Baseless Fright!

Last semester when I went to talk to one of my professors regarding a course he is teaching this semester,  after he explained what the course was all about, and I showed interested in wanting to take it, he asked me if I had any experience with the software package we are going to be using extensively in that class. When I said no, he said, it might be beneficial for me to familiarize myself with that program during the break.

Last Monday afternoon, after I made dinner, while I was waiting for my mom to finish her walk, I decided to see how I could access this program remotely. I checked the school's IT site, searching for any info about this program, to no avail. I called them, and I was told, no sorry, this particular software can't be accessed remotely because of a licensing issue. The guy on the phone was very helpful, he told me where I could go, during the break that most labs are closed at school, to be able to access a computer with this program on it.

As the IT person was giving me the information about the whereabouts of the lab I realized something! I have been going to school for one whole semester now, and I have only been to my department's building and libraries. Well, OK, one time I was in the Registrar's office, the first day, to have my picture taken for my ID. OK one more, I also have been to student center, where the cafeteria and the bookstore are located. But that is it. That is how familiar I am with my graduate school.

All my three classes have been in my department's building. My three professors, my academic advisor, the graduate director I interviewed with, and the professor I went to talk to about a possible research interest who has appointments from two departments, all have offices in my department's building.

Now I was comparing my first semester as a graduate student to my first semester as an undergrad. I had taken five classes, from five different departments, located in four buildings, in my first semester of undergrad. So that is four building I was familiar with completely by the end of the semester. I lived in a dorm, thus another building I was familiar with. My friends, who also lived in the same floor with me, majored in various subjects. We often talked about our classes, so I knew more or less where their departments were, in which building, and where it was located on campus. I probably even knew if the building was old or new, if the windows open or not, lol, if the classrooms where cold or stuffy, lol. Yes, as an undergrad, my friends and I talked about these important facts, lol. What I am saying is that after the first semester, I truly knew my school, we sort of owned it. But as a graduate student, after one semester, I am still a foreigner to the campus.

Anyhow, what was I saying, right, just before 8 am on Tuesday, my mom dropped me off in front of the Information Technology/Computer Science building, where I was told I could get an access to computers that had the program I wanted to familiarize myself with. As I went to enter the building, I realized that the door was locked. I was trying to decide if I was at the wrong entrance or was it too early, that a security guard exited the building. I asked to be let in. He asked for my ID. When I handed it to him, he checked it, and told me that I had permission to enter my department's building off hours. That was news to me, lol, I had no idea that this kind of information was encoded into my ID. He continued that if I wanted, I could ask my department to notify the IT people, and they would be able to code my ID so I could enter this building off hours as well. I thanked him, took my ID, put it back in my wallet, and entered the building.

I walked in, oriented myself, and started walking toward the room number I was giving. I got there, and sit at the first computer. Suddenly I felt a drift, looked up, and saw that someone had left a window open. Of course I couldn't reach the window to close it, so I got up and moved to another station, far away from the open window. Sit down, logged in, loaded the program I needed, and started exploring.

You know, when you really are not familiar with a topic, basically you don't know what kind of problems this topic addresses, and how it proceeds to solve them, how do you expect to learn a software program that addresses those problems and tries to solve those problems!

To me it was as if someone had given me a flashlight and told me to walk through a dark building. So yes, with the flashlight I could see where I was going. But if I didn't know where my destination was, what floor, and what room number, I am basically lost! That is exactly how I felt trying to navigate that software. I found some examples on the web, tried them, they worked, but I was still lost!

Frustrated, I realized that it was after 1:30. I got up to go to the library to checkout couple of books I wanted and to return a few I had read already. I knew their call numbers, so I proceeded to the right floor, found the books I wanted, and came down to check them out. I needed my ID, which was in my wallet, which was supposedly in my bag. But no, the wallet was nowhere to be found in my bag!

Scared that I had lost my wallet I run back to the IT/CS building, hoping that I had left my wallet there.

No one was sitting at the station that I was at all morning. I looked around, nothing. I thought maybe when I moved first thing in the morning, from where it was too cold to a warmer side, I left my wallet there. It made sense! I remembered that I never put my wallet back into my bag, for some dumb reason! I walked toward that station. A student was sitting there. I asked him if he had seen a wallet and he said no, he continued that he just got there. He probably felt sorry for me, lol, told me to check with the helpdesk, and pointed me toward the helpdesk.

I walked toward the helpdesk and asked the person behind the desk if she knows whether a wallet has been found. She told me to wait, and called someone on the phone! After a few yes and no, she hung up, dialed another number, and started asking if a wallet has been found. She then asked me to describe my wallet, which I did, and she repeated my description to the person on the phone. Suddenly I saw a smile on her face, and she told me that yes my wallet was found this morning by one of the programmers. She told me to wait there and he was going to bring it by.

Finally calmed, a minute later, a cute guy, lol, with wide smile entered the area, and hand me my wallet. I was so happy, and started to thank him profusely.

