Texas A&M Recruitment 2015

[Ag_Sis]

Howdy everyone! I've been really busy with my first month of college, with football games, classes, joining organizations, and all of the fun new member activities, but I've finally gotten around to writing down my thoughts from recruitment.

Before we begin, I'd just like to warn you all that I won't be posting the name of my sorority at the end of my story. After writing out my entire experience (highly recommended by the way), I realized that I would be far too recognizable if I were to give up which sorority I joined. A lot of my decisions are based on my personality and personal experiences, which are a bit different from the "norm," and I just want to be safe rather than sorry. I will definitely give several hints at the end though, but I just won't confirm 100%!

So a little about myself first. I'm the first person in my family to go Greek, but I do know a lot of women who are Greek. I am not really religious at all, despite me attending a religious private school for 10 years. Even if I were religious, my parents are not the typical Protestant/Catholic that a lot of A&M families are. I'd say that I skew more liberal on a lot of issues, especially compared to other A&M students, who are quite conservative on the whole. I prefer Stromae to (George) Strait. As for my personality, I can be quite sarcastic (see Cara Delevigne https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8_UrA8qEHI) but I really do try and keep a lid on it, especially when I'm talking to people I've just met. I'm kind of a huge nerd, and I'll try anything "weird" at least once. I never partied that much in high school at all, and my number one priority is taking care of my grades, but first and foremost, what I'm looking for in a sorority is to see whether I "click" with their values and their active members.

For recommendation letters, I tried to get two for each sorority. If I could get two personal letters, great, but if I could only find one person I knew personally for a sorority, I just sent in that one letter and didn't bother asking my area panhellenic for someone to write an "info only" rec just because. If I didn't know anybody personally for a particular sorority, then I just went in one "info only" rec and didn't bother with a second. I asked my friends' mothers, older brother's female friends, and teachers. I got two personal rec letters for about four of the sororities, I got one personal rec for 4 or 5, and then I got "info only" recs for the remainder. I didn't have my parents ask their coworkers or friends for recs because they told me that if I wanted to join a sorority, it would be up to me to do the research and the leg work to make it happen.

Texas A&M has 12 sororities participating in formal recruitment:
Alpha Chi Omega
Alpha Delta Pi
Chi Omega
Delta Delta Delta
Delta Gamma
Delta Zeta
Gamma Phi Beta
Kappa Alpha Theta
Kappa Delta
Kappa Kappa Gamma
Pi Beta Phi
Zeta Tau Alpha

I tried to come up with something clever to work as the code, but failed miserably, so I'm just going to go with the last 12 things that I attempted to cook, just because I'm hungry.

Green Juice
Osso Bucco
Cioppino
Clafoutis
Takoyaki
Quiche
Barbacoa
Ginger Snaps
Pot Pie
Milk Tea
Paella
Ramen

[Alpha O]

Can't wait to read our story!

[amillionlights]

Love Aggie stories! I can't wait to read the rest of yours.

[Ag_Sis]

We had Convocation in the morning on Sunday and after that we were released to go to lunch, change into our "Go Greek" t-shirts and meet up back on campus to get bussed over to sorority row. I thought having convocation the same day as the first round was a little strange, and a few of my friends thought the same. It was way too hot to make the trek back to my off-campus apartment/dorm so I brought my change of clothes with me to change in a bathroom and ate something really quickly and met with my brother to drop off my old clothes (there was no way he was going to sit in Convocation with me with 1,400+ PNMs and their mothers). It felt kind of rushed, but that's life, and you've got to roll with the punches.

Barbacoa You expect things to be loud during rush, but it's one thing to hear about door chants, and it's another to be standing there and hearing it all. The girls who picked me up smiled a lot and it really put me at ease, and I ended up smiling a lot too. I thought that the girls in this house were really easygoing, and I definitely had a lot of laughs here. The girls were really pretty and when I was introduced to other sisters, they all genuinely seemed to like each other and they also knew a lot about each other.

Ginger Snaps I knew several girls in this house from summer camp, and I happened to get picked up by someone I knew who was a year older than me. On one hand, I told myself that I wanted to meet new people, but on the other hand, it was nice to be around people who already knew me so it was more comfortable. I was able to meet a lot of the actives in the house and I even got to meet a few officers.

