Settling In

Well, the unpacking is finally almost over.  Yesterday during the day my roommates and I met up with some other EATM first years at Point Dume State Beach in Malibu. After a long and strenuous hike over a cliff we arrived at the tide pools on the other side and set up camp. We soaked up the sun, got to know each other, dug holes in the sand, and laughed a lot.

We hiked over this cliff!

Stunning views from the top.

Sea Lions!!

Our Group :)

On our way home we stopped at Custom Melt for dinner, a little sandwich place in campus plaza which was DELICIOUS.  I got a sandwich with bacon, grilled onions, chipotle aioli, and crispy fried mac n cheese on it. Oh my goodness. This place also starts you off with a free bottomless basket of the most amazingly delicious potato chips I have ever tasted with a creamy hot cheese dip. I could have made a meal out of those alone.

Shortly after dinner I went to Camarillo with another first year to pick up the desk I bought on craigslist. It was WAY bigger in person than it looked in the pictures. Thanks to some impressive teamwork and a pretty good understanding of physics, we were able to get it into the bed of her pickup truck, but getting it up to my room was an entirely different story. My two strong male roommates helped, but we ran into SEVERAL roadblocks.  First the top of the desk was too tall and kept getting wedged under where the ceiling over the staircase juts out. So I removed the very top piece and we got it up the stairs. However, during the struggle, the far right panel somehow got caught on something and ripped almost all the way off so I removed that too to get it out of the way. Then the hardest part was trying to get it around the banister, through the narrow hall outside my room, and around the corner through my door.   This proved to be 100% impossible no matter how hard we tried. We were all covered in sweat, our muscles were aching, and we were pretty much at our breaking points. All sorts of crazy thoughts were going through my head.  Just get a saw and cut it into pieces and we can glue them back together later!!

In the end, I managed to un-do the screw locks on the underside of the desk so that the table top and attached hutch came off the base. At this point it was resting on the banister, perched precariously over our heads, and one wrong move could have resulted in someone being crushed to death. But we FINALLY made it! It is nestled in the corner of my room, put back together as well as I could manage, and holding all my school supplies. My arms and shoulders ache today, but I am proud of us for getting it done. My roommates are awesome for helping me out with that!

This morning I woke up early and went to the DMV. My new California state ID is on the way!! I also registered to vote in California, which on top of my lease agreement and rent payment should be enough for me to establish residency next year :) :)

As promised, I will post pictures of the house tonight when I have the last few bits of unpacking done and everything cleaned up. Miss you all!

Love and bellyrubs,

Christy