okay, so technically this isn't something i've learned today. i've known that class registration day has taken the place of christmas in the favorite-holiday-race since i started college back in '05. i didn't care much for the blistering hot weather as i walked around campus with strangers at orientation, and i could have easily done without the forced awkwardness that was the orientation mixer (which, for the record, struck me as a glorified middle school dance with people in bigger, more sexually charged bodies). no thank you. but the day we got to sit at the computers and register...that made all that other garbage worth it.
i'd been planning out potential schedules for days, watching the system closely to see which classes had the fewest openings so i knew what to prioritize when the gods smiled upon me and finally let me register. even with the crappy registration system (that has recently been overhauled by a still crappy, although arguably less crappy, system) moving at snail-speed, i was still done with the whole process in a matter of minutes. while the rest of my peers sat waiting for the system to respond as they searched for classes (oh, step one...amateurs!), i packed up my stuff and waltzed right out of the computer lab, fall schedule complete. granted, i would in fact change my schedule an estimated 53 times within the remaining days of summer, but still - the first schedule was done.
registration day happens twice a year (which is obviously superior to christmas which only happens once a year) and i always begin my hypothetical schedules, color-coded for efficiency, as soon as the registrar releases the potential course offerings a few months ahead of the actual day. most people begin getting the christmas spirit in november-ish when the radios forget there are other things besides christmas tunes, but the registration spirit lasts for much longer. another reason registration day is the superior holiday.
when we did switch to the new registration system, i was admittedly a little pissed. not only are there some very basic flaws, but it allows for one-stop-registration: you put all of your classes into a shopping cart and click "enroll"... and that's it. no waiting for the system to respond to see if you got the class, no searching frantically for another class when the one spot that was left isn't open because too many people were trying to register at the same time...nothing. for the registration obsessed (population: one...me), this "more efficient system" really takes the wind out of your sails.
but what it can't do is stop me from making hypothetical schedules. you never know when a class you had in your shopping cart will come back with the error message that says it couldn't be enrolled in because it is full (something i secretly, or not-so-secretly, wish for with every click of the glorious enroll button).
today is my last registration day as a student. i've had many wonderful registration days throughout my 6ish years of college, and today i'll click "enroll" for the last time (okay, let's be honest...i'll probably try to enroll in extra things just so i can continuously tweak the schedule). and yes, it is true that the only two requirements i have left to complete are my internship and thesis which are registered for me through the office, but that won't stop me from finding another course to add to my schedule so that i too can partake in celebrating registration day (the office really shouldn't have all the fun).
it'll remain to be seen if i actually follow through with attending the random class i select today once the fall rolls around, but dangit i'm going to put it in my shopping cart and enroll the heck out of it. and i'm going to love it.
