in civilian clothes at 8:00 a.m. and saw the dazed, sweat-drenched and buzzcut sailor in his starched white works for all of 15 minutes at 6 that night before they slammed the Bancroft doors for good.  Hard to believe we go back for 2/C (junior) parents weekend in about three weeks.  I'm sure time is flying faster for us than it is for him.