Aggieland Report: Day 2
Category: Travel...
Posted Wednesday, August 15, 2007 at 07:32 PM [GMT-6]

It was a productive day, for the Nephew, anyway. He got his dorm and room assignment, has a squadron, got his stuff moved into the dorm, and put down a deposit for his Senior Boots.

Yep, that's right. Class of 2011, and he's putting down money for footwear that he'll not pick up for three years. Interestingly, if you want to have your boots made at Holick's (which has been around since 1932), that's the lead time that's required. Also, he's not really supposed to even know about Senior Boots, so don't tell anyone else. It'll be our little secret.

Moving him into the dorm took about 15 minutes, which is a benefit of two things: being male, and being a freshman in the Corps of Cadets. Boys just naturally require less in the way of things like clothes and "maintenance items," and freshman don't have any privileges for extras like rugs, floor lamps, etc. Of course, he's on the fourth floor (no elevators) and so we had to lug his footlocker up three flights of stairs. Did I mention how hot and humid it is down here?

His dorm was built in 1939, no doubt in the euphoric afterglow of A&M's last (and only) national football championship. It looks pretty much how mine looked back in the 70s, although the bunks are now set up as individual beds with the desks underneath. But the a/c works, and there are ethernet connections (the wireless network is only in the common areas of campus), so that's as modern as you need, I suppose.

His squadron's CO is female, another sign of how things have changed in the centuries since I was a student.

We did get a little good news when we discovered that the scholarship he'd qualified turned out to have a longer term than we expected. It's not a lot of money, but every bit counts – and he's still in the running for one additional grant. With any luck, I won't have to put out a Tuition Tip Jar on the Gazette.

We're heading back to Midland in the morning (the Nephew is spending the night in his dorm room; it'll be interesting to get his report at breakfast). The weather forecast has a 100% chance of rain; I hope it follows us all the way back to West Texas.

It's been an interesting few days. We've had more time to look around and get re-acquainted with the area. One thing I can tell you with certainty is that if you spend much time in College Station, you'll never again complain about the traffic lights in Midland. For a city housing the university that hosts the Texas Transportation Institute, the traffic patterns are wack.

And, in case you're wondering, I didn't go for a run today.