GRIP :: Check-in Day

After an uneventful 335 mile drive, I arrived at La Roche College early Sunday afternoon. The directions provided and numerous signs posted on campus made it easy to find the check-in station. I was greeted with smiles and laughter as I walked into Bold Hall.

I was a bit early and couldn't get into my room right away so found a chair and took a quick look at the course notebook for Thomas Jones' Advanced Research Methods. That first glimpse made me wonder just what I had gotten myself into! The 3-ring binder was jam-packed with syllabus material and handouts.

A short time later they began giving out room keys. By the time several trips had been made out to the van and back to the room, I was drenched in sweat. The humidity and heat was almost unbearable. Thank goodness the dorm rooms are air-conditioned. The facilities are nice. Nothing fancy but nice. A bathroom, a refrigerator, a microwave, a desk to work at, a chair to sit in, a bed to sleep in and internet access. What more do you need?

Supper-time rolled around quickly and I found my way to the classroom. The campus of La Roche College is small - the dorm is across a small parking lot from the building that houses the classrooms and cafeteria. Close together and convenient.

When we checked in we were given color-coded name tags. The various colors indicated which class you were attending. Advanced Research Methods was coded yellow. I saw a number of yellow-tagged individuals waiting for the cafeteria to open and introduced myself. Welcomed into their little group, I joined them for supper.

Later in the evening I saw the familiar faces of Shelley Bishop and Denise Levenick. There was a short meeting after supper then Denise and I decided to explore the area a bit. We spent an hour or so in a little "pub" getting caught up on everything and just chilling out before the challenging week ahead.

I should probably mention that Tom Jones was in the cafeteria line just in front of me. At one point he turned around, smiled and said hello. I responded with a smile and the first comment that popped into my head and came out of my mouth was "I'm afraid of you!" and I laughed. He smiled pleasantly and said "You're in my class?" We chatted briefly about the homework. His advice to me was "Get a good nights' sleep!" then as he turned and walked away he smiled broadly and chuckled.

It's going to be a very interesting week!