UEA freshers (2019 starters) part 2

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

Previous thread and hope you don't mind that I set up the next thread @juicy0. Just did it to ensure that we carry on chatting seamlessly

yes DS had economics exams this week - thanks for reminding me about exam certificates, I’ll get him to pop in school next week

a class of 2019 reunion lunch sounds lovely! Hope DS will meet up with his former school friends.

DS en route home as I type!

Just spoken to DD and she is really frustrated and upset with trying to find a suitable house for her group of 4 to share. They've looked at 5 houses, 2 of which were suitable but when they've called the agents to say yes to both they've been told the existing tenants are now staying. They've all got summative essays due and really couldn't afford the time to do viewings this week but we're keen to get something sorted before Christmas and they've been let down again today.
I can't help but feel a bit sorry for them really. The uni advice is don't look until after Christmas but many properties have already gone and the prices seem to be slowly creeping up too.

Juicy0, please try and reassure your DD that there will be plenty of other houses released during the coming months. My DS1 and his current housemates have not even had the conversation yet about whether they are keeping their house and have about 6 months left to give notice.
After Christmas will be fine and they can concentrate on the exams and enjoying Christmas for now.

Thank you @sluj I will try to reassure her, they just seem to have been really unlucky so far. They'd love to stay in halls but sadly that's not an option.

DS came home last night, it is so good to see him. He is having the time of his life. Gets on really well with his flat mates and has made lots of friends through hockey. He thinks he is doing ok academically, but is waiting for some results. He has an exam he needs to revise for in January. He has brought far too much stuff home, all of his clothes as far as I can see. He did however forget to bring his hockey stuff which is a bit of a problem as his first match back is in Lincolnshire before term starts, so the plan had been to take him to the match then drop back at uni after. It's massively out of the way to divert to Norwich on enroute, so it looks as if he will be going back on the train with what he can carry in time to get a lift with a team mate, and we will take or send him the rest of his stuff a few weeks later.

We have had a lovely couple of days in North Norfolk and now we are just getting ready to go down to UEA to have lunch with the boys and take the younger one back. Absolutely stuffed with full English breakfast !
We havent seen either of them for 7 weeks!!

Enjoy your lunch @sluj !

@sluj have a lovely lunch.

DS spent yesterday evening playing a family game of Monopoly. He's not up yet and his sister is champing at the bit to chat to him.

It is so lovely to have them back for a while, isn't it? We are just back from Norwich with ds. He travels much lighter than his sister so it was a relatively painless operation to get him back. The dog went mad with excitement when we got in. Dd told the dog that ds was on his way so the poor dog was sat at the window for 2 hours waiting for him

Just got back. The recommendation for the Kings Head in Bawburgh was spot on. Good food, lovely food, pub and village plus a real fire! Thanks Juicy0.
DS1 is coming back on Wednesday now but it was strange leaving him.
If anyone fancies a few days in Norfolk, I can also recommend the Beechwood Hotel in North Walsham. Sometimes available on Secret Escapes. Fantastic service and food, 40 minutes from UEA.
DS2 is off to pres with his local mates them Wetherspoons. Nothing has changed

So lovely @MrsBartlet! DD is at a drinks reunion at her sixth form tonight before heading out to the pub with friends. I'm back on early morning taxi duty but I honestly don't care one bit, I'm looking forward to hearing the drunken chatter in the car on the way home.
Have a wonderful Christmas everyone 🎄

I must admit I was a bit with my ds yesterday. He'd messaged at 2.30am to ask if I could collect him late afternoon. (I have notifications off at night, so obviously didn't read it till morn) but I knew he must have been up partying. So I messaged several times in the day to ask him to let me know when he's up and packed. I had suggested he start to pack earlier in the week.
Anyway he finally replied at 2pm to say no he wasn't packed, I told him I'd be there at 4pm he wanted me to come later. I told him no I want to get home to cook dinner.
Anyway, I arrived at 4pm. Near enough nothing packed, the room was so messy and he'd been asleep all day.
I quickly chucked everything in cases, stripped the bed. Told him to go empty the fridge. There was paperwork everywhere, in his bed, all over the floor, all over the desk. I don't know how he could live like that.
He's been partying hard, he looks exhausted. He's lost weight. He said he is looking forward to lots of sleep. He went to bed at 9pm.
He said he's really enjoying the biology part and obviously the social side. But they have to do maths, which he's really struggling with, also chemistry, he's finding that hard too. He's had exams the last few weeks, so hopefully he's done ok.
No luck with accommodation yet. Then we had a big disagreement on the way home...he's insisted he needs the car next sept. when they live off campus. Dh has said no.

