Compassion, kindness and empathy can do so much good in the world. Today is August 5.
I hadn’t intended to, but I ended up sleeping in until 9:45 this morning. I don’t know why I was so tired. My body must have needed the rest, so I wasn’t complaining. Around 11 a.m. my brother and I were planning on leaving to walk around the University of Missouri ― Columbia’s (MU) campus, so I washed my face and changed into non-pajama clothing. I was feeling a little lethargic, and having the time to not be rushed was a treat.
When my brother got up, we decided I’d take my car and drive us to MU because I needed gas. I have a debit card, but I’ve never used it to buy anything and instead only paid in cash. My family decided I had to learn how to use a card before going off to college, and apparently today was when that needed to happen. My brother and dad both needed to stop at the grocery store, so after my brother and I finished walking around campus and my dad was done with his bike ride we agreed to meet at Broadway Diner for a late breakfast.
My brother and I ended up stopping at two gas stations on the way to campus. At the first one my brother couldn’t explain to me how to work my debit card, and at the second one the machine kept rejecting it. We spent several minutes checking if I was using the correct PIN number and seeing if the card even worked, which it didn’t. I was almost completely out of gas, so I ended up paying with cash and filling up the tank that way before we drove to campus.
After I parked the car, we got out and started walking. I’ve lived in Columbia my whole life, so I’m not a stranger to MU, but I don’t know where all of the specific buildings on campus are. I’d taken a photo of my schedule before we left, so my brother did his best to point out where each of my classes will be, as long as they don’t change or move online. The weather was absolutely beautiful, and even though I wore a mask I probably wouldn’t have needed one because we only saw the occasional other person.
Once we finished the walking portion of my brother’s tour, we got back in the car and he directed me to drive to different places around campus that I may need to know but were out of our way to walk to. I had to focus on driving, so I missed seeing exactly what he was pointing out, but I think I got the gist of what he said. We got to Broadway Diner about 20 minutes before our dad and placed our order so it would be ready when he arrived. I ended up ordering the wrong meal, but it was delicious nonetheless. I doubt I could go wrong getting anything on the menu. For anyone who hasn’t been to Broadway Diner, I highly recommend it. It has amazing food, nice people and is a staple part of the Columbia experience. I’m looking forward to introducing my roommate and suitemates to it when they get into town.
We all finished eating then went our separate ways. My brother went with my dad to pick up groceries while I took my car and headed to the Missouri Credit Union to figure out what was wrong with my debit card. I tried transferring money from my checking account to my savings account using the electronic teller machine, but it kept telling me I couldn’t complete the transaction. I then spoke with one of the tellers who helped me make the transfer. When I told her my card wasn’t working, she got another person to figure out what the problem was. Apparently my debit card had expired a month ago, but because I never used it I didn’t know. The man who helped me, Josh, was kind and speedy. He got me a new card, updated some of my account information and then I was good to go. I’m glad I was able to fix everything, and learn there was an issue in the first place.
I drove home listening to music and feeling pretty happy about life. When I got back I talked with my mom, who had gone to the doctor earlier in the day to get a coronavirus test, and told her all about my day. I am really hoping all she has is a cold, but she didn’t want to take any chances. For the next little bit I worked on writing thank you cards and adding senior photos to some of them if I thought the recipient might want one. I’m planning on mailing them Friday, so I still have some time to track down the last six addresses I’m missing.
In the evening I watched two episodes of the psychological thriller Tell Me a Story on The CW. I had no idea what it was about going in, and I didn’t realize what genre it even was, so it was an interesting experience. I can’t tell if I like it or not yet, so I’ll have to give it a few more episodes before making my final judgement and committing to the whole series. A little while later, my brother and dad got back from playing tennis. With my dad’s guidance, I applied for a credit card, which my mom had wanted me to do because of a deal we could get if I did it soon. I also changed some settings on my MU financial account so my dad could deal with paying bills, which I probably should have done sooner. When that was done, my brother, dad and I sat outside on our deck enjoying the cool night and the warmth of the deck fire my dad had made. I wish my mom could have been with us, but for all our safety she’s keeping her distance until she gets her test results back.
Tomorrow I have a meeting with Dr. Noel Aloysius, an assistant professor at MU, at 8 a.m., which means I’ll need to be up even earlier. I’m using it as a test run for how my 8 a.m. classes will potentially work in the fall with when I’d need to wake up to make it to wherever I need to be on time. I’m excited to meet him in person, though I wish I had more to report about the website. When my mom is feeling better, she said she’d help me navigate using the platform because she’s had years more experience with websites than I have. I still have about two weeks before classes start, so as long as I have a solid foundation by then I think I’ll be in good shape. Because I have to be up so early tomorrow, I’m planning on going to sleep about an hour and a half sooner than I have been to compensate for not being able to sleep in. Hopefully it helps, but even if it doesn’t my alarms should make sure I get up in plenty of time.
“While we wait for life, life passes.” ― Seneca
How did you spend your 141st day of social distancing? Let us know in the comments below.
