Tardy (aaaachoo) again!

When you've got two kids in college, what's one more tuition? That was my thinking when I decided last spring to go back to college to add web skills to my graphic design repertoire. Both sonny boy and baby girl were in college. At the time, he was a freshman, she was a junior, and the house was so empty it echoed.

All three of our schools started fall semester today. Having arrived fashionably tardy for the start of my spring and summer classes, I made great effort to be on time this semester. I hit campus with 10 minutes to spare. Too bad this was my first experience with the start of a traditional school year. There was absolutely no parking in my usual lot. My "spare" minutes frittered away in the line to buy my daily parking permit. Ten more minutes were spent stalking the lot for someone who might be vacating a parking space (this was crazier than a Saturday afternoon at Costco). In desperation, I tried the remote lot. Spaces galore! But, they don't call it the remote lot for nothing: This lot requires hiking up the equivalent of four flights of stairs. Can you say "out of shape"?

Plus, I must have inhaled something I'm allergic to as I huffed and puffed during the climb. Once I landed in class, the sneezing (stopped counting at 27), runny nose, watery eyes (note to self: buy waterproof mascara) began. After several minutes of attempted subtle sniffing and many strange looks from classmates, I sneaked back out the door and downed a couple antihistamines. By break time, my head was (loosely) under control. Still, classmates who had been sitting near me before the break had relocated away from me after break. Everyone must be taking those Swine Flu warnings seriously.