So much to cover... I pack-a-lacked, the 'rents and I went to see Transformers together at the discount theater and we flew to Philadelphia on Tuesday night. After sleepless flights and layovers, we got a rental car, drove to State College, and crash landed at Julia's house where we napped and spaced out until three. We visited Grandma Gene in the afternoon, visited Elizabeth and Michael in the evening and went back to the Brasseur's for dinner. Michelle came over. It got late and she had to return to her stress-filled house.

The next day, Julia and I joined Michelle and Mara for an all-American lunch buffet at Hoss's. Catherine was working at McDonalds until five, at which time I called her up. She came to pick me up and we returned some books to the library and went to Target to look at glasses frames. In the evening, Julia's friend Sam came over and we went over to her friend's house for a gathering. It was my first American high school house party. I realized that I was not missing all that much and that I was probably having a far richer party experience as a high school student in Tokyo.

The next morning, we went to breakfast at the Waffle Shop with some friends of my mom's. We headed out to Strawberry Hill to visit BJ and John. BJ showed me some knitting that she had done in her crafty prime and gave me a copy of a cute Norwegian children's sweater pattern. In the late afternoon, Tessa got into town and I went over to her house to catch up and watch some King of the Hill. In the evening, we had dinner at Michael and Elizabeth's with Ben and Linda. I had missed a gig at the State Theater (the Spinto Band, the Swims and the Fiddlercrabs) so I went to the after-party in order to check in with the pseudo-Delta crowd. I spent most of it with some youngsters, David, Eli and Alex but got to see Devan, Emma, Brittni, Maria and Chris Morrow. (?!) I had a good time. I feel like a long-distance, honorary member of that group by association and I hope that I'll be able to spend more time with them now that I'm in the northeast again.

Saturday, our last day, was also the day of Penn State's first game, a slaughter bowl. Daniel made a detour to State College on his way to Pittsburg and Julia, Michelle and I had lunch with him at Irving's Bagels. Michelle rushed off to the football game and Daniel, Julia and I returned to the Brasseur residence for tea and brownies. All the 'rents enjoyed the company. Eventually, we all said goodbye and Mom, Dad and I were heading northeast towards Albany. We stayed the night at a hotel north of Albany where the sound of air-conditioners from surrounding rooms kept us from sleeping too well.

On Sunday morning, we reloaded the car, filled up the tank, and headed off to Saratoga Springs. I dropped all of my stuff off in my dorm room after checking in. It seemed that my roommates had already arrived and made themselves comfortable. There was all sorts of stuff we had to sort out: getting t-shirts, signing into the university emergency notification system, getting IDs, etc.

Eventually, the convocation ceremony was complete and it was almost time for parents to depart campus. Mom, Dad and I drove to Target to get me a shelving unit for my closet and returned to campus to say goodbye. After eating dinner with a fellow frosh who I hadn't yet met, I came back to the dorm room to set up my shelving unit. The pieces were packed together with zip ties, so I called Dad to ask how best to remove them without cutting. I was glad to have an excuse to call. They were at the President's house, enjoying a welcome dinner and meeting my freshman seminar professor.

The event planned for the first night was an ice cream social/dance. The trouble with school dances is that people who dance do so for about ten seconds before laughing at themselves and stopping. I took it upon myself and a new acquaintance to take the first step, reject shame, and make complete asses of ourselves. Eventually, the entire floor was filled and I felt my job was complete. I met all sorts of freshmen and transfer students and together, we twisted and jived our bums off.

I suppose that beyond this, specific activities are not too relevant. We met with our freshman seminar group today a few times. It's kind of an awkward middle-ground right now, both academically and socially. I only know the kids in my seminar along with the miscellaneous kids I've taken the energy to meet.

Having an entire campus of new kids is certainly much more fun than being the only awkward new kid and I've been taking advantage by doing some social surfing, talking to a variety of people, many of whom are types I wouldn't have associated much with in high school. While this clean-slate business is all well and good and there is nothing I can complain about in regards to the college, I have this scary, underlying frustration that I'm pinning on one of my roommates. I doubt she's the cause of it. It's most likely the transition, getting used to the new situation, that's weighing heavily on me without really revealing itself in specific troubles. Hopefully it will pass once classes roll around and there is some regularity in activities and encounters.

Tomorrow is our last day of orientation. Classes begin on Wednesday. I still haven't been placed for Japanese, so hopefully I can get that out of the way tomorrow. Urgh.