--Hyman Rickover

I finally made it to the college campus today, hitting seven locations there. This was after two trips to the bank, at which I withdrew enough money to pay my student activity fee, leaving me with a whopping fourteen cents in my account. Not that I was worried, as my next paycheck was due the next day.

The first stop was the college library, where I returned two outrageously overdue books. I dropped them into the bookslot and scampered off, as I didn't have the money to pay the fines just then.

From there to the bursar. As tomorrow is the deadline for paying one's bills, the line was outrageously long. Fortunately, a friend of mine turned out to be six people ahead of me, so I joined her, and we talked until it was her turn. At which point I returned to my rightful place in line... and the wait for the last five steps forward felt longer than the entire rest of the time. Still, I eventually got to the window and paid my fee, thus ensuring that I wouldn't lose my course selections. Huzzah.

Stop #3: Financial aid, where I was to arrange for the continuance of my work-study job at the English department, and see about getting a fee waiver for the GRE. The person who deals with the former, it turned out, is only in on Thursdays in the summer. Alas, the latter slipped my mind. But I'll be back on campus on Monday, so I'll ask about it then.

The fourth stop was the speech clinic, where I turned in my scholarship paperwork, and spoke to the secretary about the course schedule. She'll be trying to juggle the weekly sessions around so that I can get one that fits my program.

From there to the English Department, where I said hello to my boss. Coincidentally, Professor J chose that moment to call, so I ended up getting on the phone with him and schmoozing for a bit; I hadn't heard from him since graduation. Anyway, my boss wants me back answering phones (and occasionally schlepping supplies), which is good, 'cause I still want to do that, too. She'd like me there mornings, but as I reiterated, I'm not generally conscious in the morning, and even if I did manage to make it there, I'd be utterly useless. I did, however, pledge to try to be there at noon some days.

Stop #6: The Office of Honors and Scholarships, where I found out that I may yet get that scholarship I was trying for at the end of last semester. I'd thought that if I'd won it, I'd have heard about it by now, but it turns out that, no, the winners haven't been announced yet. Otherwise, we talked a bit about scholarship possibilities for graduate school; they think I'd have a shot at getting a Marshall Scholarship, which'd pay for pretty much everything involved in going to study in England for a couple of years. Worth a shot, I guess. Anyway, I said I'd be back to speak to them again at the start of next week.

Which bring me to my last stop, the Counseling and Advisement Center, where I made an appointment to see my usual counselor for the first time in seven months. Yesterday's entry served as something of a catalyst in that decision; I really ought to do something about the fact that I tend to function only in crises. Granted, it's an approach that generally works for me, but it's looking increasingly likely that it ain't worth the price. Plus I'd like to speak to her about the whole grad school thing, as long as I'm there.

So the tentative lineup for Monday is to see the counselor, the honors and scholarships people, and the financial aid people. And I'll probably swing by the English Department and Speech Center, and maybe I'll even pay my overdue fines at the library. But I'll be skipping the Bursar next time.

Not much else to say just now. I think I'm gonna go brush my teeth and go to sleep. Oh, and as it's just past midnight as I type this -- making it technically Wednesday -- let me be the first to say: