Books

Today, I finally got my textbooks, and I would like to give a big hug to the cashier guy I went to. To whom I went? Whatever. There's a new system this year, where instead of walking around the bookstore, picking out the books you need, you *have* to order them online. Then two days later (no more, no less, or they send them back to inventory), you have to go pick them up at the bookstore. This sounds easy, but trust me, it's not. Okay, well it's easy, but it's certainly not fast or simple. It said on the bookstore website that you had to have an ID with you, preferably a student ID. I left my student ID in my bedside table in Maine (till Dad brings it up tomorrow; he's visiting, yay!), so I brought my driver's license instead. There's a huge line outside the store, and I see that *everyone* is holding on a printout of the online receipt we were sent. I say to myself, that's not *necessarily* required, but about 30 seconds later, I chicken out and run to the nearest computer lab area. After logging in and pulling up the email, I realize that there are no printers in this building. So, I walk over to the next building, where I'm familiar with the computer labs, and have most of my classes. A little while later, I walk out with my receipt.

So, I'm back in line. But what is this line I'm in? It's in fact not the book line at all. It's a line to get in to the bookstore. And there are about thirty students standing in it, with a poor woman standing at the front acting as gatekeeper. I make it to the front of this line, and find out that we in fact did not need those online receipts at all. Everyone just had them in case. Aaaaand, we do need our student IDs. In fact, we can't get a glimpse of our books till we show them our student IDs. What's so important about our student IDs? We already gave them our student ID number. They have a record of all past transactions I've done with them in the computer. However, the new nice gatekeeper girl told me that if she were helping me on the cashier, my driver's license and receipt would be fine. So I stay in line. Eventually, I make it inside.

And I get to stand in line number two! Line number two was actually very short, so I shouldn't complain. Two cashiers opened at the same time, and I'd been watching. One of them was a middle-aged women who didn't seem very bright. She kept telling people to go stand in the wrong lines, and seemed to be a "by the book" type. The other guy I knew was kind of spunky and nice, and had a lot of experience here. So, despite the older woman's closer proximity, I ignored her beckoning hand and bypassed her straight to Mr. More Competent Guy. I laid my case straight out with him: Driver's license, receipt, no student ID, please help me. "I'm sorry," he says. "I have to have that student ID. I just can't. I'm not allowed." AAAAAGH!!! So, I said that's fine, I understand. "And you're open on Saturday this weekend, right? Oh, wait, I won't have my ID by then, either. It doesn't matter. I'll just come in on Monday." He asks if I live on campus, and can run and get my ID. I explain that it's at home. Where's home? Maine.

He gives me a conspiratorial look, and says, "Okay, what's your student ID number? You're lucky I like you so much." YAAAAAYYY!!!! He laughed when I paid for all my books in cash, and didn't believe it when I said I had neither a debit card no a credit card. I'll join the rest of the real world soon enough.

And so began the age of Line Number Three. I got to wait in another line, to have some women behind a desk look at my ID and receipt again, retrieve my bag of books, slowly check everything off on the list, put a silly "SOLD" sticker around the bag, and send me on my way. Of course, this line was huge. Forty-five minutes it took me to get ot the front. And when I got there, what question did I get? "Can I see your student ID please? Oh, I'm sorry, it has to be your student ID." AAAAAAAAAAGHHHHH!! "Oh, the guy at the cash register said this was okay." "Well, if the cash' says it's okay, it's okay." YAAAAAYYY!!!!

All I can say is, it's a good thing I came to school two and a half hours early, otherwise I would have missed my class. It was a very BMV moment, only with more lines.

So, I tested into a higher level of French, but I'm not going to move up. I seriously feel the need to do some heavy-duty review in French 110. There will be two more years for any higher level French I want to take, but right now, I'm rusty, and will be grateful for a more comfortable level. I need this book: