School Bells Ring

Today I did it. I enrolled in school. After graduating high school 1970 and then college, today I enrolled in Eureka Adult School. Felt a little weird. Long hallways smelling like chalk, the office had that "school office look." Classes start Monday but I'll be out of town (more about that in my next post) until Thursday so I start Friday morning 9 am. What am I doing going back to school? I'm taking some computer classes. I want to learn Microsoft Publisher and Adobe Photo Elements. Both are necessary for my work at Scottie Dog Quilts. But so far both of them may as well be written in Korean as far as I'm concerned. I can't even begin to make them work.

I was a little worried. The woman who signed me up didn't know how to use a computer. She had to hunt and peck to get my info.....she asked if they could use my SS# as an identification number. When I said I'd rather they didn't she became flustered....it is entirely voluntary, but no one has ever refused her. I said if it was voluntary then I didn't care to volunteer. Oh, what a rebel I was. Someone came to show her how to fill out the forms without using the SS#. After about 15 minutes she asked for payment. "That will be $125 please." I couldn't figure it out....the class I was taking for the summer was only $50. Turns out she'd signed me up for three classes. So it took another 20 minutes to cancel out the wrong classes and sign me up for the new ones. "Social Security Number, please," she said with a straight face.

I explained again I'd rather not give it out. She acted as if the earlier conversation had never taken place. I handed over my credit card......you guessed it. She didn't know how run a credit card. I said innocently, "It's OK, we all have to learn new things from time to time." She brightly replied, "Oh, I'm not new, I've worked here for 15 years."

I smiled and as I left I thought perhaps she could use a computer class or two also.