The girls of Quiche were very... girly? I don't mean that in a bad way though. They were very energetic and you could tell that they were really excited about recruitment and meeting new people. I felt that it was kind of split 70/30, with 70% of the girls being enegizer bunnies and 30% being more on the awkward/shy side. I would say things went well until one of the girls asked me what my major was and when I told her and what I wanted to do when I graduate she said something along the lines of "oh wow, that sounds hard, do you think you can manage it?" Ummm, yes? I know she meant it in the best way possible, but it still kind of took me aback. I began to worry that grades weren't that important here.

Green Juice I was picked up here by a girl I knew who used to compete with my school in tournaments. We were definitely friendly when we saw each other but I didn't know her very well so I was surprised to be picked up by her. I knew several older girls from my high school in this house, and I had kind of mixed feelings. On one hand, a lot of our values aligned, especially when it came to academics and getting involved on campus. On the other hand, I felt a little bit like everything was too polished and too controlling. Maybe a bit snobby even. Not in an overt way, but in kind of a holier-than-thou perfect Miss America way. Kind of hard to explain, but I felt a little funny here, but on paper I think we would have matched.

Cioppino was a surprise for me. I didn't know anyone in this house, but it was so much fun. This was another high energy house, and the girl who I talked to was a junior and had really great things to say about her first two years in the sorority. She seemed like a really intelligent and really sweet girl. She was in the same academic college as I was (different major though) and we talked a lot about the introductory courses and gave me really good advice on how to prepare for my first semester in college. I was bumped to someone else who was equally bubbly, but I really enjoyed the time with my first girl. I left feeling like I could be genuine friends with both girls.

Osso Bucco. I was pretty intimidated and nervous to go to this house. A lot of girls in my group really wanted this house. I just took it for tent-talk, but as soon as I stepped inside and starting talking to some of the girls, I could see why they were popular. My roommate (I have 3) had gone to this house on the first day (I visited on the second) and was absolutely in love with them, and I could see why. They were very lovely, from the way they looked (well done makeup, well curled hair) to the way they behaved (I felt at ease, welcomed), and I left feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. These girls felt very salt-of-the-earth, Miss America-cowgirls. It was definitely a warm homey feeling from them.

Milk Tea was a surprise for me as well. The girl who picked me up had the exact same major as I did, and when we talked about post-grad life, I could tell that she really knew her stuff and we were really comfortable talking with each other. I was bumped along to several other girls and got the chance to talk to some officers as well. On the whole, I felt that these girls were really fun (maybe too much fun) but I did have good conversations.

I felt so at east at Pot Pie. I was picked up by the older bio sister of one of my friends and we had a great time just chilling and talking. I was bumped twice and was even able to talk to the President. I know a few girls from camp and high school who joined this chapter, and I know they really really like the sisterhood here. I also got the sense while talking to the actives that they really cared for each other and really knew a lot about each others' personality quirks and traits. The girls weren't as bubbly and jumpy like some of the other houses, but I could tell that they still cared about each other a lot, which kind of fit me more personality-wise (calm on the outside, more crazy/wild on the inside).

Takoyaki This house had me so confused too. When I first walked in, I was taken aback by how gorgeous and polished this house looked. It was a little intimidating for me and made me a bit self-conscious, but the girls who I got to talk to were so kind. On the outside they looked kind of pageant-girl which scared me a little (I literally don't know anyone who does pageants, and that whole culture kind of weirds me out), but strangely, I felt a warmness about them. It's kind of hard to explain, but I did feel like there was an intangible bond amongst the girls that held them together and made them stronger. This was one of my roommate's favorite houses.

Clafoutis here I was picked up by one of my older friends from school who I used to play soccer with. We were both mischievous devils and our coach gave us nicknames for our playful ways. Okay, maybe I'm going a bit overboard, but it was so nice to clown around with someone I knew I could be myself and not be judged, just for a bit. I went to this house on the second day, and I know a lot of girls in my dorm (it's a very sorority-heavy dorm) who had them on the first day thought that they were rude. I was worried at first, but I could definitely see why these girls could be seen that way. The second girl I talked to replied back to something I said in a slightly sarcastic manner and at first I was taken aback, but then I replied back similarly and we had a playful banter going. I felt like I could definitely be myself at this house. To top it off, one of the girls who is a senior and officer came by to say hi to me. She and I competed on the same tournament circuit, but she was from a different city and 3 years older than me so I thought that she wouldn't recognize me, but she came and greeted me by name and asked how our team was doing while reminiscing on some funny moments in the past. This house came out a clear favorite.

