I made it!

I arrived you guys!!! The red-eye was HARSH. There was a screaming baby a few seats back and a child kicking my seat for five hours, but what to do. I put on my eyemask and noise-cancelling headphones and dealt. I managed to sleep for maybe two hours total. We landed right on time and I went straight to the bathroom to get my contacts in and makeup on and just to generally get freshened up. Then I found a Starbucks (sweet heaven!!!) right next to the baggage claim. By the time I had my chai frapp in hand, my bags were pretty much the only ones left on the carousel. I paid $3 (highway robbery!!!) for a cart, loaded it up, and hit the taxi stand. I got a "namaste" from the guy who was organizing stuff there. I really don't understand why people feel compelled to say that to me. It makes me want to strangle them.

Anyhow, long story short, I was on campus by 7:45. Move in wasn't til 9. I made my way to my dorm and the RA behind the desk (who had apparently been there since 5AM, bless his soul) graciously gave me my keys and told me to get settled. So I dragged everything to the elevator up to the third floor, threw it all down and took some pictures. View!

The shelf and closets, with my stuff dumped on it for the time being.
This would eventually become my side of the room.
This is Kyndra's side now.

This is the view from the doorway.

I wandered the dorm for a bit, but there was nothing going on, and I couldn't pick up my ID or packet until 10. So I set up camp by the window and watched cars trickle in filled with stuff. It was kind of amusing. Kyndra finally got here and I helped her and her parents unload their car. We picked sides of the room and started making our beds and unloading stuff. I finished unpacking way before her because I just had two suitcases and my laptop and purse. So I tracked my packages. Lo and behold, they were in Maryland, out for delivery! After making some serious headway on unpacking, Kyndra's parents took us to Target for some necessary things (Cheerios, light bulbs, velcro for hanging the mirror, etc.) and to Chipotle because I hadn't eaten anything but that frappuccino and a granola bar all day. It was around 4pm by this time.

After Kyndra's parents left, we checked my e-mail and sure enough, I had four packages waiting for me downstairs. Now, here at AU, they deliver packages to the room. This is amazing. However, I had nothing to do and virtually no stuff, so I wanted those boxes pronto so I could unpack, shower, and go to bed. After harassing the RA for a bit (not really, he was totally understanding) we managed to maneuver the four boxes into the elevator, and then down the hall to our room. I unpacked them all in about twenty minutes. Now our room is all done and pretty and SETTLED. Check out the difference!

View from the door.
My bed!
My desk and closet.
Our shelf with totes and Kyndra's new tv, plus my closet on the side.

So yes, I'm all settled and off to my first meeting with my professor. We have tons to do today, but nothing scheduled tomorrow or all weekend. Kyndra and I are planning on buying books at the main campus bookstore and some more necessaries at CVS tomorrow, then jumping on the metro and exploring during the weekend. Expect lots of adventure stories!