The Smorgasbord of Douglas Bell

Today it is now T minus twenty-five days before I’m headed off to the East Coast for four months. Which, despite this week’s intentional distraction focus on OSCON in San Jose, is starting to become kind of a prevalent thought.

I mean, when you’re planning to live away from home for four straight months, and then (after a three week break) another four straight months, what exactly do you take with you and what do you leave behind? I’ve never been away from home for more than ten days at a time before, so this is kind of mind-numbing to think about. I was kind of hoping to get a bit of advice from the friendly people-who-put-stuff-in-the-mail at AU, but the most I’ve been getting from them recently is the opportunity to buy stuff.

Well, the obvious thing to bring is at least a week’s worth of clothes, since I’ll get to do my own laundry while I’m down there. (Whoopee.) Throw in bedding (something I wouldn’t have to worry about at a hotel), toiletries, and whatever to get through at least my first night over in Washington, and that’s quite a bit there. Not to mention that that’ll fill a suitcase pretty quickly. And I do have the option (when winter comes around, let’s call it the obligation) to do some shopping down there for other essentials I guess. Or, if I need to send anything over there that I can’t stuff into a suitcase when I take off on August 15th, I also have the option of shipping stuff over to Washington ahead of time. I guess I just don’t know what.

Anyone have ideas or experience in this department? What kinds of things do you or don’t you take with you for staying in a college dorm?