Way

College is way more in every way. Way faster, way bigger, way more homework, way more crowded, way everything. Josh told me that he'd make sure his mother is talking to people about me tutoring while they're on vacation. I am really really hoping tutoring works out because I just went from working a job and a half to barely working one job.

I smushed all my classes into three and a half days, so I can work for Arnie one full day, one half day, plus Saturdays. Trying to hold out at the diner but literally every shift gets worse and worse. Waitstaff had a huge screaming fight in the kitchen today and diners were totally listening. Two tables got up and left without paying (mostly finished with their meals) and then when the waitresses found out they screamed at me, for not stopping them. With the gun I always carry? With the krav maga I know?

There was a lot of back and forth over whose paycheck those table's meals should come out of - mine or the waitresses. We ended up splitting it, but I'm not happy.

It turned out that (colleges do give homework on the first day) I forgot how many people would be coming to NYC for the first time and would be totally overwhelmed by ... everything. The height of buildings, the density of all the people, the noise, all the stuff that I don't ever notice.

I had to wait a long time to meet with my freshman adviser. I got there a little early but even with that she saw two people before me. She was trying to tell one girl something and I could hear the girl arguing with her. Then as they opened the door to come out the girl was holding her phone and my adviser was saying, "No, I don't talk to parents of students, only students." Actually all through the day there were a lot of kids on their cell phones. When I'd overhear parts of conversations they sounded like they were talking to parents.

There were also a lot of kids who clearly had new shoes for school. I wore the same Gap dress I've been wearing to work once a week with leggings and Converse. I did not whip out my iPhone every 10 minutes and then look around to see who was noticing.

Some of my classes had people standing against the walls in the back and on the sides - they were waiting to see if the professors would let them in. I think there are like, more kids than classes to fit them all in. Excuse me please, I have a ton of studying to do now.