How do I associate a directory with repository?

Howdy - I am a longtime developer but new to cvs.  A particular use case
I keep running into is as follows:

- I have an existing directory of source.  I add it to my cvs repository
with:
  cvs import -m "blah blah" xxx/yyy zzz initial
- I then want to use the existing directory as a CVS work area
("sandbox"?), but I don't have a clean way to associate it with the
files I just put in the repository.

I have monkeyed with creating a CVS subdirectory and faking the
Entries/Repository/Root files (bad juju) and checking out the parent
directory over the current files.  I am not comfortable doing this and
it seems a bit awkward.  It doesn't make sense to me that I need to read
back files that were just put into the repository from that same directory.

One place where I have files I want to save is on my GPS (which looks
like a USB drive).  I am reluctant to potentially mess up the GPS
binaries with a checkout failure.

Another place where this happens is in Anjuta IDE where the files are
created by either a wizard or manually in the IDE and the CVS interface
does not readily handle the transition from 'import' to 'checkout' to
'commit'.
-- 
Harvey