8 Simple Rules...

...for moving into a shoe box.

Just some ramblings this Saturday morning as I work on dorm room design for daughter # 2.

1. If your roommate resists all efforts to be contacted before move in day and never actually shows up until the night before classes, it’s a safe bet that you will have to room to yourself every weekend.

2. If you let Dad deal with the tech issues and lift heavy furniture, he will be too occupied to express an opinion about anything else.

3. If you discover that your roommate’s legal given name is “Princess”, you might end up living in a Barbie Dream House.

That room belonged to a friend’s daughter… whose single contribution was the comforter on the top bunk.
There was pink and purple tulle at the windows before the day was done.

Her dad just dealt with tech issues and lifted heavy furniture.

4. Residence Life will probably recommend 3M strips to hang things on the walls.

They say that they will not leave a mark on the wall.

I say, “Liar Liar Pants on Fire.”

5. The scratch that was not noticeable enough to be recorded the day your child moves in will be noticed enough to be recorded… with a fee attached… on the day she moves out.

We learned our lesson about this the freshman year.

 Now, before she signs the check- in list, we scrutinize the room and record every smudge.

And since we have that shiny red Kodak,

 I take pictures of offending smudges for evidence.

Because you’ll need it.

 Miss Check- Out Girl was about to nail us for a smudge violation

in May

until I mentioned that I had taken a picture of it

in August.

I guess they had to make up the damage fee quota another way.

6. Damage fees run about $50.00 per smudge even though you could repaint the entire room for about $25.00.

7. This fact is irrelevant because they neither repaint the room nor repair the damage anyway. They merely record it and charge for it. If your child has a dorm smudge, you might consider framing it. It’s fine art… which will eventually be valued by Residence Life at a price roughly equal to a year’s tuition.

8. If this post is in any way interpreted as a criticism of Mercer University Residence Life…

….then I am an excellent communicator

attempting to use THAT INCREDIBLE POWER  of my blog.