mfm

Keep in mind that the you need the language for reading. Most university language courses are geared towards fluency in speaking and hearing as well. I have 2 years of French and 2 years of Spanish, but am not fluent by any means in either one and probably could not pass a translation exam at this point. I am about a 1/3 of the way through Sandberg's French for Reading and have found it very helpful. I have also recently started doing my daily scripture reading in French, which is helping as well. I also have access to a retired French professor if I really get stuck. If you feel a classroom is the best format for you, many universities have summer language prep courses for incoming PhD students - geared towards the reading and research skills necessary for doctoral work. I would look for one of these classes - the ones I have seen run $600-800, which is generally less than a 3 hour credit course and you would get a lot more out of it.

Orientation begins Aug 31st - so my must be there date is August 28th. I'm balancing not paying rent before I have too and staying where I am with a well paying job as long as I can with finding housing in a fairly tight housing market (Berkeley). I'm taking a trip this spring to scope out the neighborhoods and see where I want to be and then plan on watching Craig's List carefully for shifts in rental prices. In the end, I anticipate leasing a place in early August and moving mid to late August.

I use Readerware (and have for about 4 years) for my library. I put the LCCN in one of the User fields, export and print labels for the books on a periodic basis. The books are shelved by LCCN (current title count is 2889). The :Cuecat scanner is easy to use and helps. You can also import your Amazon purchases directly by dragging the web address to the target in Readerware which is nice. However, I would also HIGHLY recommend Endnote - (if you can only do one or the other get Endnote - student versions range from $80-120). While not as handy for managing the library as Readerware - it is essential for managing references (and automatically formats your footnotes and bibliography based on the style you tell it to use). When you are writing and go back and insert or delete a reference, it automatically adjusts all the other footnotes. I can't imagine writing a term paper without it, let alone a dissertation!

I will be moving halfway across the country downsizing from 4 kids to an almost empty nest for my PhD and have decided to use ABF U-Pak http://www.upak.com - friends recommended them. They bring a "pod" to your current residence - you pack it - they come and pick it up and deliver it a week or so later to your new residence. You unpack it and they come remove it. It is much less expensive than a moving company and less stressful than U-Haul for long distance moves. I will pack the irreplacable items and take them in the car, but the furniture and books will be in the pod.