I'm orientated

Yesterday was orientation. That meant I had to get up early so I could be at the IMU at 8:15. Being me, I got there early, waited for it to start, and then was the first in the line for picking stuff up. They gave me a folder, some papers, and one of those little paper-thin backpack things that no one really uses after orientation, and many don't even use then. I had my real backpack with me, so I stuffed that at the bottom.

I went upstairs to get my Iowa One Card (for those of you who went to Iowa State, this is the equivalent of the ISUCard). They took my picture, and offered me a free t-shirt for liking the IMU on facebook. I actually turned it down, though they were quite insistent that it was really easy. I got the card, and went to wait for the long introduction speech thing. After that was small group, which let me figure out a class schedule ahead of meeting with my advisor. This ended at around 11:30, and my advisor meeting wasn't until 1. I hung out around downtown, got lunch at the mall, and waited.

I met with my advisor, and he told me that a class that I found to be full while searching earlier was one I HAD to take this semester--it's only offered in the fall, and it's a prerequisite for some classes that are only offered in the spring. I told him it was full, and after some phone calls, he told me to get on a wait list for it. I went to register for classes, tried to get on the wait list, but the wait list site kept sending me broken links, so I had to email the webmaster. He pulled some strings so I could sign up for the wait list, and so I signed up. Shortly after signing up for that, I checked to see if there was an opening. There was. I tried to register for the class, but the system wouldn't let me. I went to bed still not registered for the class. Naturally, the first thing I did this morning was register for that class, which thankfully still had the opening.

So now I'm fully registered for the first of (hopefully) 3 semesters at Iowa. With around 50 credits (or semester hours, depending on who is naming them) before I have all the graduation requirements met, I have to take some slightly heavy semesters--or I could go 4 light semesters, but I want to be done. This fall will be 17 credits--9 Chemistry, 3 English, and 5 Spanish. As far as my schedule goes, it varies from day to day. Every day starts at 8:30 with a chemistry course. Days end at either 11:20 (Mondays without Spanish tests), 4:20 (Mondays with Spanish tests, Tuesdays without Physical Chemistry tests, Thursdays, and Fridays), 6:20 (Wednesdays) or 8:00 (Tuesdays with Physical Chemistry tests).

I may have to do some practice runs on some of my in-between classes walks--Chemistry to English and English to Chemistry. The Chemistry classes are even in the same room, so it's slightly a waste to have to leave in between. These are also my morning classes three days a week, so I'm sure I'll get good at them eventually. Sadly, Iowa doesn't have floor plans of their buildings online, so I can't prepare as well as I could at Iowa State--another way the Cyclones are spoiled. I actually have to go there to find out where rooms are. I've got a month and a half to get all that figured out, so I'm not worried.