Really, today's thwarting was partially my own fault; I could have stopped by the campus library yesterday before meeting my fellow GAHO officers for dinner, but my lazy butt preferred to simply take the R7 into Center City rather than get off at Temple, grab the books I needed, and then take the subway downtown. So I went back to Temple this morning (which is not so much as a hassle as it is an expense, since I don't have a metropass for this month) only to find that the one book I really, really needed was not there--despite being listed as in the library on the catalogue. I was so annoyed at having come back into the city for nothing. I need this book to plan out my independent study for the fall, so it's a matter of some urgency.
When I got home, I emailed Jasmine hoping she might have a copy (since it's a book on the Veneto), and then I went shopping for a dress for Heather's wedding. She's getting married at 11:30 on a Sunday, which kind of rules out the black dresses I own. Imagine my delight at finding not one, but two dresses! One is chocolate brown and one is blue. I haven't decided if I'll keep both; I want to show them to Sean next week. The pleasure of not being thwarted while shopping was great on its own, but to place a cherry on the cake, Jasmine emailed me back and sheepishly admitted that she had committed the same sin that I so often have--taking a book from the stacks and sticking it in your carrel without actually checking it out. It's just such a pain sometimes to haul everything downstairs, check it out, and haul it back upstairs. They should really put a self-checkout kiosk in the carrels! That would probably cut down on a lot of book-seeking rage like my own this morning. But even though this means I have to go into school again to collect said book from Jasmine's carrell, at least I know I can get it and I don't have to wait for PALCI. Ahh.
Dinner last night was fun, even if my fellow officers do get awfully tied up in bureaucratic crap like whether we should buy full bagels or minibagels for the orientation breakfast (hint: no one cares). Only at the end of dinner was there the inevitable comps discussion. Caitlin asked me outright if I was taking them in the fall, and when I just responded with an "Ummm...." she took that to mean I had decided to wait and do them in the spring instead (which I had totally forgotten was even an option, mostly because who in their right mind wants to write a thesis and study for comps in one semester?). It's not surprising that she thought I would put it off, either, considering that I have three courses and TA duty; Caitlin and Nicole are taking only two classes each to have enough time to prepare.
After Rachel sent me what the professors suggested in terms of prep, I have to say again (even though I've said it here how many times?) how glad I am that I'm not studying for these for real. For example, Dr. West, who does Northern Ren and Baroque, suggested no less than seven texts. Just for the North. Meanwhile, Dr. Silk sent a three page bibliography for modern and contemporary. Who the hell would have time to read all of that, much less memorize it, by October? Woof.
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