About Me

My photo
I'm Kassandra an Oregon girl at heart. Attorney at Law. My parents are both U.S. army veterans and continue to serve in the military in other capacities. I have four brothers (two older, two younger) and three sisters (all younger). I love each of them for all of their individualities and their commitments to the examples set by our parents. Aside from my family, I have several friends who mean a great deal to me. Notable are my best friend from high school and my best friend from college, I'm strong in analytical thinking. I am able to process things from several viewpoints simultaneously. I'm open and honest. Note: I'm interested in receiving feedback on this blog, but I request that the comments pertain to the actual blog itself, and I do not approve anonymous comments.

Friday, August 13, 2010

sf bay area rocks!


so far, i am loving the bay area! i know seem to be saying 'i love this' and 'i love that' a lot lately. it's true though; i've been here just a day and a half, but it's been an incredible day and a half!

Brian and Carla

i was met at the san francisco airport by my brother at a little before 5 a.m. thursday morning. after grabbing my luggage, he took me to his apartment where i would be staying through the weekend, which included friday's meeting with my college counselor.

wait, i'm getting ahead of myself a bit.

Brian and Carla have been together a little over a year and became engaged in june. she essentially met my family when he brought her home for my high school graduation. the reception from my parents, siblings and myself was a positive one for her. i imagine it can be daunting meeting your fiance's family of military parents and seven siblings. i, for one, was quite impressed.

prior to my arrival in san francisco, Brian and Carla informed me that they had a big surprise for me.

my brother and i arrived at the apartment from the airport at about 5:30. Carla was already awake. each of them had to go to work in a couple of short hours. i was going to get a chance to rest after my two weeks in new mexico and nebraska.

i was told to help myself to the fridge and cupboards, make myself at home and feel free to watch any movies or listen to any music i found in the place.

then my brother nodded toward his fiance and said she had something to show me. she smiled slightly then motioned for me to follow her. i did so, and Brian followed me. down the hallway and to the last door.

she stopped for a moment, then opened the door.

what i saw brought me to tears. the bed, the chest, the desk. and a theme of my favorite pink.

i was then informed that this was my room, for whenever i wanted to take a break off campus and drive the 30 miles north. this was offered as my refuge by a smiling couple. i was amazed and honored.

Brian had grabbed my bags and he set them inside. he approached me as i was walking around beaming, a smile from ear to ear. what he told blew me away. Carla had remodeled the room just for me. he said she wanted to make a great impression since i would probably be the family she would get to know best.

i smiled at her, went over and gave her a huge hug. i love it!

college counselor meeting

i met with my counselor at the university for the first time in person this morning. she's a sweetheart and i really think we'll be able to work together.

we spent a lot of time on the curriculum and what it will take for me to attain the goals i have for myself. this basically included the courses and overall plan of action for me to earn the degrees for which i'm aiming.

she showed me a layout of my classes for fall and a layout of the buildings on campus. we also talked about my dorm, parking permit and the student union.

she also gave me a special treat. as we were concluding, she said 'ah, one more thing.' she picked up the phone, looked at a paper on her desk and began dialing.

that one more thing was a call to my dorm mate, a blond girl named Julie from oxnard, california. we spoke via speakerphone for about 10 minutes and exchanged phone numbers and e-mail addresses. it's great that we'll already have been talking before we actually meet face to face. needless to say, i'm feeling pretty good about it!

so here i am, in my room near my school, loving ththe bay area!

~ Kassandra

18 comments:

  1. Wow Kassandra. This is an amazing story. From your brother and his fiancé to your first college experience. I'm super excited for you. Just hearing about what Carla did for you is simply amazing. I think this room will be very helpful for you and your transition. Very cool information. Now enjoy yourself today and have a safe trip back home tomorrow.

    ReplyDelete
  2. i was completely amazed by the room. i had figured i might crash out there from time to time, and that my mom and dad would stay there when they visited either one of us. what Carla did was beyond what i had imagined! it kind of makes sense since they have a three bedroom apartment. i thought it was only two. they had two extra rooms anyway. it's very much going to help me deal with being separated from the rest of my family.

