My post today is short but sweet and about a few of the oddities and awesomeness of student life. The oddity i want to discuss is the wacky and wonderful world of the University Library. The way our library operates at my university is that as you ascend up the 4 floors it gets more and more strict surrounding the issues of noise, food and other distractions such as mobile phones. The interesting thing about the library is you always have someone who believes they are an exception to the rules that are written on only lets say... a million laminated posters that are plastered on every wall including the back of toilet doors. There will always be someone on the silent floor with their iPod on full blast making the annoying 'i may have headphones but you still have to listen to my crappy taste in music' statement. As well as the person who is chewing their gum ridiculously loudly or rustling a food wrapper on the no eating floor. As if we don't know what you're doing!
The other thing about the university library is the fact that you need a student card to get in and out. You often see some poor sod running around the desks trying to find their student card so they can leave the library, because they have misplaced it once inside and you just sigh and pity them whilst checking in a paranoid manner that you still have your ticket to freedom. The machines in the library also have a mind of their own. They make these great machines that allow you to scan all your books at once... however these rarely work as they're supposed to. You then have to take the ginormous stack of books you THINK you need to write a good essay, when actually you only end up using one line of one page out of each one, all the way downstairs only to have to go and see a librarian anyway. So you've found the books, gone and had them scanned once by a failure of a machine and once by a tutting librarian you then head for freedom... Only to have the freaking security scanner go off in some loud abusive manner and draw everyone's eyes on you.
The library is also home to two types of people. The ones who go in a group and intend to mess around or are doing a project that has been left until the last minute. Or the individuals who have clearly been there for over 10 hours, have had little sleep, have crooked glasses and hair flying everywhere! The other thing we have to deal with when it comes to the library is overdue book fees. I mean lets be honest if you didn't return a library book in high school, you got a few angry letters, but being fair that book is still collecting dust at the back of your wardrobe isn't it? With university comes a whole new range of responsibility that we have to come up with excuses. I mean the amount of times i have been into the library and seen someone quibbling over their overdue book fees with the librarian is crazy. Just return your books on time people! I mean we even have the ability to renew books from home making avoiding these fees even easier than ever.
When it comes to money and university, sure we have a lot to answer for. Paying 9000 pounds in tuition and rarely seeing where that money goes can be entirely depressing. But it can't be said that society doesn't try to give us a break. The student card: a beautiful beacon of half priced and special offer goodness, and especially for us students. The NUS card is the one most students will go for but you should also check out what your Student ID can do for you. For example, the Mcdonalds near my university gives free cheeseburgers and Mcflurries for anyone holding student ID for the university. Combine that with the free fries you get with an NUS card and you only have to get yourself a drink to have a full meal. The other great thing provided by an NUS card is discount at the cinema which can get you a very cheap afternoon of entertainment. Student cards as well as Student bars on campus help provide cheap nights and meals out.
Hope this has wet your appetite for another week,
TTFN X
Atargatis