Ramen I know several girls in this house too, and my neighbor is a Ramen (that sounds weird to say) and she is an absolutely lovely, classy lady. I'm not going to lie, I was a little excited to visit here and maybe a bit biased towards this house. Once I was inside and talking to my first girl, I got a little disappointed. On paper, I think this house and I would have matched well, but talking to the first girl who picked me up was a bit... awkward. She was a sophmore, so I do forgive her some for being a little awkward, but it sort of seemed like she was talking from a script and really pushing the sorority's stats. It might have come off a little braggy if she wasn't so clearly nervous. This house was one of the first ones I visited so maybe that explains the nerves. I was bumped once and talked to an officer, and those conversations were fine. I don't think the hiccup with the first girl was [I]that[I] bad, and I definitely wanted to see more.

Paella For some reason, the biggest thing that I could remember about my conversation with the girl who picked me up was "how does she get her hair to curl so well?" I really don't know why. But here, I was able to talk to only one girl for most of the time, but several dropped in to say hi. I thought that I would maybe get bumped, but they kind of just stopped by to ask a few questions and then walked off again. I thought that my rusher was a really sweet person and I could see her dedication to her sorority and to school. We talked about all of the neat things coming up in the Autumn for the sorority and we also talked a lot about travel, which is something that I'm hugely passionate about. However, I kind of soured to her because I began to notice that she was complaining a lot about things. I understand that sometimes it's a way to connect with another person by empathizing with them, but I think she took it a little too far. For example, she asked me about my classes and professors and kind of made fun of one of the classes that I was most excited to take, and kind of bad-mouthed one of the professors I had. I'm a month into classes now and she's one of my favorite professors. That was the only "bad" thing, but because she was the only person from that sorority I really got to talk to, it left a bad taste in my mouth.

We got to rank on Monday night, and if we could, I would have liked to decline invitations to:
Quiche
Takoyaki
Paella

Except for Clafoutis, I was pretty neutral on all of the sororities, so the ones that I ranked at the bottom were those who had a few bad moments. I was a little bothered by what some members of Quiche and Paella said, and I felt just a little too self-conscious and uncomfortable at Takoyaki. Looking back, I think that maybe I should have given them another chance and maybe I was being a little too judgmental, but my line of logic was that they were extremely popular with a lot of PNMs, so even if I had gotten an invite to Philanthropy, I probably wouldn't have made it to Pref, and I decided to spend more time at sororities I didn't know a lot about to learn more.

After we ranked, I walked back home with my roommates and we watched some Bid Day videos from last year to get us pumped for the next day.

*not really sorority related, but for any future Aggies reading this, do not wash maroon items with white items. We learned this the hard way. Panhellenic gave us white "Go Greek" shirts to wear, but we had two days of Go Greek days so a lot of us in the dorms just decided to wash all of our shirts together to save water. Well, someone decided to wash her brand new maroon bedsheets at the same time and results were... interesting. I heard that a lot of the actives had a huge laugh about the situation though! I'm sure it led to some really funny conversations.

[Wynter]

What a story so far! Sounds like an exhausting but exciting recruitment with so many chapters that are all so different. Looking forward to more.

[amillionlights]

*not really sorority related, but for any future Aggies reading this, do not wash maroon items with white items. We learned this the hard way. Panhellenic gave us white "Go Greek" shirts to wear, but we had two days of Go Greek days so a lot of us in the dorms just decided to wash all of our shirts together to save water. Well, someone decided to wash her brand new maroon bedsheets at the same time and results were... interesting. I heard that a lot of the actives had a huge laugh about the situation though! I'm sure it led to some really funny conversations.

I had to laugh at this.... this was SO me my freshman year! I thought oh, I'll save money on laundry by combining them all. Big mistake. I'm glad you all had a laugh about it!

[aggieAXO]

Yes! I learned this the hard way as well, had many "pink" shirts and socks that were originally white. My 12 th man towel somehow got washed as well.

[Cheerio]

This is a delicious read!

Now that GC's 'lunch/dinner' (spam) is for the most part finished, please return and continue your 'meal'.

PS: how's dessert?

