College Orientation
And so it begins...
We left Wednesday and we were out of Nashville by eleven am. This was actually on time, as we have a five and half hour drive with the joys of trying to avoid Knoxville rush hour in its entirit but still be there before check in closed at eight pm. Easy, you think. Leave at eleven, get there at four thirty, plus an hour (for the time difference) which totals out to five thirty. Wrong. You haven't accounted for the times you'll need to stop for gas, stop for food, stop for a restroom break, stop for a little shopping, or taking the longer way because you're tired of staring at the interstate... Which totals our time to roughly... six thirty ish their time, five thirty our time. About an hour off from the orignal estimated time. But anyways.
After arriving and parking, I was informed by my parents that I would be staying by myself on campus instead of them staying on campus with me as we had discussed. Normally, I would jump at this, but it was six thirty at night after a long time having to sit still in the car, I was in a strange city that I had only visited twice before in my life, surrounded by complete and utter strangers, and I was cold, tired, and hungry. "Welcome to college," was pretty much the response I received and off they went to enjoy themselves leaving me with the combined cash that they had with them and a fully charged cell phone. "Call us if you need us."
So off I tottered to the room which was assigned to me, which was on the first floor of the hall, arms full with the linens and towels provided to me while my parents brought the car around to get the rest of my things out. Upon entering the room I found it excrutiatingly cold but otherwise stark and empty. Placing my things on the bed closest to the door and furthest from the window which overlooked the construction area next door, I promptly left to retrieve the remainder of my bags, wave good bye to the parents and head back to my room to make my bed. Which is exactly what I did, beside claim the left hand side of the sink and make a little note which I placed on the empty matress that simply said 'Hi' with a smiley face.
Phone calls were made and returned, I finished writing, adressing, and stamping a letter and before seven o'clock, I was leaving my dorm rather sure of myself... or at least secure in the knowledge that I had a roof over my head and money in my pocket. If all else failed, I knew where the vending machines were. Setting out across campus, which was surprisingly light out, I immediately went to the post office where I deposited my letter in the appropriate bin and made my way to the Marketplace. Or I should say attempted to make my way to the Marketplace. The doors leading from the post office to the ramp were all locked. A summer student gave me a funny look as I tried not just one set of doors but two before giving up and heading out. Cutting across campus, I expertly found my way over to the Tree House which was also decidedly closed. After such an excursion and the mountain air, that which is called my stomach felt as if it hadn't seen food in closer to three days than a few short hours. Defeated, I returned to the hall to enquire at the desk on what I could do in terms of food.
The answer was quick in coming by way of a board that's set up next to the tv in the lounge area. I could have my pick of pizza places, each number generously provided beneath the corresponding logo. After making my choice, I returned to the front desk where one of the RA's not only dialed the number from memory but also said that I should tell them I'm ordering the college special. As it was Papa John's, the college special is a large one topping pizza. More than I thought I needed but as it was at a reasonable price and I was rather ravenous, I ordered it with ham and a white sauce, told them where to drop it off, and went to my room to count out the change. The entire thing to have it delivered was nine dollars and sixty eight cents. I don't care who you are, that's kind of a steal.
Returning to my room, I found myself alone still, my note undisturbed and the sun setting. Going over everything I had in my bags to occupy myself while I waited for the thirty minutes to pass until the arrival of my pizza, I finally settled on my notebook in which I jotted down brief occurances of the trip and the day in general before counting out the cash and change needed for the pizza. By this time, not only was I hungry but the room seemed to be even colder than before and I was starting to feel the strain of feeling utterly alone. Time passed and as the time neared, I resigned myself to a night of solitude and returned to the lobby to await the forthcoming pizza.
When I arrived, the RA's were participating in some sort of game amongst themselves and as I walked by, I saw a car pull up. As the man got out of the car, carrying a distinctly pizza shaped red shape, I moved hopefully towards the door. He bounded up the steps and knocked on the first set of glass doors to get the RA's attention, one obligingly leaving the game to open the door to admit the Papa John's man. My stomach called out with a joyful growl as I waited for him to take notice of me and the money I had folded in my hand. Nine dollars and seventy cents, almost exact change. As much as I appreciate him doing his job, I only had limited cash funds and couldn't waste what I had.
Paying him, I quickly made my way back through the small maze of halls and key card areas to the vending machine, where I purchased a coke and hurried past a tall guy with a buzz cut back to the safety of my room. The only other people I saw that night were a couple in their late fifties. I heard plenty of people though, especially with my bed being next to the wall and on the otherside of that wall being the main hallway. So up I climbed into bed with a box of pizza and a twenty ounce coke, curling up on the pillows with my copy of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, alone but now rather content. The wish for music did cross my mind once or twice but otherwise all was still as I munched and read.
Time ticked on and as ten o'clock local time neared, I disposed of my pizza box and ventured outside once more. The night was cloudy but you could see the moon, especially from where I was sitting next to the library.I waited patiently for the phone to ring and ring it did, just as I was about to give up after the third flash of lightning off in the distance. Although the conversation was brief, it put me to ease and I ventured much more willingly to bed. I returned to my room I brushed my teeth, organized things for the next morning, chose what to wear, turned off the light and climbed into bed. Sleep was not quick in coming and it never stayed for more than short bouts at a time, but I slept right through the alarm I set on my phone. If Jerry hadn't called with my wake up call like I had requested, I probably would have missed breakfast entirely and had been late to orientation.
End Day One
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