Her scheduled move in time was between 12 - 1 on a Saturday. Our trip down to LA was a very circuitous route. Chizz was on his annual "golf" trip with his college buddies in Yosemite. We couldn't fly because there was just so much stuff to bring, comforter, hair dryer, ironing board, iron, towels, sheets, etc. It would have cost us $200 in extra bag fees!! So we needed to drive. In order that we not have 2 cars in LA, which would also mean we would drive back separately for 6 hours, Kiki & I drove to Yosemite first and picked up Chizz. We then drove another 1 1/2 hours back to Fresno, got a hotel room and woke up pretty early on Saturday morning to drive the remaining 4 hours to UCLA.
As we got closer to the campus, the excitement level in the car started to amp
up. UCLA really makes a big production of the process, which I think helps the kids feel really welcome. When we drove up to the designated building, there were students all wearing the same t-shirts, applauding, doing the 8 clap, cheering the kids and screaming "Welcome to UCLA". It was intimidating and welcoming at the same time, if you can imagine it. The parking lot is controlled pandemonium. Cars all over the place, students directing traffic, people walking in between cars with boxes, fridges, 
microwaves, suitcases. Once you park your car, you check out these huge bins. I thought Kiki brought alot of stuff. It filled up the trunk of our car, 2/3 of the back seat and even still Chizz had a few things perched precariously on his lap. Actually she did pretty well. We took 1 1/2 bins of belongs up to the dorm room. I saw one girl take 4 bins loads of things. During parent orientation, UCLA staff warned parents that most of the kids would be living triple in a room originally meant as a double. Translation: There is no room for "extra" anything. Very explicitly, one of the orientation staff told us, don't bring furniture, don't bring big lamps, don't bring stand alone microwaves (although we saw plenty of those being traipsed upstairs) and if you even dare to bring a U-Haul, they would literally turn you away. (Sidenote: Kiki is lucky that she is going to UCLA where the weather is fairly mild all year long. Winter gear here will probably consist of a long sleeve t-shirt AND a sweatshirt, and perhaps covered shoes. Other than that, it is strictly flip flops, shorts and spaghetti strap shirts. Since she will be coming home for Thankgsiving, she can switch out her "summer" gear for more appropriate winter togs.)We met her roommates. Both are from local towns not far away and both seem very nice. Kiki seems a bit more, how should I say this politely, ummmm "boisterous" (read : LOUD) than her roommates. So far, she says, it looks like this roommate situation is going to work out just fine. The first week has been a variety of "get-to-know-you" activities with the dorm and floor mates, concerts (with performers I had never heard of but Kiki was quite excited about them) and finding their way around Westwood.
She seems to be loving it. Her college life so far seems to be full of parties, dinners, game nights etc. I think she has mentioned going to a class or two and there might even be a bit of studying going on but I am not sure.
It has been an adjustment for me. Kiki fills up a room or a house when she is in it. She constantly has music or the tv going or sometimes "her talkers" as her little cousin likes to say. Not that Snake doesn't make his presence known, it is just in a different, more quiet way. She and I did a lot together, more than I think we really realized. She was always up for a Target run, or a browse through the mall, an occasional movie. We had a lot of the same "guilty pleasure" tv shows in common, Biggest Loser, Drop Dead Diva, Hell's Kitchen, Gossip Girl. I miss those nights where we would sit together in the family room and laugh or be shocked at something mean that happened on Biggest Loser or see how many times Gordon Ramsay would throw the risotto on the floor.
My whole life has been surrounded by girls. I come from a family of 5 daughters. On my side of the family, the girls outnumber the boys by a ratio of 2 - 1. On Chizz's side, it is completely different, 6 boys 2 girls. But I have never in my entire life lived in a situation, until now, where testosterone outweighs the estrogen. (Let's face, even when it is even 2 girls, 2 boys, it is never really even!) So these past few weeks have taken some adjustment. Let me say the boys in my family are really enjoying the shift in the balance of power. There seems to be more football and baseball on the TV, more wrestling and rough housing, more "gross" jokes. It is like the inmates are running the asylum. People tell me it is going to be an adjustment, but I think I just need to take more control. Only time will tell!!
And tomorrow, she turns 18. Very symbolic in a way. Her first birthday away from the family is the birthday where she becomes a legal adult. Part of me is sad that we can't be with her on her birthday. But mostly I know that she is where she is supposed to be. As Chizz pointed out on the long ride home back to Northern California, this is the goal. This is what we were supposed to do. We raised a smart, funny, beautiful girl. She is going to be great. This is the end of her childhood but the beginning of her life.
Now we just have to convince her mom!!