icanbewhatiwant, how frustrating for you and thoughtless of your DS.
However, I think you have hit the nail on the head with "exhausted", it sounds like he has been burning the candle at both ends and has lost control a bit.
Maybe when he has had a good sleep (and gets his results) it would be good to have a bit of a chat.

I think many of them have really taken to the partying and this week has been full on with exams and parties.
Give him a day or two to recover his equilibrium and then see what he says.
In the meantime, you might have to count to ten a few times in the face of his disorganization. Very frustrating for you but he will be better once he had had a good sleep.
Get your glass of wine ready......

He's still your little boy

10 mins from UEA - I’m wondering how much DS has packed

Oh dear @icanbewhatiwant, I guess all part of the learning curve. There are not too many students who do things ahead of needing to. Sure proof that their brains are not yet fully matured (and that they are still very much in that transitioning to adult phase). Hope he is full of remorse and super helpful today to atone.

Not too bad, already on our way home

Yes it was frustrating. All forgotten now. I soon threw everything in bags. I couldn't believe the spare single duvet set, spare towels etc I put in his wardrobe on arrival were still there untouched. He didn't know I'd sent spares! I told him...and showed him! So we left them there. Apart from that everything came home from his room. So I've done 4 machine loads already! Bedding and a white wash to go still. Oh...and a wooly jumper wash as I told him not to wash the wooly jumpers, he did wash one and shrunk it, so decided not to wash the others!
He had a letter from school that he opened yesterday, telling him there was an A level certificate presentation event on 13th Dec. So he's missed that as will most people at university. That was a silly day to it really as the school don't break up until Thursday.
Ds looked much better after a long sleep. The month off will do him good.
I hope everyone else is pleased to have them back. The month will go quickly.

Just sorting out DS's washing. The white socks look like he has been paddling in the UEA broad. He has only brought one of his towels back with him, goodness knows where the other is or what it looks like.

We actually went back to the Ziggs after Bawburgh as he couldn't remember if he had locked his door (this is the DS who has trouble with locks ) so I asked him to get the bedclothes off. It turns out he has left the fitted sheet there as it wasnt dirty!!! Ten weeks!!!!

Ha ha @sluj it probably is just as well I went in and got the stuff myself.

DS didn't bring home any dirty bedding at all...

OK, just thrown my toys out of the pram - I did all his washing (4 loads) put it in neat piles outside his bedroom door Sunday night. It's all still there this afternoon. Yesterday he appeared at 3pm, today I have kicked him out of bed at 2pm - told him this is not reasonable. If he can't get up at a reasonable time and participate in family life then I will drop him back to uni

@NotSorry yes ds has slept a lot too. Yesterday and Sunday he got up about 1pm. I wasn't home today but he met some friends and says he was up by 11am.
We've had a disagreement about the car in year 2 (did I already say this?) he is insistent that "everyone" is taking their cars next sept and we are being very unreasonable by saying he's not having the car. It's actually dh's car. He bought it for ds to use and is saying he's not taking it. Ds is planning on sharing a house with 6. One doesn't drive but the others are taking cars. I really don't think he will need one. I don't know how much parking permits are or if they are easy enough to get for university parking. As yet he doesn't even know where he's living or how far away he will be. It's just adding more expense with fuel, parking etc. It's a long time till next sept. So I'm hoping we won't hear any more for a while.

My oldest DS didn’t take his (my) car to uni - he made sure the house he rented was on the bus route. He now lives in a different city and still doesn’t have a car - he rents a house walking distance to his work. DS2 will be sadly mistaken if he thinks he’s taking the car. DS3 starts his lessons in January so he will need it.

I think it's good for young people to get into the habit of using public transport, a bike or their own two feet rather than relying on cars. It's not only environmentally the way to go but also good exercise and cheap.