Unplugged Chit Chat Thread

[disneysteve]

I miss living in the dorms. It was amazing having all of my friends either down the hall or down a flight of stairs.

True, but the other edge of that sword was having the idiots who also lived down the hall that we had to deal with. The ones that thought nothing of playing the stereo at full volume at any time of day or screaming back and forth to their friends down the hall or being drunk more often than sober with the related behavior that brings....

 

[Eoywin]

I loved living in the dorms after the 1st year. I had some really mean girls as roommates my first year. I enjoyed college a lot - which is one reason it took me 7 years to get my B.S. in Broadcasting. I didn't party, I was a geek (still am).

 

[TiggerTrigger]

It's funny, back when I was in college in the early to mid 90s, we had Good Morning America at a few of our dining halls b/c we'd been rated for having some of the best dining hall food in the country. Seeing what awesomeness makes the menus in some of the top ones these days makes our old menus look like nothing. Can't say I miss dorm life though. Rarely was there a need for air conditioning in Syracuse, but I swear...they kept it over 80 degrees in the buildings in the winter. It's so hard to go from that to sub-zero temps outside. Still, college life was a blast! Ahhhh...life before bills, and kids, and major responsibilities. Those were the days

 

[Eoywin]

I started college in 1995 - seems like a lifetime ago. The food was ok in the dining hall but I was really self conscious about eating alone (before I made friends) my first year, and I'd eat so fast that I didn't eat much. I actually lost about ten pounds because of that and having to walk everywhere.

 

[SorcererHeidi]

Ditto Heidi!!! I feel like I've always struggled with my weight. The thing that happens to me is I gain weight from exercising. Not sure how since I don't eat more calories. I've actually been told I need to eat more calories to speed up metabolism. Sigh. I have a hard time believing it though.

I know too that they say muscle weighs more than fat. Proven when I did "circuit exercising" (like Curves) some years back. Lost 24" all together from between neck and ankles, but gained like 5 lbs. Really ticked me off until they explained that to me. I know too they say it's better to eat smaller meals more frequently - to keep your metabolism at a steady level, as well as your blood glucose levels. Even something as small as a handful of roasted almonds as a snack. I try to "graze" now, and have something every 4 hours or so, and it seems to be working. So I'll say to you - if you feel okay, and your labs are good, and you're exercising, pay less attention to the scale. Like I said - it ain't the only number in town! WTG, and hang there!

 

[TiggerTrigger]

I started college in 1995 - seems like a lifetime ago. The food was ok in the dining hall but I was really self conscious about eating alone (before I made friends) my first year, and I'd eat so fast that I didn't eat much. I actually lost about ten pounds because of that and having to walk everywhere.

I graduated in 1995, so I know what you mean about a lifetime ago. The walking everywhere was a big thing. You got a workout without even trying.

 

[disneysteve]

Rarely was there a need for air conditioning in Syracuse, but I swear...they kept it over 80 degrees in the buildings in the winter.

My daughter's dorm freshmen year was the same way. The heat was awful. She kept her windows open 24/7 all winter no matter what the outside temp was. When she came home for the weekend or on break, she closed the windows and when she'd go back, all of her posters would be off the walls because the tape got so hot. She had to keep chocolate and stuff in the fridge or else it would melt.

 

[SorcererHeidi]

Didn't go to residential college - took night classes when I was in the Navy, as Long Beach City College had an extension right on the base, right behind the WAVE barracks, and I went into the Navy right out of high school. Never did get my degree, but enjoyed all the courses I took (psychology and sociology mostly, did not want to take "meat and potatoes" courses like math, English, etc. BLECH!!) . But all this talk of "dorm life" reminds me of "barracks life" - both good and bad. And also the cafeteria talk reminds me of the chow hall - good and bad.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

My daughter's dorm freshmen year was the same way. The heat was awful. She kept her windows open 24/7 all winter no matter what the outside temp was. When she came home for the weekend or on break, she closed the windows and when she'd go back, all of her posters would be off the walls because the tape got so hot. She had to keep chocolate and stuff in the fridge or else it would melt.

Yes! Both freshman and sophomore year were like that for me. We were required to live in university housing for the first two years and I was always fighting to keep my posters in place from having my windows open all the time. There could be mass amounts of lake effect snow falling outside and you'd think it was summer with all of the open windows in the dorms. That all changed my junior year when I moved into a house that was almost 200 years old. Gorgeous home, but you felt winter both inside and out.

 

[SorcererHeidi]

http://www.wdwinfo.com/news-stories...disney-updates+(Disney+Updates+-+wdwinfo.com)

OMG @TheMaxRebo - thought of your recent post when I saw this - are you a clairvoyant? Can I get the Pick-6 numbers for tonight?

