The OTHER Thing We Did On Monday
If you hadn't already noticed, I'm digging the school thing. Little Suzie Schoolgirl, that's me. I'm trying to be proactive, getting ready for the upcoming semester, so that I can do as well this semester as I did over the summer. I'm all about that 4.0, baby.
Well, part of being prepared is getting books. As a result, I called the college bookstore once the calendar page turned to August, inquiring when the bookstore authorizations are scheduled to be available. I didn't want the repeat of last semester, where I waited four weeks for a book-and ultimately purchased it from Amazon. If I kept on top of when the BAPP hit, I could drive over to Tampa and grab my books, possibly used copies, and be prepared for the first day this semester.
You're wondering what this BAPP is, right? When you get grants for college, the college calculates a percentage of it to be used at the bookstore to purchase any needed books and supplies. This is so that students who don't have the funds to pay for these items can be prepared for class.
Well, last week, I was told it was likely the BAPP would be live Monday. Thus, I called yesterday-and was the third person to talk to the bookstore manager and find out yes, the BAPP funds have been set aside.
The four of us piled in the car and headed over. I *could* reserve my books online, but I'd rather grab them live. Plus, the funds covered other supplies, and I wanted the updated DSM IV. I bought a copy of the DSM IV years ago as 'for fun' reading. That's how I roll.
We spent TWO hours in that bookstore. Not because it was crowded, but because I got my books, went through the reference guides for my major and otherwise, decided that I needed a few school shirts, a flash drive, notebooks, etc.
I have a lovely laptop bag I bought a few years ago. It's a simple nylon bag with a Mickey Mouse embroidered on it, purchased when I got the HP laptop, because my old laptop bag didn't fit a 15.4" machine. It served my purposes well, as a person whose laptop usually stayed at home.
Now that I'll be on campus, though, I need something sturdier, something that doesn't have a hole in the bottom. I had designs on getting a Vera Bradley bag in the new Blue Rhapsody pattern. Alas, the selection the bookstore had in that pattern didn't extend to the Vera laptop bag. Bummer.
I still needed a sturdy laptop bag. The bookstore also had some Case Logic bags, but they didn't seem that they'd hold up to daily use. Over to the backpacks to see if they had one that carried books AND laptop.
Major kudos to Ed, because he found a few bags that fit the bill. We got the bright idea to put the 25 pounds of books I was purchasing into a pack to see how they'd fall on my neck and shoulders. Yesterday was probably a really good day to test this out, because both were hurting and I could see if the pressure from the pack would exacerbate the problems.
The winner is a monster of a bag that held everything I purchased and has room left over. In addition, the thing is awesome at distributing that weight across the chest strap and mid back. It also has impressive padding at the bottom of the pack in the laptop compartment. It may even be camel bladder ready!
I'll put a picture up of it tomorrow. In a world of black backpacks, I'll need to take a patch or something to customize it, much like what I did to my 1984 backpack-that we still use today.
A bit over 500 bucks later, I am ready for all but one class. That book is on order, and I hope it arrives in time for class in two weeks.
Ever the gentleman, Ed carried my books for me yesterday.
So, before the crap hit the fan, at least I was able to organize MY life a little better for the semester ahead.
Well, part of being prepared is getting books. As a result, I called the college bookstore once the calendar page turned to August, inquiring when the bookstore authorizations are scheduled to be available. I didn't want the repeat of last semester, where I waited four weeks for a book-and ultimately purchased it from Amazon. If I kept on top of when the BAPP hit, I could drive over to Tampa and grab my books, possibly used copies, and be prepared for the first day this semester.
You're wondering what this BAPP is, right? When you get grants for college, the college calculates a percentage of it to be used at the bookstore to purchase any needed books and supplies. This is so that students who don't have the funds to pay for these items can be prepared for class.
Well, last week, I was told it was likely the BAPP would be live Monday. Thus, I called yesterday-and was the third person to talk to the bookstore manager and find out yes, the BAPP funds have been set aside.
The four of us piled in the car and headed over. I *could* reserve my books online, but I'd rather grab them live. Plus, the funds covered other supplies, and I wanted the updated DSM IV. I bought a copy of the DSM IV years ago as 'for fun' reading. That's how I roll.
We spent TWO hours in that bookstore. Not because it was crowded, but because I got my books, went through the reference guides for my major and otherwise, decided that I needed a few school shirts, a flash drive, notebooks, etc.
I have a lovely laptop bag I bought a few years ago. It's a simple nylon bag with a Mickey Mouse embroidered on it, purchased when I got the HP laptop, because my old laptop bag didn't fit a 15.4" machine. It served my purposes well, as a person whose laptop usually stayed at home.
Now that I'll be on campus, though, I need something sturdier, something that doesn't have a hole in the bottom. I had designs on getting a Vera Bradley bag in the new Blue Rhapsody pattern. Alas, the selection the bookstore had in that pattern didn't extend to the Vera laptop bag. Bummer.
I still needed a sturdy laptop bag. The bookstore also had some Case Logic bags, but they didn't seem that they'd hold up to daily use. Over to the backpacks to see if they had one that carried books AND laptop.
Major kudos to Ed, because he found a few bags that fit the bill. We got the bright idea to put the 25 pounds of books I was purchasing into a pack to see how they'd fall on my neck and shoulders. Yesterday was probably a really good day to test this out, because both were hurting and I could see if the pressure from the pack would exacerbate the problems.
The winner is a monster of a bag that held everything I purchased and has room left over. In addition, the thing is awesome at distributing that weight across the chest strap and mid back. It also has impressive padding at the bottom of the pack in the laptop compartment. It may even be camel bladder ready!
I'll put a picture up of it tomorrow. In a world of black backpacks, I'll need to take a patch or something to customize it, much like what I did to my 1984 backpack-that we still use today.
A bit over 500 bucks later, I am ready for all but one class. That book is on order, and I hope it arrives in time for class in two weeks.
Ever the gentleman, Ed carried my books for me yesterday.
So, before the crap hit the fan, at least I was able to organize MY life a little better for the semester ahead.
Comments