my life

[wednesday_10_00]

So, this just happened:

- Go to Amazon to buy book for professor.
- Add book to cart.
- There are now three items in my cart. Huh?
- Check cart. See this:

Comments

[mangaroo]

Only 3 left in stock!!!

[wednesday_10_00]

I'm starting to think you want to shop vicariously through me. Stop making me buy stuff!

(Also, the stock on these has been that low--or almost that low--since I put them in my cart, so I'm not too worried. Apparently T&B alpacas aren't that popular...?? The world is confusing sometimes.)

[sara_tanaquil]

The university makes you buy stuff on your own account and reimburses you...?

Universities are strange places. ^_^;; I mean, I expect to pay for my own travel costs and get reimbursed and whatnot, but shouldn't staff have an office account? (Also, no one buys books for me. That's on my dime. Jealous of your professors!)

LOL, BTW!

[wednesday_10_00]

This is kind of funny because I just had this conversation with the person I bought the book for, but: I could get a credit card that would be automatically billed to our department. (Though I cover more than one department, so that raises its own issues.) But frankly, I would rather put the expense on my own card and get reimbursed, because then I get free CC points. (Though I admit it's slightly annoying for a small expense like this, because I'll get reimbursed in cash and will have to do some jiggering in YNAB. Oh well.)

Also, no one buys books for me. That's on my dime.

Even books you're going to use in a class? This is for a lit class.

[sara_tanaquil]

Free CC points for the win!

Hm, if they are desk copies for a course with more than 20 students (no guarantee of those numbers in classics), then I can order them myself from publishing companies, and they will usually, but not always, give them to me free. Our office staff used to help us with getting desk copies, but they asked us to take that over individually years ago because it was just too much in a large languages department. Which I get, they have so much to do as it is.

Anyway, I get desk copies free when I can, but more often I just end up paying for them myself, and that isn't reimbursed. But I can deduct it on taxes! Yay taxes!

[wednesday_10_00]

they asked us to take that over individually

My life is so different from their lives. (I also would not describe my job as one with "so much to do," so I guess there are trade-offs.)

Just curious: are you in the same department with other foreign languages? Our classics department is separate.

ETA: I forgot I was going to say that what people ask for reimbursement varies by person and department, too. For anything over $50, it has to be signed by the department chair, and I remember once (back when I also covered poli sci) the chair being surprised that people asked for reimbursement for...I think it was some kind of membership fee? Whatever the poli sci equivalent of ADFL is. She was like, "Wow, I always just pay for that myself."

Have you watched Haikyuu yet?