
i'm very happy to see the candor, mature perspectives, and balanced comments from you guys. being current students, your thoughts are a great comfort to one a bit older than average - that there are indeed very solid students on campus.
i'll be living in oakley (that's right, not oakland ... oakley is about 45 miles southwest of sacramento and, yes, i'm already used to two decades of very long daily commutes). my s.o. is finalizing a house there for april 1 when i arrive. i'm still nervous about driving across the mountains (coming from chicago flatlands) but will take 10 into so cal, stop for a day or two with siblings in venice/LA, and then head up 101 to take in all of cali's beauty on my way up to the best law school in the country!
i worked at a university who's grad students put together a private dental agreement with a local office, and got it approved/paid for by the grad school (didn't cost them much and the work had been done for them). it covered $200 for two cleanings per year, 50% off diagnostics and, i think, 20% on other procedures. after 5 years the university as a whole took on the program and funded it completely. another 2 years later the university put their own national dental program in place that covered 80% across the boards. so ... maybe we'll have to see about trying for something like that - dental costs can be such a pain in the pocketbook! hope all goes well on your visit - the pain can be literal, too, i know

americangirl, i hope you'll be enticing your mom to come and visit; might help her change her mind ... what a beautiful campus for her to 'vacation' to and see you!
saleen - your description of the rigors of full-time work and full-time night school ring so true ... i just finished a year like that in '06. the fatigue can be daunting ... but maybe if i hold off on summers i'll have 3 months each year to rebound. would love to hear about your mock trial competition experience and will try to pm/email you if i dont see you back in a few days.
for any/all of you, here's a silly question that, still, i find lingering ... lol
what kind of backpack/roller thingy/suitcase do students use on campus? i'm hoping something on wheels wont be out-of-place, and if its not, whether i should be looking for only smaller ones, or if bigger ones are used too (for night school - i'm getting too old to lug around 60 pounds of books and papers on one shoulder