I was about to put my wallet in my bag, what I should have done in the morning, when the cute guy asked me, wasn't I going to check my wallet, making sure all my money was still in there. I jokingly told him, what money, I am a graduate student, I have no money! He laughed and said, I thought I knew all the PhD students in the department. I corrected him that I was neither a PhD student nor a IT/CS major. He then asked me if I wasn't a PhD student what I was doing there that early in the morning! I explained that I was trying to familiarize myself with a computer program, and continued to explain that I didn't make much progress. He told me that I should check the training schedule. He said that the IT department offers training classes, during the semester, for every program installed on these computers. Another thing I learned, lol. I thanked him again and said that for sure I shall take advantage of training classes.

I then walked back to the library, where I had left the books I wanted to checkout, without any explanation, and was hoping that they were still there! I got there, the books were still there, I checked them out, came out of the library right at the moment my mom got there!

It was then that I realized all that worry and getting scared and anxious that I had lost my wallet was for nothing. I have no idea why I reacted the way I did! I had anticipated losing my wallet early last semester, and I had trimmed down my wallet substantially!

At the beginning of the last semester, one early evening, when I was still at the library, I got a call from my dad. I had talked to my mom a bit earlier, and I had told them that I was going to stay with them that night. Everything was all set, and I knew my dad was home. So when my phone ring and I saw my dad's cell number, I basically panicked. Suddenly all the frightening thoughts that could come to my mind came. In that split second that I saw the number and I hit the talk button, I imagined that something bad must have happened to either my mom, or my dad, and now someone was calling me with my dad's cell phone to let me know.

I answered the phone while walking toward the stairs, where I thought I might not bother anyone while speaking. How grateful I was that when I answered the phone, right away my dad asked, if I had a few minutes so that he could ask a quick computer questions. He told me that mom was on the landline and was talking to her friend, so he had called me on his cell. I knew that when my mom and her friend talk, they talk for good couple of hours, lol.

Anyhow, I walked out of the library, while explaining to my dad what he should do. Our conversation lasted about half an hour, and when I got back to the library where I had left my stuff, I realized that my bag was completely open and my wallet complete exposed. Yes, someone could have walked away with my wallet, but thankfully, that was the main library where IDs are checked, and only people associated with the university are allowed in. I knew no one associated with the university would walk away with my wallet. But other libraries I frequented, there was no ID checking, anyone could walk in, and so that night I decided to clean my wallet.

The first thing that came out of my thick wallet was my checkbook. I can't believe that I was still caring my checkbook! I think I had not written a check maybe for over a year and I was still caring it. You know, I think one of the things going away for good this decade is checks, lol.

Next was my driver's license. I figured I don't have a car, I don't drive anyone else's car, so why carry my driver's license. I needed a picture ID, and I had my school ID.

Next was my bank debt card. That was what I always used, but since starting school, I had decided to charge everything to my credit card, including groceries, so I have control over my spending.

Next were all my other credit cards, except the one I was going to use.

So I was left with my student ID card, my health insurance card, and my one credit card that I had since I was a sophomore in college.

Right then I decided to reduce my credit on that card to $500. I had a budget of $250 per month, and so $500 credit line was good enough. Just to be on the safe side, after I called to reduce my credit line, I saved the customer service number into my phonebook, so that if by a slim chance I lost my wallet, I would be able to notify them right away.

So I had three easily replaceable/damage proof cards in my wallet. My student ID could have been replaced in a few minutes, with a better picture one could hope for, for a fee of course. I had a spare health insurance card at home, and my credit card with very limited credit could have been cancelled with one phone call, and replacement sent right away! Truly there was no money in my wallet, now why did I get that anxious, and acted that way, for losing my wallet is beyond me.

No, the wallet itself is not that special either. So basically I have no excuse!   

Actually after I checked my wallet, I realized that I have five cards in there now, lol.

The fourth one was a copier machine card. Last semester I needed to copy an old article that was not available online, and of course the copy machines do not accept coins anymore! So I bought a copier card worth $10, used maybe $2 and there was still about $8 on the card.

The fifth card was from my favorite coffee shop. Early last semester, one Sunday morning I decided to treat myself to my favorite coffee. I got their gift card, charged $20 to my credit card, and used the gift card to get my coffee that day and a few subsequent visit. I thought I probably have less than $10 on that card now.

Thus losing my wallet, at most, I would have lost $20. But I think the way I acted; well it was very inappropriate for an adult person, possibly losing $20! I am very embarrassed!

I even got more pissed off when later that night I checked my school email and saw that I had an email from the cute guy at 8:30 in the morning, telling me that he has found my wallet!

I usually check my school email first thing in the morning, and then a few times during the day. Since I was running late, needed to go to the library before my mom picked me up, not to mention frustrated that I had not gotten anywhere with that program, I forgot to check my email as I was leaving. I forward my personal emails to my phone; I so should forward my school email to my personal email, so that would be accessible from my phone. But I thought at least now I know the name of the cute guy! lol. Yes, I did Google him, lol, and found a bit about him, lol.

Wednesday was snowing here all day. My mom didn't go to work, and neither did I go to school. In mid morning, being in a house with an oven, lol, and nowhere to go, I decided to bake, lol. I made three batches of cupcakes and took most of it to the IT/CS department people on Thursday. Yes, that included a visit to the cute guy's office, lol.