Our first guests

Tonight we had a couple of our friends over to our apartment. They were our first non-family guests, and they couldn't believe that our "dorm" was so nice! It really is! This is not your father's dorm. They liked our apartment, and they were very impressed with the courtyard, the community center, the pool and the grounds. I didn't know the pool table in the game room was a "real" pool table!
We Dowlings are fortunate indeed to be in residence here at Riverside. We're looking forward to getting to know our students and experiencing this academic year together. We're working up programming ideas that will inform and entertain. We'll also work on ways to have fun!

Early Move-in Day!

Early arrival students are moving in today. It's nice to hear folks down the hall. We're ready for some neighbors! Even Pearl is getting used to it. She no longer freaks out when she hears something going on down the hall or upstairs. Now, all we need to do is hang some of our pictures, and we'll be all moved in!

Next week, the rest of the residents will move in, and I'm sure it will be a busy time. I was driving around this morning and happened to drive in the vicinity of Tutwiler Hall. Lots of folks were moving in over there, with a big line of cars waiting to get into the parking lot. I'm sure we'll get a taste of that next Saturday, but I love the energy. Bring on our students!

Victory!

The Ikea entertainment center was a much tougher nut to crack. It had many more pieces, and the Ikea people apparently didn't want to insult my intelligence by labeling them. Despite the guesswork, I got this thing assembled while Suzanne went to a couple of meetings.

Best of all, Sam will get a substantial upgrade to his television as a result of this. The analog television he has now is too deep to fit onto the shelf, so we will be moving our other, flatter television into his room. It's an HD set, so now The Andy Griffith Show and Playstation 2 games will look much better!

Ikea solutions

We're so inspired by our apartment that my lovely wife Suzanne drove all the way to Atlanta to visit the Ikea furniture store. OK, she and her friend Ann were going to Atlanta to visit friends, but they did go to Ikea. More importantly, they came back with furniture that will help us organize our lives.

Over the past couple of says, I have assembled (with only a few spare parts left over) our bathroom cabinet organizer thing. For me, this is big. I'm not a very handy guy. Now, we must tackle the entertainment center. This will go in Sam's room to help organize his media collection. I'll keep you posted about our progress!

Apartment adjustments

We're getting used to our new place in Riverside West. Yesterday, I assembled a bathroom organizer cabinet from Ikea. Woo-hoo! For me, that's a major home improvement undertaking. Over the weekend, some folks have moved into Riverside West. We think they're summer campers for volleyball or cheerleading. It's nice to have other people here in the building. For a while there, it reminded me of "The Shining." All work and no play makes Rick a dull boy!

Not so much. ;)

Riverside - We're Here!

We Dowlings are almost completely moved into the Faculty-in-Residence apartment in the Riverside community on the UA campus. It's very quiet for now - the students haven't arrived yet. The move has gone well, and we are all adjusting to our new home. Getting used to a smaller living space will be a big adjustment for us, but we need this. A big house means more stuff, and this will be a great chance for us to see what we really need.

We had Sam's 18th birthday party last night at the Bama Theater. It was the coolest birthday party I've ever been to! Lots of folks came to see Sam. That kid has a lot of people who love him!

We're looking forward to meeting the residents when they check in. I'm sure that day will bring back a lot of memories for me. It was a mere 28 years ago that I unpacked my Opel to move into Paty Hall. Good times!