On the Move
Aug. 13, 2002
The move went relatively well. Everything got to where it needed to go, although not without much hassle. The biggest problem was the jerk at Dick's Service Center who rented us the u-haul. Apparently, U-Haul employs bait and switch tactics as a standard business practice. They advertise ridiculously low rates for in-town moves (as low as $10 for a trailer), however they do not take reservations for these in-town moves, and when you go by to pick up a trailer, they claim that everything is already taken. Of course, if you change your mind and tell them you'll take a one-way rental (which is considerably more expensive) suddenly, there are cancellations and you can take a trailer out right away. Great plan guys. If you weren't the only company in the entire country that rented trailers, I would take my business someplace else. However, since you have a virtual monopoly on it, I'll have to content myself with a letter to whatever trade comission investigates these sorts of practices.
Aside from the corrupt U-haul dealer, the only other issue was my apartment realtor. Apparently, he neglected to fill out a number of forms that would allow me to move into my apartment a little earlier than usual, so they had no idea I was coming the day I did, despite the fact that Kim called twice the week before to confirm out move-in date. Thankfully, the apartment manager was understanding and allowed us to move in anyway. I'm still working on getting the electricity and water turned on.
Yesterday, we took yet another trip to Urbana so I could register for classes and fill out all my employment forms for my TA position. I'm registered for three classes: Computer Graphics, Combinatorial Algorithms, and Programming Language Design. I met with an advisor who recommended that I pick up a fourth class, since I can drop it without penalty anytime before the twelth week just in case I do poorly in one of them. Apparently, this is standard practice in the department. Strange.
One last anecdote: the graffiti in the bathroom in the Digital Computer Lab (CS Building) is in C++.