Current Oxbridge students - continued again...!

[Panicmode1]

Think the other thread is full....!

Sorry to hear that HoneyMobster, I lost a parent earlier this year so know how difficult it can be.

@Chouffles DS starts tomorrow. I feel so stressed with the organising, whereas DS is all very chilled and I fear he’s quite underprepared. I feel like he’s bored of waiting to start so I currently feel quite positive about dropping him off. However I work at the university so I’m hopeful I will still see DS fairly often.

@sowk best of luck tomorrow, though I guess at least he is familiar with Cambridge if you work there? My DD is not happy about starting so late - last couple of weeks have been a bit of a drag. I am trying to get organised but it's not really progressing! Seems mad to be taking so much stuff only to move out again in 9 weeks.

@Chouffles I agree, it’s going to be a massive faff moving stuff every term. I’m hoping he will streamline his stuff after a term or two …

DS finally agreed to me showing him how to use the washing machine this morning. He’s got some shocks coming.

@sowk well hopefully for your sake a DS inclined to take less stuff than a DD!!
I am banking on a WhatsApp session re washing machine🙄

DS takes an extreme minimalist approach to packing. Most students accumulate more belongings as the years go by, but he takes less and less each year.

Examples from this year's list:
Shoes: two pairs (one trainers, one formal).
Cooking equipment: one saucepan, one plastic spoon (for stirring whatever is in the saucepan).

This year he went so minimalist that he didn't pack a pillow or duvet, intending to use the ones provided by college... except the college didn't supply them this time. Luckily there's an Argos close by.

Hi, is anyone else having trouble finding the 4 digit UCAS code to get a student bank account? Her hub doesn’t seem to have any information on it anymore nor does it seem to be on any emails… any info or tips desperately welcome, please!

I was very chuffed (and surprised) to receive a message from DS about 2 weeks into his first term saying how grateful he was for everything I was obviously doing for him behind the scenes and how sorry he was for not realising. I treasure this message because he's not got a very high EQ and so it was doubly special!

Good luck to everyone, new starters or otherwise, and I hope they all have a happy term, that the Freshers settle well and positively, and that they are all spared the inevitable lurgies!

DD is back to C for her final year on Wednesday. She says she hasn't done half the reading she was supposed to, but has finally decided on her dissertation topic (her DoS was getting antsy about DD's inability to commit) so that's something! She was responsible for allocating college families this year in her college (she is elected to JCR committee) which was a very lengthy task. She's also just been promoted in her main extra-curricular (arts related) and seems to be having Teams meetings daily as well as lots of deadlines, but seems to thrive on being 'management' - I wish I'd had half her confidence at that age.

I hope everyone's offspring has a great term. I can't go down with DD this time (wanted to see her massive room in rather nice Regency terraced house) but hope to visit her and spend some money at the new crime bookshop in the city.

@Panicmode1 that's a lovely message to receive

I think we are packed - finally !! It feels like DS is taking a huge amount of stuff but I guess he has to find that out for himself. Fingers crossed it fits in the car.

@HoneyMobster so sorry to hear about your Dad.

Thanks for the kind thoughts. Difficult time to go through and the 'sadmin' makes it that much harder.

Dropped DD off yesterday in Oxford. She's in temporary accommodation until the weekend and then she moves to her permanent abode - very nice brand new en-suite with double bed! Lucky girl.

She has plans to try out a new sport and play her instrument this year. I love her enthusiasm- as a 3rd Year it would be tempting to just keep on with her previous activities. Maybe it's a bit different when you have 6 years to fill!

DH and DS are on the way to C now...big shop done last night, so hopefully he won't starve.

I don't think we will see him much this year. He's going on the Varsity ski trip, and we are going away together at Xmas, but he's already said he wants to stay up for the Easter break to work - he finds it impossible in the house with all of us there apparently!

All the best for settling in for DCs.

I am taking DD up on Saturday and once unpacked will then go to farawaysburys which she is excited about, it seems to have a mythical quality when you are used to only shopping in mainsbury's apparently! I am half expecting to see Shrek on an escapde there. 😂.

We've had a discussion about Christmas, last year she was home the first few days of December but term seems to finish that bit later this year. We have a tradition of putting on the decorations together and talking about what they mean as we do it. We start with a pot of tea and usually progress to fizz. We buy a decoration whenever we go on holiday or visit a place for the first time, most recent one was from the Opera House, the oldest a 'baby's first Christmas' but my favourite is an angel made by DD when she was about 2 with (very battered) doiley wings.. It is such a lovely thing to do and is our form of gratitude for happy memories. We wallow a bit in those happy memories and look forward to more. The tree will just have to go up later! I know a time will come when we are not doing the decoration together so making the most of while we still can.

@PettsWoodParadise I love your description of putting up decorations - we have all sorts on our tree - many of the best being one's they made in primary school or at parties. A golf ball angel with gold tinsel hair being my favourite. We don't decorate until Christmas Eve so both DC back by then. DC2 will be thrown out at the end of 8th week so back quite early.

Poor DS arrived to be given the 'wrong' room - except it wasn't, he put the wrong choice down in the ballot. So he's got a single not a double and a very low ceiling (he's 6ft 4) but there's no space/chance to change. Luckily his GF balloted first so she's got the best room in college thus I think he won't be spending too much time there.

Happy terms all - 'once more into the breach dear friends'....

And @PettsWoodParadise can relate to your Christmas tree decorations - with four children, ours is a riot of various 'favourites' collected over the years. And decorating the tree with fizz is a ritual. However, we are away for the whole of the school Christmas hols this year, so not sure we will even have one 😱😥

@PettsWoodParadise We have a similar putting up the Christmas tree afternoon/evening with tea, then fizz. We have to get a bigger tree every year to accommodate the ever increasing baublage. We also have doily winged angels from nursery class and a mixture of Christmas promises, significant tickets, family heirlooms and tat. Mainly tat.

@JulesJules 'baublage' may I approporiate that word? I just love it!

@Panicmode1 sorry to hear about your DS's room mix-up, I think that is one reason DD decided to squat this year, the thought of a room worse than hers was just not bearable. She should be high up in the ballot next time round as she got such a low position last year.

@PettsWoodParadise Of course!

Hope the move went well @SOWK . Packing seems to be taking days - no idea if she’s over packing !

Thanks @Chouffles, it went well and there were some really sweet 2yrs helping to carry bags etc and chatting to the freshers which helped.
I think it’s early days for DS. He’s struggling a bit with remembering to book in for meals and I think he just has to be patient about finding friends.
When does your DD move in?

We're travelling on Monday and currently wading through bags and boxes of 'stuff' and having fun with vacuum bags. I suspect once she realises this is a several-times-a-year process, she will have a different view on 'essentials'. Later today I will order duvet and pillows for collection in store when we get there. My daugther has chosen every meal for dinner this week and it's suddenly really feeling like it's all happening.

@WutheringConniption best of luck with the move. Is that Cambridge too?

@sowk glad the move went well. It is going to take a while to acclimatise I expect. I didn’t know they had to book meals. We go tomorrow morning . I am feeling really weird about it all today - excited for her of course but it’s still hard!

@Chouffles thank you - she's going to Oxford. Best of luck to you too!