[3StringedLyre]

More! More!

[Ag_Sis]

The second round of recruitment at A&M is Philanthropy, and I was really excited to get to learn more about each of the houses and what kind of public events they would hold. I got back my schedule and I was pleased to see that I was invited back to Milk Tea, Barbacoa, Clafoutis, Ginger Snaps, Cioppino, Ramen, Osso Bucco, Green Juice, and Pot Pie. A full schedule! I was really excited to start the day and see where I would end up. Philanthropy days at A&M this year are spread over two days.

Barbacoa I don't want to use the cliche "their philanthropy hit home," but honestly, I would be lying if I said I didn't tear up a little during their presentation. The girls here were really knowledgeable about their cause, and I was really impressed that they had a lot of events held on-campus dedicated to their philanthropy beyond the typical one-event-a-semester that a lot of the other sororities had. I got the feeling that their diligence towards the cause of their philanthropy was a good indicator of diligence in other areas as well. Maybe because I was so emotionally touched by their philanthropy, but I felt as if the girls of this sorority were true sisters who could definitely rely on each other. I would say maybe top 3 in sisterhood vibes? (if that's a thing). I also started really liking this house a lot more.

Clafoutis didn't have a super emotional presentation, but I was still impressed with the dedication that this house put in for their philanthropy. A lot of the girls that I talked to put in extra of their personal time to volunteer just because they wanted to, not because the sorority made them. I thought that was really neat. I was able to have the most comfortable conversation here too, and I was able to talk to one of my passions (travel) and even connect it to the philanthropy, which was nice. I left here also feeling really good about my time here.

Ginger Snaps I had the same good feelings leaving this house after Round 2 as I did after leaving Round 1. I thought that their philanthropy events were really neat and conveyed their message well. I got to see more interaction between the actives, and everyone seemed to be able to joke around with each other and I could definitely feel the sisterhood bond here. This house started standing out to me a little more because of its relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

Milk Tea So at the house before this one, the horror of horrors happened and I started my period. I was able to run to a restroom and take care of business, but silly me didn't pack any ibuprofen. I didn't have time to get some from the other girls in my group or Rho Gamma before the door chants began, and I thought that I'd be alright but... ouch. I didn't want to be known as that girl who hid in a bathroom the entire time so I tried to tough it out. I don't remember much about this house, but I remember thinking that they were "just fine."

Cioppino was really fun, and I think that they did a really good job of making their philanthropy really fun and easy for people to participate in. Similarly to Round 1, I got the feeling that the girls were pretty, chill, and had a certain polish and fun vibe. I smiled and laughed a lot here, and I would have been glad to go back.

Ramen was a little more awkward for me. The girl I was talking to about their philanthropy seemed to have memorized this huge speech about it, which put me off a little. Granted, their philanthropy is a little more "out there" and a lot of girls may not be very knowledgeable about it so it necessitates some explanation, but still, I remember standing still and trying to keep an awkward smile on my face for seemed like forever. Thankfully, I had an internship in high school that dealt really closely with their philanthropy, so I had something to talk about, but on the whole it felt like I was dealing with word throw-up.

Osso Bucco was the same on this day as they were during Go Greek days. They were very polished and very beautiful. They also had an "emotional" philanthropy, and they had a pretty unique philanthropy event that I've actually attended before, and I know first-hand that it was a great event. However, I found them to be very controlled, and instead of getting into deeper topics, found my conversations here to be very surface-level and very neutral and small-talk-ish. I felt as if things were kept on a simple level, and there wasn't anything particularly compelling that stood out.

Green Juice The girls of this house also had a very emotional presentation, and their fundraiser event raised a ton of money for their philanthropy. I knew by talking to other PNMs really were looking forward to this philanthropy event, and it certainly did seem pretty "cool." The conversations and connections I had with these girls though was a little lacking. I recalled the "no boys, booze, bible" rules of conversation, but I got 2/3 at this house, though I don't think it was done maliciously. The first girl I talked to had just gotten engaged (actually us PNMs brought it up because we saw an engagement ring on her finger) and she was really excited and gushed about her fiance. I was being polite and acted interested, but I think my rusher took that as a sign to talk more about him and how they met, what their future plans were, etc. I thought it was over but then she called over another active who was also recently engaged, and then she launched into her story too. If it was just 1 on 1 I think I could have steered the convo towards philanthropy, sisterhood, etc. but at this point there was kind of a larger group with 3+ PNMs and it was kind of difficult to move on, and I didn't want to seem rude, so I just listened to engagement stories for 10 minutes until the end.