 

[TheMaxRebo]

http://www.wdwinfo.com/news-stories/problems-with-air-conditioning-being-reported-in-disneys-polynesian-bungalows/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+disney-updates+(Disney+Updates+-+wdwinfo.com)

OMG @TheMaxRebo - thought of your recent post when I saw this - are you a clairvoyant? Can I get the Pick-6 numbers for tonight?

haha, no I had seen that story already

... though it did make me think that:

A: If the AC is out at Pete's House
B: And the AC is out at the Poly Bungalows
C: Therefore, Pete's house must be at the Poly Bungalows

 

[rteetz]

College cafeterias have gotten SO much better. I love visiting my daughter and eating in their cafeteria. There are multiple stations, brick oven pizza, a wok station, a grill station where they're cooking to order - it's like a luxury resort (which it should be for what we're paying).

Freshman year of college, I lost 23 pounds if that tells you anything about how the food was at our place, and I wasn't a big guy to start with.

No freshman 15 for you

 

[Aerin75]

Just dropped my DD at 6th grade orientation this morning.

This grade has been hard! I wish you luck!!

 

[Aerin75]

We had a sushi bar... and that was about it.

Seriously, I pretty much lived on PB&J and instant mashed potatos in college. Along with the occasional sushi. And frozen yogurt (peanut butter frozen yogurt day was basically mass chaos in the cafeteria). The cafeteria food was edible, but not always great.
I was also in midtown Manhattan, and we had restaurants and stores nearby, so no need to starve ... although the pizza place I liked closed partway through my freshman year, which was sad.

Also ... we didn't really have curfew, but they locked the doors to the dorms at 2 AM and you had to bang incessantly on the door to have security let you in after that (happened to me a few times ... mostly coming back from events at our other campus, actually). And boys were not allowed anywhere other than the main lounge in each dorm (I went to an all girls school).

Mine was Ramen Noodles and Bagel Dogs from the cafeteria. We had a pasta bar on Tuesdays - nothing so fancy as sushi!

No curfew though. That would have just been weird for me even back then.

 

[Aerin75]

I didn't party, I was a geek (still am).

Nothing wrong with that!

 

[samsteele]

Our university caf wasn't bad at all. I also was there in the early 90s. Usually shake n bake chicken or a fish plus a veggie and a full salad bar and homemade soup crock. That salad bar was a lifesaver. Only spaghetti nights on the weekends were nasty. One day the kitchen door was left open & as we stood in line, could see a cook in his undershirt stirring the big pot of spaghetti with armpit hair on full display. That became salad bar night pretty quick. I think the new food credit trend where you can spend your credits on chain restaurant food is sad. My niece wasted many of her food credits on Timmy (Tim Horton's) specialty coffee and doughnuts. Don't think the universities & colleges are really putting the best interests of their students and their health first. The old line cooks served healthier if boring fare.

Our dorms were old century plus limestone buildings heated with hot water rads. You could dry your laundry right in your room! But cold and damp in the winter. I had a little electric space heater & it was put to good use! The good old days.

 

[1Grumpy9]

My university's cafeteria was horrible...we used to call it Bentley Disease because you would be sick about an hour after eating there. Once they added the create your own pasta bar it got a little bit better. I would just eat pasta a lot.

@disneysteve...I know what your daughter went through. My dorm rooms were the same way. My roomates and I had our windows open all the time. The first two year's I had a room that faced the back of the building and there are train tracks that are behind it, so you had to get used to hearing the train at night, but you got used to it. The heat was horrible. I finally got to the front of the building, and it wasn't any better. Window open all the time.

I loved living in the dorms after the 1st year. I had some really mean girls as roommates my first year. I enjoyed college a lot - which is one reason it took me 7 years to get my B.S. in Broadcasting. I didn't party, I was a geek (still am).

I am with you on this...I loved living in the dorms also. I think it was all the social interaction that was around. I didn't have mean roommates...I just had some weird ones. I had one that thought she was a vampire or a cat and then I had another that was 18 and I was older and thought she knew everything. She didn't want to be at that University because she wanted to be someplace where the name on the diploma of the school meant more than what you accomplished. I had some other great roommates over the years and we are still very good friends.

 

[SorcererHeidi]

One day the kitchen door was left open & as we stood in line, could see a cook in his undershirt stirring the big pot of spaghetti with armpit hair on full display.

BLECH!!!!! Sounds like a SNL skit!

 

[disneysteve]

No freshman 15 for you

Nope.

Even sadder is that in my college days it was called the freshman 10. Now with the lovely obesity epidemic they've "upgraded" it to 15. Sign of the times unfortunately.

 

[rteetz]

Nope.

Even sadder is that in my college days it was called the freshman 10. Now with the lovely obesity epidemic they've "upgraded" it to 15. Sign of the times unfortunately.

One thing I really want to do and kind of half to at least for first semester is stay in shape. So I hope no 10 or 15 for me.