Well, I have officially moved back into my dorm. It was a much more casual move-in than last year, since I basically took all the stuff I had in my dorm last year (sheets, clothes, books, desk stuff, etc.) and dumped it back into my new dorm. Sure, there was a few things I was missing and a few things that I really didn’t need (like that big ugly stereo which I never hooked up last year anyway :-\), but for the most part, it went pretty well. However, and this really stinks, the Internet doesn't work in my room! I’ve contacted technical support, and it’ll be some time (all of 50 other people who have broken network connections). When you see this blog entry, my network has been restored.
Our new student union is up and running (well, the part that’s been completed, at least) and it looks pretty good. The old student union was poorly laid out, had more hallways and narrow spaces than a meeting place should, and was running into space issues. The new one is completely open, reaching a much higher student-to-sqft ratio. Phase II of construction, which adds the more important stuff (like the arcade) will be completed by summer of next year, so no arcade until next then (unless I go to Gameworks, which is expensive indeed). As normal, the student union at our campus is owned by a lot of corporations, there to wield their brand influencing unto our young, impressionable minds. Of course, I wouldn’t mind too much if the Housing Department didn’t force you to purchase some number of Dining Dollars with your meal plan. Dining Dollars are basically USD put on your card that you can (ie, must) use at the on-campus food retailers, like Pizza Hut, Burger King, Jamba Juice, Taco Bell, Starbucks, Panda Express, or the other fine commercial retailers.
Of course, if you elect not to spend this money by the end of the year, you don’t get a refund. The money is *ahem* lost. I detest corporate sponsorship.