What am I packing? - It may have been a long time ago but we’ve all had to pack for school before. But we’re adults now, we’ve worked, we may or may not have a better sense of style and we actually know what we want and what we’ll need so what are we going to be taking with us?
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Alejandra Rodriguez: I have never had to pack for school before since my college was a fifteen minute walk from what has been my home all my life. I have twenty seven years worth of memories that I have been trying to sort through for the last few months. To make matters worse I love buying clothes, shoes, accessories, and makeup. I have way more than any normal person needs. So what am I doing? Being impractical of course!!! I am taking all of it to L.A.! I already sent five bags to a relative who lives two hours away from UCLA and I am taking three more with me when I move to Los Angeles. I even sent seven pairs of boots already and L.A. is so sunny! I will have to do a massive project to fit all my stuff inside my small room at Weyburn Terrace (which I will of course blog about). I wonder if I will be able to even fit a bed in my room but who cares, style is more important than silly things like sleeping!
Dwight Asuncion: I already did some back to school shopping. :) Bought myself a North Face backpack to carry my laptop, Sperry shoes to walk around campus looking stylish, a Hugo Boss suit for interviews (will still need to get it tailored though). Of course, since I’m going to be a student, I bought everything on sale or at an outlet. For those of you willing to make the hour or so drive, the Camarillo outlets are nice. Other than some minor school supplies, I have everything else I need: clothes, electronics, etc. Trying to keep everything simple and low-cost (aside from my splurges mentioned above).
Kyle Forrest: My main purchases for school were a new personal laptop (Lenovo T420s) since I no longer have a work one, and updates to my casual wardrobe (only two pairs of shorts won’t cut it in LA now that I don’t have to wear business clothes 5 times a week). I’m also trying to figure out whether I’ll need to fit my motorcycle with some saddlebags or additional storage, or whether I’ll truly need a backpack or a locker at school.
Ann Ching: I have actually carried a backpack to work every day in lieu of a briefcase, so I’ll continue to do so once I’m back in school. I have to buy a lot of civilian clothes because I have been wearing a uniform for so long. When I get to LA I plan to visit Santee Alley to shop for some interview suits at discount prices. Another thing I plan to purchase is a bigger lunch cooler to bring food and snacks for school. I’ve heard the days are long and eating out (on or off campus) can be expensive and high in calories!
Ashley Mallinson: I work in the Fashion Industry in New York City, so as far as wardrobe is concerned I’m going to have to invest in a more buttoned up look than I am used to for “business casual” affairs. I was nervous I might have to leave my fashion-forward footwear behind, but was thrilled when I heard that dean Olean says, “the higher the heel, the better” so one thing I will not surrender to the more casual laid-back Los Angeles lifestyle is my heels. I’m currently suit shopping, and will fill you all in on the blog as to my findings once that mission is accomplished.
Chris Varin: After having rotated 5 t-shirts and 1 pair of pants for the past year, I returned home to find that my closet is essentially works suits and shirts so shopping was in order. I went bulk shopping sales and despite some gaps I can now go a week without laundry which is a big step up. I still haven’t bought my laptop although I'm looking at some of the Dell deals offered at the UCLA computer store. I received an ipad for my birthday/going away present which will be really handy (it already somewhat took over my life). I’m also trying to figure out whether I should pack my four different pairs of soccer cleats in my bag as I’m going to be arriving in LA with one big suitcase, one small one and a backpack - I'm thinking of building an optimization model to figure this one out...
Ayushman Jain: Its been only three years long since i passed out from my undergrad university and having stayed away from home since the last 7 years, I have a fairly good idea of what I need and what I don’t. I have been self-sufficient with whatever stuff I have had till now and I’ve changed my address 7 times in the 7 years, so I also pretty much know in how many bags all my stuff fits. For LA, I’ m gonna carry more or less the same things. Of course, for a change I’m carrying some new formal clothes and a couple of suits (being a software engineer I’ve always worn jeans and sneakers to office, so my wardrobe really needed less of that and more of formals). Apart from clothes, I’m carrying a whole bunch of groceries, spices, utensils, etc. that I’ll need to cook (I’ve heard one doesn’t get too much time in the first quarter, but I’ll make sure I atleast cook 2-3 times a week and save my useful gastric bacteria from working overtime on cheese and bread!). The only thing I’m really sad about not carrying is a laptop! This is probably the first time ever that I’m travelling without one - and that’s because right now I have my office laptop which is soon gonna be taken away from me and I plan to buy a new personal laptop only in LA, with the cool back to school offers there. The UCLA store also offers some great deals so I’ll have plenty of options!
Gregory Paige: Like Ann above, I wore a backpack to work, so I’ve essentially worn a backpack nonstop since kindergarten! One aspect of preparing for Anderson that worried me was the single most important item in that backpack, the laptop. Should I buy a new PC, or take the necessary steps to run Windows 7 (read: Excel 2010) on my MacBook Pro? With a bit of hesitation, I chose the latter option. But the entire process couldn’t have gone any smoother. I purchased and installed Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac, Windows 7 and Microsoft Office 2010 in that order. Now I can switch back and forth between OS X and Windows 7 with ease, and the Anderson laptop configuration process was flawless, Excel add-ins and all. A highly recommended option for the Apple fans out there.
-Anderson 14' bloggers
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