Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Ottomans, Ice Breakers, and Anxious E-mails

I've been living in College Town for about a month now. It doesn't seem that long because I've been so busy.

For one thing, I had to deal with the movers and unpacking all of my stuff. Fortunately, the moving company I hired this time around did a MUCH better job than the furniture-stealing, price-gouging, we-were-out-getting-high-or-who-knows-what-and-THAT'S-why-your-delivery-was-several-days-late-but-deal-with-it-SUCKER scam artists I hired the last time around. None of my furniture or belongings were stolen or damaged this time, and the movers showed up when they said they would. And they didn't scream at me like the last movers did (the scam artist on the phone literally screamed at me when I asked them why it was three days past the promised delivery date and I still hadn't gotten my stuff yet and he just kept yelling, "I don't KNOW!").

Since I hope to stick around in College Town longer than I did in Small Town, I've actually made more of an effort to furnish and decorate my apartment. I've made a "wish list" of things I'd like to eventually get for my apartment, including a storage ottoman that could double as a coffee table, a bedside table (to replace the one that the scam artists stole two years ago), and another bookcase (the moving company from two years ago not only disassembled my bookcase and refused to put it back together, they damaged it so badly that I couldn't reassemble it myself). I also have a wish list of pop songs I want to download, including the solo singles of all the members of One Direction, but that's another story.

I went to the orientation for new faculty at my new school, and it lasted several days long, for eight or nine hours a day. We had to do various ice breakers that everyone else seemed excited to participate in, whereas I was all:


via GIPHY

The fall term just started, and I've literally already gotten dozens of anxious e-mails from students that say stuff like, "I don't have the textbooks for class yet! I won't get an F for that, will I?" or "I might have to miss class for two days in October. I won't get an F for that, will I?" or "I think I bought the wrong books for this class. But it's not like I really need the textbooks for this class, right?" My response to that question was basically like this:


via GIPHY

But so far, it's been okay. The other faculty have been pretty nice to me, and the campus at my new employer's school is beautiful and much bigger than the campus at my old school. College Town is all right, too. There are more shopping and dining options than there were in Small Town, which is nice, because I no longer have to drive several hours just to go someplace like Best Buy, a shopping mall, or a restaurant that doesn't play country music 24/7 (actually, I basically had to drive OUT of Tennessee for that last one, because that state is all ABOUT the country music).

As far as socializing goes, I set up an account on Meetup.com, and there are a few meetups that look interesting in College Town. One of them organizes get-togethers almost every week, and they have one coming up pretty soon. I'm planning to go and hopefully meet some nice, interesting people who I could possibly be friends with, and whose personalities don't make me want to head-butt them.

What about you? Other than Meetup, how do you meet new people and make new friends?

12 comments:

  1. Congrats on settling in and surviving the move. I'm also not a fan of ice breaker type forced situations. Shudder... Best wishes on the rest of the settling in process.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Lynda,
      Thanks! Surviving the move was one of the things I worried the most about, especially because the move to Small Town was so stressful. This time around it was kind of stressful, but not nearly as much as the last time around.

      Delete
  2. Ice-breakers are horrible - even just introducing myself with an 'interesting' fact... How do I know what these brand new people will think is interesting? I could tell them I'm a judo black belt (I'm not, BTW) just to have them all be black belts too.

    Glad you're settling in. The meet ups sound like a great idea - sometimes the internet is awesome!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Annalisa,
      I know, right? Every time they came up with another "group activity," I would sigh inwardly.
      I do like how the Internet can bring people together; Facebook, for example, gave me the opportunity to meet several poets and writers in Tennessee.

      Delete
  3. I'm glad your move was much better this time. Moving can be stressful as it is, but what you described happened to you before is just awful.

    I've always wanted one of those storage ottomans. They could sure cone in handy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Chrys,
      Since the college in College Town hired me months before the school term started (unlike the one in Small Town, which hired me just a couple weeks before I had to be there), I had a lot more time to prepare for the move and do research on movers. That made it easier.
      I've been watching a lot of home decorating videos on YouTube, and a lot of people recommend those storage ottomans for small apartments.

      Delete
  4. I'm so happy to hear your move went so much better this time! College Town sounds much more suited to you - the fact that you have the instinct to make a more comfortable nest for yourself is a very good sign.

    Forced ice-breakers are the worst!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Nicki,
      I'm so sorry I didn't respond to your comment sooner; I didn't see it at first for some reason. Sorry about that! I think that things might actually work out for me in College Town; that's my hope, at least. Somehow I feel more optimistic here than I did in Small Town, but that's partly because I like the school a little better. And ugh, ice breakers. If I ever lead a meeting like that, I will definitely NOT have any ice breakers.

      Delete
  5. I've never even heard of Meetup, but I'm sure you'll make plenty of friends. I'm sure the students will keep you entertained too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Nick,
      Meetup is basically a website that promotes a bunch of different groups that cater to people's interests, everything from writing groups to athletic ones. I've never tried it before, but I think I'll check it out at least once or twice.

      Delete
  6. I'm hoping you will be making new friends and settle well and enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Nas,
      Thanks! I hope I can make new friends here too; doing so makes it easier to adapt to a new place like College Town.

      Delete