Nahla

Chicago must hate me today.

First, the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) made me an hour late to class. I waited at the bus stop right outside of my apartment for a half-hour while three buses chock-full of passengers zoomed by. Finally, the fourth bus stopped, but it was also full. Squeezing into a bus full of people was not fun, especially at 8:30 in the morning. Next, I had to get on the blue line. Two trains came, but I didn't get a chance to get on either of them because they were full, and there were apparently some people who deemed it appropriate to push me and other strangers aside and holler at people in the packed-like-sardines train to move so they could get on.

I missed the red line train by a second, so I had to wait for the next one. When it finally came, the car I got in was empty, but it reeked of bums. My face was practically blue by the time I got off from holding my breath for so long.

So when I finally arrived at school, I felt dirty. That's what being on the smelly and dirty CTA for a long time does to you. On top of that, I was having a bad hair day. I just basically felt like crap. It's Monday, so I wouldn't expect my day to be any better. I'm just like Garfield!

Fortunately, my classes went very well. I was in good spirits by the end of the day, but I had to visit the library to check out a book for one of my classes. I hate libraries. It's so weird. I used to love them. I practically lived in the local library when I was a kid. Now, I can't stand the fluorescent lights, the haunting silence, the lethargic librarians, and the smell of old books. I just find libraries so depressing. Maybe it's because a lot of them are so outdated.

Well, anyway, I found the book I needed, and I went to check it out. The librarian behind the counter told me that I had to pay a $1.30 fine for a slightly overdue book from more than a year ago. I wouldn't have minded paying it if I didn't already pay it two times! They never bothered to take the fine out of the system. The librarian today rolled her eyes at me when I told her that I already paid it off not once, but twice last year. The Chicago Public Library is awful. This is not the first time it has happened to me. I had to pay a $5 fee (!) three times until I raised hell at the library near my old apartment. I don't have the time and energy to do this again. Sigh.

I know, my problems are petty. Today was just not the day for me, that's all.