Catsup 12: From Monday to Tuesday.

DIARY

In many ways it was a sheer unadulterated Hell of a day. After getting a ludicrously slow start off to work, I happened to use a phone to call Kinkos and confirm my order. They said first that they would not have it finished until 8 PM (I was meeting my advisor to turn it in at 5:30), and that moreover they did not have acid-free paper, though I had been assured over the phone the night before that they did. In a final bit of backstabbing they hadn't even started to process the order because, despite my having previewed the print job and approved it online, they wanted me to stop in and look at their own draft. How all of this adds up to be convenient (as the website brags) is beyond me.

At work I fired off apologies to my boss and an explanation to my advisor. I eventually got on the phone with another Kinkos that confirmed that they had acid-free paper... I could print my document from a computer there and get it copied and bound while in a few hours. I took a lunch break (which was embarrassing, because I'd already shown up to work over an hour late) and went down to Kinkos. There I discovered that the initial computer print would cost me fifty cents a page, adding up to a grand total of $150 for the first copy. The second would run at least another $40, and then I had to get them bound. I had a few short words with the rep I'd spoken with on the phone, regarding the fifty-cents-per-black-and-white-page policy (which is murder and she had no control over) and the fact that nobody informed me of this (which was quite doable).

I got back to the office, not in tears but red-faced and pissed-off and I think everyone knew something was up. Then, Dave, a coworker, told me about a little print shop attached to our building. I left again, explained my situation, and they were very accommodating. They let me access their computer for free, print out the initial copy for free, and make the two necessary copies on their fanciest paper at twelve cents a page, and bindings at five dollars each. My boss was very understanding of the chaos, and I left Midtown on time with two bound copies that cost me a total of exactly $100. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Moral of the Story:

KINKO'S SUCKS.

JASON STATIONERS RULES:
140 W. 31st St. #1
212.279.7455

I successfully met with Jeff, successfully got my thesis initialed and turned it in at the Writing Center office, successfully went out for a meeting with Jeff and successfully ate strawberry ice cream and drank coffee while we talked about African literature and literary criticism and plans for the generally near future. Then I successfully went home and successfully greeted Jessica with joy. Despite my mere twenty minute of sleep the night before, I only semi-successfully managed to crash. There was just too much excitement in the midst of all this.

END OF POST.