Weekend Plans: Getting Ready For College
A million years ago, when I went off to college, the big thing that I took with me that I was so very glad I did was a stereo with a record player.
It didn’t play CDs, but that’s okay. The good stuff came out on tape too and the *REALLY* good stuff was available on vinyl. Maybe you’d have trouble getting a copy of something from The Beatles and Led Zep was hit or miss but you could get pretty much anything by Elton John or the Rolling Stones (except for the zipper version of the Sticky Fingers album) or The Who (Quadrophenia got me through my sophomore year).
But I understand that it is not the early 90’s anymore. Granted, the radio stations are doing a good job of playing “the 80’s, 90’s, and *NOW*!”, but tapes aren’t a thing anymore and CDs have wandered through being a thing and now they have stopped being a thing again. We still have vinyl, of course, but that’s more of a thing for “people who have money” and not really for “starving college students” anymore.
So I find myself wondering “what do college students need in the current year?” Like, I’m going to slip him a $100 before he wanders away. But I also want to give him a present that will be useful.
My biggest guess is something like a Kettle. Stainless steel, plugs into the wall, auto shut-off. Make tea with it. Make ramen with it. Make oatmeal with it. And it’s $25. If someone steals it, send him another. Heck, give him a case of ramen with it. A couple of heavy-duty ramen-sized containers so he can wash them in the bathroom with little fuss.
But… like… I don’t know what the kidz these days would need in their freshman dorm room.
Hrm. Maybe some icebreaker games. A deck of Uno cards. One Night Ultimate Werewolf. Secret Hitler. Okay, even though Secret Hitler is an amazing game, probably not that one to start. That can be for Christmas, maybe, and he can take it once first impressions have already been made/established and people have gotten used to Werewolf.
But, like… what else?
This weekend, by the by, is the “hurray, the nephew is going to college!” party so these will be things that I pick up while out and about for my errands on Saturday.
OOOH! A GIANT TOWEL!!!!
So… what’s on your list of things that improved Freshman year?
(Featured image is “School Days (92 / 365)” by somegeekintn and is licensed under CC BY 2.0)
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I still remember the morning sometime during my first couple of weeks as an undergraduate, walking to the door of dorm, picking my way through the crowd of people looking uncomfortably out at the rain, and popping open my collapsible umbrella.Report
There’s a significant amount of overlap between “college dorm” and “military dorm” life. The things I found most useful were dishes–not a whole set, but like a single place-setting, and cookware that facilitates making things like macaroni and cheese in the microwave. A big towel is good. Money is always good. The kettle will be fantastic until his rope…er…dorm chief…er…RA(?) confiscates it because small appliances are a no-no (but give it to him anyway). If he doesn’t already have one, a good messenger bag suitable for protecting a notebook computer (granted, not really a dorm room item, but whatevs). A first-aid kit. A good UL-rated power strip with a long cord.Report
A power strip, messenger bag, and umbrella.
Brilliant.Report
A small tool kit. I’d recommend jewelers’ screwdrivers, a bicycle multitool (easy way to get regular screwdrivers and hex keys), two pair of hemostats (one straight, one curved), tweezers, small locking pliers, single-edge razor blades and a holder for the blades. I don’t know what they (or their roommate, or someone in the next room) will need to fix, just that they will need to fix something.
If they’re taking a bike and planning to use it, add a spare tube of appropriate size, instant tire patches, a tiny pump, a few chain links (ask discretely about size first, although 9-speed is probably a safe bet), and a roll of black electrical tape. (And a spoke wrench if you want them to think you’re a secret bicycle geek.) One of my 15 minutes of dorm fame was after I got hugged and kissed by the cute blond because I could fix her broken chain today, not tomorrow. Over the years, I’ve given away a lot more chain links than I’ve needed myself.Report
Goodness, but I feel foolish not thinking of a small toolkit. That’s spot-on.Report
Called mom: He’s taking a microwave with him. So the kettle probably won’t be necessary. (I mean, it will be. But he won’t know that until after the semester.)
So here’s the list:
Small toolkit.
High-quality power strip.
Really big fluffy towel.
Umbrella.
Mom doesn’t know if he’s taking his bike with him. If he is, the kit’s something I can slip to him before he leaves NEXT MONTH. Jeez.Report
Also picked up a Frisbee, Yahtzee kit, and Uno deck.
For cooking stuff, I got him a specialized microwave ramen dish and a specialized microwave soup bowl. A couple of forks and a couple of spoons and they had weird electrolized rainbow coloring which, it seems to me, could be used by him to say “no, that’s *MY* fork”.
And he is taking his bike.Report