I will be going back and forth between Santa Barbara and Los Angeles on Sundays, so if someone needs a ride to or from the airport, we may be able to work something out. The Santa Barbara Airbus is 72 dollars round trip.

For those of you that are not locals, flying into Burbank Airport can be cheaper and more convenient than Los Angeles International, but there is no direct bus to Santa Barbara from Burbank. However, if you arrive during the day, you should be able to take the Metrolink train to an Amtrak station, and from there take the Amtrak up to Santa Barbara.

On a side note, would anyone like to go wine tasting during one of the big gaps in our orientation?

Hi, I'm Aaron. I grew up in Los Angeles, and went to the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. My undergraduate degree is in Materials Science. Like you guys, I will be starting the PhD program in Chemistry this fall. I think it would be best if we band together early in order to make everything from picking a research advisor to finding an apartment easier. How many of you have profiles on Friendster, MySpace, or The Facebook? Who has already selected a research advisor so far? I am undecided.
My friendster profile is here.