Pot Pie was a house where I had previously attended one of their philanthropy fundraisers before. I happened to be in town on that weekend, and one of my older friends invited me and my friends to attend, and I remember it being a really neat event. It was really nice being able to see what it was like to plan their philanthropy event and the deeper meaning of what their philanthropy actually was. I had a really easy, chill time here at this house, talking to the girls and really feeling at ease here. I really enjoyed the personalities of the girls that I talked to here, and I would not mind coming back at all.

Time to rank! At this point, I had a group of favorites, namely, Clafoutis, Barbacoa, Cioppino, Pot Pie, and Ginger Snaps.

Our top 6 were all of the same rank, and I ranked my bottom like this:

7. Ramen
8. Osso Bucco
9. Green Juice

Later when I told the other girls in my hall how I ranked, they said I was crazy because 2/3 of those in my bottom were extremely sought after, but I simply did not see myself fitting in there. They were all undeniably polished, sweet, and accomplished, but I always felt like I was acting when I visited, and I didn't have very deep conversations either. It simply would not be a personality fit. Furthermore, there was a little bit too much "Jesus-talk" at all three of these houses too which made me a little uncomfortable. Having attended a Christian private school for 10 years, I'm used to being around devout people, but when joining a sisterhood, I didn't want to feel pressured or expected to conform. I didn't want to feel judged because I don't take part in Bible study or go to Church on Sundays either. Besides that, I figured if I "dropped" two sought-after houses I would allow myself space on my schedule to give a longer look at other houses that I liked. I felt lucky that I was able to keep my 5 favorites and I was looking forward to seeing more from them the next day.

[Wynter]

Oh my goodness, so many awkward moments. One of my biggest fears was getting my period during recruitment (and like wearing a white dress that night), but I lucked out. I'm sorry about your cramps! That can certainly put a damper on things.

Oh god, engagement talk. That would bore me to tears, same with baby talk/boyfriend talk/Jesus talk. I know the girls are just excited, but it's not what you want your first conversation with someone to be about!

I'm loving your story, OP. It's detailed enough that I feel like I'm going through it right along with you. I completely relate to feeling like you had to "act" at certain chapters. There were definitely those I felt like I was putting on a fake smile for.

[ladybug12]

Great story, keep it coming!

[Ag_Sis]

Originally Posted by Wynter

Oh my goodness, so many awkward moments. One of my biggest fears was getting my period during recruitment (and like wearing a white dress that night), but I lucked out. I'm sorry about your cramps! That can certainly put a damper on things.

Oh god, engagement talk. That would bore me to tears, same with baby talk/boyfriend talk/Jesus talk. I know the girls are just excited, but it's not what you want your first conversation with someone to be about!

I admit, I totally freaked out and didn't know what the "protocol" for emergency cramps was. My choices were to hide in a bathroom or grin and bear it and no one ever talks about what the proper thing to do in that scenario is!

I mean, I understand why the engagement talk is excited and all, but I'm 18... I totally don't expect to get engaged myself for like... another 10 years, so it was like a total shock for me. And being surrounded by 5-7 squealing girls is so not me...

I'll get an update up either tonight or tomorrow promise!

[Ag_Sis]

Our third round is skit, where the houses get to show us all a little bit more of themselves. This was the 5th day of recruitment (after 2 Go Greek days and 2 Philanthropy days), and by this point a lot of my energy and enthusiasm had kind of drained away in the Summer heat. In the beginning, everyone's running on nervous, happy energy, but by this point everyone just wanted there to be a magical Sorority Sorting Hat that would match us up and skip to bid day. Thankfully the parties started a little later in the morning so I got to sleep in a little, which was much appreciated because there was some drama that morning with a roommate, a boyfriend, and a toilet seat... It's all resolved now and we all joke about it but I was in a seriously grumpy mood to start my day.

When I got my list back I was pleased to see: Ramen, Ginger Snaps, Barbacoa, Clafoutis, Pot Pie, and Cioppino. I was happy to see a full schedule, even though Milk Tea had dropped me, but Ramen had liked me enough to invite me back so I wasn't going to say no!

