Settling In

Not a whole lot to report today. I got the apartment squared away - put things away, washed the dishes, etc. - then ran down the street to Albertson's to pick up a few groceries. I didn't have much time as I was meeting Sue and we were going to USC to take care of some errands, but I wanted to have a few things for when I got back.

The Albertson's on Washington Boulevard, about two miles from Oakwood is right next to a Costco in a little shopping center. The store itself wasn't bad, but the produce was a little sad, the prices were outrageous ($5 a gallon for private label milk!) and the crew was generally unpleasant. I left with only half the things on my short list and was thankful to be leaving.

We left for USC at 10 am, arrived just before 11 (even though it's probably only 18 miles away) and went to get books. Sue had picked hers up a few days before so I was forewarned of possible problems and after only minor difficulty was able to get all the books I needed; there are ten in all:

Financial Accounting
Managerial Accounting
Speak Like a CEO
Management of Organizational Behavior
Strengthsfinder 2.0
Type Talk at Work
The Articulate Executive in Action
Why Business People Speak Like Idiots
The One Thing You Need to Know
Communication for Management

I'm glad I have the long weekend to get through some reading before class starts.

We then went to the parking office, were told there weren't any spaces available on campus, convinced the service rep we were special and had prior reservations, filled out the paperwork, were told we couldn't pay with credit cards, went back to the bookstore to find an ATM that would give us $400, found the atms, determined they were broken, found some other atms, got our cash, went back to the parking office and retrieved our permits.

Then it was time to go to Health Services for shots. We both needed an MMR vaccine because we couldn't provide documentation that we'd had them before (though of course we have). This went pretty smooth and we emerged none the worse for being poked with needles and the nurse gave me a lolly pop.

By now it was after 1pm and we were both starving so we hit the student commons for some gyros - I had chicken and Sue had lamb. The food on campus is generally good and there's a tremendous variety to choose from.

After lunch we went back to Oakwood dropped off our stuff, I did a few errands there and then we decided to go to Ralph's. Sue had spotted it a few days earlier when taking her husband back to the airport and had quickly made it "her store" for the duration of our stay.

Ralph's was everything Albertson's wasn't. The store was beautiful, reminding me of the Fairhaven Haggen. It was clean, the product was good, the shelves were stocked and the employees were very friendly. Oh, and the prices were low. So of course it's "my store" now too.

That was about it. Tomorrow is orientation and our chance to meet our fellow students.