I'm a student

I went to Algonquin today, with the intention of finding out if I had been accepted to my program, and if so, to find out when I could register. The registrar's office was a zoo, and I had to wait in two different lines, but finally I got to talk to an admissions person, with most favourable results.

She made a call to the course coordinator, and he told her that I had been accepted. After getting an email for posterity, she registered me for my courses and took part of the tuition payment. After printing a copy of my timetable, she showed me where to get a student card, and I was off for another long wait. The entire process, aside from waiting, took less than 20 minutes, and even with waiting took less than an hour.

The line for a student card was much, much longer than the line at the registrar's office, and after just over an hour I was in the chair getting my picture taken. It turned out terribly, as was to be expected, but at least I have a card.

Following that I bought a notebook and a pen, and then went off to Tim Hortons before class. I wasn't expecting the process to go so smoothly so I didn't bring a pen or a book or even a bag to carry stuff in. An oversight on my part, but everything fit into the bag I got from the bookstore, luckily.

My initial impression of Algonquin was that there was food everywhere. I think every building has a food market of some type, and there's one whole building dedicated to the food court. I didn't go there, but I'm sure I will someday. Following that, I noticed that things aren't placed very conveniently. There are many places where there are vending machines with no change machine nearby, a fact I noticed very acutely between classes.

I had a class that ended early, so we all had an hour and a half to kill. I was hungry, having not eaten anything since a bagel for breakfast and a cup of coffee, so I set off in search of an ATM, and then something to buy with the money.

The ATM search didn't go so well. I knew there were some around, but I couldn't remember where I had seen them, so I just kept wandering around. Finally I found one in the main building lobby, but it was out of order. After cursing a bit I wandered off again, and finally found an old machine that miraculously still worked. As soon as I had the money, every food outlet on campus closed, so I started searching for a change machine so that I could have a vending machine feast.

Now that I know where a few change machines are, I have to wonder why they decided to put them where they did. Sure the one I used was beside some vending machines, but they were on the 3rd floor, and not even in the main part of the hall. There's another one outside the main entrance, and I think I saw another one but I'm not sure. I put in my $20 and got all the change in loonies. Wonderful.

The building I was in at the time is a maze. Its twisting halls of insanity wrap around a core of malice, and only throught blind hope does anyone manage to find the room they're looking for. I felt my sanity slipping away a little more every second I spent in it, and I got lost twice. Not just lost, REALLY lost. As in, hoping I see something familiar soon, wondering if I'm ever going to get out, despair setting in lost. A map would have been useless, as this place obeys no laws of architecture or physics.

I was lucky to find someone who knew the way out, and escaped with my life intact. But that's a tale for another day.

I think I'm going to like this course. It'll probably be a lot of work, but it sounds interesting enough to be worthwhile. I hope I'm right.