    ~ Kassandra

    ReplyDelete
  3. I agree. Having them there will make the transition that much easier for you. For me, my brother came to college with me so that was nice. Now we room together and that helps in the same way. But that's very cool. So you're back home now right?

    ReplyDelete
  4. i got back home yesterday early in the afternoon. it was a lot of fun unpacking and passing out souviners. my bed felt sooooo good lasty night! Monika slept inm my room too which was very comforting.

    ReplyDelete
  5. And who is Monika again? But I love how your bed feels when you haven't slept in it for awhile. So amazing!! Glad you made it back!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Monika is my gorgeously adorable baby sister! i really missed her and she really missed me so after i went to bed she came and crawlwd in there with me (and my cat!). i wasn't really tired because i was able to rest pretty well at my brother's. it was just nice and relaxing.

    ~ Kassandra

    ReplyDelete
  7. awww how sweet lol. Although you weren't tired, I bet it was still really nice to be in your bed. Home is the best. You really think about how much you have and how much your family loves you when you leave it. I love going home.

    ReplyDelete
  8. see how difficult it's going to be to leave them here -- especially her?! i'm really not looking forward to being separated from them. it's great to be home, and i need to make the most of these last few weeks i have with them. i was so happy to be home that i even kissed my car! lol

    ~ Kassandra

    ReplyDelete
  9. haha i could see you doing that. that's hilarious. ya it will be hard but just keep looking forward. your future is bright!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. i know. it's what i have to do. i'm worried about making her understand that though. my parents and a couple of my siblings promised to help while i'm at school, but i feel like i have to do something too.

    ~ Kassandra

    ReplyDelete
  11. that's true. the young ones don't always understand. you don't have to do something. your parents and other siblings will be there to take care of her. what are you doing your last couple of weeks at home.

    ReplyDelete
  12. i'm basically staying around home; spending as much time with everyone as i can. i'm basically trying to think of something i can tell her that might make things easier for her. the next youngest is my brother who is 12. Monika is really the only one who might not understand. i have to work on that.

    ~ Kassandra

    ReplyDelete
  13. Well I'm sure you will do a fine job of explaining things to her. I hope you enjoy your time at home. Just soak it all up :) School starts next Wednesday for me. So not ready. lol

    ReplyDelete
  14. thanks ... i've got just barely over a month! i'm still really nervous. we have video chat, so i'm going to try and get my mom and dad to let her on it with them so we can talk and that she can see i'm still there in spirit. i'm nervously excited at this point.

    ~ Kassandra

    ReplyDelete
  15. you should be excited. i mean this will all be new to you but it's so awesome and fun. video chat definitely helps. it's so nice that we live in a day and age where we have that kind of technology. makes things a lot easier for us when we're away. i wish i still had a month lol. last year though so i guess i am excited.

    ReplyDelete
  16. it's actually four weeks from today that is the set arrival date, then classes begin sept. 20. my parents have both been telling me how lucky i am to have technology like the internet to help keep in touch. they didn't have that when they went off to their respective boot camps. i've come up with an idea that might keep things in perspective. see, both parents are coming down there with me, and we're bringing down two vehicles (mine and one of my parents'). i'm thinking it might help if they bring Monika so when she hears about stanford it's not completely alien to her. additionally, that might make the most sense since she'd need daycare on account of the rest of my brothers and sisters being in school during the day. does that make sense? is it selfish? both?

    ~ Kassandra

    ReplyDelete
  17. no that makes perfect sense. it's not selfish in the least. i think it's a great plan. she will know when she talks to you where you're at and why you are there. i think it will really aid in her understanding. plus, why put her in daycare when she can be spending time with her big sis :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. well, she does have three big sisters! lol. i know what you mean though. information is king, so i think it could help her -- and me -- with this. aside from that, she'll get to see her oldest brother too.

    ~ Kassandra

    ReplyDelete