First Impressions of UWM

It’s 12:47am on Sept 1^st and today, once it’s light out, will be my second real day at UWM J

Move-in went really really smoothly, twas a long day though. I woke up around 5:30am, left Rochester about 6am. We got to my aunt’s house at about 1pm, left my poor dog in their basement and arrived at campus about 2. Thankfully we were greeted by no lines, just a woman telling me I should hike over to the entrance, get my picture taken and then get my room key.

Our first trip up to my room were pretty inefficient, but then the people with that clear wrap found us, wrapped my next 2 carts to impossible heights, and I was in. Since parking wasn’t an issue that day my mom hung around while I organized while my dad slept in the truck…. Wayyyyy less stressful than my freshman move-in to UW-Eau Claire.

I was the last one in my suite of 4 to move in. Our suite is two singles and a double, the other sophomore and I have the singles and the freshmen share the double. I met my first suitemate right away in the stairwell. I recognized her from facebook so we chatted for a bit. I met the second one at about 3am the next morning in our bathroom and the third sometime later that day. What a great group of girls! One shares my love of jogging, another shares my love of cute shoes, and they all have good taste in music. J None of us are partiers in the sense that none of us are drinkers. We’re a good match for suitemates and the girls who share the double room are doing really well together.

That first night was long; I did not get much sleep at all. I think this was mostly my fault- I drank a 5 hour energy that day and it had me buzzed. Plus all the sounds of the city were all so new and strange to me. Not because it was louder than I was used to, Sandburg as a building has been a LOT quieter than my old UWEC resident hall, in fact Sandburg seems nearly silent in comparision.

In UWEC everyone lived in cinderblock rooms in a straight hallway line, a room above and below all with all hard floors, and a hallway full of doors that slam whenever a person opens/closes a door to go to the bathroom. You can hear everything- conversations, the stairwell, feet stomping… and it’s not unlikely that you’ll get woken up at 6am on a school day because someone is vacuuming on the floor right above your face while you’re asleep in your loft. Very loud.

I was expecting North Sandburg to be much, much louder given the sheer size of it, but all I can hear is my suitemates’ doors as they come and go from the bathroom or the lounge, which isn't too often, street noises (mostly just people chatting, the occasional honk, and the trash getting taken out in the morning), and the occasional person outside of our suite opening their door.

I do have a West-facing room so the sun shines in before bed and it can get REALLY hot in here, especially at night. Having a good fan pointing at me has been helpful in creating the illusion of normal temperatures... Also, the way the tower is set up the wind almost has to be just right for me to feel it. Last night was an exception- I was attacked by strong cold winds and sideways rain. This was pretty fun and exciting because my vertically-hanging blinds shot up and my plants got watered naturally ;)

The bathroom is pretty average. We all wish there was a way to lock people out when you’re showering because it’s just a pull door and when the water’s off because you’re grabbing your towel no one can tell that you’re standing right behind the door until they open it…. We’ve started up a whiteboard system to declare you’re showering. Anyway there’s a single toilet stall, two sinks, towel hooks, and a shower with a curtain. Not fabulous but it gets the job done.

I love the fact that there’s a lock on the suite door so you can lock that and keep your door open to more air when you're awake. And that lock is necessary, I’m on a lower floor and I’ve already heard a stranger attempt to open it at night. It’s just a little click of someone attempting and quick footsteps of them leaving, but boy am I glad to have that lock. Overall I feel really safe here, and if you make sure to lock your suite door you don’t even have to worry about that phantom pooper, the one who has been known to enter the entry way of open suites and just poop right there on the floor… who knows? But I hear this from a very reliable source.

My room’s much bigger than I expected, as is my window. I called for more specific dimensions about a month ago and when I got here I was pleasantly surprised to find they were wrong. It’s still a tiny room since it’s a single, but it feels like a castle to me in comparison to what I was expecting.

I went and visited a new friend in Riverview today. Their rooms are nicer than I’ve heard, big too. Overall they have the nicer rooms and the AC, we (Sandburg) have the better location. Cambridge is beautiful too, I have to say. I only saw the outside but man, I almost wish I lived there! I say almost because I love Sandburg North. My biggest complaint is this heat, but I’m sure that won't be a big deal for much longer.

I also went and worked out at the Klotsche Center. Klotsche was FANTASTIC. I just wandered the place a bit and then tried out the track above the basketball courts for a handful of laps. Way convenient, I love that building! I think I'll be spending a lot of time there.

Anyway I love everything about UWM so far except the fact that meal plans are a la carte and fairly pricey, and the fact that my room gets so stuffy. Otherwise I give it 3 thumbs up!

...On the other hand, having to buy each item separately has done a good job of keeping me away from junk food. So I spose it has its upsides.

I’ll post pics soon J

Tina