So my day started with a dream that I had met with a professor to discuss my SSHRC proposal. In the dream, she told me my writing was turgid and amateurish--in fact, it was so bad that they were canceling my funding, expelling me from the program, and she had filed papers to retroactively take back my Master's degree.
So not a good start.
I woke up at 6:00 am to get an early start on my work. I had one thing to do before I went to school: renew my public library books. There were fourteen of them, and they were all due today. But when I went to renew them, my computer wouldn't connect with the internet. It was a connection problem rather than a computer problem this time, so I thought I'd phone Rogers and give them an earful. I pick up my cell phone, and realize I forgot to charge it, so it's completely dead.
Thus, I'm faced with the choice of either returning the books, or paying the fine, which adds up when you've got 14 books out. Now, the wonderful thing about the library system at Blank is that it is actually two systems that never bothered to amalgamate. That means that you can't return books from one system to a branch that's in the other system. I had books from both systems, and the respective closest branches of each were in opposite directions, so I had a long bike ride ahead. At least, I thought, this would give me a chance to listen to that podcast I was looking forward to. That's when I remembered I had decided last night to download the 'cast in the morning--and that my internet wasn't working. Further, I suddenly realized I hadn't actually seen my iPod since Saturday morning, so God only knows where that is.
Deciding that I've wasted enough time at home, I depart, with my backpack full of the library books plus the books I needed for school today. Unfortunately, since my internet weather application was down, I forgot to anticipate or even check for the possibility of rain. And sure enough, it started raining about five minutes after I left the apartment. I wasn't so worried about my own state, but the backpack full of books was going to fare well. I drop off the first set of books, which amounts to two of the fourteen, then proceed to bike the six kilometers to the next drop off, then head to the university. By the time I get to the university, I'm soaked, both from the intermittent rain and the sweat that builds up from carrying a dozen or so hardcover books six kilometers on a bike. (Plus, the books were kind of waterlogged by that point, so that had to add to the weight.)
And when I get to the university, I leaf through the soggy notes and papers I have left and realize that I dropped one of the University library books I was supposed to be reading today at the first library by mistake, so as soon as my cell finishes charging in my office, I can phone someone to have a conversation about that. Then there's the actual meeting with the professor about my SSHRC application in a few hours. After how the day started, I am not looking forward to this.
But none of that is the worst part. The worst part is that all of this has happened, and it's still before 9:00 am. There are whole magnitudes of things that can still go wrong with today. I still have one memory card, a working bicycle, and mostly dry underwear. Which one will go first? Place your bets!
Later Days.
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