Packing Shmacking

Despite my best attempts to par down, as much as possible, the amount of crap I'm lugging with me, I still feel like I'm taking so much stuff. One huge (I mean Moby Dick sized) duffel, another medium-sized duffel, a backpack and a small shoulder bag. Geez, I thought I was trying to train my over-packing genes out of me.

There seems to be an incredible absence of communication between the administrative offices at Harvard. I keep getting emails from the various departments telling me I have tuition to pay, classes I need to be prepared to pick, etc. Yesterday I received an email from the Student Receivables Office saying I still had money to pay on my TermBill, and until it's paid I will be unable to register for the coming term. What in the world is the Student Receivables Office? I haven't the faintest, but they apparently think I'm still a student.

This is the email I was SO INCREDIBLY TEMPTED to send back:

Dear mysterious anonymous office worker at Student Receivables,

Okay, people, seriously, get your friggin act together. I haven't paid the money nor will I be registering as a student either this fall or this coming spring because I am on an official leave of absence.

My father and I have contacted the University Registrar, the Financial Aid office, the Office for Student Life and my Resident Dean's Office multiple times about this issue. How many more people do I have to email about this before the paper-consuming bureaucrats are sated? I suppose the janitors who wipe the condoms and cum off the floor of Widener library also need to be told? Last time I emailed Barry Kane, he assured me that I am as official leave-of-absence-y as one can be. If this is so, why am I still receiving all these damn emails? Why are there still errors in your records? Wait, let's back up. You do know who Barry Kane is, right?

I am leaving tomorrow for Italy and will not be returning to the States until May 15th, 2009, so this had better bloody well be sorted out. I promise I'm a nice personn, but I am absolutely appalled at the complete and utter lack of communication between the upper-level departments at this institution.

Fix the damn mistake.

Thank you very bloody much,
Maya S

P.S. Barry Kane is the University Registrar. He's the one in charge of scheduling all classes and official assigns everyone their grades at the end of semester. Probably one of the most powerful people at Harvard.

I did not, however send this email, don't worry. The one I did send was a much calmer and more tempered version of this (thanks Mom). So I can only hope that this will resolve itself.

And now I pack. Or attempt to.

It will be a few days before I can post again. Apparently when we arrive in Milan, they whisk us away for the first three or four days for bonding and general make-everyone-feel-cozy-and-warm-fuzzies. I'll be back! I promise.