Cioppino: This was the first house that I went to, and while I didn't know what to expect really, I think they did a good job of setting everything up. Very polished. I know that this is the weirdest way to describe something, but I felt as if they put together an awesome PTA event. And I don't mean that in a derogatory manner at all - it's just really hard to describe the mood. I was able to talk to an officer here who was in the same program as I was, and I got to chat with her for awhile before moving on to a few other girls.

Ginger Snaps: The skit for this house was one of the cutest, and in my opinion, was one of the ones that showed "sisterhood" the best. This house actually rose a lot in my consideration. Whereas I had some strong opinions and very potent first-impressions at some of the other houses, this one kind of flew under the radar for me for the first two rounds, but here they really began to shine. The more that I heard them talk and the more I saw them interact with each other, the more I began to picture myself here. There were a lot of girls here who I could see a bit of myself in, and people who I could definitely see hanging out with in the future.

Pot Pie: I had loved this house all along because it was a lot more relaxed than a lot of the others, but when Skit came around, I thought that they were maybe too relaxed. Their skit was really goofy, but it wasn't very polished. It was goofy in a kind of "oh I forgot my lines, so I'm going to pull some faces and burst out laughing" kind of way. Also, I do have kind of an exacting personality, I would have liked to see more practice. However, when I got to talking to the girls themselves, I really enjoyed my time here. I still feel that these girls are in the top 3 in "sistership bond" if that makes any sense.

Barbacoa: I got a really nice homey vibe from this sisterhood. I got the feeling that these girls were really tight with each other and would support one another through thick and thin. They won't judge, and they're happy to support you through whatever boy, parents, school problem you may have. I made sure to look at the faces of the actives who weren't participating in the skit at all of the houses that I went to, and I noticed that here, the actives in the back were watching their own skit really attentively. At other houses, I noticed some actives were picking at their nails or looking at the floor or talking to each other.

Clafoutis: At this point, this house had started to seriously separate themselves from the rest. Here, I felt so genuinely accepted and comfortable with myself. Sure, maybe they didn't give off warm, cozy vibes, but I felt like I could chill out with these girls and be myself and not be judged. Finding a home away from home with older girls willing to be my guides is my goal, and I saw it here. I got to talk about my crazy passions and not be met with a blank stare. I was able to talk intelligently and in-depth about things I loved to do because there was somebody on the other end who had experienced similar things and me and we could learn from each other. I didn't feel as if I was acting interested in things in order to be polite. At other houses I felt nervous, but here I felt fearless. At this point I had convinced myself that this was my top choice.

Ramen: I was totally looking at them with a fresh set of eyes, but the same "problem" with the first two days came back. I kind of felt like I was being interviewed for an internship or leadership position, not necessarily being looked at as a person. Of course it could just be because my rusher was nervous so she just had a list of memorized questions to ask, but I didn't feel as if I was able to find that warm cozy feeling that I'm looking for. After three visits, I haven't found that "spark."

Ranking houses on this day was the most difficult for me, and the most time-consuming. Usually I'm a person with strong opinions. I like what I like and dislike what I dislike. However, I was second-guessing myself a lot. I had firmly established Clafoutis as my favorite, so they were a shoe in. Behind them though, I also really liked Ginger Snaps, Pot Pie, Barbacoa, and Cioppino. Okay, so that's almost everybody I had on my list, but isn't that a good problem to have? I knew what I wanted my #1 to be, but I kept on arranging different houses to be #2 and #3, but I was never satisfied. I would always say to myself "do you really want to drop that other house to let this one in?" People always say "go with your heart," but that night my heart was greedy and indecisive and wanted them all. So I had to go with my brain instead. I don't know if this was the right decision, but after an hour of rearranging my rankings and feeling so dead tired, I just gave up. I made a points system (scale of 1-5) and assigned different weight percentages based on what I valued the most. After the end of it, I ended up with:

1. Clafoutis
1. Ginger Snaps
1. Cioppino
4. Barbacoa
5. Pot Pie
6. Ramen

I don't know if anyone else has ever tried to assign points to sororities in order to rank them, but I found that it helped out a bit. At first I was uneasy about submitting this, but after I thought about it more on my way home, I came to peace with it and realized that this was actually the best list for me.

[LIXO]

This sounds like a good system. I hope you get to go back to your favorite houses!