Et cetera

Not much going on, you see
But two weeks left until I'm free

Volunteered today and that was fun. I had to say goodbye to a few of the patients because I won't be seeing them again, prossibly ever, because I'm leaving the clinic for good at the end of the school year. Interesting...one of the patients actually cried when I told her I wouldn't be here next time she came to the clinic. That was nice, in a heartfelt way. My favourite patient (who brings in his entire family every time he comes to see us, which is awesome) and his family I say goodbye to today, and they were all so nice about it, and thanked me for everything. You know, it's tough to get up in the mornings to go and do my thing, but the relationships that you develop with the patients is incredible. And I will really miss working in the clinic because it has been an amazing experience. Except for the doctors, who can be annoying. They don't even know my name and I've beend working there for almost eight months. Blah. Self-centred doctors...replace them all!

Met up with a kid from last summer. We worked in the same lab and I had some books to return. Terribly uncomfortable. I hate that. I can't stand stupid annoying uncomfortable conversations, which is probably why I got good at shooting the shit. Because I hate awkward silences, and at the first sign that conversations are going to get awkward with no one talking, my mouth goes into overdrive and just goes. Which can be really tiring, but whatever. Plus then you have to plaster a smile on your face and then later your cheek muscles hurt and that's never good.

Currently trying to study for DSP which is not going so hotly seeing as I don't understand anything at all, but oh well, whatever, it's almost done. I'm just happy that thesis is over. Which reminds me...I should talk about that adventure...

So last Wednesday I finally had my thesis ready to go and ready to hand in, way ahead of the Thursday due date. I felt good, I felt prepared. So I went to print off three copies of my mid-sized 80 pager, which took 1.25 hours and three ECF labs. So I finally am ready to get the stupid things bound so that I'd be able to hand them in to the Division office the next morning.

I get to the printing place (TLAC -- don't ever go there) and hand them my three report covers and paper which they're supposed to photocopy onto the covers. They say no problem, no problem, they're experts, that's an easy job.

So the guy goes over to the photocopyer and I start to get nervous and ask him to do a test page, because I don't want him to screw up my covers. I can't get more, you see, so screwing up is not an option. He tells me to relax, he's a professional, and please don't insult his intelligence by presuming to know more about his job than he does. Okay, I say, well at least, just do them one at a time, so that if one is messed up, at least the others are okay. No no, he says, you're not listening to me, I'm a professional.

Note here: any time someone calls themselves a professional, you should take your money and run in the opposite direction. Professionals are NEVER any good at what they claim to be professionals at.

Return to story: so he puts the covers in the machine, puts the paper page in, and presses the big green copy button. Whhirrr goes the machine and it spits out my newly copied covers. Which are now unusable because he FUCKED IT UP. All three of them come out and the lettering has been photocopied upside down. Frig, what to do, what to do.

Now I'm mad, because I told them not to screw up. Oh well, everyone makes mistakes. I tell him to bind my thesis pages in three separate books anyways, and I'll come back in the morning with new covers and he better damn well drop everything he's doing, recopy the covers, and rebind the three theses.

Him: Huh? Why bind them now? I'm just going to have to undo it tomorrow.
Me: I don't want to lose any of my pages or have anything get out of order. Just do it now.
Him: But that doesn't make sense. I'm just going to have to undo it tomorrow.
Me: I know, but I can't afford to have any problems tomorrow, like losing a page or something.
Him: But I'm just going to have to undo it tomorrow.
Me: I realize that, but you've already screwed up my report once, I don't want anything like that to happen again.
Him: I don't get it. I'm just going to have to undo it tomorrow.
Me: Just DO IT. PLEASE.

So he proceeds to punch holes in my thesis and cerlox bind them. On the second copy I hear a faint "oops!" coming from the corner of the room in which he and my thesis are sitting. What now, I'm thinking, what could he possibly have fucked up now.

Him: So I punched holes on the wrong side of your pages...

Dammit. Such incompetence. Brings to mind the indy that I had to work with for health care. But I digress. He does manage, without losing any fingers or pages, to photocopy the screwed up pages without the holes showing, and binds the three copies, without covers. I leave without thanking him.

Next day I return with the new covers I've picked up from the Division office, and after two test pages, everything's ready to go, and my new covers are ready. As the guy is taking apart my binding and is about to rebind them with the new covers he says to me, I don't know why you wanted me to bind these yesterday. See? I'm just undoing it now.

I rolled my eyes and died of exasperation.