the epic struggle

Today, I had the enormous pleasure of fighting tooth and nail through a crazed line of a couple hundred people to purchase one of the most essential elements of each semester: The textbooks.

The day started out well enough. I had to get off work so I could get to the bookstore in the first place, but that really only messed up the rest of my week. Then I found out that I couldn't get my books until I paid fees at the business office. Did you know that most colleges have a business office? I didn't. Long story short, thirty minutes and one heck of a walk later, I found the hidden business office and forked over a few hundred bucks for fees that I didn't know existed. The payment of these fees led me back to the bookstore to two different help desks and six additional forms to sign. Armed with a hefty stack of papers, I set forth into the mad scramble to find my textbooks.

There is an interesting feel to college bookstores. Much like I would imagine a bank run to feel like. People are quickly walking back and forth, pretending that they aren't panicking while desperately searching for something that they can't find nor afford. In turn, they are hounded by the "helpful" attendants who ask if they need help with such frequency that one wonders if they know how to say anything else. It's amazing how complicated the bookshelves of textbooks are. Are they numerical, are they alphabetical? I mean, who knows? But no one wants to admit to the employees that no, they aren't "finding everything okay". However, letting them know the truth is futile; they really don't know where anything is either. Agreeing to their assistance only ensures that they will lead a desperate tour through the entire bookstore to end up back in the exact location where they originally volunteered their help, the only thing gained from the experience is the loss of roughly fifteen minutes.

After fighting through the surprisingly dense crowd, who all seem to congregate in front of the exact location of the book I'm looking for, I stood in the slow moving line for 20 minutes. No, that's not an exaggeration. At this point, I am carrying my stack of forms, two additional pieces of paper, about seven textbooks, a study guide, and a notebook. I personally think I strained my elbow. Every 45 seconds or so, I'd move two feet forward. One would think that a checkout manned by a minimum of 5 people would check out two hundred students at a quicker pace. After the excessive wait, I gained three more forms, signed about five more, and gained two bags full of textbooks worth the cost of a small car. And it only took 2 hours.

I have a policy of always visiting my classrooms before classes start. This comes from a panic filled first day where I left my class schedule at home and spent 20 minutes convinced I was in the wrong room. So today I found each of my classrooms and determined that I have enough time to get from one room to another between classes, assuming I sprint the entire way. This shall prove to be an interesting semester. Well, the epic struggle for books has been won. Only time and my bank account will tell if it was worth it.